Hard Demand for Soft Skills
Jobs with soft skill expertise will account for over 67pc of all jobs by 2030 (Deloitte Access Economics 2017 report)
Google did a study called “Project Oxygen”. -of what made a good employee great – and what their top characteristics were
The 8 top characteristics were all “soft skills”
- Critical thinking – Problem solving skills
- Connecting critical ideas and people
- Coaching
- Communicating
- Collaborating
- Creativity and Innovation
- Customer experience
- Empathy – putting yourself in someone else’s shoes – and understand the issues on the customers mind
Stem – Science Technology Engineering and Maths – came last
The 2017 Deloitte Access Exinomics study found that having staff with more soft skills could increase revenue for the average business by more than $90,000.
The cool thing is that soft skills can be taught – and if practiced – can be embedded into the culture of an organisation
It’s not just about learning behaviour and soft skills – it’s about implementing them and living them.
Matt Geaham, PWCs managing partner says that soft skills are at the heart of the PwC set of 5 values – it’s how we treat people.
- Act with integrity
- Make a difference
- Care
- Work together
- Reimagine the possible
BSI’s values are based on the word TREAT
Team first – people need to feel a sense of safety
Respect – people need to respect the organisation, each other and their clients
Energy – people need to act with a positive energy and have passion in what they do
Adventurous – it’s ok to go outside the box and take risks – It’s on to be innovative – the team needs to be comfortable in doing this
Trust – this is a non negotiable – people need to act with honesty and integrity .
Our values are a based on ohow we behave – on how we treat each other and our clients
We need to continually upskill and learn and using 70/20/10 formula
70pc on the job and practice
20pc feedback
10pc formal training
Google did another study – Project Aristotle – which identified how innovative, inventive and productive teams were – and here is a real interesting observation :-
The study found that the most productive and inventive ideas did not necessarily came from the brightest “A teams”
The teams that shone , boasted a range of soft skills generosity, curiosity , empathy, emotional intelligence and emotional safety.
Feeling safe to be adventurous – to fail, to go outside the box, to make “silly comments”
For companies to survive and thrive – they will need to embrace the “soft skills” and continue to “learn”
What does this mean for accountants ?
Technical skills will not cut the mustard for an accountant to survive and thrive
The accountant of 2030 will
Highly creative
Digitally savvy
Have a high degree of empathy and creativity
Do you want your form to thrive and survive in 2030? Speak to Geoff Hirsh at www.bbg.business to see how we can collaborate, learn and grow together
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