As an organization, you may ask yourself: what does it mean to be a professional? Is it simply someone who has a combination of academic preparation and specialized knowledge? Or is it more than that? Beyond knowledge and competencies, professionals—no matter what discipline—need essential skills for success.
Employability skills are essential skills that help people thrive in professional settings. These may include personal values and qualities that define them as a professional and set them apart. Also known as workplace skills, these important job skills help people perform daily tasks and navigate workplace environments efficiently.
Top Key Skills That Are Important For Employment
The list of important workplace skills consists of a combination of hard or technical skills and soft or foundational skills. These combined skills are also known as hybrid skills that help employees fulfill their responsibilities.
In addition to technical skills, let’s look at the most important skills required for employment and workplace success in detail:
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Communication
One of the most important skills, communication includes verbal, non-verbal and written forms. It allows people to establish strong interpersonal relationships with internal and external stakeholders. It helps in understanding mission, vision, objectives and deadlines and getting everyone on the same page. (cakesprices.com) Communication skills include, but aren’t restricted to:
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Crafting well-structured and engaging communication to inform and influence
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Articulating the most important ideas with precision
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Understanding the core objective and tailoring messages to the audience
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Putting ideas together into a coherent narrative
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Persuading and leaving lasting impressions on people
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Management
Whether it’s managing a team or time, people with strong management skills can make quick and effective decisions. They also have the ability to organize and prioritize tasks, allowing them to meet deadlines. In teamwork, management skills allow leaders to communicate common objectives, resolve conflicts and build relationships. Therefore, there are several interrelated essential skills that make up management skills. Some other important skills are:
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Paying attention to detail
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Having empathy and listening actively
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Being punctual and prioritizing tasks
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Having a self-starter attitude
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Having the ability to establish trust and build relationships
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Leadership
Management and leadership skills have commonalities but they aren’t the same. Leadership qualities are important skills necessary for every successful professional. Whether the individual is an employee or a manager, such skills help them see the bigger picture. Leadership skills include:
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Having a growth mindset that allows people to learn and move on from mistakes
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Staying calm under pressure and being able to manage multiple responsibilities simultaneously
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Being accountable for one’s actions in addition to the team’s actions
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Ability to set goals, plan and prioritize tasks and delegate responsibilities
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Being flexible and open to diverse ideas, thoughts and perspectives
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Problem-Solving
Problem-solving skills reflect an individual’s capacity to finding solutions, despite difficulties and setbacks. Making an objective analysis and arriving at logical conclusions are the basic tenets of effective problem-solving. Some common problem-solving skills are:
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Dealing with complaints or critical feedback
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Thinking on one’s feet and making quick decisions
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Looking at multiple solutions logically before finalizing one
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Interpersonal Skills
Interpersonal skills include the ability to interact, engage and build positive and lasting relationships with people. It enables employees to work well with coworkers, managers, clients, customers, vendors and others. It’s important for professional networking and managing career growth. Different types of interpersonal skills are:
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Perceptiveness and emotional intelligence
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Self-awareness and self-management
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Stress management and enforcing boundaries
In short, these important skills not only help employees get the job done but bring more to the workplace by going beyond their job description. It makes them well-rounded professionals.
Develop The Most Important Skill
From the list of essential workplace skills, it’s clear that communication is at the heart of everything. Whether it’s managing a team or building relationships outside of work, an employee needs to be a compelling communicator. If you want your employees to communicate with impact, try Harappa’s Compelling Communication Program. It’s a rich, blended and integrated online-first learning journey that delivers transformative behaviors. Well-designed learning solutions will help your workplace shine and demonstrate immediate change. Raise the bar at work with Harappa!
Explore Harappa Diaries to learn more about topics such as What Are Soft Skills, Best Soft Skills For Resume and Difference Between Soft Skills And Hard Skills that will help organizations tap into their employee's potential.