Soft Skills, Competencies and Skills Softer than Soft Skills

Author: Noor Fathima

Director at Disha Consulting Ventures Pvt. Ltd.
Email: nf@dishacv.com, noor.fathima@gmail.com

For the last decade now HR Professionals have been harping on the importance of
soft skills within organisations and all for a good cause or so it appears. Probe a little
further on the topic and ask them what these so called ‘Soft Skills’ mean, how do they
measure them, can they be quantified into monetary terms to determine the ROI and
you will draw a blank.

Go to the next level and ask this very learned group the difference between Soft Skills
and Competencies (if there is a difference at all) and the silence would speak for
itself. The latest buzz in this fraternity today is talk about ‘Skills Softer than Soft
Skills’. Wow, now that would be truly amazing, if one only knew exactly what that
meant.

In order to get clarity on these popular nuances I embarked upon a study, which
involved a series of interviews with Subject Matter Experts (SME) – OD consultants,
Behavioural Analysts, Trainers / Facilitators / Coaches and even Academicians. Their
views have been capsulated and presented here to help the HR Fraternity talk the
same language and mean the same thing.

Difference between Soft Skills and Behavioural Competencies

Soft skills are primarily personality traits that can be groomed, enhanced or even
repressed with the help of behavioural interventions (training). These skills develop
gradually over time and are hugely influenced by cultural overtones. Knowledge, thus
resulting from these varied experiences becomes the defining characteristic of the
individual.

When the element of intent or attitude is added to knowledge and skills it becomes a
competency. The distinction between the two is subtle but one that cannot be ignored.
A behavioural trait can be a soft skill as well as a competency the distinguishing
criteria is attitude or intent.

For e.g. Presentation Skills can be both a competency and a soft skill. The individual
might possess the relevant knowledge to make an effective presentation; he might
also have the necessary skills due to past experience but if he does not have the right
attitude (i.e. he does not like making presentations) then he lacks the competency
though he possess the soft skills.

Having a clear understanding of these two intriguing concepts can help HR

professionals in not just profiling employees within their organisation but also
determining the kind of intervention different employees might need.

The Pentra Model © depicted below clearly spells out how employees can be profiled
based on their knowledge, skills and attitude and the interventions they might require.
Can Soft Skills and Competencies be measured?
Traits can be defined but never measured; their effect however, on personal and
professional life can most definitely be measured to a large extent. Soft skills and
competencies can be quantified and reported in monetary terms (which is of
considerable value to organisations) by using a combination of parametric and non-
parametric techniques. These techniques could range from psychometric instruments
to structured observation to shadowing to behavioural event interviews to 360 degree
feedbacks. ROI in qualitative and quantitative terms become a yardstick of
organisation development.

However, due to time constraints and large investments required most organisations
do not go through the rigor involved before and after a training intervention. Gap
Analysis, organisation benchmarks, employee baseline prior to the intervention and
post intervention measures are seldom carried out. What organisations often fail to
realise is this investment would go a long way in organisation development and
becomes a key factor of measuring ‘Organisation Maturity.’

Skills Softer than Soft Skills

Having understood the difference between soft skills and competencies it now
becomes imperative to determine the true meaning of ‘skills softer than soft skills’.
These are qualities imbibed in an individual from early childhood and have very
strong societal, religious and cultural influences. These then should be aptly termed as
‘core skills’ as they define the very being of an individual. Examples of these core
skills would be values, beliefs, principles, concepts of transpersonal wellbeing and
actualization.

Today organisations are attempting to mould values and belief systems of employees
through a variety of interventions to match the organisation’s vision and mission. I
cannot stop myself from asking if this is ethically and morally correct? And would
they ever be successful in achieving this? If the answer is yes, then organisations are
no longer building human capital but have got into the business of human cloning,
which is the first step in the rapid downward spiral. Serious cause for concern, I
would think.

Of course this is a hugely debatable topic and there are a variety of opinions, and yes
each has its merits, but just imagine through behavioural intervention if everyone
miraculously had the same values, principles, belief systems etc then there would be
no difference of opinion, no clashes as we would have successfully managed to
annihilate the very uniqueness that defines us. Paradoxical isn’t it?

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