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How important are soft skills in an automated world?
One might think that organizations only care about technical skills or experience. However, with the shift in automation in the modern labor market, soft skills are becoming more integrated. The world is becoming increasingly sophisticated, creating the need to keep the human touch alive. This is where soft skills come into play. They are the skills that allow us to interact effectively with others, using things like communication, leadership, and problem solving. Let’s dive into the must-have soft skills and how to enhance them in the age of automation.
5 essential soft skills in the age of automation
1. Communication skills
People use software and platforms to help them with their jobs in various industries all the time. Although machines are great at handling data and simplifying tasks, they cannot understand context. Communication skills are what we lack to make collaboration smooth, and only employees can achieve this. People with strong communication skills can share ideas, explain concepts, and change their communication style according to others’ feelings. Additionally, with all the technological changes in communication channels, only skilled people can adapt easily. If you are keen on conveying ideas and expressing yourself, you can do so regardless of the medium. This means that even if your company switches from a chat app to a video conferencing platform, you will not face problems if you have strong communication skills.
2. Adaptability and flexibility
With technological advancement comes change, and change can be difficult for some. Automation has brought a complete change to the tools and software that people are accustomed to, bringing new tools and new ideas. Employees need to acquire new skills and knowledge to keep up with the latest demands in their current positions, and this is not always easy. What can help you in difficult times is to be flexible and adaptable. When you’re flexible, you can juggle multiple tasks at once and feel comfortable when you need to change your practices a little. For example, if your automation software makes a mistake, adaptability helps you navigate it without panicking, and quickly find an alternative way to complete the task. Additionally, let’s not forget that new technologies may bring changes to your role and daily work routine, so being able to adapt is the only way to succeed.
3. Critical thinking
Speaking of mistakes, systems are not immune to making mistakes. Although they are programmed for certain operations, they can encounter unexpected situations and malfunction or fail to do a task. However, employees with strong critical thinking skills can easily get involved. Critical thinking and problem solving skills are all about smart thinking. This means we can identify patterns and evaluate information to find solutions to complex problems. Machines mimic this thought process in humans, so when they can’t handle something, it’s up to us to make it work. Furthermore, automated systems are excellent at making informed decisions based on numbers, but they lack the element of judgment. Critical thinking allows us to look at the context behind the data, and add more information that the system may have overlooked.
4. Emotional intelligence
Although artificial intelligence (AI) can perform many tasks very quickly, it is still no match for humans when it comes to emotional intelligence. This is because soft skills such as empathy, active listening and effective communication are extremely important when it comes to developing and maintaining strong relationships with colleagues, clients and stakeholders. The ability to understand and respond to the feelings and needs of others is fundamental to working in collaborative, customer-centric environments. That’s why professionals who have a knack for connecting with others and understanding their perspectives have a huge advantage in the workplace. Most importantly, being emotionally intelligent will allow you to design and program systems that understand human emotions. Imagine a chatbot understanding when a customer is frustrated and immediately changing its tone. This can only be a reality if developers are comfortable enhancing their soft skills.
5. Creativity
No one doubts the ability of machines to analyze data and identify patterns, but there are some things that only we humans can do. Creativity and innovation cannot be replicated by AI or other technologies, which is why they cannot be replaced. These abilities come in handy when we need to solve complex problems and approach challenges from different angles. Our creative thinking allows us to come up with unique solutions that machines might not think of. That’s why it’s so important to have human specialists in the mix to drive innovation within organizations. The most common example is generative AI programs that create images. Yes, they are very quick to follow orders and design content, but human creativity gives them the incentive to do so.
Developing personal skills in the modern workplace
training programs
Soft skills are vital to every industry, which is why they should be included in every employee training program. As a company, from the onboarding stage, you need to find the soft skills that best align with the employee’s role and goals and provide them with opportunities to enhance them. This can include e-learning courses, webinars, simulations or workshops. However, soft skills are not just a one-time thing. Instead, your employees need to work on them regularly, so make sure you offer ongoing learning and development initiatives as well.
Practice
Nothing is more effective than learning by doing, and this applies to soft skills as well. Organizations should always provide employees with the opportunity to not only train in skills, but also apply them in real-life scenarios. Simulation is the perfect way to do this, and it doesn’t have to be virtual. You can create a virtual scenario that requires crisis management or conflict resolution between teams, or you can get them fancy equipment and immerse them in a virtual environment where they deal with difficult customers.
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What is the most effective way to test your soft skills? Be open to feedback from your supervisors and coworkers. Constructive criticism is really helpful when it comes to improving your personal responsibilities and skills. We all have different views of reality, so it’s always a good idea to regularly ask for feedback on your communication, collaboration or time management skills. Once you get this feedback, don’t be afraid to create a plan for improvement. You can do this yourself, or with the help of your supervisor.
Conclusion
Automation is certainly changing the way we work, but it’s not as if employees don’t have a place in the future labor market or that we’ll be replaced by machines. On the contrary, humans possess amazing abilities that are necessary for automation software to function and function well. Soft skills, combined with technical knowledge, are of course the secret of our success in an automated world and getting ahead of the competition that has become so fierce in recent years.
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