SKILLSETS FOR SUCCESS

Three recruiters’ recommendations for skills development

HAYLEY WOODIN

By choice or by circumstance, experts note that COVID-19 has pushed people and organizations to audit their skillsets.

According to a country-wide survey from HSBC Canada, 88% of businesses are making the upskilling of their workforce an investment priority moving forward. It’s an investment area more popular than sustainability, developing new markets or cashflow.

After a year of upheaval and change, BIV Magazine asked three recruitment experts to weigh in on what business professionals at various career stages should prioritize when it comes to education and skill development in the next several years.

Jeff Harris is the founder and CEO of Impact Recruitment; Cheryl Nakamoto is the president and managing partner of McNeill Nakamoto; and Koula Vasilopoulos is the district president for Robert Half in Western Canada.

WHAT IS ONE SKILL OR AREA OF KNOWLEDGE

SOMEONE SHOULD INVEST IN THIS YEAR?

30-YEAR-OLD

Harris: In your 30s, you’re likely quite comfortable using technology in both your personal and professional life. This is a great time to expand your fluency with a particular program or software or learn a new tech-based skill entirely. From online classes to YouTube tutorials, figure out what platform works best for you and go from there.

Nakamoto: Look for opportunities to educate yourself as well as others regarding diversity and inclusion by joining webinars, committees and panels to take part in conversations, share your experience and encourage idea sharing for positive change.

Vasilopoulos: An important soft skill to hone for 2021 is adaptability and the ability to be flexible, especially with many professionals continuing to work from home and/ or under a hybrid structure. As organizations continue to navigate new and evolving situations, cultivating the ability to be comfortable with change and ambiguity is critical.

40-YEAR-OLD

Nakamoto: Seize opportunities to learn about the experiences of others, as well as formal initiatives related to diversity and inclusion. Ask questions, spark conversations, listen and learn how you can contribute professionally to move the needle in right direction.

Vasilopoulos: Many mid-level professionals are in managerial positions and responsible for employee development. These individuals would benefit from developing people management skills that will enable them to support the successful growth of their teams. This includes the skills required to build and strengthen relationships, keep their people on track, motivate others, understand needs and supporting team members in achieving their goals.

Harris: In your 40s, you’ve seen many things change in your industry. Chances are, you didn’t learn about digital technology and social media marketing while you were in university – so why not now? Many employers will be willing to support you furthering your education through a part-time online program – and you’ll be able to find many free courses and tutorials online. Another option is to explore the internal training your company offers, if there are particular tech-focused sessions you think would be beneficial, ask if you can join the next time it’s held.

50-YEAR-OLD

Vasilopoulos: It is critical for experienced leaders to hone their emotional intelligence skills. With the boundaries between work and home life blurred due to remote work,

professionals should embrace emotional intelligence to re-engage their people by learning how to professionally express their emotions while managing the personalities, work styles and emotions of their people to resolve conflict, teach others and manage their teams.

Harris: In your 50s, you didn’t grow up on social media like some of your more junior colleagues. If you’re not sure where to begin, start with setting up a LinkedIn profile. LinkedIn is a professional networking platform where you’ll be able to connect with individuals in your industry, share relevant articles and expertise and build relationships that can benefit both you and your organization.

Nakamoto: Now more than ever, there is a need for courageous leadership. Maintain a learning mindset and make time to analyze how diversity and inclusion is represented in your workplace and how you can lead in areas needing more work or change.

WHAT HARD OR SOFT SKILLS SHOULD A

BUSINESS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOP TO

SET THEMSELVES UP FOR SUCCESS IN THE

NEXT FIVE YEARS?

30-YEAR-OLD

Vasilopoulos: With the majority of business communication currently taking place via digital platforms, junior professionals would benefit from developing their interpersonal communication skills since the ability to speak and write clearly and interact with others is critical to maintaining relationships with colleagues and clients. Individuals looking to expand their hard skillsets can look to fast-growing areas of technology such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, which have a variety of applications in many industries.

Nakamoto: Continue to stay sharp with technology. We all need to understand how cloud systems, software and collaborative technology operates – especially as work becomes more heavily reliant on technology during times of labour disruption – but this generation is most often relied upon to innovate and lead change. With remote work likely here to stay in some capacity, emphasis will need to be on continuing to develop your core skillset, including self management, time management, collaboration, flexibility, constant learning, resilience and stress management.

Harris: An essential aspect of effective communication is active listening. Active listening requires you to focus completely on the person speaking and understand what they are communicating. It can be temping to jump in with ideas and insights, but it’s important to recognize when it’s appropriate to chime in, and when to sit back and take notes.

