Interpersonal Skills

When you hire employees, you must look beyond their résumé and academic achievements.

Successful candidates are always more memorable because of their character, presentation, and personality. And it’s their social skills which can help you develop a valuable and talented workforce.

Your business can benefit from using interpersonal skills for time management, customer satisfaction, and job development.

If you don’t consider social skills as a job requirement, you could risk hiring employees who lack the ability to conduct themselves and your business successfully. And this could decrease your business productivity, revenue, and achievement.

Read all about interpersonal skills; and how to use them to strengthen emotional and physical intelligence in your workplace.

What are interpersonal skills?

Interpersonal skills are methods used to communicate or interact with other people. It’s also referred to as, ‘people skills’ or ‘soft skills’ – but they all relate to emotional intelligence.

Employers previously looked for experience or ability when onboarding. But in today’s world you must take a candidate’s personality and character into review.

Employees with strong interpersonal skills are able to provide exceptional client service and relations.

What are the benefits of interpersonal skills?

A huge benefit of excellent interpersonal skills is being able to utilise social competence. This is especially important in business, where interaction with people (and personalities) are an everyday occurrence.

Strong relations with customers and clients, not only produces business success, but also creates a positive workplace attitude and culture.

And employees benefit from transferring these skills into both professional and personal lives.

What are examples of good interpersonal skills?

There are many examples of how you can benefit from hiring employees with good social skills.

Without good interpersonal skills, your business will lack the ability to create exceptional clientele relations.

Here are some interpersonal skills examples you should seek or teach to your staff.

Good communication

Whether work is done virtually or in-person, communication is vital for business production. It’s arguably considered one of the most important interpersonal skills.

Being an active listener and a clear communicator will help customers and colleagues feel valued and respected.

Different sectors will require different forms of interpersonal communication skills. When it comes to speaking, you can introduce:

• Verbal: Employees interact with customer or teams directly in-person.
• Non-verbal: Employees use written means of communication, like emails and reports.
• Public speaking: Employees address groups of people through presentations or speeches.

Body language and gestures are also crucial forms of communication. Good body language, like good eye-contact and respectful posture, can endure your message is received well.

Managing conflicts

Conflicts are a common occurrence in the workplace; and can happen between employees, as well as customers.

Employers should teach conflict management skills with interpersonal communication to resolve disputes at work. Utilise this list of interpersonal skills management techniques:

• Conflict resolution.
• Constructive criticism.
• Counselling.
• Mediation.

Having good interpersonal skills will teach employees how to defuse conflicts and seek resolutions where all parties are satisfied.

Negotiation skills

The ability to negotiate is a pivotal skill within numerous business sectors. From customer recruitment to closing deals, negotiation can become key for your company’s accomplishments.

Employees can develop negotiation skills through actively seeking resolutions and meeting customer requirements.

Empathy towards others

One of the best qualities any kind of employee could own is having empathy for others. It’s more than showing kindness or patience to customers. It should be known as workplace conduct; and practiced between employees, too.

Having Interpersonal skills in management training schemes can also benefit your business. Being understanding and motivating positive change can enhance respect, inclusion, and diversity.

Teamwork ethic

Being a team player stands as an important interpersonal skill in the workplace.

It doesn’t matter if employees working remotely or solely with clients – having a good teamwork ethic is vital.

Strong teamwork shows that discussions are heard, ideas are explored, and problems are solved.

A good team will personify the importance of interpersonal skills, as well as eliminate any signs of workplace toxicity.

How to improve interpersonal skills at work

Once you’ve introduced different types of interpersonal skills, you’ll soon see an increase in productivity.

A steady effort on improving certain interpersonal skills can help implant them permanently. Practice these interpersonal skills techniques and you’ll soon see improvement. You can:

• Praise exceptional work and achievements.
• Show an interest in ideas and problems.
• Be compassionate with your staff.
• Appreciate any feedback and criticism raised.
• Manage workplace disputes effectively.

Get expert guidance on interpersonal skills with Health Assured

One of the most effective methods for learning any skill is to practice regularly – and this works with interpersonal skills.

You’ll benefit from having positive customer links, workplace environments, and skilled employees.

If you don’t actively seek candidates with employability skills, you risk hiring unsuitable and unsatisfactory members. This can lead to wasting business resources and revenue, through either developing them or dismissing them for incapability issues.

Health Assured provides expert guidance on interpersonal skills. Our team offer specialised knowledge on employee engagement and performance. And can also walk you through managing employee development and onboarding.

We provide a 24/7 helpline, that’s open 365 days a year – helping you care for your staff all year round. Arrange a call back from an expert today on on 0844 891 0352