The Human Advantage
In an increasingly digitised and automated world, professional networks and relational capabilities will be your advantage.
Organisations today want longevity, sustainability, growth, advocacy, referrals, retention, and a great reputation. Therefore, a focus on the people , not just the product, will be the differentiator to success.
Each year companies spend BILLIONS of dollars on industry memberships, corporate functions and sponsorships. They rely heavily on effective networking and communication for new business generation and benchmarking as well as for managing relationships with existing stakeholders. However, most encounter major challenges in execution and delivering value back to the business.
Many employees share these challenges;
⬢ Reluctance, awkwardness and aversion to networking (do they cluster to each other?)
⬢ Excuses such as “too busy” to spend time developing relationships (do they choose email over face to face?)
⬢ Understanding how to maximise the value (ROI) through connections made internally and externally (are they influential, do they converse charismatically and are they memorable - in a good way?)
⬢ Limited people skills/ confidence to represent themselves and organisation externally (though have solid technical training)
⬢ Knowledge / ability to set up for success with strong internal and external networking relationships (do they have a strategy to implement that is aligned to their job description?)
⬢ A transactional sales culture rather than a service focus (do they understand they impact they individually have on the organisations productivity and profitability?)
Invest in what you can control
We believe relationships matter and networks are powerful. Fast becoming the most critical asset an organisation has, a network does come down to each individual and therefore an investment in that person's social, soft and emotional skills is critical.
Harvard and MIT have constantly shown that your personal network positively affects the organisations productivity. These are all learnt skills and must be strategically embedded in a supportive manner with a long term focus.
Hierarchies have flattened. Workplaces are open-plan
Designed to increase interaction and collaboration. This means interpersonal, communication and influencing skills are more important than ever.
Thankfully humans will always be better at this than robots!
Relational skills are learned skills, though to create behavioural change individuals need to be engaged with the strategy.
Lightning-speed technological advancements
We can't yet fully anticipate how advanced artificial intelligence will become, or exactly what impact automation will have on many roles,.
AI will help empower businesses to accentuate their services and creative capabilities and it's human's who will continue to make an amazing contribution to servicing customers, generating insights and being a point of competitive difference in new and exciting ways.
We live in an increasingly interconnected world
More than ever authentic relationships, strong teams and connected networks will be critical, yet its never been harder to truly connect.
With billions spent on marketing activities alone, its time to invest in real relationships building based on mutual understanding and aligned to a dedicated strategy.
Employers want Emotionally Intelligent talent
Digital disruption, globalisation and demographic shifts are shaping Australia’s future skill needs.
Emotional intelligence literally informs every interaction we have. Organisations that invest in human relational skills will benefit from fostering loyalty, a positive culture, adapting to meet the needs of a changing marketplace and ultimately competitive advantage.
With all this change, one point is clear; in the future, the factors that will differentiate successful leaders between their competitors is how they can interact, emotionally engage and respond to a wide network of industry players ranging from employees to investors.
More...
How important are
these skills?
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US based research has found miscommunication costs businesses with up to 100 staff an average of US$420,000 per year. Even more staggeringly, in another study, 400 businesses with at least 100,000 employees each claimed that inadequate communication cost an average of US$62.4 million per company per year.
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A recent study released by the Harvard Business Review has confirmed the ongoing and intrinsic value of meeting face to face. Of the 2300 HBR subscribers, 79% stated that "in-person meetings are the most effective way to meet new clients to sell business" while 95% of all respondents said that "face-to-face meetings are a key factor in successfully building and maintaining long term relationships".
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Corporate hospitality can be a significant cost for businesses. When executed well, corporate hospitality will go a long way to improving and forging client relationships, generating brand awareness, increasing brand value, as well as delivering significant return on investment (ROI).
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It may appear that the core communication skill requirements of employers have not changed much over time. But the emphasis on collaborative work has altered dramatically. A Harvard Business Review study found that the time managers and employees spend on collaborative activities has increased by more than 50% in the past 20 years.
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Jobs requiring soft skills – which are also referred to as employability skills and transferable skills, such as communication, teamwork, problem-solving, emotional judgment, professional ethics and global citizenship – are projected to grow 2.5 times faster than other occupations where the need for soft skills is less intensive over the period to 2030.
