Introduction
Professional skills have undergone a massive changeover after the recent transformation of the workforce with industrialization and digitalization. Along with classical soft skills, digital skills now dominate the must-have lists that companies are looking for. As technology advances and rewrites the human working patterns, the futuristic, in-demand professional skills are seen through a magnifying glass. Before the advent of the internet, skills like data entry, online communication, social media, audiovisual content production, and marketing were never thought of. But, in a mere two decades, these skills have come to the forefront of the hiring process and are sought-after skills for promotions. Even now, we can predict only a few of the skills that will remain relevant in the future. As the guesses are dependent on technology and its survival, these guesses can be highly exclusive to technology-oriented industries and nations.
A company is a social setting where several individuals work on their assigned tasks simultaneously. For this, they need resources, tools, leadership, coordination, and a healthy working environment. Here, employers pay employees for the value they produce with the time they have. The value produced depends on the employees' knowledge, mastery, expertise, and skill set to take on the job. Skills take years to cultivate and master, which is why they are an important element of the workforce. These professional skills can be categorised as personal, interpersonal, and technical skills.
Apart from the job-specific skills that employees across the industry must develop, here are the general, high-priority, professional skills for the future.
Personal skills
These are exhibited by the individual employee and are assessed in the interviews with a range of parameters, questions, and tests. For the time being, as the workforce will never be rid of human employees, these skills will never lose their charm. As a result, to be more productive and effective in the workplace, these professional skills are mandatory.
1. Critical thinking and problem-solving
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The purpose of the education system is not merely to write assignments, pass exams, and obtain a certificate, but to make individuals capable of independent thought, develop logical reasoning, and possess problem-solving capabilities across all situations. Critical thinking can be acquired through rigorous academic activities like writing exhaustive assignments, holding healthy debates, and participating in group discussions. Such activities force the mind to think of all possible aspects of a problem and find solutions that evade our general intelligence at first glance.
Critical thinking can also prove to be an asset in problem-solving as it introduces fresh perspectives and helps in enhancing empathy. It moves the professional to think by standing in others' shoes and considering conflicting ideologies with little bias. Such neutrality can be a great asset in problem-solving as well as in conflict resolution. Critical thinking paves the way for future ethical problems like genetically modified human beings, self-awareness of artificial intelligence, organ harvesting, etc. As the future is full of ethically controversial technologies and working with them, making sound decisions depends on uncluttered, unbiased thinking that neither deviates from humanity nor gets in the way of human industriousness.
Problem-solving correlates with critical thinking as it requires individuals to think and contribute to the team or company. It can be as simple as a suggestion by an employee to increase productivity or make progress in heavily research-oriented technical advancements. Problem-solving can not only be reduced to office tasks but can also be used to solve interpersonal problems in offices and between coworkers. For management professionals, it can assist in a myriad of ways, from sourcing and production obstacles to productivity increases and employee engagement. Certainly, these skills will take up more of a higher priority skill set list in the future.
2. Professionalism and a strong work ethic
Hiring an employee requires a thorough screening for personality, skill set, and experience. Once hired, the employees are left with their teams under the managers. As management professionals are responsible for accountability, it can take time away from their schedule. However, recently, self-functioning, self-managing teams are becoming the norm. As the workforce was introduced to freelancing and remote/hybrid working, these accountability problems were left on the shoulders of the employees themselves. Though companies can track and monitor their employees' output, they need professionalism and strong work ethics from the employees to stay an asset to the company.
Even in strictly autocratic management, employees can just do enough to get by and continue working even though they know they could have contributed more. This is why a strong work ethic, engagement, and company loyalty are absolutely crucial for prospective employees. Many teams can manage themselves with their daily tasks, scheduling, prioritising, and refining their day-to-day work. Being in such a team not only requires self-accountability but also the ability to dodge the lure of procrastination. It has become a major concern for teams but can be thwarted with strong work ethics on the part of the employees.
3. Creativity
It is not only the structure of work that is changing but also employees' mindsets. Management is facing new crises like the Great Resignation and mental health disorders. Employee engagement and job satisfaction, along with industry-standard perks and growth opportunities, create a loyal and high-performing workforce generally. However, creative solutions are also needed by all employees and managers to make the workplace and work enjoyable. Tweaking the general norms here and there can bring about massive results sometimes. Often, these hacks are invented by employees themselves rather than researchers or managers.
Creativity is also a must-have skill for management systems as well. For example, Amazon's Spheres in Seattle is a creative workplace created to provide direct access to sunlight between countless fauna to the employees for a 'working in the nature' atmosphere (Source: National Geographic). Office spaces are reinventing their aesthetics through art, paintings, and coffee houses. To increase female employee retention, taxi services for safe travel to and from work, daycare centres for their infants, and mentorship programs are being implemented.
Creative working solutions have endless possibilities in all industries. Every piece of technology has a predecessor that paved the way for modern machines and was contributed to by several employees, researchers, and inventors. This is not only applicable to machinery or technology but all industries and management as well. Several management structures and types have evolved to provide the best possible management for companies through creativity from management. In the evolving work culture, creativity will be a great asset for employees and managers alike.
