Training for Soft Skills and Technical Skills

by Shannon McKenzie

"Soft skills" and "technical skills" are ubiquitous training buzzwords. And although many training programs focus on one or the other, people almost always need a combination of technical and soft skills in the workplace.

Custom technical training and soft skills training are both at the heart of what we do at IdeaLearning Group. Technical training often involves step-by-step or procedural content, like software simulations, procedural overviews, or process techniques. Soft skills training addresses personal qualities or attitudes in a social structure, such as communication skills, management basics, or issues related to human resources.

More and more, the demand is growing for a combination of training that incorporates both technical and soft skills into one custom package. Of course technical skills can be taught, but incorporating soft skills into the training can prompt a change in behavior. For example, an online course for software training is primarily technical in nature. If participants were to use the software when assisting customers, we’d layer on customer service training to result in a comprehensive learning experience.

In his business blog, The Agile Business, Eric Berridge describes the increasing need for tech-focused employees to be trained in soft skills as well as technical skills: "The new IT pro is going to be like a turtle -- a shell of technical or 'hard' skills surrounding an underbelly of people skills, otherwise known as 'soft' skills." These soft skills include emotional intelligence, or the ability to read and respond to the emotional responses of other people. "People's ability to effectively leverage technology in their work may largely be based on emotional, rather than intellectual criteria," says Berridge. As employees collaborate more on projects, communication and the ability to connect well with others are top skills they need.

So how do we build the ideal combination of both?

Think of training in terms of Why, What, How. "Why" is the container that holds "what"—the technical training or process—and the "how," which represents the soft skills the learner needs in order to carry out the technical skills.

Focus on the context and application of the skills. A client might come to us with an established need for a tech training topic like using help desk software. During our design phase, we outline all the steps the learner needs to explore, and we also ask questions like, "Which skills does the learner need in order to effectively follow these steps on the job?" By emphasizing the context in which the skills need to be applied, we gain further insight into related learning needs, like customer service, presentation skills, or communication skills.

Assess technical and soft skills needs differently. Technical training often relies on processes that are unique to the organization. We start with any existing client documentation and refine it as needed to align with the training content. We have the in-house capability and expertise to draw upon to enhance technical documents, especially in the areas of process improvement, maximizing workplace efficiency, and technical writing.

During our discovery phase, we use different tools and approaches to discover soft skills training opportunities, such as using 360s, one-one-one or group interviews, or surveys.

Qualitative data we gather from this research helps inform how we incorporate soft skills training into the curriculum.

Prioritize needs and then work in phases. Sometimes a technical training need or a soft skills need rises to the surface first. For example, if a client needs to roll out a new compliance process, we create a training program for the immediate need first. If we identify a soft skills need as well, one way we can address these issues is by embedding character-based scenario activities complete with custom feedback into the course. Or we can create a "phase 2" that specifically focuses on soft skills, building upon the already established technical training.

Create layers of learning objectives. The most robust training courses are built around primary, secondary, and even tertiary objectives. For example, one objective might be "Execute the five steps of the sales cycle," with a secondary objective "Observe and use body language that helps strengthen your relationships with customers." With this approach, we create a more holistic solution that incorporates technical and soft skills into the program.

Working With Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)

by Shannon McKenzie

As an instructional designer who's worked with hundreds of Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) over the years, my perspective is that SMEs and Instructional Designers (IDs) need each other. In the end, we all want the same thing: a dynamic learning experience that captures the audience's attention and makes a meaningful difference.

IDs and SMEs bring different strengths and information to the project. The learning design expert can build an innovative, beautiful framework, but without the content expert's contribution, the structure could easily crumble.

Here's more about what I've learned from collaborating with subject matter experts.

Subject matter Experts and Instructional Designers working together

Understand your roles. Instructional designers are not often experts in the content areas they write about, nor should they expect to become experts. As an ID, I want to learn as much as possible in order to create a learning experience that's meaningful for the audience.

When I begin working with a SME, I make an effort to get to know what she's responsible for at work, how she likes to collaborate—email, texting, phone calls?—and how she sees herself contributing to the project. I explain that her expertise will enable me to do my job: organizing and creating a fabulous training program for her business.

 It's mostly about respect. Regard SMEs as true experts. Sometimes they bring 30 years of detailed knowledge to the project! Even if this knowledge comes to me in the form of a pile of printed materials thicker than my tallest coffee mug, I still take the time to look over the information the SME compiled. By building respect with the SME, I also improve my access to reliable resources that I'll need to accomplish our goals.

Keep the lines of communication open. Even after our official discovery period is over, I make sure that SMEs know they can contact me by phone, email, Skype, or in-person meetings as needed. I find that SMEs are very receptive to answering questions and providing additional details when I run into roadblocks, even if I'm in the middle of developing a course.

 Guide the conversation. It's important to respect the SME's expertise, but make sure that he understands the big picture for the training program. Guide the conversations and ultimately design the course only using the content that supports the learning objectives. If multiple SMEs are involved and they're saying different things, as the ID it's my responsibility to actively listen to seek clarification and consistently.

 Engage your curiosity. Demonstrating sincere curiosity and asking intelligent questions are essential for instructional designers. Sometimes SMEs are so knowledgeable that they forget the rest of us don't know the inner workings of a solar panel system, a human resources certification process, or what certain technical acronyms stand for. I am never afraid to ask for clarification or an alternative explanation.

 For more perspectives on the ID/SME relationship, check out Jane Bozarth's article and Patti Shank's series. And add your voice to the conversation below!