Soft skills, often called people skills, are defined as the ability to interact amicably with others such as communication, leadership, empathy, delegation, flexibility, teamwork, and innovation. Honing these skills can help individuals better resolve conflicts, solve problems, and provide excellent customer service. These skills are also essential for managing and can help develop stronger relationships with employees, colleagues, clients, and other professional contacts. The shortage of employees and leaders with these essential skills is often referred to as the “skills gap.”

One of the greatest HR challenges facing the industry in 2024 is the skills gap. Recent research by RGP, a global consulting firm, surveyed 1,000 business executives responsible for shaping their workforce, and found that, on average, the group had 200 or more $1 million or larger transformations in progress, although 40 percent said they did not have the needed skills to deliver on the transformations. This is not uncommon today.

One of the leading strategies to address the skills gap is microlearning. Microlearning delivers short bursts of content for learners to study at their convenience as both time and place permit—often referred to as asynchronous training. Content can take many forms, from text to video clips to audio, and even tests and games can provide useful learning.

The skills training can be provided “just in time” for when those skills are needed. For example, obtaining advice on the best ways to handle personal conflict just prior to confronting another person or top strategies for closing a sale while in the sales process with a prospect.

Because of its flexibility, online microlearning has evolved to be an ideal solution for both employers and employees in our high-tech world in which everyone has a cell phone and flexibility in time and place to learn.

Forbes reports that according to Deloitte, some 92 percent of executives identified soft skills development as found in microlearning as critical to their success. And although 97 percent of employers say soft skills are essential for their employees, just 37 percent of these same employers say their entry-level employees possess the necessary soft skills needed for their current jobs, not to mention any future jobs they might have.

For these reasons, soft skill learning needs to be a part of every career development plan for every employee in your organization. A long-term focus on such skill development can allow employees to combine learning skills intermittently as needed with periodic assignments applying those skills to projects and collaborations that allow the employee to integrate the learned skills into real-life situations at work.

For example, insurance giant MassMutual relies on a microlearning platform called Accel5 to provide a foundational role in upskilling all its employees, including core business skills such as leadership, negotiating, and psychological safety. Its curated videos, business book summaries, articles, micro courses, and learning paths are offered in multiple formats so learners can choose the format that works best for them. In any format, Accel5 microlearning fuels leadership learning and management development, both on demand and in the flow of work.

Publix, a premier quality food retailer, uses Accel5 to help managers improve competencies on the job in core skill areas such as customer centricity, getting things done, and resolving conflict—essential skills for workers at any stage of their career. They have also found that the microlearnings spark conversations at every level of the organization. Leaders don’t always have time for deep-dive conversations, but Accel5 topics generate ideas and discussions that help spur development by providing all employees timely access to concise, actionable ideas from some of the world’s best management practitioners.

Although soft skills training boosts productivity and retention by 12 percent and can deliver ROI as high as 250 percent, it is still relatively uncommon in organizations today. Only 31 percent of employers actually provide soft skill development training to their employees. This obviously needs a greater level of attention on the part of all organizations, but especially with those concerned about their ability to attract and retain talent to meet the ever-changing needs of their business.

If combined with periodic employee assessments and discussions of employee career aspirations, this career development focus can offer a strategic approach for any organization planning its human resources needs for the future. Companies are finding that growing and developing their current employee population can significantly be more beneficial than hiring external talent as needed along the way—and certainly at a more reasonable price.