NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON

“Emerging issues in Business Management”

At JAIPUR

March 4th and 5th, 2011

THEME: 21st century skills with special reference to “soft skills”.

TITLE: “Increasing the employability quotient by equipping with better soft skills”

Mr. Akhilesh Jain

Dean, Proseed Business School (M) 09352616800

akhijain@gmail.com

Mr. Sandeep Mehta Faculty, Proseed Business School

(M) 09829647605 sandeepmehta_1@yahoo.com

“The ability to communicate is the primary factor that distinguishes human beings from animals. And it

is the ability to communicate well that distinguishes one individual from another.” In order to develop

these habits, one needs to first acknowledge the fact that they need to improve communication skills

from time to time. Soft Skills are behavioral competencies. Also known as Interpersonal

Skills, or people skills, they include proficiencies such as communication skills, conflict resolution and

negotiation, personal effectiveness, creative problem solving, strategic thinking, team building,

influencing skills and selling skills, to name a few. Many significant business researches have identified

soft skills as the singular factor in differentiating star performers from mediocre performers. For

example, a study by Johnson and Burden (2003) found employers expected younger people to be less

likely to have work experience and therefore they ‘tend to focus upon ‘softer skills’ and behavioural

attitudes in the recruitment process, with a less prominent role played by qualifications’. Employers

report that technical and occupational skills can be taught on-the-job if the recruit has the right soft

skills, such as motivation and willingness to learn (Dench et al., 1998). Kodz and her colleagues (1998)

also find that employers use soft skills as an indicator of peoples’ ability to learn occupational skills.

This paper will discuss the various methodologies which can be used to develop better communication

skills and personality for management students. The research focuses on the gap between the

competencies demanded by corporate world and the skills possessed by young management

professionals with ways to increase the employability quotient.

Business is about people. It is about communication, relationships and about presenting yourself, your

company and your ideas in the most positive and impactful way. Many business people like to think that

success is based on logical, rational thoughts and acts, but the human element should never be ignored.

Which is why a strong soft skills set is vitally important.

Today, employers crave managers with the critical soft skills. These skills tend to be more generic in

nature. In other words, these are skills key to effective performance across all job categories. And these

soft skills have come to play an even more crucial role in management positions in today's environment.

As the world has changed and the nature of work has changed, the skill set required of managers has

changed.

Soft skills are personal attributes that enhance an individual's interactions, job performance and career

prospects. Unlike hard skills, which tend to be specific to a certain type of task or activity, soft skills are

broadly applicable. Soft skills are sometimes broken down into personal attributes, such as: Optimism,

common sense, responsibility, a sense of humor, integrity, time-management and motivation. The

interpersonal abilities also are a part of soft skills which includes: empathy, leadership, communication,

good manners, sociability and the ability to teach. It's often said that hard skills will get you an interview

but you need soft skills to get (and keep) the job

“In today's highly competitive employment market, jobs and roles are often described in terms of

competencies which are a combination of behaviors that lead to superior performance in a job. The two

major concerns of employers are finding good workers and training them. The skills-gap, which is the

difference between the skills needed on the job and those possessed by applicants, is of real concern to

managers and business owners looking to hire competent employees. India currently has 600 million

youth below 25 years of age of which 320 million are in schools and colleges. Less than 25% of these

are employable due to the skills gap!”

- India Employability Skills Survey (2009 - 10)

by Seema Menon, Head Assessment, Aspire

Soft skills training can make the difference between closing the deal and losing it, creating a cohesive,

efficient team or a malfunctioning one, getting that promotion or missing out. Great people skills give

you a competitive edge, helping you to create positive relationships that mean you can get more from

people, both internally and externally.

Soft skills training encompass a whole range of skills, including assertiveness, influencing and

persuading, negotiating, presenting and public speaking, networking and managing a team. Overall, it is

about gaining a better understanding of the ways people think and behave and presenting yourself and

your ideas in a way that will have the best impact.

This type of training is particularly useful for managers, but is relevant for anyone who interacts with

other people as part of their job - anyone with customers or clients, anyone who commissions work from

suppliers and anyone who works as part of a team.

For many professions, the importance of soft skills is obvious - for example sales people, those in

customer service, politicians and journalists. For many of the more process driven and technical

professions however, such as accounting or IT, soft skills training can often be forgotten or given less

focus. Even in this type of business, though, employees need to be when managing staff, running

meetings or simplifying complex ideas or processes for clients.

For some people, these skills come naturally, while others need to work harder at them. Some

personality types are filled with horror at the thought of public speaking and networking with strangers,

while others flourish in this type of situation. Some find it difficult to be assertive and a strong

negotiator, others can be too aggressive. Everyone will find that they can benefit from learning new

techniques and obtaining objective advice and feedback.

