Soft skills and hard skills: what are they and how can you develop them?

Supporting the development of the team's soft and hard skills contributes to workspaces that are more aligned with the demands of today's market.

In a corporate environment that is constantly changing and highly impacted by technology, the demand for qualified professionals is growing exponentially. Companies are looking for people capable of delivering results, adapting to innovations and working collaboratively. In this context, two categories of skills have become fundamental: soft skills and hard skills.

What are hard skills?

Hard skills are technical, specific abilities that can be learned, measured, and quantified. They are often associated with formal education and professional experience, such as knowledge gained through classes, training, or certification programs. These skills can be assessed through certifications, and exams, and are an essential part of a curriculum. In many hiring processes, hard skills play a crucial role in “opening doors,” often serving as the main criteria for initial candidate screening.

 What are soft skills?

These are the behavioral and social skills that are more subjective and harder to measure. They relate to the way a professional communicates, interacts with others, collaborates with the team, faces challenges, and manages their own emotions. These skills are built up throughout one’s life and are influenced by factors such as personality, values, culture and experiences.

Soft skills are fundamental to long-term success, but they are more difficult to measure. They help professionals create and maintain good relationships at work, lead effectively and deal with daily challenges.

Combining soft and hard skills

Companies are increasingly recognizing that complete professionals need a balanced combination of hard and soft skills.

Although hard skills are often the primary selection criterion in recruitment, with companies prioritizing candidates who possess specific qualifications and certifications, studies have shown that, in many cases, dismissals occur due to behavioral issues.

In other words, professionals are hired for their technical expertise but are often dismissed for a lack of soft skills, such as effective communication, adaptability, and teamwork. This highlights the importance of developing both skill sets to build a successful and sustainable career.  

A person with strong technical expertise may be competent at solving complex problems in their field, but if they don't have well-developed interpersonal skills, they may face difficulties in collaborative environments or managing teams. Similarly, an excellent communicator who lacks the hard skills for their role may find it challenging to carry out tasks that demand specialized technical knowledge.

Companies that encourage both skills are able to build teams capable of tackling challenges more efficiently.

How to develop the team's skills?

You need to build a well-structured improvement process. Some ways to encourage skills development are: Encouraging graduation, PHD, certification and extension through discounts and partnerships with educational institutions. Promoting in-office professional and personal learning pathways. Encouraging leadership roles and continuous learning. On-going feedback to align the aspects that need to be improved upon with the professional. Mentoring and coaching programs to define development goals and plan for continuous evolution.

See more: Training and Development: how to foster team engagement with this strategy  

Companies that invest in developing the soft and hard skills of their employees and leaders tend to build work environments that are more productive, innovative, respectful and aligned with the market demands. 

At DPC, a notable success story is the Academia DPC, which offers online classes and in-office training. This continuous education program is designed to enhance the technical and interpersonal skills of team members.

Training and development solutions to companies  

In addition to implementing consistent internal processes, DPC's Human Resources team provides customized training and development (T&D) solutions to help companies unlock the full potential of their professional staff.

Our HR specialists work on identifying needs, designing tailored learning pathways, and delivering programs for both employees and leaders, whether in-person or remotely. If your business aims to enhance the hard and soft skills of your teams, contact us at: dpc@dpc.com.br.