Business leaders are always looking for ways to improve productivity, increase profitability, and maintain their competitive edge in the market. The first step is hiring good managers and leaders.
Most traditional hiring focuses on technical skills. While job-specific abilities are essential to managers’ and leaders’ success, soft skills are equally important. Unfortunately, many businesses do not test soft skills during candidate recruitment and rarely address them during employee development.
Organizations need managers who can lead teams and deliver expected results on time and within budget. Unfortunately, many candidates do not have the leadership skills required for managerial positions, and few companies help employees develop them.
Although 83% of employers agree that it is important to help employees develop leadership skills, only 5% of corporations do. This often results in poor team chemistry, high turnover, and lost productivity. So, it is not surprising that roughly 70% of managers fail within the first two years of assuming a leadership role.
Experts agree that one of the best ways to strengthen leadership company-wide is to test soft skills while hiring and throughout employee development.
Hard Skills vs. Soft Skills
Candidates for leadership positions must possess the required technical abilities for a job. These job-specific hard skills can be taught or learned and are easy to evaluate. For example, candidates either have experience managing a production line or directing new product launches, or they do not.
A candidate also needs soft skills to be a good leader. Some examples of soft skills include emotional intelligence, reasoning ability, negotiating, change management, and remote working. Top organizations adopt an industry-leading assessment solution like the eSkill Talent Assessment PlatformTM to accurately evaluate candidates’ hard and soft skills.
What Soft Skills Tests Do You Need?
As an HR professional, you may wonder which soft skills will help you evaluate candidates’ leadership attributes. The following are some of the assessments we recommend to test soft skills.
Emotional Intelligence: Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand, use, and manage your emotions effectively. Leaders with high emotional intelligence are good at reading others’ emotions accurately, which helps them successfully interact with and manage diverse personalities within the workplace. They can also understand team members’ and colleagues’ emotions, which helps them respect others’ feelings when communicating with them.
Negotiation Skills: Negotiating skills are essential for managers who work on sales, business development, and contract administration teams. However, other employees also need strong negotiation skills. Good negotiators can state their views tactfully and effectively when collaborating with colleagues, customers, and vendors. They are also excellent at solving problems, resolving conflicts, and persuading everyone to chip in and do their part during group projects.
Reasoning Ability: Employees with good reasoning skills work well as part of a team and independently. They can overcome day-to-day challenges that impede productivity and help organizations navigate and overcome complex business challenges. Leaders with strong reasoning skills can analyze all possible solutions when faced with a problem and use different deductive strategies to choose the most pragmatic solution.
Change Management: Leaders are often asked to lead organizational change initiatives such as implementing a new CRM system or reorganizing a department. Such changes typically cause significant disruption. So, leaders must know how to introduce change, overcome internal resistance, address employee fears, troubleshoot problems on the fly, and make the entire process less stressful.
Remote Working: Leaders will definitely have to manage remote employees and hybrid workers. According to a 2022 Gallup survey, eight out of 10 employees are working hybrid or remotely, and only 20% work entirely on-site. An AT&T study shows that hybrid workers will grow to 81% in 2024. This means it is essential that leaders can manage people effectively regardless of where they are located and where they work.
How to Use Soft Skills Tests to Assess Leadership Abilities
To test soft skills, use pre-prepared assessments or build custom tests by selecting questions from multiple assessments and even adding your own questions. When applicants complete and submit soft skills tests, you and your hiring team can easily understand each applicant’s abilities and proficiencies and identify candidates who are best qualified for the job.
Other Uses for Soft Skills Tests
Many hiring teams recruit external candidates when they need to fill leadership roles. However, they should first look at existing employees because the ideal candidate may already work for the company. Filling leadership positions with existing staff is an excellent long-term strategy with several benefits.
Current employees understand your company culture, values, expectations, and protocols. So, they will have a shorter learning curve and be able to adapt more quickly when they assume a new role. Promoting from within also improves morale and incentivizes talented employees to stay with your company. Why would they want to work elsewhere if they see advancement opportunities at your company?
Do you want to learn how soft skills tests can help you hire and develop managers and leaders throughout your organization? Contact us to request a demo.