Please look over the following questions: Are you able to refuse unreasonable requests from friends or colleagues? If your meal in a restaurant is unsatisfactory, do you tell the waitress or just make the best of it? Are you likely to express your opinion if it differs from that of the people you are talking with? Are you quick to apologize even when you’re not at fault? If someone is disturbing you during a quiet time, do you ask them […]
Category Archives: Soft skills
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The opportunity in customer complaints
The way to satisfy customers is to meet their expectations and treat them well. However, no organization can achieve 100% customer satisfaction. There will always be some customer dissatisfaction due to a variety of reasons. Hence, it is inevitable that any organization that has customers will get complaints. But are there many dissatisfied customers who complain? Unfortunately, no. Many dissatisfied customers do not complain. And if a customer does not complain and has an issue that is not resolved, they […]
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Career advancement: The inadequacy of hard skills
To get and keep a job, you typically need hard skills. For example, Dentists need to know how to fill cavities, Computer Programmers need to be able to write functional codes, and Accountants need to be certified. However, beyond the hard skills, which dentist do you go to? The one who is pleasant and takes time to answer your questions; or the one who treats you like a number in a long line of numbered mouths? Which programmer do you retain when the […]
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The role of supervisors in employee engagement
Employee engagement is the extent to which employees feel passionate about their jobs, are committed to the organization, and put discretionary effort into their work. Employee engagement does not mean employee happiness. Someone might be happy at work, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they are working hard, productively on behalf of the organization. While company outings, TGIF, and end-of-year parties are fun–and may be beneficial for other reasons–making employees happy is different from making them engaged. Also, employee engagement does […]
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Why Online Learning is a viable alternative to Classroom Learning
About 16 years ago, online learning was in its infancy, whereas being taught in a classroom in a systematic form has been around for hundreds of years. Little wonder that it’s not been easy to translate the pedagogical methods used in the classroom into those adopted in online learning. Yet there is evidence that suggests both methodologies can deliver comparable learning outcomes (notwithstanding that both methodologies can be subject to poor implementation and delivery). A number of things are different […]
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3 major signs of soft skills gap in your organization
Soft skills, also known as people skills, are the skills you use to interact with others at work. They make up who you are, generally encompassing your attitudes, habits and how you interact with other people. Examples are communication skills, interpersonal skills, business etiquette, etc. In contrast, hard or technical skills mean subject matter expertise like computer programming, accounting, financial analysis, or chemical engineering. Hard skills are generally easily quantifiable and measurable but not as transferable as soft skills. Both […]