Unfolding the The Strength of Soft Skills

Soft Skill development is now taking the centre seat for all development programs in organizations. Developing Leadership, Emotional Intelligence, Execution Excellence are some of the key challenges that organization face today. Now with the perspective getting equipped proper training, there are few consulting organizations who are focused on bridging this gap.  Sanjay Wadhwa founder of Phenom Services shared insights on the scenario of skill development in the India market. In an exclusive discussion with Faiz Askari of SMEStreet, Mr Wadhwa emphasized on the scope and relevance of soft skill development for the Indian workforce.

The edited excerpts:

• What are the key areas of focus for your consulting?

The key areas of our consulting is Soft Skills & Behavioural Skills Development of Organizations.

• What are the key trends in the area of skill development and soft skill development?

More and more organizations are now hiring for the attitude and training for skills. Which means training is now being realised as a key driver for business results. Training is also a key driver for succession planning and talent management initiatives.

Soft Skill development is now taking the centre seat for all development programs in organizations. Developing Leadership, Emotional Intelligence, Execution Excellence are some of the key challenges that organization face today. Sift Skills is now being implemented through various modes – like Classroom training, E-Learning, M-Learning, Gameification, Business Simulation and Outdoor Offsite programs.

• What are the key pain points of entrepreneurs who wish to nurture their top management by ensuring their development?

The key pain point is finding a balance between development training and delivering on deadlines. Most entrepreneurs fail to plan Training in their schedules and because of that sparing people for training becomes a challenge. Also, there is a very heavy people dependence for the business. So when these people are in training, Business tends to take a bit of hit.

Full commitment of the people attending the training is also a pain point. While the employees attend the training because they have been ordered to attend, implementing the training is not a certainty. Entrepreneurs need to create the right context and have everyone fully on-board before sending them to training. This will enhance the chances of the training being implemented on the court, thus delivering business results.

• How the concept of Entrepreneurs is catching up among Indian corporate culture?

The environment in India is very conducive to Business. As compared to a decade ago, It is very easy to start a business in today’s times. Indian corporate employees are also waking up to the entrepreneurial dream. Today – if you have a great idea and a plan that helps you convert that idea in to a tangible, scalable business, you can easily set up the business. There is a lot of support from the Government and Other quarters like the venture capitalist, angel investors, business incubators, strategy guides etc. This allows for a corporate employee with little or no experience in running a business to establish and make the business successful.

This on one side and on the other side, high pressures of a corporate job is driving many corporate employees to explore business as viable career option.