Do Soft Skills Matter?

– Implications for Educators

Based on Recruiters’ Perspective

Deepa S* and Manisha Seth**

Soft skills are very critical in the workplace today. These skills mirror the
ability to communicate and interact with others. They are unique because
they emphasize on action. They have become indispensable for every
person in the present context. This paper deals with the significance of
soft skills for getting a job and for further promotions and progress in the
workplace. People who are flexible and have the zeal to understand and
learn new technologies are sought after by organizations as part of their
growth process. The need to provide training in soft skills is seriously
being considered today. This study is an attempt to find out the importance
that middle to top level executives, who are involved in recruiting employees,
attach to soft skills.

Introduction
Organizations today have transformed into places where people cannot function in
seclusion. Teamwork or group work is the need of the day in most industries. There
are many organizations that do not necessarily design jobs on the basis of a team.
Nonetheless, they require a fair amount of interaction between people within and across
functional realms to successfully carry out a piece of work. The opportune discoveries
made through the Hawthorne studies are now accepted as basic and universal principles
of life in any organization. In this setting, soft skills have become indispensable to
function competently in any interpersonal relationship.
‘Soft skills’ is an umbrella term covering various survival skills such as
communication and interpersonal skills, emotional intelligence, leadership qualities,
team skills, negotiation skills, time and stress management and business etiquettes. In
recent years, the corporate world felt that soft skills are crucial at the workplace and
its training must be a part of the curriculum during education. In career terms, soft
skills soften the edges and provide a competitive advantage over others. However, those
who ignore this critical aspect of personality learn its importance the hard way when
their promotion is overlooked.

* Assistant Professor, Managerial Communication, Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode, Kerala,

India; and is the corresponding author. E-mail: deepa@iimk.ac.in
** Assistant Professor, Human Resource Management, Jaipuria Institute of Management, Lucknow, Uttar
Pradesh, India. E-mail: manisha.seth@jaipuria.ac.in

© 2013
Do Soft IUP. AllMatter?
Skills Rights –Reserved.
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