The pace with which technology has developed and changed itself over the years is really something. It is by far the most dynamic industrial sector contributing to the economy aside from retail and fashion. Modern digital innovations, especially like that of artificial intelligence and virtual reality, have been a lot in demand since they have the ability to carry out basic human-related tasks without the use of actual humans or their intelligence.
Today, technology tools and aspects like AI have developed so much that they can take up the role of professionals like drivers (self-driving cars), customer service executives (chatbots), managing money and taxes (automated payroll), etc. This poses a threat of job losses in those fields. But, that is not entirely true. While AI may take over these jobs, its developments and advancements will also open new doors of opportunities and skills for us to acquire.
Change is an inseparable part of our life, and the new skills that will emerge with the advancements in AI will prove so. Even though these talents and new skills will be extremely popular and intriguing, what still matters beyond all of them are soft skills. When you understand how essential soft skills are to mark your presence in the employment sector, you will know how major a part they play in benchmarking your road to success. While hard skills may provide you with opportunities to earn money, it is your soft skills that will take you forward and help you attain a promising career.
Even though hard skills show off your expertise and experience in a particular field of interest, soft skills determine how you work with a team, how strong connections you can make within the company, how well you can communicate, and how you grow. Many organizations these days have shifted their primary focus from the former to the latter. In fact, a survey by LinkedIn says that almost 57% of organizations value soft skills more than they do hard skills.
Let us first understand how employers would define both of these skills from their perspective.
Definition Of Hard And Soft Skills
According to businesses,
Hard skills can be termed as the experience you get from the knowledge you have gained from the career and the courses you pursued and the books you read. They are basically the areas of interest any person is interested or has made a career in. The primary examples of these include chef, computer developer, content writer, etc.
And,
Soft skills can be defined as the personal values and traits you attain while growing up and mature. These traits show your abilities to work by yourself or with others in a team. Examples of these include communication, teamwork, work under pressure, time management, critical and creative thinking, etc. they are essential to building a fruitful career.
While AI may have covered the hard skills part of our jobs with the help of chatbots, software as a service tool, cloud-based payroll platform, work reporting, etc., it is impossible for machines to take away the human part of every job. Efficiency and accuracy might be a top priority while performing business activities, but active communication skills and teamwork are equally crucial in order to foster a happy work environment. Because of this very reason, employers value them over hard skills.
Importance Of Soft Skills
Given below are some of the reasons why humans won’t be entirely wiped off from the employment sector-
Quick Adaptability
The human brain is capable of adjusting and adapting itself to fight any circumstances that may come its way and provide the best results despite the challenges. Because of our ability to adapt to any situation that may fall upon us, organizations place their trust to carry out crucial activities that require critical thinking. Human evolution has taught us to be solid and flexible against all difficulties and mold our brains in such a form that it provides a solution to everything almost instantly. These are the topmost requirements to stay in the business market. It is our soft skills that teach us to be resilient and subject to change like this and emphasize us into learning new things every now and then for our good.
Bolsters Creativity
The one thing technology can’t have and take away from us is the ability to think creatively and develop creative ideas. Because we are so much used to doing our own thing and not follow everyone else’s path, it will lead us to bring to society something that has never been born before. Artificial intelligence machines and computers will search and have your feed on the same data because of its inability to think creatively, but we will be able to provide to them the best of our ideas. It is necessary for organizations to be creative, and they need humans for that (another soft skill). This is something that is impossible to find in AI and other digital tools.
Better Communication
Communication is the key to working effectively and efficiently. Whether you are working together in a team or alone, you will always rush to your superiors whenever you require answers to your doubts. Active communication in the organization will lead to work being carried out better, and to develop human interaction, you need soft skills like listening, public speaking, etc. It is necessary to talk to get things done in a company because if not, it will lead to wreaking havoc while performing everyday duties. If there is proper communication among everyone, chances are, the company is likely to earn better because employees will become productive.
Improves Productivity
Strong connections due to active communication in the organization will become the reason for the staff being productive and engaged with their work. By talking to everyone we have befriended in the organization, we are able to vent out to them and talk about our feelings openly to someone who is willing to listen. Apart from that, it also helps us solve our doubts and aids superiors in explaining better which role to give to whom. This leads to better collaboration and an increase in productivity.
Provides Room For Critical Thinking
Technology and digitalization would never have even existed in the first place if it weren’t for us humans. Its advancements, its developments, solving problems, and everything that is required to build it and make it whole requires a lot of critical thinking, another part of soft skills. Our mind is capable of thinking both creatively and critically, and even during hard times, we can find a solution to almost everything, which is unlike technology since it only feeds on already existing data and does not produce one of its own.
Strong Emotional Connections
The best thing two of your soft skills can provide you with is listening intently and conversating, both of which lead to building strong connections within the organization. Connectivity among each other is what leads us to build stronger relations, teach and learn from each other, and make them do the best they can. In simple terms, friendships will lead to motivation; something machines cannot do. Building a solid relationship with humans is something that is out of technology’s reach since it’s basically a robot and has no feelings. Besides, strong relations will help businesses reach the top and bring the best out of their staff.
Boosts Sales
Besides employee and customer retention, soft skills are required to give a push to sales as well. Since we humans are social butterflies, we can quickly gel with other humans and engage with them on a more personal level. By using this soft skill, you can also boost the sales of your company by providing after-sale services to consumers and get personal with them regarding the products they have purchased. This will increase their satisfaction to the max, which will result in them coming back to the organization all the more. Unlike machines that are taught to give the same answer for queries, we take time out to listen to their doubts and provide them with the right solution.
Betters After-Sale Services
With soft skills like connectivity, listening and speaking, etc., you are bound to enhance your company’s user experiences and increase their satisfaction. You would have your way to talk users into buying products and ask for reviews through surveys once they have used them enough. You will also be on your toes to assist them whenever required by listening to their issues and providing creative answers. Apart from experience, the most critical aspect needed to be in the customer executive department is compassion. Your ability to stay calm and offer innovative solutions to each of their problems is something that makes you an ideal employee. This is something AI cannot possibly achieve since it doesn’t have empathy and togetherness in its database.
In A Nutshell,
In this technology-centric world, many human-related jobs may be taken over by artificial intelligence. Still, at the same time, it will also create new job opportunities for us since it will constantly dwell itself into advancements and changes. And with that, the importance of skills that can only be possessed by humans will increase. Technology might have a great future, but it will make our future bright too.
