Importance of Soft Skills A case study "Future of Work"

1. Gaurav Wadhwa and Pulkit Gupta
Students - BBA
Ansal University, Gurgaon
USHERING IN
AN ERA OF
‘SOFTER’
SKILLS

2. “If you can really write the whole
job down on paper, then
someone else can do it.”
- Frank Levy (MIT)

3.  The case is a tussle between –
◦ Routine and Non - routine jobs
◦ Technical and Non- technical jobs
 The case is about job insecurity and
redundancy
 The case is about technology replacing the
work force
 The case forecasts future skills required

4.  Unavailability of Employable
Workforce to meet the contemporary
challenges of the economy and
business

5.  Soft skills or behavioral skills over technical skills
◦ Skills that enable professionals to work with others in
teams
◦ Be adaptive
◦ Have an understanding of the business
◦ Coping with uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity of the
environment

6.  A breed of professionals required
◦ Who live and breathe customers
◦ Have exceptional people skills
◦ Who face the challenge of automation and globalization
with ease and adeptness

7. Q) How can HRM ensure that a company’s employees
are flexible, and creative and provide good customer
service?
A) - Employee Engagement
- Job Rotation
- Employee Motivation
- Employee Development
- A pro-people culture
- Reinvent your workforce: Innovative work
processes
- Workforce diversity and Inclusion
- Collaborative Workforce
- Fostering Employee Involvement and
Participation in Decision Making

8. Q) How might modern technology help with the
activities you described in Question 1?
A) HRIS
– Human Resource Information System
- Has already automated the routine activities
- Virtual Offices and Paperless Offices
- Saving Cost and Time
- Removing Redundant Activities

9. Q) Which human resource functions are routine?
Which are likely to be part of the “future of work”
as described in this case?
A) A typical profile of the HR routine functions –
a. Interface between Management and employee relations
b. Personnel administration, administration of employees and
company insurance programs, safety programs, and risk
management programs
c. Recruiting and Interviewing, Hiring and Firing, Orientation
and Training, Conflict Mediation, Salary and Benefits,
Executive Liaison, Record Keeping and Routine
Correspondence

10. Ans contd.)
Non-routine HR Functions are:
- Change Management
- Cross Cultural Management
- HR Audit & HR Accounting
- Strategic Management
As per the case, “Future of Work” lies in
- Soft Skills
- People Management
- Working with others
- Being Adaptive
- Learning and Continuous development of Self
- Thorough understanding of the Business