Employers are always on the lookout for candidates with in-demand technical skills. Fast forward to 2018 and we see a noticeable shift. A PwC survey asked CEOs to specify what they look for in potential employees. The results found that “while STEM and digital skills were seen as important, demand for these was outstripped by ‘soft’ skills – adaptability, problem-solving, creativity and leadership.”
This makes sense for a number of reasons and I will address 4 of them here.
1) Danger of Missing The Big Picture
Techies can write reams of code or create complex systems, but finding solutions to business problems takes much more than that. It requires critical thinking and problem solving skills to assess a problem and understand what the client or product requires. Without this, a developer could become so focused on code and development that he misses the complete purpose.
Providing a Solution – that is the goal an employee needs to keep in mind. “When I’m interviewing a candidate, I’m looking for someone who genuinely enjoys helping people find solutions, because whether you work for a church or for a tech startup, ultimately, we’re all helping people find solutions,” says CEO of Vanderbloemen Search Group, William Vanderbloemen. “I believe this so strongly, that “solution-side living” is one of the core values at my company, Vanderbloemen,” he concludes.
2) Resources Wasted on Non-Problems
Overengineering. That is the bug that can affect an employee who might have excellent technical skills but lacks the balance needed to create a product that has value for the end user.
Let’s illustrate this with a classic real life example. Juicero was a $400 wifi-connected juice machine. The machine could can only be refilled with single-purpose pods that were filled with crushed fruit and veg. These pods cost around $5-8 per 230ml. The idea raised $120m in venture capital funding and the machine was developed with preorders close to $690. All went well until consumers realized that the juicer wasn’t needed at all. The pods could be crushed just as well with their bare hands! Tom Goodwin, EVP Strategy and Innovation at Zenith Media, said of the fiasco: “This is everything wrong about Silicon Valley in one note. A sort of unique sense of out of touch that makes people who ship chopped vegetables at 4000% mark up think they are changing the world because of a nice looking app. And then they feel appalled that real people don’t see it that way.” Juicero had to quickly recall its machines.
3) Human Skills Never Get Outdated
With RPA and AI being adopted by organizations across sectors, the man vs. machine question is on everyone’s mind. However, the PwC study mentioned earlier had this to say: “It seems CEOs see the value in marrying technology with exclusively human capabilities. The skills they consider most important are those that can’t be replicated by machines – the (still) uniquely human, capabilities that stimulate innovation.” Developing human skills like problem solving and critical thinking will help an employee to remain relevant and indispensable.
4) Importance of EQ and CQ above IQ
That’s a lot of Qs, and important Qs at that! IQ (Intelligence Quotient), under which technical skills fall, is extremely important. However, we cannot put that above other capabilities like EQ (emotional quotient) and CQ (curiosity quotient). These two are important considerations when it comes to employee performance.
A high EQ indicates strong interpersonal skills for relationship-handling. This is essential when working with teams and solving problems together. Handling high-pressure situations and good decision-making is closely linked to a high EQ.
A high CQ is an indicator of the employee’s aptitude for learning and problem solving. “If we can see that they fearlessly dove into learning about a new technology or problem, identified ways that they would want to further improve in the future, and are genuinely excited about the learnings that the experience brought them, those are great indicators of a genuine curiosity,” says Jessica Tenuta, Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer at Packback.
Finding the Right Mix
In today’s IT economy, the real value proposition for a client is a technical solution, which can solve a real-world problem efficiently. Services providers must look for employees who help them deliver just that. An ideal hire would be more than a person who is brilliant at writing code. He must be able to go the extra mile and identify the reasons for developing the product in the first place. He should have the ability to identify and recommend the need to develop something entirely different if need be. Most of all, he should possess the acumen to develop a solution that fulfills the need of the end user. Incredible technical capabilities with strong problem-solving skills – that is the secret sauce to a great hire.
