How we communicate at work and how we simply ‘get on’ and work together matters a lot. Every business needs to establish a skill and talent strategy for their organisation that permeates the business, whether it is a large corporate, an SME, or a government department.
This means anticipating what skills are needed, not only now, but in the future as well. Employers have a duty to ensure their staff are skilled and re-skilled where relevant and necessary. We know that soft skills are absolutely crucial in a business environment, but does the phrase mean the same thing in 2016 as it did twenty, or even ten, years ago?
We tell the next generation that they must learn how to communicate with us, on our terms, or they will simply not be successful. The fact, however, is that young people communicate with each other far more regularly than any generation before them.
Digital communication apps such as Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and Snapchat carried in excess of 50 billion messages per day globally in 2014. Those of us who have been around a little longer might not like it, but digital communication is here to stay, and in a very big way.
Parents complain of children sitting in isolation in their bedrooms playing computer games, not speaking to another soul for days.
But do we stop to consider the fact that a majority of these computer games are interactive, linking players to millions of others around the world in a 24-hour virtual collaboration.
In 2013, Association of Certified Chartered Accountants (ACCA) rolled out Microsoft Lync, a virtual communication platform designed to ensure that the staff working in 61 offices around the globe could speak to each other, share content and most importantly, work collaboratively despite being thousands of miles apart. Sounds familiar?
Of course, face-to-face communication is vital, and young people need to learn how to excel in that area; it’s essential for creating good business relationships. But we need to strike a balance between the best of the old and embracing the new. Employers need to keep up to date with the skills revolution, and make sure they understand what communication really means in 2016. After all, these young people aren’t just our employees of the future. They are our customer base, too.
Recently, ACCA asked a number of finance and accounting recruitment consultants what the hot skills of 2015 are. The clear message for the already employed, and for those seeking work, is that being an all-rounder is vital.
Their predictions are practical and insightful. Tellingly, blending technological expertise with fluency in data analytics, and the communication skills to be able to explain these valuable insights into actions, came up time and again.
This is because technology and communication in the modern world are increasingly coming to mean one and the same thing. Just look at the rise of the digital technology sector in this country over the recent years. We have a young, vibrant industry based on a complex blend of virtual and personal communication with a grounding in collaborative working. In short, this perfect blend is part of the future of our business landscape.
Those seeking employment in accounting or finance, or looking for a promotion, need to tick a lot of boxes. Employability means being commercially astute, consultative and communicative, tech-savvy, possessing great interpersonal skills, strong analytical talents — all topped off with an engaging personality.
It’s clear that an accountant in 2015, or in the future, would need to be an all-rounder. And that’s where professional bodies such as ACCA come into force — they strive to equip the professionals of the now and of the future with skills that drive the wheels of business. For their first job, it is too much to ask for a graduate or school leaver to be expected to possess this magical mix of skills, knowledge, expertise and personal attributes. But if we can embrace the skills they do have and offer opportunities to develop those areas in which they are not so strong, we will begin to tap into the potential of our young people.
It must be said that even established employees, do not possess this mix of skills automatically. Not everyone has an extrovert personality, and all the better for it. Having a team of competitive extroverts can be exhausting to manage. The same goes for mainly introverts. Getting the balance right is the key.
Professional bodies — whether in accounting, law or medicine — have an important role to play in ensuring the talent pipeline is strong. More than that, we have a responsibility to develop and sustain the life skills of those entering our profession. Along with schools, colleges, universities, vocational bodies and employers, professional bodies are part of the skills equation. We have to work with policymakers and think-tanks to ensure that the skills being offered are relevant in helping India meet its full potential.
So, when it comes to that ‘handshake moment’, in person or in the virtual world, remember context and culture. Businesses can be won and lost on the strength of a handshake, a misplaced decimal point, and, increasingly in the modern, digital world, an errant WhatsApp message or ill-advised photo posted on Twitter.
Whatever the mode of delivery, a lack of soft-skills really does affect the bottomline.
The writer is head of International Development, Association of Certified Chartered Accountants.
