Measuring Soft Skills: Strategies for Workplace Assessment
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In today's rapidly evolving job market, the focus has shifted from traditional hard skills and resumes to a skills-first mindset.
These coveted traits and competencies, deeply rooted in personality, influence how people manage their personal and professional lives. Unlike hard skills, which are about specific learned knowledge or technical skills like programming or language skills, soft skills reside in the abstract realm of human behavior. But why should we care about them in recruiting? And are there benefits to measuring them?
What are soft skills?
Soft skills are any competencies or characteristics that can be classified as personality traits or qualities. These behaviors not only influence how you interact with yourself and others but also play a crucial role in effective document management. They define your approach to tasks, communication, and collaboration, impacting overall workplace efficiency and success.
Unlike hard skills, where acquired knowledge dominates (e.g. programming or language skills), soft skills are therefore more abstract and difficult to define, as they belong to personality traits and social characteristics. For more information, see our What are soft skills page.
Why do we measure soft skills?
Numerous studies now show that the job market of the future will be dominated by so-called "soft skill-intensive jobs", i.e. jobs that require the employee to have the right personal characteristics and competencies. A recent survey by Deloitte found that 63% of all jobs that require human labor will be based on soft skills in the next 10 years.
By measuring soft skills, we get a better measure of the candidate's behavioral characteristics. These are difficult to assess in an interview, unlike aspects such as education and experience. But they are at least as important, if not more important, to ensure a match.
By using soft skills in recruitment and development processes, companies can achieve more success at work. Ensuring that each position is filled with people who bring the desired traits to the role, as well as the team and company culture, results in higher job performance and greater job satisfaction for employees.
Our scientifically designed model promotes effective hiring decisions, improved job performance, employee motivation and contributes to greater company success across the board.
1.For Matching
Focusing on the traits and skills that correlate with success in a specific role, industry or organization.
2.For Selection
Objectively comparing final candidates and highlighting potential blind spots or obstacles.
3.For Interviewing
Make better hiring decisions through structured, strategic interviews and knowing which areas to focus on.
4.For Onboarding
Get the most out of your new employees by leveraging their strengths and preferences so they can hit the ground running. Our Onboarding Report is specifically designed to help in this regard.
5.For development
Develop your team members and company leaders. Understand what "good" looks like, who you're hiring, who is likely to become your top performers, and discover potential future leaders.
How do you measure soft skills?
We measure soft skills using industry-leading psychometric tests in the form of personality questionnaires, cognitive ability tests, and situational judgment tests. Using IceHrm's assessment platform, we help recruiters uncover your candidate's strengths and motivators.
This measurable, objective data gives us a better overall picture of the candidate's suitability for the role in question. Combined with a structured interview, we get an overall assessment of the candidate and can more easily ensure a good fit with the company.
What is a skills match?
A skills match is evidence that the candidate has the right qualities to fit well into their role in your company. This means that we ensure that the candidate's personal strengths and motivations match both the company culture and the requirements of the role. Soft skills matching helps identify the most suitable candidates and shortens the selection process.
Would you like to learn more about soft skills and how you can integrate them into your recruitment and development processes? Send us a message using the form below and a member of the team will be happy to answer any questions you may have.
Measuring soft skills is pivotal in today's job market for aligning candidates with roles and company culture. IceHrm's assessment tools ensure informed hiring decisions and foster workplace success through tailored talent management solutions.
