Can you compare today’s workplace with the one of your parents or grandparents? It’s utterly different. Employees across industries use much more technology today. There’s a clear need for enhanced technical skills. If we focus on the future, that need is going to be enhanced even further.
The soft skills in the workplace remain more or less the same. Employers expect their workers to have communication skills, empathy, emotional intelligence, and adaptability skills. But even there, we’ll see some changes.
What are the precise skills for success in the workplace of the future? Let’s see.
Most Important Skills for Success for Tomorrow’s Workplace
1. Presentation Skills
This is one of those soft skills in the workplace that aren’t specifically requested during the hiring process. Recruiters are focused on talent and technical skills, so they usually don’t ask the job applicants to prepare a presentation for a real audience.
There’s no time for such tests. But when the applicant gets hired, they will get in a situation to present something, sooner or later.
The workplace of the future is driven by creativity. Innovation processes are no longer limited to management; they are being delegated down to the usual employee.
To prepare for such an environment, you should know how to prepare attractive presentations in PowerPoint and other tools.
It’s also useful to learn how to take screenshot on Mac, so you can show how a particular app works for its users. Practical presentations are way better than plain talk.
2. Persuasion
Have you ever wondered why your college professors kept pushing you to write useless papers? It’s for one reason only: they’ve walked the path and they know that writing skills aren’t useless.
In the workplace of tomorrow, persuasive writing is one of the essential skills for success.
When you present a new idea in front of the management team, you have to persuade them it’s worth their attention. If you contact a lead via email, you’ll have to write clear arguments why your offer affects their life in a positive way.
Your negotiation mastery reflects your motivation in the workplace. It shows that when you’re committed to success, you’re not ready to give up and you continue searching for clear arguments that prove a point.
3. Perpetual Learning
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation identifies perpetual learning as one of the essential soft skills in the workplace of the future.
Even today, all individuals within an organization are expected to collaborate and learn together, so that they can grow and contribute towards the brand’s success.
- What does this mean for an employee, exactly?
- How will this skill be measured?
It’s all about your commitment to life-long learning through industry conferences, seminars, and online courses.
The boundary between education and work is blurred. Previous generations used to complete their education and then went to work. Today, the education continues after graduation. From one project to another, the employees are required to learn new things.
4. Emotional Labor
The motivation in the workplace is getting more important by the day. Anyone can prepare presentations, answer emails, and complete tasks with the technical skills required for the position.
Such workers can be easily replaced by any other candidate. As a matter of fact, the importance of technical skills is fading away with the increased processes of automation across industries.
It’s the emotional labor that counts.
In his popular book “Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?”, Seth Godin defines emotional labor as work you do not with your body, but with your feelings.
- It’s the kind approach and genuine smile of a customer service representative.
- It’s the leader’s self-awareness that enables them to accept criticism with grace.
- An employee’s persistence is to keep working on a project even when others give up.
- It’s the overall motivation in the workplace, which is not specifically related to the paycheck.
That’s what makes an employee irreplaceable and indispensable in the future.
5. Data Analytics
We keep talking about the soft skills for success, but what happens with the actual know-how?
Out of all technical skills for the future, data analytics is crucial. It’s a universal skill that all industries impose.
With the growing implementation of data-based marketing campaigns and blockchain technology across departments, your ability to read and understand big data will get you far in your career journey.
- How do creative teams develop new products and services?
- They analyze all data they get from their current sales, and they pay attention to competitive data as well.
- How does a manager improve their approach to the team?
- They collect and analyze data through surveys and employee evaluation techniques.
- How does a customer service representative get better?
They understand data from the purchasing history of an individual customer and they compare it to the overall experience with the target audience.
Data is everywhere.
Do You Have the Needed Skills for Success?
If we compare the standards for future workplaces with the ones we face today, we’ll notice they have something in common: all skills can be mastered.
No employer asks for skills you’re born with. If you make an effort, you can develop presentation, data analytics, continuous learning, and persuasion skills. You can also become more emotionally involved in what you do.
A worker’s motivation in the workplace remains the main factor for their success. If you want to become the number one employee that headhunters compete for, you have to prove you’re motivated and you have all other skills that guarantee you’ll handle the job well.
About the Author
James Dorian is a technical copywriter. He is a tech geek who knows a lot about modern apps that will make your work more productive. James reads tons of online blogs on technology, business, and ways to become a real pro in our modern world of innovations.
