In 2020, in Ireland, SMEs accounted for 99.8% of the total number of enterprises . CSO 2020
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone of Ireland's economy, driving innovation, creating jobs, and contributing to the nation's prosperity. SMEs (<250 persons engaged) accounted for 99.8% of the total number of enterprises in Ireland, in 2020. Yet, many Irish SMEs face the challenges of limited time, limited resources, financial constraints, and often a lack of awareness when it comes to investing in their workforce's soft skills.
Soft skills are now commonly referred to as essential foundational skills. These skills relate to the attitude and personal qualities that individuals need to effectively perform their jobs and interact with others in the workplace. In essence, essential foundational skills are not about what you do, but who and how you are being as you go about your everyday job.
The majority of us swiftly moved through an educational school and college systems diving straight into a dynamic, multi-faceted workplace environment, without ever experiencing formal or informal coaching and training on essential foundational skills.
What are some of the essential foundational Skills?
Time Management / Stress Management
Conflict Resolution / Resilience training
Problem Solving / Adaptability
Career Mapping / Goal Setting
Effective Communication Listening
Cultivating Empathy / Empathy Mapping
Critical Thinking / Creativity
Networking / Relationship Building
Incorporating essential foundational skills coaching for employee development does not need to be overly expensive, overly complex or time draining.
How to implement essential skills training smartly
Some excellent cost and time effective ways to embed essential skills coaching and training are as follows;
Bite-sized Training: Instead of lengthy workshops or seminars, consider offering short, focused training sessions that can be completed in smaller increments. These bite-sized sessions can be more manageable for employees to fit into their busy schedules.
Online and On-Demand Learning: Utilise online learning platforms that offer flexible and on-demand courses. Employees can access the training materials when it suits them best, allowing them to learn at their own pace.
Integrated Learning: Integrate soft skills training into existing professional development programs or team meetings. By incorporating soft skills topics into regular work routines, employees can learn without having to take extra time away from their tasks.
Lunch-and-Learn Sessions: Organise informal lunch-and-learn (or Breakfast) sessions where employees can gather during their lunch break to participate in short training sessions or discussions on various soft skills topics.
Prioritise Essential Soft Skills: Identify the most crucial soft skills for your SME and focus on training related to those specific skills. Prioritising allows for more targeted and efficient learning experiences.
External Workshops or Consultants: Bring in external trainers or consultants who specialise in soft skills training. They can provide expertise and deliver high-impact training sessions tailored to your SME's needs.
Supportive Learning Environment: Foster a supportive culture that encourages employees to engage in continuous learning and development. Recognise and reward employees who participate in soft skills training.
Employee Feedback: Involve employees in the training planning process. Seek their input on the most relevant soft skills topics and preferred training formats, which can increase engagement and participation.
Peer Learning & Cross Mentoring Encourage employees to share their knowledge and experiences with each other. Peer learning and cross mentoring can be an effective way to develop soft skills and create a collaborative learning environment.
Measurement and Evaluation: Monitor the impact of soft skills training by collecting feedback and evaluating its effectiveness. Use this information to refine your training approach and make necessary adjustments.
When you empower and encourage employees to be lifelong learners, facilitate a self coach approach that is linked to their own success and wellbeing it can take on a life of its' own and transform a business culture. When employees feel valued and supported, they become passionate advocates for the business, driving it towards new heights of success, sustainability and impact.
People Across Ireland Will Engage More in Life Long Learning IRELAND’S NATIONAL SKILLS STRATEGY 2025
If you are an SME owner, a manager or a HR professional, a good place to start researching the concepts of "Essential Foundational Skills and Lifelong Learning" in IRELAND’S NATIONAL SKILLS STRATEGY 2025 assets.gov.ie
"Lifelong learning brings benefits to the individual, to society and to employers: lifelong learning has an important contribution to make to people’s wellbeing, to creating a more inclusive society and to supporting a vibrant and sustainable economy. From an economic development perspective, the continuous training and up-skilling of people in the workforce is particularly important in maintaining the competitiveness of Irish companies and foreign owned companies based here and in making Ireland an attractive location for investment." Assets.gov p.45
A shift of language from using the term "soft skills" to "essential skills" reflects the importance.
The shift of language from using the term soft skills to essential skills reflects the growing recognition of the critical nature of these attributes in the modern workplace, even more relevant as we navigate hybrid and remote working models.
It is great to see Colleges collaborating with industries to design their academic programs to be relevant and up-to-date and to some extent incorporating soft skills training. However, some SMEs are either too busy or too small to be part of this collaboration.
From my own experience, I worked for many years as an SME owner and manager within a dynamic, often stressful workplace. Reflecting back, I can see how ill equipped and lacking I was in those key skills. I was operating from an unconscious incompetence state, - "you don't know, what you don't know", and I didn't know. I like many muddled through, learned on the job, learned from my mistakes (hopefully) or learned informally from other experienced leaders. However, now I know, there is an easier way!
Essential soft skills are fundamental to a successful and well-functioning SME.
These skills contribute to individual growth and career development and play a vital role in driving the SME's competitiveness, growth, and overall success in a dynamic and competitive business environment. A win / win.
At Onelife Coaching we are committed to giving early, mid and senior careerists, business owner and managers the selfcoaching tools, the insights and approaches needed to coach and empower themselves for their own career & wellbeing success - the easy way!
If you'd like to speak to a Onelife career coach contact us today for your free consultation.
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