There are four useful strategies to plan your staff’s soft skill training as part of their professional development, according to corporate training professional Anita Kropacsy of Corporate Challenge Events.

Soft skills are often referred to as people skills which can include leadership, behaviour, communication and teamwork.

Kropcasy said the soft skill training of staff is vital today for any organisation.

“For the organisation, soft skill training is important to remain viable in a competitive marketplace, adapt to changes in its environment and maximise team performance and culture.

“For the individual, soft skill training provides an acknowledgment of their importance in the organisation, a pathway for growth and motivation to stay with the company.”

Here are Kropacsy’s four strategies for companies to identify their soft skill training requirements:

1. Conduct a situational analysis

“A situational analysis will help identify areas in the business that require training and development. It will put the spotlight on the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats and gaps in your team. It will help you realise or forecast change in the business environment and any timeframes you should consider. Then you can consider what skills are required, not required or need improving for your team to reach the desired level of performance.”

2. Conduct 360 degree assessments

“These will help provide an objective assessment of each staff member’s strengths, weaknesses and performance. A 360-degree assessment is a process that enables self reflection by the staff member and assessment by their manager, peers and even customers if required. This type of assessment is more accurate and validating than just feedback from the manager.”

3. Compile behavioural profiles

“Behavioural profiling will provide you with greater understanding of your staff, how they work together, how they can work more effectively together and what else you may need in the team. One of the best models used today for behavioural profiling is Belbin. A Belbin workshop will identify how various behavioural styles are represented in an individual and where the strengths and gaps of your team lie. This will help identify the soft skills that are lacking and required in both an individual and also the team.”

4. Set a training path for each staff

“With an objective assessment of your staff and understanding of your organisation’s soft skill needs, you can sit down and map out a training path with each individual staff member and each team. Like any good plan, it should come complete with goals that are specific, measurable, acceptable, realistic and time-bound. Plotting out the training requirements for each individual will also identify what training can be achieved in groups, by coaching or by team building. This will help create efficiencies and keep everyone accountable along the way.”

Corporate Challenge Events is a specialist in corporate training, conference planning, team building activities and corporate events from Perth to Brisbane in Australia and Auckland in New Zealand.

Visit www.corporatechallenge.com.au or www.corpchallenge.co.nz

ENDS

For further information contact:

Corporate Challenge Events
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 0800 832 669
P.O. Box 11846, Ellerslie, Auckland 1542
www.corpchallenge.co.nz