Top 10 Workforce Skills In 2020

1) Complex problem-solving

This is all about quickly solving problems that have not been encountered before and doing so in a continually shifting landscape. It’s all about having the skills to see the big picture, whilst still being close enough to keep an eye on the details and being able to move things around to get your desired result.

2) Critical thinking

People who can examine the facts, who can look at the positives and negatives of a problem and come up with an answer by applying logic and reason, will remain in demand.

3) Creativity

Another key workforce skill is that you need people in your organisation who are creative, however, in the context of your business, this is about connecting the dots. It’s being able to take lots of disparate information and bring this together to create a solution. And there is no one correct way to do this.

4) People management

Your people are your most valuable asset and having effective people managers on your team will contribute a huge amount to your success. Being able to respond to their needs and keep them motivated will help drive productivity.

5) Coordinating with others

Having strong interpersonal skills and being able to collaborate with colleagues to get things done will remain key workforce skills in the future. Interacting with others, working with a wide range of personality types and having the flexibility to cope with changing circumstances will also be central to your success.

6) Emotional intelligence

Skills such as persuasion, emotional intelligence and the ability to teach other people are becoming increasingly important, because these skills inform each and every interaction with others.

7) Judgement and decision-making

With the amount of data now available across organisations, there’s a strong need for people who can analyse the numbers and turn a large volume of data into the information you need to drive your strategic business decisions.

8) Service orientation

When your workforce think about your customers as real people and take the time to consider their needs, both now and how these might change over time, it will help future-proof your organisation. This insight will help you develop the new products and services that will be required to keep your customers happy.

9) Negotiation

People are much better at negotiation than robots and being able to negotiate with colleagues, managers, clients and teams is a workforce skill that will remain in high-demand, even for those in solely technical roles.

10) Cognitive flexibility

This final workforce skill is all about how quickly your brain can switch between the different ways of thinking, e.g. creative, mathematical, critical thinking etc. The faster you can do this, the more likely it is that new patterns and associations will form. You can help your team with this by providing opportunities for them to learn.

* Source: ‘The Future of Jobs’* report by the World Economic Forum