5 Skills Your Employees Will Need Post-Coronavirus
Even before the Coronavirus, the business world was undergoing a transformation. Soft skills, leadership abilities and digital knowledge were already coming ahead as the new, modern skills to have in an ever-changing work environment. Since the COVID-19 lockdown, companies have worked even harder to identify skill gaps within their organisations. They have used the available time to upskill employees in areas which are likely to improve business performance and increase market competitiveness.
To help your organisation plan ahead, Keystone Training has identified the top 5 skills your employees will need to help drive the business forward in the aftermath of COVID-19.
Business Development and Maintaining Client Relationships
Now, more than ever, business leaders and development managers need to focus on networking, finding new customers and preserving existing client relationships. With many companies experiencing financial hardships and decreases in revenue, maintaining a functional and fruitful relationship with existing clients is key to surviving on the market.
At the same time, discovering new business opportunities and engaging new clients is becoming increasingly difficult, as companies are hesitant to dedicate themselves to big financial decisions. This is why upskilling management staff in key aspects of business development is key for organisations wanting to continue growing following the Coronavirus pandemic. From networking and winning new business to maintaining and developing existing client relationships, these are all skills your workforce needs to have.
Strong Leadership Skills
Strong leadership doesn’t just mean good time management and the ability to supervise a team and demonstrate productivity. Successful leaders have to be able to motivate and inspire the team, deliver constructive feedback and build performance morale by recognising success. This is especially important for organisations switching to remote working and those who intend to keep a flexible working environment following the COVID-19 lockdown.
Leadership coaching and training for managers is key to setting up and promoting best practice behaviours, self-awareness and building the engagement and capability of your employees.
Critical Thinking
The Coronavirus pandemic has proven that an influx of news can confuse the market and destabilise the position of a business. Employees who are able to remain unbiased, and are capable of objectively reviewing information and determining which news are likely to affect the business, will be invaluable to companies. Combine that with communication skills and client relationship management skills, and your stakeholder-facing employees will be able to mitigate insecurity and keep clients on board.
Business Strategy Planning
Many organisations are facing the need to restructure their business and focus on areas which can best available finances, human resources and time to achieve their optimal business success and return on investment. For some businesses, this might even need uncovering opportunities for new offers and approaches to tap into a wider market and increase revenue opportunities.
To ensure the business is driven forward and priorities are set up correctly, higher-level management and decision-makers can benefit from increased expertise in strategy planning, organisational development analysis and identifying market opportunities.
Talent Management
Discovering potential has always been a key skill for HR professionals and company managers in order to recognise, stimulate and keep the best talent within the organisation. Retaining promising employees and recognising workers who have the potential to drive the business forward will be especially important skills in the post-coronavirus environment.
45% of managers are recruited externally, at a high cost to the business, when often management potential, combined with in-depth business understanding can be sourced from within the company. Being able to discover and manage talent will not only benefit company morale and reduce employee turnover but will also ensure your competitors are not receiving invaluable information by recruiting your ex-employees. Additionally, it will save the organisation unnecessary expenditures, which would otherwise be used to cover the recruitment costs.
Keystone offers a variety of training courses in a webinar format, perfectly suited for your business development needs. Get in touch today to discuss the best training opportunities for your organisation.
