Employees need a wide range of skills to be effective at their jobs. In the changing times where many organizations are adapting hybrid work style, the pertinent question to ask is, “will the skills needed to succeed are changing too?”
The fact is Hybrid workplaces bring with them their own set of challenges. At a broad level, the skills employees need may remain same but when we narrow it down to the application of these skills in the Hybrid workplace, things have changed significantly. For example, communicating in the Hybrid workplace requires a different paradigm shift in how you think about communication. Similarly, our ability to manage time when working from home requires a different skill set. Employers want employees who can adapt quickly to new changes in the workplace. Employees who adapt to these changes rapidly succeed and others become redundant.
In this article, we will go through 4 must-have skills that employees must develop in 2023.
Skill #1 – Communication Skills In A Hybrid World
Communication is crucial in order to collaborate effectively with other team members and clients. It helps in building trust with colleagues and clients. The following are some of the challenges that come from hybrid work environments:
– Lack of face-to-face communication
– Misunderstandings due to lack of context
– Lack of shared understanding or common language
– No access or awareness to nonverbal cues (i.e., facial expressions)
– Lack of information about what is going on outside the office
– Difficulty in receiving feedback from co-workers and clients
Not only these but access to Social Media where employees are constantly asked to engage can bring it’s own set of challenges.
This change in the landscape requires employees to become familiar with the new tools and mindset to communicate effectively. Dynamic Writing skills and powerful speaking skills are a must in this changing workplace. Employees must focus on developing these skills.
Skill #2 – Teamwork & Collaboration
Teams are created to achieve a common goal together and faster. When individuals work together on a common goal, they need to be aware of their strengths, weaknesses, and the goal in order for them to work together effectively and efficiently. Another important aspect when teams collaborate on working together is they generate and share knowledge. Which eventually becomes team’s strength.
With Hybird workplace all these have become a challenge.
Lack of frequent, Human to Human connect has reduced trust and created more conflicts. Sometimes when new members are inducted and they are not familiar with their team. The important aspect of human connect goes missing.
Employees must get familiar with these set of challenges and learn to take initiative while working as a team. Going extra-mile to connect with others, engaging more in virtual meetings and staying proactive while certain organizational initiatives are somethings that every employer would expect from their employees. This requires a Shift in the Mindset.
In our Being An ACE Team Player we discuss the 3 important elements that makes an employee an ACE player. These are Accountability, Credibility & Staying Engaged.
Skill #3 – Time Management
A time management strategy is a way for employees to prioritize tasks and complete them effectively. It is a set of principles, or guidelines, that employees can follow to help them manage their time.
In a hybrid work environment, with many employees wanting to have more freedom over their workloads and schedules. There are wide range of challenges employees face:
– Balancing time between different roles they have
– Balancing time between work and personal life (work-life balance)
– Managing priorities among different tasks assigned to them
– Managing distractions
Some of the old concepts of time management do not hold effective in this dynamic workplace. Employees must train themselves on few things like
- mindset that focuses on productivity,
- tools to effectively manage their priorities and
- technology to leverage time
Skill #4 – Problem-Solving & Critical Thinking Ability
Problem-solving and critical thinking are two skills that are very important in the workplace. In fact it is said that highest paid jobs are the ones where you are able to solve problems effectively and also think better.
In a hybrid workplace, it is even more important because there are more opportunities to solve problems. With opportunities there are also challenges of sometimes resolving these problems independently. Hence this skill becomes much more critical.
There are countless ways to develop the skill of problem solving and critical thinking. Much before the skill, it is important that employees develop Growth Mindset and look for solutions than staying stuck in problems.
Few tools that employees can learn to develop this skill is Design Thinking, Six Thinking Hats, Critical Thinking Skills.
The above mentioned are a short list of skills that must be mastered by every employee. In addition to these, employees must also focus on upskilling themselves on latest technologies.
What are the skills that you think are critical Employees To Succeed In 2023?