Proving the Value of Soft Skills

Measuring Impact and Calculating ROI

Patricia Pulliam Phillips, Jack J. Phillips, Rebecca Ray

• Publisher: Association for Talent Development
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9781950496648
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Management
• Index: Business

A Step-by-Step Guide to Showing the Value of Soft Skill ProgramsAs organizations rise to meet the challenges of technological innovation, globalization, changing customer needs and perspectives, demographic shifts, and new work arrangements, their mastery of soft skills will likely be the defining difference between thriving and merely surviving. Yet few executives champion the expenditure of resources to develop these critical skills. Why is that and what can be done to change this thinking?For years, managers convinced executives that soft skills could not be measured and that the value of these programs should be taken on faith. Executives no longer buy that argument but demand the same financial impact and accountability from these functions as they do from all other areas of the organization.In Proving the Value of Soft Skills, measurement and evaluation experts Patti Phillips, Jack Phillips, and Rebecca Ray contend that efforts can and should be made to demonstrate the effect of soft skills. They also claim that a proven methodology exists to help practitioners articulate those effects so that stakeholders' hearts and minds are shifted toward securing support for future efforts.This book reveals how to use the ROI Methodology to clearly show the impact and ROI of soft skills programs. The authors guide readers through an easy-to-apply process that includes:

• business alignment
• design evaluation
• data collection
• isolation of the program effects
• cost capture
• ROI calculations
• results communication. Use this book to align your programs with organizational strategy, justify or enhance budgets, and build productive business partnerships. Included are job aids, sample plans, and detailed case studies.

PART I

The ROI Methodology: A Credible Approach to Evaluating Soft Skills Programs

1

The Soft Skills Challenge

SEVEN HABITS IN THE SCHOOL SYSTEM

Stephen R. Covey’s book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People became one of the most important, influential, and bestselling books in history with more than 20 million copies sold (Covey 1989). This book is based on research that defines the journey to effectiveness in seven easy-to-understand habits:

1. Be proactive.

2. Begin with the end in mind.

3. Put first things first.

4. Think win-win.

5. Seek first to understand, then to be understood.

6. Synergize.

7. Sharpen the saw.

Covey built a business around the book to support the implementation of the seven habits, and, eventually, the company evolved into the FranklinCovey Company. Although Covey expected widespread adoption of the seven habits, he was surprised by how many school systems began adopting them and teaching them to schoolchildren. The process had been adapted for schools as illustrated by Muriel Summers, principal at A.B. Combs Elementary School, the first school to use the seven habits (Covey et al. 2019). As Summers sat among business leaders, she could not help but think, “If children learned the seven habits at an early age, how different their lives might be and how different our world might be.”

The following is a synopsis of the seven habits in kids’ language. See if you come to the same conclusion:

• Habit 1: Be proactive. I am a responsible person. I take initiative. I choose my actions, attitudes, and moods. I do not blame others for my mistakes. I can only be offended if I choose to be.

• Habit 2: Begin with the end in mind. I plan ahead and set goals. I do things that have meaning and make a difference. I am an important part of my classroom and contribute to my school’s mission and vision and look for ways to be a good citizen.

• Habit 3: Put first things first. I spend my time on things that are most important. This means I say no to things I know I should not do. I set priorities, make a schedule, and follow my plan. I am disciplined and organized.

• Habit 4: Think win-win. I balance courage for getting what I want with consideration for what others want. I make deposits in others’ emotional bank accounts. When conflicts arise, I look for options that work for both sides.

• Habit 5: Seek first to understand, then to be understood. I listen to other people’s ideas and feelings. I try to see things from their viewpoints. I listen to others without interrupting. I am confident in voicing my ideas. I look people in the eyes when talking.

• Habit 6: Synergize. I value other people’s strengths and learn from them. I get along well with others, even people who are different than me. I work well in groups. I seek out other people’s ideas to solve problems because I know that by teaming with others we can create better solutions than any one of us alone. I am humble.

• Habit 7: Sharpen the saw. I take care of my body by eating right, exercising, and getting sleep. I spend time with family and friends. I learn in lots of ways and lots of places, not just school. I take time to find meaningful ways to help others.

By 2008, about half a million schoolchildren were using the seven habits and school administrators were experiencing some important outcomes with student grades, behavior, and performance. These amazing results led to more adoptions.

At the same time, school systems faced tremendous budget strains and did not necessarily have extra money to spend on this program. Consequently, FranklinCovey decided to show them the value the program held for the school system. Ideally, the value would be translated into monetary benefits and compared to the cost of the program. In essence, they needed to show the ROI.

Several studies were conducted using the assistance of a major university. School systems that had implemented the program were compared with school systems that had not used the program. The systems were matched by type of school system, population demographics, number of students served, and other factors. The results were quite dramatic, revealing improvements in outcomes such as attendance, grades, test scores, reading levels, promotions to the next grade, student retention, incidents, counseling, and tardiness. Some of these were then converted to monetary values. Intangibles that could not credibly be converted to money were identified and reported.

The study results made the school superintendents’ decision much easier. If they invested in the program, they would be getting the money back and then some. The FranklinCovey team made the business case for using the seven habits in schools by building in all the stakeholders, as shown in Figure 1-1.

FIGURE 1-1. THE SEVEN HABITS IN SCHOOLS

An evaluation using the ROI Methodology is a great way to see value and improve support for programs that, on the surface, appear to be important but don’t have the monetary connections required to make the fiscal decision in today’s economic climate.

As this situation underscores, there is a need to have an evaluation system that will serve the needs of all stakeholders, including users and professional evaluators. At the same time, it must have the ability to show the value of a particular program in ways that top executives and funders can understand and assist them in making the decision to continue to invest in the future. Most evaluation models don’t seem to have the capacity to do this. The model presented in the book does.

