In recent years, technology adoption has been on the rise among companies of all sizes. A new Gartner study reveals that as many as 80% of today’s CEOs expect that AI will force a high degree of change to their operational capabilities and profit models in the next several years.
However, the rapid move toward technological transformation is having an unexpected side effect: Companies are prioritizing social and emotional skills, also known as soft skills, now more than ever.
Today, over 80% of employers are seeking college graduates with problem-solving and teamwork abilities, and only 73% prioritize technical skills. In a similar vein, professionals who have developed critical “people skills” get promoted 13% faster. This is because many employers realize that even the best AI tools cannot build genuine trust, manage conflicts, or navigate complex workplace changes.
While soft skills are essential to workplace success, though, they are also incredibly difficult to develop among remote teams. With over one quarter of U.S. jobs still fully remote, it’s important for HR and business leaders to have concrete strategies for helping distributed teams build the foundational skills that lead to career and organizational success.
Why Soft Skills Are Critical for Remote Teams (and Why So Few Have Them)
The lack of manager presence, the inability to see or experience non-verbal cues, and the loss of casual conversations in a remote context can make teamwork pillars like conflict resolution and accountability feel nearly impossible, especially for young professionals.
Additionally, many remote employees feel pressured to eliminate “time wasters” and focus solely on productivity, which leaves little time for teambuilding and other activities that seemingly don’t directly contribute to getting the work done.
Soft skills are the “glue” that holds remote teams together in these circumstances. With these skills, employees learn to communicate more clearly and practice empathy and self-discipline.
However, teams that don’t intentionally carve out time for working on these skills are unlikely to develop them. Without clear strategies to combat soft skill atrophy, remote employees may struggle with engagement and isolation.
4 Strategies for Intentionally Helping Remote Teams Build Soft Skills
Screens can make building empathy, communication, and trust much trickier. Boost your team’s soft skills with these four actionable strategies:
1. Increase Written Communication Skills
When you’re not working in an office environment, there are few opportunities to elaborate or explain yourself fully in conversation with your teammates. This makes written communication especially important.
When writing emails and instant messages, take the time to offer clear and full explanations and offer as much nuance as possible to avoid miscommunication.
2. Implement Easy Peer Feedback Systems
Feedback often happens naturally in the in-person environment. These opportunities are crucial because they reveal blind spots, boost engagement, help with conflict resolutions, and stop minor issues from becoming major roadblocks.
Help your team establish rules and norms for giving feedback and provide concrete templates and technology platforms to facilitate the process when possible.
3. Make Time to Celebrate and Connect
In remote environments, it’s easy to justify keeping your head down and just getting the work done. However, if you want your team to develop crucial soft skills like teamwork and communication, you must make time to work on them.
Consider offering virtual teambuilding activities or hosting coffee chats to mimic those in-person “water cooler” moments and build camaraderie.
4. Give Others the Chance to Lead
It can be difficult to nail down a structure that works for remote teams, so it’s easy to see why many are hesitant to change it once they find it. But allowing remote teammates to step outside of their normal roles to lead projects and meetings can give them a chance to develop essential leadership skills that will enhance their current and future performance.
Try rotating meeting or project facilitators to allow everyone the chance to drive discussions and strategic direction.
Prioritize Soft Skills to Maintain Your Organization’s Competitive Edge
Soft skills are the backbone of remote work success. When you prioritize these skills in your own team, you can drive quick problem-solving and foster continuous innovation.
If you’re looking for ways to help your distributed team develop more empathy or better communication skills, AssetHR can help. Contact us today to learn how our HR consulting and leadership development services assist organizations in building remote cultures that allow employees and teams to thrive.