From administrative and customer service jobs to office managers and bookkeepers, having talented professionals in these important positions is imperative to maintaining productivity, ensuring continued success, and creating a well-rounded environment for all your staff members. And while there has been a push for AI and automation in customer relations, consumers continually maintain they have a better experience when they have access to actual employees. A study found that 69% of customers prefer speaking to a live agent, while 95% say customer service is crucial when deciding brand loyalty.
However, finding the right candidates to fit your culture and meet the needs of your organization takes more than posting on job boards and asking for referrals. It takes a team of highly skilled individuals screening for specific qualities needed to perform well in these critical roles. Maintaining a focus on the skills needed to have a successful Office Services team is the first step toward finding and hiring the best people for your organization.
Soft Skills Essential for Successful Teams
According to an Express Employment Professionals-Harris Poll survey, hiring for soft skills is essential to building a successful team. Among the top skills deemed essential or very important by hiring managers are dependability (90%), communication skills (89%), and a willingness to learn (88%). Other important skills companies look for include problem-solving skills (85%), adaptability (85%), critical thinking (84%), and initiative (84%). More than 7 in 10 hiring managers feel fitting in with the company culture (79%), creativity (72%), and/or leadership skills (71%) are also of high importance.
Another study found that soft skills are the most important qualities hiring managers are looking for, as well. According to the Global Hiring Outlook, while 80% of hiring managers say they plan to hire more workers, 40% of businesses anticipate difficulty finding workers with the right skills, and one-third of survey respondents say the skills gap is worse today than it was a year ago. This makes hiring for the right skills the most important challenge for hiring. The right combination of hard skills, such as technical skills and job-specific training, and soft skills like personality traits, experience, and communication skills, is needed for a qualified candidate.
Put Soft Skills First, Train for Experience
The top three most desirable soft skills for employees that the Harris Poll survey discovered, (dependability, strong communication skills, and a willingness to learn), all focus on specific traits that not only help the individual but also the organization as a whole run more effectively and efficiently. More companies are trying to do more with a smaller staff, having specific experience and training may not be as important as being flexible, moldable, and adaptable. Candidates who show up, are ready to hit the ground running and are eager to learn new skills have a higher chance of succeeding in new roles than those who tend to be stuck in their ways.
The survey found that companies want candidates who are willing to reskill and make a difference at an organization regardless of their role. These traits, such as problem-solving skills, adaptability, critical thinking, and initiative, are all crucial characteristics hiring managers are looking for. Simply put, finding workers who possess the right soft skills are more desirable than those who may have more experience and training, but who don’t fit this mold.
Each of these steps is crucial in helping you find skilled, qualified employees. But the most important part of our process is finding the right person who not only fits the job, but your unique company culture, as well.
What traits do you look for when hiring for Office Services jobs? Let us know in the comments section below!
About Express
Express helped 69,300 job seekers find Office Services jobs in 2023 and has put more than 11 million people to work in its more than 40 years as a leading staffing company. If you’re hiring for Office Services roles, contact the office nearest you to learn more about finding your newest hire.
Express Employment International supports the Express Employment Professionals franchise and affiliated brands, including Specialized Recruiting Group and Express Healthcare Staffing. The Express franchise brand is an industry-leading, international staffing company with franchise locations in the U.S., Canada, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.
Last Updated on September 6, 2024
