To excel in their jobs, employees need the right blend of skills. While managers might assume employees would prioritize the technical skills required for their specific roles, Lattice data shows that’s not the case.
Instead, employees are focusing their attention on soft skills, with three skills leading the pack. And for companies looking to future-proof their businesses, that’s good news — because soft skills are often a hallmark of the kinds of high-performing teams responsible for driving business success.
Here’s more about which soft skills employees are pursuing and why these skills matter so much. Below, we’ll also discuss why employee growth is good for business and how to create an upskilling strategy that empowers employees to perform their best.
Top 3 Soft Skills and Why They Matter
Lattice powers the world’s best companies — which means we’ve got access to data from over one million users. Anonymized Lattice user data reveals the top three growth areas employees are pursuing are:
- Communication
- Problem-solving
- Leadership
Let’s take a closer look at why these skills matter — alongside some expert insight into what these skills can look like in practice and how to promote them at your organization.
Communication
Communication is the cornerstone of any team, and leaders know it. That’s why, in 2023, this was the most frequently occurring growth area competency across all sizes of Lattice customers, as well as across almost all industries.
High-performing employees take communication to the next level, allowing them to collaborate, innovate, and work as team players. Those abilities aren’t just apparent during easy, in-person conversations, but they’re also evident for distributed asynchronous teams and during challenging times.
Another feature of the kind of communication seen in teams that get stuff done is that it’s not just a one-way street. Two-way communication involves allowing everyone to share information, which leads to stronger teams, better ideas, and improved team and employee performance.
What does excellent communication look like?
“Good communication is clear, concise, and empathetic,” explained Lucas Botzen, CEO at Rivermate. “It requires active listening, and at the same time, a person can put forth their ideas in such a way that both parties understand.”
In an age of hybrid and remote work, it’s also crucial that this proficiency spans multiple channels and tools, said Stephen Greet, CEO and cofounder of BeamJobs. “This includes written mediums like email and reports as well as verbal contexts such as presentations, meetings, and one-on-one discussions.”
Problem-Solving
Workplace problems come in all shapes and sizes, like an unforeseen technical glitch or friction between contributors. Top performers use their adaptability and their capacity to combine analytical, creative, and strategic thinking to solve all sorts of problems.
Different employees will often have unique approaches to solving the same problem. But many high-performing individuals collaborate with other team members to find the right solution. With strong communication, teamwork and problem-solving go hand-in-hand.
What do excellent problem-solving skills look like?
HR consultant Jessica Hart said that the best problem-solvers can recognize and address conflicts in people and processes. “They lead with options, not dictations, and engage others through change management with buy-in. It's about solving the problem, not being tied to a specific solution or method.”
Greet added that top performers also can anticipate potential challenges and mitigate risks. “They proactively identify issues and implement creative solutions to avoid hurdles.” He suggested that their strong analytical skills allow them to get to the root cause of problems.
Leadership
Managers have a huge influence on the engagement and performance of their teams, so it’s no surprise that the leadership skill set is highly sought after. One hallmark of an effective leader is their ability to cultivate trust in their teams: Employees who strongly agree they trust their organization’s leadership are four times as likely to be engaged at work, according to Gallup.
Good managers are self-motivated and confident in their own abilities but give their teams the freedom to work with autonomy. Leaders also need to be compassionate and flexible, especially when working with new teams. Anonymized Lattice user data shows that the average number of employees who have to adapt to manager changes has doubled since 2020, increasing the risk of burnout and change fatigue as some employees struggle to adjust.
Managers are also under pressure and leading larger teams, with the average number of direct reports increasing from 4.3 in 2020 to 5.1 in 2023. Giving managers the tools they need to lead can help streamline admin tasks and free up time for connection and interaction.
Empowering high achievers to develop their own leadership skills can also help with succession planning and retention, as they prepare to move up the career ladder and manage teams of their own.
What does excellent leadership look like?
“Good leaders earn team buy-in and trust through consistent actions,” Hart explained. “Whether that’s being punctual, adhering to procedures, or even small acts like cleaning the coffee pot in the break room.”
She added that they’re also aware of their influence on their teams — and they're more than their title. Strong leaders earn respect and trust rather than relying on status. Hart said, “They build respect by leading their own experience in a way others admire.”
Sharon Rose Hayward, career coach and author of Winning at Work: A Practical Guide to Career Success, suggested that good leaders “model respect, collaboration, open communication, and work excellence.”
