The top soft skills employees need right now

Written by

Hayley Hawthorne, Ph.D.

The top three soft skills needed right now are: adaptability, communication, and collaboration.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, good communication increased connections, reduced uncertainty, improved safety, and opened the door to opportunities—serving as a powerful, and mandatory, tool for individuals, teams, and organizations.

This is likely partially why, in a 2020 study conducted amongst Learning & Development professionals (full report to be published December 2020), Duarte found that 68% of professionals said that communication skills were more important since the pandemic started.

Our research found that a variety of soft skills were rated as very important to the daily performance of organizations, including: virtual communication skills, and listening and empathetic communication. We also found that many of the same soft skills those in data roles need are also important to the daily performance of organizations, including: using various communication channels effectively, and storytelling.

The survey results make clear that both individuals and organizations must level-up to meet the soft skill needs that accompany current and future workplace challenges and digital transformations.

Explore the infographic below to learn more about which soft skills are important right now, and keep a lookout for the complete report coming soon.

Infographic and header image created by Aisling Doyle