Soft skills training should be tailored to take into account the experience, situation and personality of the

delegates. A pre-course questionnaire can help to establish these things and a good trainer will adapt

their approach accordingly. A successful training session will also get the balance between theory on the

one hand and practice and interaction on the other. After all, it's all about how you work with people and

you can't learn that just by listening.

For decades the focus of management was on the so-called "hard" skills. That is, the emphasis centered

on the technical skills necessary to effectively perform within the organization. These skills tended to be

more job-specific or more closely related to the actual task being performed.

Without doubt, for decades the business world placed a great deal of value on traditionally masculine

traits for managers. With the increase in the number of women in the workforce for the past two to three

decades, more attention has been given to the traditionally feminine characteristics. There was then a

move to develop the androgynous manager - one who embraced the best of both the traditionally

masculine characteristics and the feminine characteristics. This has evolved today to the recognition of

placing more importance on the soft skills.

At first considered "soft," some are now referring to these skills as life skills thereby conveying the more

global aspect of this skill set. Some researchers have also suggested these skills are really the "hard stuff'

of management.

In the last few years, survey after survey has been conducted in businesses. Employers have been asked

the skills they want to see in their employees. Time after time the results remain consistent. The soft

skills are in demand. Unfortunately, these are the skills that are in short supply today. Topping the list

for most American businesses are skills such as communication skills, interpersonal skills, team player

skills, ethics, creativity, an ability to value diversity, responsiveness and a willingness to change.

Communication Skills

Communication skills remain a major concern of many employers today. It is critical

every employee (and most especially managers) be able to communicate both verbally and in written

form. Management is all. about getting things done through others. Without an ability to effectively

communicate, this work cannot be accomplished. Those individuals who are polished in their

communication skills are also more effective in getting things done. Technology has somewhat

complicated the communication process for many. While disseminating information faster and to a

larger number of people, the advanced technologies have changed the way in which communication is

conducted in many organizations. Today with the widespread use of e-mail, the traditional chain of

command is often not followed in communication patterns. People skip levels in the chain of command

to communicate directly with those Who have the information they need.

In addition, there has been an entirely new set of etiquette rules (referred to as "netiquette") that reflects

the appropriate way of using these new technologies. Perhaps the greatest challenge to using some of the

new technologies is the loss of the personal touch. Specifically, the nonverbal component is missing.

Interpersonal Skills

With the demise of the command-and-control manager, the importance of interpersonal skills has grown.

Managers can no longer rely upon their position of power (or their legitimate authority inherent in the

position they occupy in the organization). With today's teams being utilized more extensively, the tool

that becomes important is the interpersonal skill set (as part of the manager's personal power base).

Employees must be able to get along with others. And they must be especially skilled in getting along

with others who are not like them. The team environment further enhances this requirement for

interpersonal skills. Katz recognized these human relations skills as being one of the three key

management skills required for success at all organizational levels.

Team Players

Interpersonal skills are important in helping one become a better team player. Managers walk an

especially thin line. The very people they must cooperate with are also those with whom they compete.

That is, managers must be team players and work in cooperation with their peers (as well as their

subordinates in many cases). And yet these same peers compete for the limited resources of the

organization - financial, physical and human.

Being a team player today also means working with a diverse team. And this diversity goes beyond

demographic characteristics. For example, it involves accountants working with marketers, engineers,

human resource managers and those from many other functional areas.

Ethics

Employers today seek employees who are ethical - who do the right thing. Employers don't want to hire

unethical people and then teach them to be ethical. Instead, they want to bring in those who already

understand ethical behavior. With society placing greater demands on businesses to act more ethically

and raise their standards of behavior, this can only be achieved through the efforts of each individual

employee. As the behavior of company employees is closely scrutinized, companies need to know their

employees are making the right choices.

Creativity

Those employees who are creative will contribute extraordinary efforts to today's organizations and will

help outline the vision for tomorrow's organizations. Companies have learned they can no longer

conduct business exactly the way it was con ducted even ten years ago. Today's changing environment

requires companies to adapt to the current world. This means employing people who "think outside the

box."

Rational problem solving is not enough today. Creative problem solving and an ability to identify

opportunities is critical in this dynamic environment. Employees who can "think outside the box" and

present new solutions to the old problems will be highly valued.

Value Diversity

A diverse workforce presents wonderful opportunities for companies and for individuals to succeed. It

does, however, require that all employees learn to value this diversity and celebrate the differences

among people. While it is the tendency for people to surround themselves with others who are just like

them, this can be counterproductive. Research has proven heterogeneous groups (as opposed to

homogenous groups) are more creative. This diversity, however, must be valued and the actions of

people must reflect this.

Truly valuing diversity means treating everyone as an individual with unique needs. For managers, this

means tailoring rewards to each individual rather than using "one size fits all" rewards. To value

diversity then, the manager must begin by getting out of the office, walking around and really getting to

know others. Only then can the manager begin to appreciate the differences among individuals and

begin to utilize those unique talents to enable each person to contribute to the organization in their own

way.

