English project report :

The place of soft skills in the work experience of Ensam

graduates

Réalised by :
 Natiji Charaf Eddine
 Harfi Omar
 Bakkali Lahcen
 Arame Mohamed
 Mouaj Anas

Framed by :
 Pr. Kettioui Abdelmjid

College year :
2021-2022

English project report

 INTRODUCTION :

Soft skills in the workplace are becoming increasingly important as organizations

look to add additional value to their business. A study conducted by Wonderlic found
that 93% of hiring leaders stated that soft skills are an “essential” or “very important”
element when making hiring decisions. What’s more, many employers reported that
soft skills are more important than tech skills.
Employing a workforce of creative and critical thinkers is essential for introducing
fresh ideas, services and products. In fact, creative and critical thinking skills were
ranked second and third on the World Economic Forum’s top skills employees will
need to thrive in the fourth industrial revolution.
As artificial intelligence and automation in business evolve, creative and critical
thinking skills will be increasingly needed to complement the capabilities of machines.
However, creative and critical thinking skills are in short supply. According to a
report from the Society for Human Resource Management, 84% of HR professionals
stated they found a deficit of key soft skills including creative and critical thinking
among job candidates.
Teamwork and communication are weak points for many organizations, and it’s
causing performance and productivity challenges. Gallup’s State of the American
Workplace report found that the majority of employees “believe that their
organization’s project performance would improve if their teams worked more
collaboratively.”
What’s more, another Gallup report discovered that teamwork and good
communication is a key soft skill for helping B2B organizations solve their top
challenge of creating organic growth.
Successful collaboration is strongly related to good communication skills.
Communication skills include actively listening to colleagues and willing engagement
in conflict resolution to mitigate the effects of miscommunications as well as keeping
projects and organizational initiatives on track.
Your employees drive your business. They are the first point of contact for your
clients. In addition to the necessary technical skills needed to do their jobs, you must
ensure your staff possesses strong soft skills too. A combination of hard and soft skills
in the workplace will make your team, and in turn your business, more efficient and
productive.

English project report

1. What are soft skills and hard skills ?
Soft skills refer to a person’s communication and people skills. They are intangible
and hence difficult to measure. But soft skills are just as important in the workplace as
hard skills. Emotional intelligence, time management, adaptability, creativity are all
examples of soft skills.

2. Why soft skills are important in the workplace of Ensam graduates ?

The success of a team, and a business, does not just depend on workers having the
technical know-how to do their jobs. It also depends on how employees interact with
each other and with your clients.
Soft skills help employees fully utilize their hard skills. Skills such as conflict
resolution, emotional intelligence, time management, working well under pressure are
critical in the workplace.
Employees with soft skills make for good team players and efficient managers. They
are good at building relationships and easier to get along with. They also make for good
ambassadors of your brand and have the potential to grow in their role and at your
company.

3. What are the 7 most important soft skills Ensam graduates should look
for ?
Depending on the role, you should assess applicants for hard and soft skills during the
recruitment process. You may also want to help existing employees develop soft skills
in the areas they need to.
We recommend the following 7 soft skills as being crucial in the workplace. But this
is by no means an exhaustive list :
 Communication skills :
Being able to communicate well is a critical soft skill in every industry. It is
essential to be able to interact effectively with co-workers and customers. It is
important to have strong oral and written communication skills since most
communication happens via emails, chats, and video conferencing software.
Clarity, confidence, empathy, tact, active listening are some traits of good
communicators.
 Emotional Intelligence :
Emotional intelligence or emotional quotient (EQ) can be described as the ability to
identify and manage one’s own emotions and perceive and respond to those of others.
According to Daniel Goleman, psychologist and author of the book Emotional
Intelligence, it includes the following :
 Self awareness (being in touch with your emotions)
 Self management (managing distressing emotions so they don’t affect your
functionality)

English project report

  Motivation (being able to stay positive in the face of challenges)
 Empathy (knowing what others are feeling)
 The social skills to use all these traits for productive communication and
relationship building
In the workplace, people with high EQ make for natural leaders. They are
collaborative, empathetic, good at conflict resolution and at building positive work
relationships.

 Being a team player :

The skill to work within a team and collaborate with co-workers is an essential one.
Being a team player means you are open to new ideas and feedback, you can respect
and value different perspectives, and are comfortable working within a group.

 Growth mindset :
This is a key factor determining an employee’s longevity in a job and their success in
a career. Employees with a growth mindset are self motivated and proactive. They
know the importance of updating their skills to meet new challenges and are
introspective enough to work on their weaknesses.

 Time management :
This becomes a valuable soft skill especially at present when most employees are
working from home. Good time management skills help workers plan and manage their
daily schedules and meet deadlines. Employees who can manage their time well are
more efficient and productive.

 Creativity :
This means having the insight, imagination, and flexibility to come up with solutions
to the problems you may face while doing your job. Creative thinkers are also more
likely to innovate and improve processes and systems within the company.

 Leadership :
Employees with leadership skills possess all other soft skills and use them to effectively
manage people. Not only do they excel in a group setting, but they are also able to
guide other team members to realize their full potential. They are decisive and flexible
and make for excellent managers.

