The Employee Skills for Every Workforce in 2021

The importance of skills in every workforce is non-negotiable.

One of the most significant features of every workplace is the workforce, and he quality of the workforce determines the quality of work, business productivity, and profitability.

11 Vital Employee Skills for Every Workforce in 2021

#1. Digital Literacy Skills

The need for digital literacy skills in every workforce is evident as the world is becoming more digitally advanced. Digital technologies have revolutionized the way we work, and as a result, businesses that lack digital skills are lagging.

To adapt and triumph in this world of increasing competition and technology revolutions, it is important that employees develop and advance in digital literacy.

Digital Literacy Skills include:

• Desktop Publishing
• Computer Appreciation
• Digital Marketing
• Graphics Design
• Electronic Presentation
• Spreadsheet Management
• Word Processing
• Mobile App Development
• Cyber Security- Certified Ethical Hacking (CEH)
• Computer Engineering
• Computer Networking
• Big Data Analytics, among others.

#2. Creativity and Innovation Skills

Creativity is the act of developing new ideas. It involves carefully analyzing a situation and coming up with better ways of doing things.

Creativity in the workplace can solve a problem, improve a system, and make things easier for better productivity.

Over the years, creativity has been a driver for success, and it remains a driver for success in the year 2021. People are frequently in search of inventions that can make their work easier and faster. Thus, more creative businesses will be more successful since they tend to be more inventive.

Creative people are:

• curious
• imaginative
• critical thinkers
• sensitive
• open to new discoveries

#3. Communication Skills

Effective communication in the workplace is an integral part of a company’s success. It can help build meaningful and productive relationships, both internally among coworkers and externally with clients.

You are a Good Communicator if you can;

• explain complex information to others
• build good relationship with others
• influence others
• pass heavy or negative messages without causing frustration
• listen well and speak confidently
• vary your communication approach with different audiences
• understand and respond to verbal and non-verbal signals of others
• avoid grammatical errors, among others.

#4. Time Management Skills

Time management has always been vital and is still crucial in achieving success in 2021.

Good Time Managers can structure their works in a way that allows them to accomplish their goals. The ability to keep to time can build trust and reliability among coworkers and clients.

You are a Good Time Manager if you can:

• plan and prioritize task
• ensure quality work even when under pressure
• stay focus and work efficiently in face of deadlines
• deliver jobs in time
• know when to delegate task, among others.

#5. Adaptability Skills

Employers value employees that are flexible and can adapt quickly and easily to changes in the workplace.

You have Adaptability Skills if you can:

• change your behavioral or method of approach when necessary to achieve a goal
• respond to change with positive attitude and willingness to learn
• rapidly learn new skills in response to changing circumstances
• manage unusual situations
• show openness to improvement, among others.

#6. Collaboration/Team Work Skills

Efficient collaboration and teamwork skills are some of the most vital skills for delivering success.

Different individuals have different skills set, hence, working in a team helps to blend complementary strengths and delivers more value especially, when a deadline is at stake. Not only does teamwork deliver more value, but it also helps to build a closer relationship between workers.

You are an Effective Team Player if you can:

• demonstrate an understanding of the personalities of others and build good relationship with them
• increase productivity in teams
• stay motivated and motivate other team members
• inspire creativity in yourself and among other team members
• be sensitive to the need of other team members and willing to help them grow, among others

#7. Problem Solving Skills

Employers value people who when faced with challenges, are able to carefully analyze the situation, try to understand the cause of the problem, think through solutions, and successfully implement them.

You are a good problem solver if you can:

• show positive attitude towards problems
• identify and research problems
• produce better results with fewer resources
• demonstrate good attention to details
• resolve conflicts at work, among others

#8. Marketing Skills

Business sales are most important to the financial growth of every organization. Hence, having competent marketing executives is vital to making business sales, increasing profitability, and organizational success.

You have Marketing Skills if you can:

• identify potential clients
• communicate your products to others effectively and influence them
• set realist sales and marketing goals and accomplish them
• negotiate effectively and overcome sales objections
• leverage the right sales tools, among others.

#9. Emotional Intelligence Skills

As long as you would need to deal with different coworkers, clients, and situations in the workplace, being emotionally intelligent is very important.

Feelings such as anger, hatred, sadness, or envy tend to get in the way of productivity. By studying the personality of coworkers and clients, you can tell what pleases them, what makes them angry, and why they react the way they do. That way, you can easily predict their reactions before they show them and know how to manage and interact with them peacefully

You are Emotionally Intelligent if you can:

• demonstrate an understanding of the personality of others
• identify, control and express your emotions and those of others.
• adapt easily to different situations and persons
• convey negative information without causing frustration
• build good relationship with others irrespective of their personalities, among others.

#10. Leadership and Management

Every workforce should include Leaders or Managers with the necessary technical, conceptual, and human skills and abilities to effectively fulfill the executive duties.

A good Leader or Manager should have the ability to ensure that all parts of the organization are functioning cohesively while avoiding and promptly solving problems as they occur.

You are a Good Leader and Manager if you can;

• make good decisions
• build a team of workers with supplementary skills strengths
• help others learn and grow while also leading by example
• delegate task responsibly among workers and motivate them to work.
• build and maintain good relationships among workers and clients
• organize and manage quality service for improved productivity, among others.

#11. Customer Service Skills

Organizations can create great products and services but may not get buyers if their employees do not know how to relate to customers effectively. Thus, customer service skills are crucial in every workforce.

 You have Customer Service Skills if you can:

• show empathy and build trusted relationships with customers
• identify and deliver standard required by customers
• receive and respond constructively to client’s feedback whether negative, positive and neutral
• pass negative messages to customers without causing frustration
• adapt your communication skills to different customers, among others.

In conclusion, whether you are looking to be gainfully employed, or currently employed and looking to improve your skills, or are an employer looking to improve your employees performance, developing the right skills is possible by investing in skills development training.

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