Effective leaders are also committed to continuous learning and development, said Greet. “They seek out opportunities for personal and professional growth to strengthen their capabilities.”
The Link Between Employee Growth and Organizational Success
Soft skills aren’t just great for employees — they’re also foundational for the success of an organization as a whole. And that’s why they’re so important.
Without key skills like communication, problem-solving, and leadership, employees and managers can swiftly become frustrated. Leave these frustrations unresolved, and this kind of chronic workplace stress can lead to burnout. Employees also want to refine their skills and develop their careers.
If you don’t offer these development opportunities and support employee growth, this can lead to disengagement. At this point, some employees will become “quiet quitters,” watch the clock, and put in the minimum effort. Others will look to move to another organization that’s more committed to supporting their growth. Then, you’re left with the cost of finding a replacement.
Instead, investing in employee growth and development shows top talent that you’re committed to their future, which can boost engagement. And it’s well known that engaged, thriving employees perform better, which in turn drives the performance and profitability of organizations as a whole.
4 Ways to Promote Upskilling
It’s unrealistic to expect all employees to have the perfect combination of skills — but the right upskilling strategy can help average performers become your best employees.
Upskilling helps employees develop a growth mindset, plus work on the skills they need to excel. Creating an upskilling strategy is one of the best ways to facilitate this process, but it needs to be flexible.
“Your business and staff are unique, which is why a customizable approach is essential,” said George Sik, PhD, psychologist and director of workplace assessments at eras Ltd. “Whether you are looking to identify those individuals with management potential or you want to build the interpersonal skills of a team, your strategy has to adapt with each individual.”
Here’s what that process can look like in practice.
1. Assess existing skills.
You can’t improve what you can’t see. Hart recommended using a simple matrix approach to assess specific skills. “Employees rate themselves on a scale of 1 to 5 in each skill area, and managers do the same for their employees,” she said. “This self-assessment helps gauge self-awareness and identify overlaps or discrepancies. It can also be expanded to team calibrations for additional feedback, revealing unseen strengths or areas for improvement.”
Observing specific situations can also help during the hiring process. “Roleplaying in group exercises can demonstrate how someone interacts in communication and problem-solving. Putting up difficult problems and assessing the answers can show one's analytical skills,” said Greet.
2. Make time for personal and professional development.
Identifying an employee’s existing skills and where they might have room for improvement is great, but it’s also essential to give employees the time they need to work on their development.
Sik noted that this personal development time can give people the opportunity they need to focus on bettering themselves and improving their skills. “This can really help individuals and teams thrive in unexpected ways.”
He added that there’s another advantage too: “It also ensures your company culture is one focused on nurturing individuals and creating a supportive environment for talent to thrive.”
3. Schedule regular growth conversations.
As employees work on developing and refining their soft skills, they’ll want to know if they’re heading in the right direction. But Lattice research shows that 85% of employees aren’t offered regular career growth conversations, leaving them in the dark about where they’re going.
Individual development plans (IDPs) are one way of shining a light on growth and empowering employee success. Effective IDPs typically include an employee’s:
- Strengths
- Development opportunities
- Long-term career vision
- Short-term career plan
- Growth areas
Performance reviews can also provide the kind of clarity and recognition that are hallmarks of high-performing teams according to our 2024 State of People Strategy Report. That’s one reason why performance management is becoming such a high priority for HR: The same report found that 48% of HR teams that are exceeding their set goals are using some kind of performance management software to track relevant metrics.
4. Create clearly defined career tracks.
Career tracks and growth paths can help boost engagement and retention by showing high-potential employees what their progression at your organization could look like. This is also a hallmark of high-performing HR teams. In our 2023 State of People Strategy Report, only 19% of low-performing HR teams reported having clear employee growth paths, compared to 58% of high-performing teams.
Proactively preparing top-performing employees for leadership roles can also help support succession planning. “It can be extremely jarring for other leaders and employees when current leaders transition into new opportunities without a successor in place. Leadership coaching ensures a smooth transition by developing those future leaders early on, providing much-needed stability,” said Sik.
Cultivating the Skills Needed to Succeed
When it comes to employee development and growth, the right HR tools can make all the difference. Lattice Grow is designed to identify skills gaps, facilitate meaningful conversations, and inspire development.
Request a demo and empower your employees to take charge of their career growth.
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