How can companies instill their core values into the soul of their organization? The simple answer is through soft skills training. Training can significantly support a company’s core values by enhancing employees’ interpersonal skills and intrapersonal attributes. Soft skills play a critical role in fostering a collaborative, productive, and positive work environment in support of the company’s core values.

What are Core Values?

Company core values are the fundamental beliefs and principles that drive the company. They shape the culture, enhance teamwork, and explain “the why” behind the company’s goals and mission. Core values differentiate the company’s brand from the competition.

What is Soft Skills Training?

Employees start with different abilities and levels of experience. Soft skills training can help employees grow in the skills linked to core competencies like optimizing work processes, building effective teams, and self-development.

Does your company have a healthy degree of communication and candor? Believe it or not, having the appropriate level of candor in the workplace is a soft skill that can — and must — be learned. The same goes for respectful communication, work-life balance, and more. Even ethical behavior is often a matter of soft training.

How Can Soft Skills Training Support Company Core Values?

When soft skills training is aligned with company core values, it benefits individual employees and the entire organization. Results are plentiful — effective teams, enhanced productivity, and a more harmonious workplace. The ripple effect of such training can, over time, significantly shape the company culture and its reputation not only within the company but in the public’s eye, as well.

Integrity and ethics are typically rated high on the list of company core values. One of the 38 Korn Ferry competencies, instilling trust plays into many areas such as psychological safety, keeping confidences and commitments, and maintaining consistency between words and actions. Soft skills training in this area encourages ethical behavior. Ethical dilemma training simulations can teach employees to make decisions aligned with the company’s moral principles.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion are other critical company core values. Valuing differences allows employees to understand different perspectives and cultures. Without unconscious bias they learn from others’ diverse experiences, styles, backgrounds, and perspectives to meet goals. This in turn contributes to a company culture that values and supports differences. Soft skills training prepares teams to be sensitive to cultural norms, expectations, and ways of communicating. Sensitivity training can make employees more aware of cultural, gender, and other differences, fostering a more inclusive environment.

Mutual respect can help prevent a toxic workplace from developing. The ability to communicate effectively is a learned skill. This involves clear communication, meaning not just one-on-one, but in small and large groups, and among diverse styles and position levels. Attentively listening to others is a skill that factors into whether one is a successful communicator or not. Soft skills training teaches this, along with how to adjust communication styles to fit the audience and the message. Effective communication also encourages the open expression of diverse ideas and opinions. Learners can provide timely and helpful information to others across the organization. Active listening training, for example, helps learners understand and respect diverse viewpoints, fostering a workplace where everyone feels valued and heard.

Teamwork and unity are vital for an organization to successfully manage even day-to-day tasks. Building effective teams fosters open dialog and team collaboration. It’s critical to train leaders on how to form teams with an appropriate and diverse mix of styles, perspectives, and experience. An effective team establishes common objectives and a shared mindset. Members of an effective team share a sense of belonging and strong team morale. They take pride in sharing wins and recognizing team efforts.

Employee well-being and job satisfaction are core values that are imperative to employee retention and ultimately to the success of the organization. When companies place a high priority on developing talent through coaching, feedback, mentoring, and exposure, and stretch assignments and support self-development upskill training, it instills a people-first learning ecosystem. In this type of learning culture, employees will make a personal commitment and automatically take action to continuously improve. They are eager to accept projects that broaden their capabilities. They seek out new experiences, want to learn from others, and want structured learning. They also take advantage of the available development resources. When management aligns employee career development goals with organizational objectives it encourages people to accept developmental moves with ease. Stress management and mindfulness soft skill training courses can help employees balance work pressures, leading to better mental health and job satisfaction.

Adaptability and continuous learning are other core values that are paramount to not only the employees’ success but the company as well. Employees must know how to manage ambiguity. Soft skills training in this competency helps to boost adaptability and resilience. For example, employees with coping strategies and change management training are better equipped to handle organizational shifts or market changes. The training teaches them how to shift gears comfortably. They can decide and act without having the total picture. They are calm when things are up in the air. They’re also comfortable handling risk and uncertainty.

HSI Can Help

Employees are eager to learn and are looking for support from their employers. Today’s workforce ranks professional development as crucial to employee experience.

Our courses are constructed around the Korn Ferry competencies, such as instilling trust, communicating effectively, and building effective teams. All of which support today’s company core values.

HSI offers numerous courses in critical company core values such as:

Integrity and ethics:

• Building Accountability
• Creating a Culture of Transparency
• Leading with Authenticity

Diversity, equity, and inclusion:

• Anti-Racism for Leaders
• Cross-Cultural Considerations
• Working Well with Everyone

Mutual respect:

• Communicating with the C-Suite
• DISC
• Emotional Intelligence

Teamwork and unity:

• Recruiting and Hiring
• Team Building
• Working with Different Generations

Employee well-being and job satisfaction:

• Mentoring
• The Leader as a Coach
• Training Needs Assessment

Adaptability and continuous learning:

• Change Management
• Risk Management
• Stress Management

Each employee has a unique background, skill set, and life experiences. Opening up the library for self-directed learning allows learners to search for the courses that sharpen core competencies of their unique choosing. Our HSI LMS is built mobile-first, learner-first so employees can access it anytime. Request a free trial to learn more.

Resources

• Professional Skills Development Course Catalog
• Elements of a Whole-Person Approach to Employee Training
• A Guide to Creating an Employee Training and Development Program