When the world’s most standardised company sees a need for soft skills…

In case studies and textbooks all over the world, people have studied the success of McDonald’s, which many attribute to the standardisation of its products, ways of working and branding.  

So when the business that is the epitome of efficiency and standardisation starts talking about soft skills, we’d better listen.  

Melissa Kersey, Chief People Officer at McDonald’s, writes in a column for ABC News this week: “For employers, this is our chance to help these young people develop the skills they need in the future by giving them a shot today.” 

A growing problem for employers and employees alike

Why does McDonald’s care about soft skills when on the surface most of their employees’ tasks are very specific and uniform across the globe? Kersey refers to a study conducted by Harvard University, the Carnegie Foundation and Stanford Research Center which concludes that 85 percent of job success comes from having well-developed soft and people skills and only 15 percent of job success comes from technical skills and knowledge.

She continues by referring to a study by Morning Consult on behalf of McDonald’s in which 88% of respondents considered the opportunity to develop soft skills “important,” including 60 percent who consider the opportunity to be “very important.”

Kersey goes on to recognise that this is not just a problem for employees. With people changing jobs more frequently than ever, this is a major problem for employers as well.

Tackling the problem

Kersey provides four key actions for employers: 1. think beyond on-the-job training, 2. enhance communications skills, 3. hire with a purpose, 4. allow for flexibility.

In other words: put soft skills at the centre of your recruitment and retention strategy.

In an evermore automated and standardised economy, businesses need to enhance the people aspect of their business, not just for recruitment and retention purposes, but also to differentiate themselves as an effective organisation and an attractive brand.

“By closing the skills gap, our nation is championing its legacy that leaves future generations more prosperous than previous ones.” – Melissa Kersey

Thomas Buus Madsen is the COO and co-founder of Bookboon, the world’s largest e-book publisher for employee effectiveness and soft skills. By making its platform incredibly easy to use and only publishing industry-leading experts, Bookboon boasts some of the highest usage rates in the digital learning sector.  

Get a free copy now of Bookboon’s “21st Century Corporate Learning & Development” by Prof. Dr. Nick van Dam, Global Chief Learning Officer at McKinsey & Co.  

Source: https://abcnews.go.com/Business/ways-narrow-soft-skills-gap-us-opinion/story?id=56326290