Which people skills do our employees need most?
The people skills your employees need most are the ones missing in specific situations that affect your work, so start by describing those situations. Ask supervisors and employees where things go wrong: problems reported too late, handoffs that leave out important information, disagreements between coworkers that go unresolved, customers who leave frustrated, or deadlines missed because work wasn't planned. Their answers will tell you more about what to build than a general list of skills can.
Skills and the situations where they show up
- Communication. Reporting a problem, asking for help, explaining a decision, or handing off work to the next person or shift.
- Time management. Planning a shift or a week, and setting priorities when several tasks feel urgent at once.
- Adaptability. Adjusting when a process, schedule, or piece of equipment changes.
- Resilience. Recovering from a mistake or a difficult day and continuing to do good work.
- Conflict resolution. Working through a disagreement with a coworker or supervisor before it affects the team.
These are examples. Your list should come from what your own employees and supervisors describe, and different groups (newer employees, experienced employees, or people who have just become team leads) may need different things.
How are people skills built?
People skills are built through practice in realistic situations, feedback on how it went, and support for using them back on the job, repeated over time. Telling employees that communication matters, or describing what good conflict resolution looks like, is a useful start, but practicing a real situation and reflecting on how it went is what builds the skill.
In practice, that can mean short sessions built around examples from your own workplace, rehearsing a difficult conversation and then discussing it, pairing employees with a coworker or mentor who handles those situations well, and asking supervisors to give feedback when they see the skill used. People are more likely to try a new approach, and to keep at it, when they believe they can do what's required, so give employees chances to practice before the stakes are high.
Training is one part of this, and it works best when employees find it relevant. Why do employees roll their eyes at our training programs? covers what makes training worth people's time. If you want employees to earn a recognized credential through a college or training partner, We want to upskill our people through a college or training partner. How does that work? covers that route.
What if the problem isn't a skills gap?
If the problem isn't a skills gap, training alone won't solve it, so look at what happens when employees do use the skills you're hoping for. An employee who reports a problem and is ignored, or who raises a concern and is blamed for it, learns that speaking up isn't worth the risk. Unclear expectations, a supervisor who is too stretched to listen, or a schedule that leaves no time for a proper handoff can all look like a people-skills problem from the outside.
How people interpret their experiences, how they're treated, and whether they feel valued and capable all shape whether they use these skills. Ask employees what makes it difficult to raise problems, ask for help, or work through disagreements. Then listen for whether their answers describe a skill they haven't developed or a workplace that makes the skill hard to use. Often it's some of both. Individual employees can build stronger skills, and the organization, its leaders, and its supervisors are responsible for creating conditions where those skills can be used. How do I find out what my employees actually need? covers how to ask in a way that gets candid answers.
The Grantibly perspective
Angelika's perspective
As sociologists and educators, we look beyond the numbers to understand the social, cultural, and relational systems that drive employee success. That means paying attention to both the individual and the organization. People can develop healthier mindsets, resilience, and ways of working, but that alone isn't enough. Organizations, leaders, and supervisors also have a responsibility to create conditions that support those things.
Skills like these develop through practice. Telling people that communication or resilience matters is useful, but helping them work through a real situation, make a decision, and reflect on how it went gives them practice. Support shouldn't mean rescue, either. People build these skills by handling real situations themselves, with someone available to help.