4. Observation, active listening, and learning
In this busy world, everyone is fed up with massive amounts of information. In the workplace, active listening and learning by observing is a great asset for employees. They help with upgrading skillsets and mastery of the job. For management professionals, observation and active listening help in conflict resolution and easy management of their teams. It comes in handy in group projects when executing urgent tasks with little supervision. In teams, these skills increase coordination and decrease the chances of misinformation, mismanagement, and last-minute hurdles.
5. Emotional intelligence
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Thanks to emotional intelligence, human beings have evolved to become the smartest species that we are today. Understanding others' feelings can be a gateway to solving workplace and interpersonal problems and can help them succeed in all their endeavours. In an office, emotional intelligence helps in observing, understanding, and connecting with other employees. Management can use emotional intelligence to identify the underlying stress and struggles of employees that go unnoticed at first glance. This way, they can address the problems and, if applicable, use company resources like training, coaching, and mentorship programs to upskill the employee. Companies can also use internal job role changes to provide a better working environment for disengaged employees. Employees should refine their emotional intelligence to become a part of their teams and perform well with others.
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Interpersonal skills
1. Oral and written communication skills
The purpose of language is to efficiently and effectively communicate what is inside one's head to others. This can be done through oral or written means. In a professional setting, communication is a foundational skill that is responsible for the smooth operational structure of a company. It holds the teams together and creates a bond between employees and management. For a professional, communication skills are timeless and ever-relevant. The ability to concisely communicate tasks, progress, obstacles, and solutions is a must-have skill for all professionals. As the workforce is being divided between office and remote workers due to hybrid working models, written communication is as important as oral communication. These will be high-priority skills in the future as ever.
2. Teamwork and collaboration
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According to Queens University, 75% of companies rate teamwork and collaboration as very important. Teamwork and collaboration hold a special place in companies of all sizes. A good team puts their skills together and strives for the greater good of the company. This can be highly productive with highly engaged employees. As a rule of thumb, employees stick together in a company because of their relationships with their coworkers. The ability to take constructive criticism between employees and management and be empathetic toward other employees can all help in making the workplace a better, healthier environment.
The relationship between management and employees has also undergone transformational changes in recent decades. While employees were working under stress or fear from the previous century, the modern world has shown better alternatives where other management styles are leading the way. In the future, teamwork and collaboration will become more important than ever. Though technologies like AI and digitalization can create new patterns in work, these skills will never go extinct as long as there is a need for two human beings that need to work together.
3. Leadership and team management
Managers are often the reliable leadership authorities in offices, small businesses, and office spaces. It takes great leadership skills to lead a project or task to success. Without understanding humans, leading a team becomes hard. Leadership skills are not only necessary for business owners, managers, and team leaders, but also all employees. Taking leadership in the absence of authority and being self-accountable will be a major game changer for employees in the future.
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Technical skills
1. Programming and software development
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Just a couple of decades ago, programming was something exclusive to computer enthusiasts and professionals. However, recently, programming is close to being called a critical skill for all professionals. Because professionals who are great with computer skills can automate and improve their tasks, programming will be a foundational skill for future professionals. Writing a small program can also exercise the thinking and logical faculties of the brain and make employees resourceful in many ways.
2. AI Machine learning
Artificial intelligence has been in the headlines and lists of future technologies for a while. Technology equips computers to think, decide, and act on par with the human mindset, thus relieving the hard mental work or everyday jobs of humanity. It can help with dangerous and heavily manual jobs that humans are forced to take up every day. Machine learning can also help computers make important decisions without leaving room for error in a short time. This can boost productivity rates and help increase efficiency and reduce costs. The future is bright for those who are well-versed in machine learning and AI. Certainly, this will be a highly sought-after skill in the future.
3. Data analysis and visualisation
The explosion in popularity of the internet and the digitalization of industries has dramatically increased the amount of data that is stored and shared across the world. The modern world is full of data that needs to be visualised for the general public to understand. As a research institute, independent surveyors, businesses, and governments collect, share, and store data in all forms, data analytics and visualisation have become not only important but critical. Manipulating raw information into human-understandable visual elements like charts and graphs is highly creative and productive. Data analytics, on the other hand, helps organisations easily identify errors and gaps. It equips them to tackle the market conditions with the valuable knowledge they gain.
Conclusion
The future is full of surprises and all the predictions may or may not come to pass. By looking at the current trends in the workforce, we can safely predict the skills of the future with ease. The curve of technology has been increasing steeply since its inception. As a result, we can assume it will be a major contributor to the future of work. As technology takes over jobs, the human-specific skills that are impossible to imitate by machines are held in high value and esteem. These skills will be critical in the future as humanity will be hard-pressed to find solutions arising from oncoming technologies like AI and genetic engineering. Employees will be working alongside machines and software more than ever. As a result, technology -competence will also take the front seat in the future. Apart from technology, treasured human skills like critical thinking and emotional intelligence will never go out of style.
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