With a recent study revealing employers are placing less emphasis on formal qualifications; Kerry White talks to People Management about how HR can prioritise transferable skills when hiring.

While soft skills – as opposed to hard skills, which present themselves in the form of qualifications – have always been around, their recognition gained momentum during the pandemic as leaders, managers and HR were required almost overnight to improve their soft skills, such as communication, teamwork, problem-solving, resilience, stress management and adaptability. And now, in a post-pandemic world, soft skills are seemingly a necessity.

A recent study by Indeed found that 87 per cent of employers favour a positive work attitude over qualifications, and value soft-skill qualities, such as a candidate’s passion, work ethic and willingness to learn.

It also showed that three-quarters (74 per cent) of businesses are less interested in university degrees than a decade ago, with 81 per cent opting to train up their new starters if they display the ‘attitudes they want’ – in short if they have the desired soft and/or transferable skills.

Kerry White, Associate Director at Macmillan Davies, says soft skills are “paramount” in a candidate-driven market. “To me, experience and knowledge can be developed to grow within the business, but, as many people say, sometimes you don't hire for skills, you hire for attitude and personal traits,” she says.

And this growing emphasis on soft skills is evidenced by global training programmes and scholarships from big-name companies including The Open University, LinkedIn Learning, Banco Santander and Esade, which developed a programme it claims will “enhance crucial soft skills”.

Simon Roderick, managing director of Fram Search, points out that Santander is one of the most high-profile firms to prioritise soft skills of late, and he expects “others will follow” as recruitment will inevitably deviate from the “well-known path” of only asking for graduate applicants.

Meanwhile, Javier Roglá, global director of Santander Universities, says soft skills have become an “essential hiring requirement” in a competitive market, and that the scholarships will “enhance skills like leadership, negotiation and creativity” while boosting employability.

So, if more businesses are placing soft skills centre stage, should HR be looking out for them in the recruitment process, and what would be the benefits of doing so?

Be transparent about what skills you want

If HR professionals and employers want to go down the soft skills route, they first need to pinpoint what skills they want, and communicate that clearly in the job advert.

Martin Drake, chief executive of Higher People, says that explaining what the essential soft skills are and “being transparent about what is involved in the job, good and bad, and which soft skills lend themselves better to these activities”, is key.

“For example, highlighting that a friendly, outgoing and chatty demeanour is vital for a contact centre customer service role should help deter those who don't enjoy or are less comfortable with talking to strangers,” he says, adding that “one option is to use [psychometric] personality tests as part of the selection process”.

Balance hard and soft skills equally

A survey from the Institute of Student Employers and Handshake last year revealed that 44 per cent of businesses viewed soft skills, such as working with others, professionalism, punctuality and managing deadlines as key. But the same survey found that half (47 per cent) planned to increase their graduate hires in 2023 – highlighting that a balance between hard and soft skills is important.

This aligns with Kerry’s views, as she advises employers to “not forget” about hard skills as they “do have to be there”, but she suggests that job descriptions should emphasise the soft skills and take out phrases such as “degree qualified”.

She also suggests educating hiring managers on soft skills. “Teach them why soft skills are important, and get them to think about what attributes they should or shouldn’t be looking for – you could go as far as taking off any education from CVs and do blind recruitment,” she says.

While there are some exceptions for hard skills-based jobs such as lawyers, doctors and engineers, White points out that a soft skills-centred approach is generally applicable because “to progress in any role, you also need soft skills such as problem solving, empathy and communication to be able to succeed”.

Consider the impact on social mobility and diversity

In the economic downturn, social mobility and EDI are more important than ever, and employers must widen the net to stay ahead of the curve. With this in mind, Roderick says businesses that limit themselves to a graduate talent pool may exclude great people, and urges firms to “adapt their hiring processes”.

Meanwhile, Dr Jummy Okoya, senior lecturer in organisational behaviour and HRM at the University of East London, says hiring for potential over experience can help contribute to social mobility. “Acknowledging the soft skills that applicants bring who may not have the required level of experience can create the development opportunity for the individual and contribute to social mobility,” says Okoya.

A report from the Social Mobility Commission in 2019 found “strong evidence” that demand exists for soft skills in the UK labour market. The report, Extra-curricular activities, soft skills and social mobility, which included analysis of Survey of Adult Skills data, found a correlation between soft skills and intergenerational social mobility. It says that the research found a “correlation between higher levels of soft skills – readiness to learn, problem solving and planning skills – and upward social mobility defined as having higher educational achievement than parents”.

In this respect, Marie Cloherty, executive director sustainable business at Acre, confirms that person-centric job advertising, which speaks to the individual and their adaptive skills, as well as essential technical skills, “helps encourage greater curiosity from diverse people” because, for instance, “many minority groups tend to be more unsure of engaging with certain jobs”.

Explaining that her company recently welcomed speakers from the LGBTQ community, “who advised us that their communities are more likely to apply for a public sector or charity role than a corporate role for fear of not being accepted”, Cloherty urges: “We all need to do more to let all people from all walks of life feel they can express interest and hit the apply button.”

Written by Yoana Cholteeva on 30 January 2023

The article first appeared in People Management - click here to see the original article