THE IMPORTANCE OF SOFT SKILLS

Few executives question the importance of effective leaders, collaborative teams, or collegial, supportive, and focused employees. Most would argue that the success of the organization is heavily dependent upon ensuring a strong organization of just such leaders, teams, and employees. However, few executives will champion the expenditure of resources to develop these critical yet often derisively labeled “soft skills.” They are much more likely to champion efforts to develop financial acumen, coding, analytics, or technical skills. There is a pervasive view that hard skills (such as accounting, welding, statistical analysis, or other technical skills) are more valuable than soft skills (such as teamwork, collaboration, or empathy), and that soft skills are either inherent in one’s basic nature or will naturally develop without training, support, or focused action. Some would even argue that as important as soft skills are, they are built over a lifetime and organizations cannot hope to have an impact in the short-term no matter how well designed the learning or talent development program may be. And there are those who would argue that it is as difficult to articulate success in developing soft skills as it isn’t easy to isolate the impact these efforts make.

As organizations rise to meet the challenges of digital disruption, globalization, changing customer needs and perspectives, technological innovation, demographic shifts, and shifting work arrangements, an organization’s mastery of soft skills will often be the defining difference between thriving and merely surviving. As AI and automation continue to radically shift what work is done, it’s the soft skills that will be in greater demand due to the need for empathy, collaboration, creativity, and a host of critical leadership and communication skills.

A variety of sources suggest the need for an increasing reliance on mastery of soft skills, even in this era of technological advancements and rapid, disruptive change (and perhaps because of those very factors).

In a recent LinkedIn report, 2019 Global Talent Trends: The 4 Trends Transforming Your Workplace, 91 percent of the 5,000 talent professionals in 35 countries who were surveyed believed that the lack of soft skills (in descending order of ranked importance: creativity, persuasion, collaboration, adaptability, and time management) was a key trend influencing the workplace and these skills were especially important to recruiting and HR; the remaining three trends were work-flexibility (72 percent), anti-harassment (71 percent), and pay transparency (53 percent). In that same study, 92 percent said that soft skills were as, or more, important than hard skills. And 80 percent of those surveyed said that soft skills were increasingly important to the success of the organization, with 89 percent citing a lack of soft skills prevalent among bad hires at their organization (Fleming 2019).

McKinsey’s research predicts that as automation transforms the skills companies need, demand for creativity will rise sharply by 2030. Demand for social and emotional skills such as leadership and managing others will rise by 24 percent to 22 percent. Demand for higher cognitive skills will grow moderately overall, but will rise sharply for some of these skills, especially creativity (Bughin et al. 2018).

The World Economic Forum’s The Future of Jobs Report 2018 argues not only for significant reskilling and upskilling of employees but also a growing need for soft skills. By 2022, no less than 54 percent of all employees will require significant re- and upskilling. Soft skills such as creativity, originality, initiative, critical thinking, persuasion, and negotiation will likewise retain or increase their value, as will attention to detail, resilience, flexibility, and complex problem-solving. Emotional intelligence, leadership, social influence, and service orientation will likely also see an outsized increase in demand relative to their current prominence.

In Job Outlook 2018, a report from the National Association of Colleges and Employers (2017), the “ability to work in a team” was the top skill employers wanted from new college graduates. Other soft skills that were highly desired included written and verbal communication skills and problem-solving skills, which were ranked higher than analytical/quantitative skills or technical skills.

Business leaders agree. Google’s often-cited internal study regarding the qualities of its top managers, Project Oxygen, found that its most effective managers demonstrated eight key behaviors—seven soft skills and one technical skill (Garvin 2013). The report stated that a good manager:

• is a good coach

• empowers the team and does not micromanage

• expresses interest in and concern for team members’ success and personal well-being

• is productive and results-oriented

• is a good communicator—listens and shares information

• helps with career development

• has a clear vision and strategy for the team

• has key technical skills that help them advise the team.

Billionaire entrepreneurs Bill Gates, Richard Branson, and Warren Buffett were the focus of a recent Inc. article on the importance of soft skills. “Communication makes the world go ’round,” Branson said. “It facilitates human connections and allows us to learn, grow, and progress. It’s not just about speaking or reading but understanding what is being said—and in some cases what is not being said. Communication is the most important skill any leader can possess” (Schwantes 2017). In that same piece, Buffet is quoted as giving this advice to an MBA student: “At your age the best way you can improve yourself is to learn to communicate better. Your results in life will be magnified if you can communicate them better. The only diploma I hang in my office is the communications diploma I got from Dale Carnegie in 1952. … Without good communication skills you won’t be able to convince people to follow you even though you see over the mountain and they don’t.”

We are witnessing a growing alignment between business leaders and human capital professionals as to the importance of soft skills both now and in the future. The ability to fulfill on the promise of technological advances will be dependent upon those who have a mastery of interpersonal skills and leadership capabilities.

It is our view that soft skills are among the most critically important in any organization, that efforts to articulate their impact can and should be done, and that a proven methodology exists to help practitioners determine the impact of efforts to develop soft skills in their organizations to shift the hearts and minds of stakeholders and secure support for future efforts. Hence, the rationale for this book.

Soft Skills History

Since the beginning of time, people have been trained in the areas of both occupational and personal development. For example, the hard skills training apprentices received from the master craftsmen of the guilds of the Middle Ages; the...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Preface
• Part I: The ROI Methodology: A Credible Approach to Evaluating Soft Skills Programs
• Part II: Evaluation in Action: Case Studies on the Evaluation of Soft Skills Programs
• References
• Index
• About ROI Institute
• About the Authors