40-YEAR-OLD

Harris: Effective communication is essential when giving feedback. Well-prepared, properly delivered feedback is an incredible tool for establishing trust with employees and assisting with their continued growth within the organization. If you are in a managerial role, you may want to consider ways you might be able to improve the quality of feedback you provide to your team.

Vasilopoulos: As organizations continue to navigate the economic impact of COVID-19 and determine short- and long-term business objectives for the post-pandemic world, mid-level professionals with critical thinking and analysis skills are needed to identify issues and opportunities and develop and execute solutions. Futuristic thinking skills are also in demand, including the ability to collect and analyze signals, identify historic shifts and predict future events and trends with the potential to impact both business and industry.

Nakamoto: Being mid-career, you have encountered a wide range of work scenarios and know where your strengths lie, so it’s time to continue to build on your strengths. You know what motivates you so continue to maintain a setting that allows you to produce at your best. It’s time to further hone those soft skills such as emotional intelligence, which are most in demand and cannot be replaced by technology.

50-YEAR-OLD

Nakamoto: Staying current, and that means a mindset of constant learning and progression. As working remotely becomes the new normal, being able to adapt to new technology and communication avenues will be critical. As new systems of doing business emerge in an accelerated fashion, existing systems quickly become updated; spend time learning about how technological shifts will affect your business environment, team and your industry.

Harris: Keep an open mind. In the digital world, communication happens constantly: over Slack messages and text messages, WhatsApp and Zoom, emails and Facetime. It may not feel natural at first but try and embrace these platforms. Miscommunications are more likely to occur when you aren’t speaking face-to-face, so it’s even more important to ensure you are communicating your message clearly and effectively.

Vasilopoulos: Coaching skills are critical for experienced professionals responsible for helping their employees adapt to the new normal in a way that will ensure they are connected and engaged at a high-level, and ready to support their own individual teams. Leaders need to learn how to apply a coaching mindset to all their interactions, including developing the ability to listen well and collaborate on problems in order to forge connections based on mutual trust and respect.

Cheryl Nakamoto is the president and

managing partner of McNeill Nakamoto

• SUBMITTED

Koula Vasilopoulos is the district

president for Robert Half in Western

Canada • SUBMITTED

Jeff Harris is the founder and CEO of

Impact Recruitment • SUBMITTED WHAT CAN ONE DO TO REMAIN REL-

EVANT AND UP-TO-DATE IN AN IN-

DUSTRY EXPERIENCING UPHEAVAL

AND DISRUPTION?

30-YEAR-OLD

Nakamoto: Learn how to pivot. Be open to take on other duties and understand your transferrable skills and how that can apply to change. Focus on relationship building, so you have a network to support you and your career during times of change.

Harris: Stay excited about your industry and your career by expanding on all that knowledge you already have. Make new connections, arrange virtual coffee meetings with other industry professionals, find a mentor, enroll in a part-time online program to develop a skill. These are just a few of the things you can start working on now that can put you on track for a promotion or potentially a new role in the future.

Vasilopoulos: With the digital transformation of many businesses accelerated because of the pandemic, the nature of jobs has shifted, with technology innovation right at the forefront. Regardless of their specific role or industry, junior professionals should consider digital upskilling and boosting their tech skills in areas such as data science, tech support and digital literacy to help them broaden their skillset and stay relevant and current, especially while working remotely.

40-YEAR-OLD

Vasilopoulos: The workforce is evolving at a rapid pace and traditional roles and responsibilities have changed for individuals at all stages of their careers. To stay relevant and on top of current trends, midlevel professionals can consider upskilling to fill self-identified gaps in their current skillset, or choose to broaden their skills in new areas such as learning how to leverage new technologies that will allow them to do their job more effectively.

Nakamoto: You must demonstrate your resiliency and adaptability. This involves adopting new technologies to effectively work differently and remotely, but also embracing completely different ways of doing business. Keep in touch with your personal network and industry connections to stay on top of opportunities that may arise through change.

Harris: Think about attending industry-related virtual events. Lunch and learns or panel discussions are widely available and provide an excellent platform for professional growth and networking.

50-YEAR-OLD

Harris: By this point, you’ve got plenty of experience, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing left to learn. Consider doing something entirely new – perhaps develop a skill unrelated to your field and see what happens.

Vasilopoulos: Developing the ability to foster a strong organizational culture in today’s remote and/or hybrid workforce is critical to experienced professionals who want to remain relevant during times of upheaval and disruption. This includes learning how to not only survive, but thrive, when it comes to leading remotely during a crisis. For example: ensure you have the skills required to remain consistently visible to your people, foster connections with employees at all levels and clearly communicate key business priorities company-wide.

Nakamoto: Besides maintaining a learning mindset, times of change require critical decision-making. Invest in data for decision-making so you can effectively collect data, set goals, make informed decisions and review the effects of changes compared to previous years.