Valuing diversity doesn't just apply to employees. It also means valuing diversity in the organization's

customer base. Market segmentation is crucial in today's diverse marketplace. Only by understanding

these various markets can the organization be responsive to their diverse customers and their needs.

Fast, Agile and Responsive

Organizations have been told repeatedly to become fast, agile and responsive to maintain their

competitive position. Employees today must be likewise. All employees should consider themselves as

working in a boundary-spanning position. That is, it is the responsibility of each employee (management

and non-management alike) to scan the external environment to watch for changes which may impact

the organization. Furthermore, as these changes are monitored and recognized, employees must know

how to respond. The responses to these changes that must be made within the organization to respond

should be clearly thought out and articulated -- and done so quickly.

Taking too much time to respond to these changes in the external environment may very well put the

organization at risk. Time is of the essence and employees must think fast on their feet.

The time horizon for reflection and contemplation grows shorter each year.

Willingness to Change

Above all else, employees must be ready, willing and able to change. No one can remain wed to the

past. This willingness to change means tactfully challenging the status quo. Employees can no longer

blindly obey, but rather must question what they do. The heart of process reengineering is to continually

ask if this is the best way to something or if it even needs to be done. Continuous improvement requires

that each and every employee be willing to change. In addition, employees must take this one step

further and be willing to create some of this change. This goes hand-in-hand with the need for creative

people. Employees must constantly search for that "better mousetrap."

The Complete Package

Many of these soft skills are interdependent. That is, as one skill is developed, one or more of the other

skills are also being developed. The true value to the organization is in having the complete package in

as many employees as possible. Self-awareness is critical. All employees are responsible for their own

career development today. This means every employee must know what they can and cannot do. A

complete inventory of knowledge, skills and abilities (referred to as KSAs) should be performed on a

regular basis. This should then be compared with the KSAs considered critical to success in the

workplace.

While many employers feel they can train employees in the technical skills needed to perform the job,

there is more concern with the ability to teach the softer skills. Therefore, more companies are seeking

job applicants that already possess these soft skills.

Employees of the twenty-first century must be committed to the soft skills. And this commitment doesn't

begin the first day on the job. This is a commitment that starts even prior to entry in the workforce and

stems from the dedication to become a lifelong learner -- constantly updating and revising skills to better

meet the needs of the changing marketplace.

Activity Based Learning at institutions

Interactive methods of teaching is not a new concept as we cannot overlook the Indian epics like

Mahabharta and Ramayana gives numerous examples of Gurukul teaching pedagogies. Dronachararya

always used to let Kauravas and Pandavas perform to learn. Most of the values and morals were taught

using metaphors specially stories from the history. There used to be discussion known as Shasthraths,

where the disciples also used to put their opinions in front of Gurus. Learning since eras was interesting

only when it was practical and motivating learners to involve them. This not only increased their

concentration but also was a permanent learning.

For learning to be more effective, interesting and engaging the teachers and students need to work in

collaboration. Our experience on teaching various management concepts has taught us that student

interaction and involvement are vital items in the transfer of knowledge from the teacher to the student.

Most of the teaching is done in a traditional monologue session, where the teacher does the talking and

the students are passive audience. Little is known to the teacher on the amount of knowledge consumed

by the students. Unless the student seriously focuses on the key points delivered during the teaching,

there is a definite reason for the knowledge to escape into thin air. In the same context we put our

students through the book reviews and movie sessions which focus on delivering management lessons

interestingly & creatively. The news review session conducted daily aims at keeping the students abreast

with the latest happenings around. This not only enhances their knowledge but also generates interests in

the students to learn more and more.

One of the best ways to understand something is to get ones hands on it and actually experiment with it.

In electronics, this means putting small circuits together, powering them up, and seeing firsthand what

they do. We also experienced that when activities were given to the students, their involvement and

interest were substantially observed. Hence, we unanimously felt the need for a change in our mode of

teaching and learning as activity-based teaching provides simple yet dynamic tools for an effective

classroom teaching. There are frequent workshops on corporate ethics, table manners, personality

development, yoga etc to groom the students in every aspect of professional life. Games and other

cultural events are organized to bring out the talents of the students. We believe that activity-based

teaching also taps into a source of energy and goodwill that would enable students to innovate and

manage change. Good communication skills are one of the vital aspects of an imposing personality so

we take a good care of it in our general communication skills classes where we provide our students the

necessary competence to interact with others confidently with personalized attention to learn.

Akhilesh Jain Sandeep Mehta

Dean, Proseed Business School Faculty, Proseed Business School

(A Unit of Career Point Infosystems Limited) (A Unit of Career Point Infosystems Limited)

133, Shakti Nagar, Kota 133, Shakti Nagar, Kota