With the advent of Artificial Intelligence, many of our skills will be redundant in the future. The World Economic Forum calls this change the Fourth Industrial Revolution, characterized by a “fusion of technologies that is blurring the lines between the physical, digital and biological spheres.” In short, technology is disrupting nearly every industry at a pace that has never happened before.
Research suggests that skills generally have a “half-life” of about five years, with more technical skills at just two and a half years. The short shelf-life of technical skills requires a continuous re-skilling effort to stay relevant. According to the Chief Learning Officer Magazine, business leaders and learners need a completely new model for thinking about skills, which fosters thinking about emerging questions and problems.
Here are the top five skills that you should try to grow in your employees and search for in your new recruits:
1. Growth Mindset
The top skill to have in your employees in 2021 is a growth mindset. Employees need to be self-motivated and have a vision for their growth in the company with a curious mind for learning. Things are constantly changing, and the way our employees work needs to reflect those changes as well.
2. Critical Thinking
Critical thinking will be a crucial ability as we move ahead in a post-covid world. Businesses will continue to face adversities that test them at every step of the way; this will require employees to be innovative and agile in their approach and have practical communication skills with their team members.
3. Resilience, Curiosity
The year 2021 has brought three skills to the table that every employer wants to see in their employees; resilience, curiosity and adaptability. Your employees should be good learners who can easily adjust to new things in this disruptive business landscape and have the strength and grit to overcome all obstacles and succeed.
4. Agility
Agility is going to be a critical skill in 2021. All leaders have learned from the previous year that we need to be agile and try to teach all our team members this skill. As we enter 2021, we are on an all-new journey. “Finding candidates that have comfort with change and ambiguity will help you, and them, get off to a good start,” says Jennifer Marszalek, Working Credit NFP. The ability to be comfortable with ambiguity and function within grey areas will be of utmost importance in the years to come.
5. Thriving In A Virtual Environment
With the advent of remote working, employees who work well in a virtual environment will benefit the company. Contenders for remote roles should demonstrate how they have been able to stay visible and productive in a virtual world. Visibility can include offering up a robust skillset, collaborating across teams, leveraging tech tools, offering impeccable responsiveness, aligning with key business priorities, promoting team success, and more.
6. Learn, Unlearn and Relearn
Professional skills and jobs that were in demand some decades ago are no longer needed. And many jobs are likely to disappear in the next 20 years. Letting go of the past and adopting new ways isn’t always easy. But as human beings, we need to learn, unlearn and relearn to keep pace with the rapidly changing world and technology.
In Conclusion;
To stay ahead in the fast-changing talent landscape, employers should evaluate their current workforce needs, their skills within their existing employee talent pool to seek out candidates that best fit their job skill set as well as these critical skills. In the end, we are only as good as our team.
