The Hard Facts on Soft Skills
An incredibly talented employee who constantly misses deadlines is not a business asset. Neither is someone with excellent technical skills who is abrasive with co-workers.
Soft skills such as empathy, communication and reliability are critical, yet are often missed in screenings and interviews during hiring processes.
Partly, this is because soft skills aren’t as tangible. You can’t always gauge them in one or two interviews. Soft skills are often revealed over time.
As a recruiter (and a people manager for over 14 years), I can certainly attest to the fact that soft skills are key to career success.
Two pieces of good news. The first is that soft skills can be learned over time. Consistent and timely performance feedback, mentoring, interactive workshops and online learning programs are some ways that SHRM, the Society for Human Resource Management, suggests businesses can support employees in developing stronger soft skills.
Secondly, there are assessments that employers can use in the hiring process to evaluate an individual relative to the desired cognitive and behavioral skills and qualities.
The PXT Select™ Step One Survey™ is a brief pre-hire assessment and screening tool that measures an individual’s basic work-related values early in the candidate selection process. This assessment provides valid insight into an applicant’s work ethic, reliability, integrity, propensity for substance abuse, and attitudes towards theft—including the theft of property, data, and time. In many organizations, the Step One Survey is the first screen that all applicants must pass before proceeding in the hiring process. By filtering candidates early in the process, this tool saves you time so that you can focus on hiring the right candidates that fuel the success of your organization.
As a comprehensive, “full person” assessment, the PXT Select™ assessment measures how well an individual fits specific jobs in an organization by assessing their Cognitive Ability, Behavioral Traits, and Interests. You can learn more about these and other PXT Talent Management Solutions at https://www.sourceandrecruit.com/shop-services?category=Assessment+Tools.
