Companies in the U.S. spent $87.6 billion on training in 2018 and a fair amount of that was wasted, according to Forbes1. By emphasizing specific soft skills in your corporate training program, you can optimize your training investment and significantly improve your return on investment.
Many corporate training programs are rich in technical skills. However, employees need more than just hard skills to do their job confidently, fully contribute to a company, obtain a promotion, and reach career goals. They also need in-demand soft skills training. In fact, “57 percent of leaders say soft skills are more important than hard skills,” per LinkedIn2.
3 Skills to Include In Your Corporate Training
Program in 2020
1. Emotional intelligence
Emotional intelligence is defined by CNBC as, “practicing control, expression, and observation of interpersonal relationships among people in a workplace3.” Emotional intelligence, or EQ, is critical to today’s employee because it increases empathy and internal motivation, both of which help workers reach their career goals and make meaningful contributions to a company. Also, emotionally intelligent workers often report higher rates of job satisfaction and perform better than their peers with low EQ, per Positive Psychology4.
To strengthen the EQ of your employees, ask targeted questions that promote emotional intelligence during any training course your corporate training program includes. For example, simply asking learners how a specific scenario presented in training makes them feel, or how others in the scenario likely feel, can build self-awareness and emotional intelligence. These questions can be programmed to randomly pop up on a learner’s screen at designated points in the online course.
2. Leadership
Growing companies must offer leadership skills training to staff members. When employees are skilled in leadership, they can more readily assume leadership roles and are easier for the company to promote from within. This is because leadership skills training enables workers to effectively develop, inspire, and manage people.
Leadership skills can be taught to both new hires as well as seasoned employees. Impart leadership skills to workers by making job rotation a key aspect of your current corporate training program. “The point is to challenge, push, and stretch their skill level,” stated a contributor to Inc5. “Put them in unfamiliar roles, give them new responsibilities so they get exposure to new skills, and expand their expertise.”
3. Culture awareness
According to CNBC, culture awareness is the “ability to effectively interact, work and develop meaningful relationships with those of various cultural backgrounds within the organization6.” Since workplaces are becoming more and more diverse, this is becoming one of the most valuable skills an employee can master.
Ensure your employees are culturally aware by adding a cross-cultural online course to your corporate training program. The course should fit into any online learning path. Consider asking select employees of different cultures to join your company’s L&D team in creating the course.
Related Reading: Increase Your eLearning ROI with Soft Skills Training
Help Your Employee Make the Most of the
Soft Skills Offered in Training
It’s not enough to simply include soft skills in your corporate training program. You also must help learners make the most of the training. Administrators should explain to employees how the courses will help them develop new skills. Coaching or role-playing scenarios can help less experienced employees connect training and real-life applications.
Ineffective training can cost a business $13.5 million per year per 1000 employees, according to eLearningIndustry.com7. By teaching soft skills such as culture awareness, leadership, and emotional intelligence, you can ensure your corporate training program is effective and helpful to learners.
Interested in promoting soft skills within your organization? Read our blog post, “3 Ways to Deliver Soft Skills Training with a Learning Management System” or contact TOPYX to request a personalized LMS demo
References:
1. https://www.forbes.com/sites/danpontefract/2019/09/15/the-wasted-dollars-of-corporate-training-programs/#e546fc171f93
2. https://learning.linkedin.com/blog/top-skills/the-skills-companies-need-most-in-2018--and-the-courses-to-get-t
3. https://www.cnbc.com/2019/11/21/10-top-soft-skills-to-master-for-2020-if-you-want-a-raise-promotion-or-new-job.html
4. https://positivepsychology.com/emotional-intelligence-workplace/
5. https://www.inc.com/marcel-schwantes/first-90-days-how-to-teach-your-employees-to-be-good-leaders.html
6. https://www.cnbc.com/2019/11/21/10-top-soft-skills-to-master-for-2020-if-you-want-a-raise-promotion-or-new-job.html
7. https://elearningindustry.com/5-facts-about-corporate-training-hard-believe