English project report

4. Where do Ensam graduates use soft skills ?
Ensam graduates use soft skills everyday at work and developing these soft skills will
help you win more business and accelerate your career progression.
Let’s have a look at some specific examples supporting the importance of soft skills :
 Career progression and promotion
iCIMS Hiring Insights (2017) found that "Ninety-four percent of recruiting
professionals believe an employee with stronger soft skills has a better chance of being
promoted to a leadership position than an employee with more years of experience but
weaker soft skills."
It's become vital to develop these skills if you want to progress in your career as they
will set you apart from others at the interview and on the job.

 The modern workplace is interpersonal

Skills such as active listening, collaboration, presenting ideas and communicating with
colleagues are all highly valued in the modern workplace. Strong soft skills ensure a
productive, collaborative and healthy work environment, all crucial attributes for
organisations in an increasingly competitive world.

 Customers and clients demand soft skills

Consumers these days have a huge number of choices of where to buy from, bought
about by the internet and smartphones. For these consumers, convenience and low
prices are easy to come by, so customer service is often what influences the choice to
use a particular business.
The ability to communicate at a human level with customers is therefore a vital factor
in an organisation’s success.

 The future workplace will rely on soft skills

Automation and artificial intelligence will result in a greater proportion of jobs relying
on soft skills. Advances in technology have caused tasks that require hard skills to
decline, making soft skills a key differentiator in the workplace. A study by Deloitte
Access Economics predicts that “Soft skill-intensive occupations will account for two-
thirds of all jobs by 2030”.
As the cost of robots decreases and the performance of artificial intelligence improves,
jobs such as manufacturing line workers, will become automated. Traditional skills like
teamwork, communication and critical thinking will be more important than ever.

English project report

  Soft skills are hard to automate
Following on from the previous point, soft skills such as emotional intelligence are
hard to automate and unlikely to become automated anytime soon. This means they're
expected to become more desirable in the near future.
However soft skills can be difficult to teach and track improvements on. Companies
such as VirtualSpeech are tackling this by using VR as a way to improve soft skills.

 Soft skills are in high demand by recruiters

Soft skills are in high demand in the workforce. According to the 2017 paper by a
Harvard student on the importance of social skills in the labour market, jobs requiring
high levels of social interaction grew by nearly 12 percent as a share of the U.S. labour
force.

5. What are some examples of soft skills and why are they needed in the
work place ?
These are skills such as integrity, communication, optimism, business etiquette,
flexibility and being a team player. Technical skills (hard skills) and job-related skills
are a must, but people who rank high with good soft skills, are generally the people
that most employers want to hire, retain and promote.
Broad types of soft skills, which you can read more about below, include:
Communication. Problem-solving. Creativity.
Other sought-after soft skills include:
 Effective communication.
 Teamwork.
 Dependability.
 Adaptability.
 Conflict resolution.
 Flexibility.
 Leadership.
 Problem-solving.

6. How de we assess soft skills in the work place ?

Here's our take on the five steps required for an accurate assessment.
 Look for social and physical cues. ...
 Ask the candidate what soft skills they think are important. ...
 Ask for specific examples of these skills in action. ...
 Test them in a 'real' situation. ...
 Then test them is a real situation.

English project report

7. How would Ensam graduates describe soft-skills ?
Soft skills include attributes and personality traits that help employees interact with
others and succeed in the workplace. Examples of soft skills include the ability to
communicate with prospective clients, mentor your coworkers, lead a team, negotiate
a contract, follow instructions, and get a job done on time.

8. How can Ensam graduates improves their soft-skills ?

 Be open to feedback.
 Communicate often.
 Emphasize teamwork.
 Build positive relationships.
 Step outside of your comfort zone.
 Get ready to learn.
 Adapt to workplace changes.
 Observe others.

9. How can soft-skills be helpful in getting a job ?

Soft skills help you build relationships and solve problems to use your hard skills to
their full extent. Listing soft skills on your resume, demonstrating them in an interview
and developing them in the workplace can support your career and open you to new
opportunities.
Problem solving, oral communications and adaptability are essential for getting hired
and promoted. ... Soft skills such as oral communications, adaptability and problem
solving become more important as you manage others, make more decisions and lead
cross-functional teams.

10. How can Ensam old graduates evaluates soft-skills in an interview ?

 Have employees referring candidates assess their soft skills. ...
 Ask candidates to list the soft skills that would be required for success. ...
 Have them force rank their soft skills. ...
 Have references force rank their soft skills. ...
 Give them problems that require soft skills. ...
 Have them find omissions/problems in a current process.

English project report

 Conclusion :
The right soft skills in the workplace enable employees to effectively communicate,
solve problems, work together in teams, and organize successfully.
The modern employee must work on developing soft skills in tandem with
strengthening their technical capabilities.
Effective learning & development programs include both hard and soft skills training.
Learn more about hard skills in the workplace.
The job market is constantly changing and jobs are evolving. In today's workforce,
possessing a single skill or capability is insufficient to guarantee a successful career,
so Soft, or interpersonal, skills are in high demand. Employers seek candidates with
strong communication skills who adapt easily and are productive. Soft skills enable
employees to work and interact effectively with each other, customers, and the
environment to perform optimally.

English project report