Does your Organization hire for Skill or for Character?

This question always raises a few eyebrows and starts some amazing discussions but, in this age of high tech and an abundance of electronics, the following might just surprise you a little. It will provide some additional food for thought about priorities and importance of investment in continuous Learning and Development…

I recently read a very interesting LinkedIn article, LinkedIn Learning’s survey , about an annual survey of more than 6,600 professionals in 18 countries. It has many amazing statistics and pieces of information worth reading in that 2020 Workplace report. What stood out for me was the much higher priority and importance and need for soft-skills than technical skills. 

As you noticed, I did not say I was surprised, quite the contrary, I have been saying for quite some time now that Technical Skills are important but we should never under estimate or forget soft skills in any organization.

Several weeks ago I also attended a presentation where one lady talked about the 5th Industrial Revolution….yes, you are reading this correctly! Many people are still trying to get to grips with the 4th Industrial Revolution (I.R.) and the next one is just around the corner. 

This time we don’t need to be over concerned if we will be up to the challenge, what kind of technical skills we must embrace to keep up with that one, no, the 5th Revolution is turning attention (back?) to the Human Touch! That doesn’t mean the Digital Age is slowing down or is not important anymore. As we all know, technology keeps changing faster than most of us, me included J, can ever keep up with. I must admit here that I haven’t got the inclination to do so either and will leave that for those technically minded people. 

Many people are worried about robots taking over our tasks, our jobs, even the world! When, in reality, with all the different gadgets and electronics at our fingertips, we are ‘slowly’ turning into those kind of robots. A great friend and mentor of mine and Vice President of Global Sales & Marketing of the John Maxwell Group, Paul Martinelli already termed teenagers as ‘Screenagers” quite a few years ago. This gives an immediate picture of many of our youth today.

I have to put in a clause here that, off course, everything has a place in society as far as technology is concerned but are we not losing the ability to connect on a human level, the very important skill of communication, and with it, a caring society?

We already know that many older people are feeling disconnected from each other, their families, and friends for many years. Now we are also seeing more and more loneliness, depression, lower self-esteem, cyber bullying, and all the negative connotations that brings along, in youth as young as 5 and 6 year old!

Yes they may have 5000 FB ‘friends’, many connections on Instagram, Twitter, and let’s not forget LinkedIn and many other social channels, but how many of them are real friends, who know your challenges, your deepest thoughts, or your dire situation?.....How many even care if they did? 

Throw all of this into the mix and, is it really surprising that soft skills are seen as a much higher priority than technical skills…..and not just for 2020, but for a long time to come.

Here are those top 3 Soft Skills as Most important, according to those afore mentioned business professionals in the LinkedIn Survey:

1.    Leadership and management (57% 0f L&D Leaders’ focus)

2.    Creative problem solving and design thinking (42%)

3.    Communication (40%)

With Mobile Computing and Development (9%), Engineering & Coding (8%), and Cloud Computing (8%) at the “Low Priority’ end of the scale. 

What this shows very clearly is, that those skills that need most of your focus, are those that cannot be automated or replaced by technology and will endure, while that technology is outdated within an ever shorter period of time. And these are not limited to those mentioned in the survey either! 

In order to develop solid teams based on Character as well as expertise, you would have to implement these 3 skills as well:

1.    Speaking & Presentation skills

2.    Coaching Ability

3.    Personal Development

I asked a question at the start: "Does your organization hire for skill or for Character?"

I’m sure you would have a variety of answers. J Looking at this picture now, will your answer to that same question be different or will you at least have more insights into some priorities when it comes to Skills development for existing employees?

It is always easier to retain and retrain a staff member, than to constantly have to search for new ones as they either left, or were fired for whatever reasons.

The need to invest in your staff from the top down, remember #1 Leadership and Management skills, as well as bottom up, is key to building a strong organization, one that works together, and grows together, and cares for each other regardless of the size of the organization.

The question remains: “How do we hire for Character and retain talent?”

We have explored and tested many methodologies from around the world, to find the best solutions that can be implemented from executive teams through to every department and level within your organization.

Therefore, we made a decision to create case studies based on the success stories of specific methodologies that seriously work, and have showcased them in our e-book.

This e-book, Return on Values, is guaranteed to give you insights and solutions to many areas within your organization. For example:

• Creating solution-focussed teams
• Communication & Accountability
• Staff retention
• Diversity & inclusion

If you are looking for powerful, sustainable and cost effective solutions to realign your entire business culture and optimize your output, then download a copy of your E-book below:

Please click HERE for your opportunity to download the book or go to our website: www.kileadership.com