The most ambitious people have a growth mindset and consistently keep improving their working competencies to remain relevant in today’s modern workplace. Gone are days where being just dedicated and working long hours were considered an advantage in the workplace.
Rapid development in technology is significantly changing traditional work practices to a modern and productive way of working. This transformation has an enormous impact on the type of working competencies employees now need to remain relevant in the workplace. So, what are the core workforce competencies employees need today?
Here are 9 Working Core Competencies You Need:
1. Thorough Reading
2. Digital Knowledge
3. Good Writing
4. TeamWorking
5. Numeracy
6. Oral Communication
7. Active Listening
8. Continuous Learning
9. Service Mentality
1. Thorough Reading
Reading is one of the working competencies. In nearly all workplaces, you need reading skills to do your job well. You are required to read different written materials like work instructions and procedures.
For example, work procedures are series of steps that you follow in a specific order to carry out a task. These written materials can help you carry out an action that you might not be familiar with and may save you time and prevent errors.
Sometimes people can read but not to the level of understanding the work instructions or task. You need to understand not only how to do the job correctly but to work safely. So, it’s important you can read and interpret data correctly to do your job well.
And you might put someone else in danger as well as yourself. There are so many written forms and documents that people fill out every day n the workplace.
2. Digital Knowledge
Today is an era where almost everyone dependent on electronic mediums for work. Digital literacy is required because most work tasks are online to simplify complex manual processes.
The lack of computer literacy brings disadvantages especially, for people who wish to advance in their careers. And many computer programs are designed to help people do their jobs faster and more accurately.
For example, gone are days when writing letters was the way of communicating with messages. The new media allows employees to share information and communicate all other work-related issues via apps and emails.
Related: 16 Character Traits of a Hard Worker
3. Good Writing
Writing skills are required in almost all workplaces to complete texts for a range of purposes. Depending on your work role, you need to have good writing skills to do your work. Job roles are different, but there are also many common writing tasks required in some workplaces.
Some of these writing tasks include writing standard operating procedures, reports, formal proposals. Most work tasks involve collecting and analyzing information to identify its relevance and summarize it into the type of document you need.
4. TeamWorking
Getting along with others in the workplace means respectfully cooperating with people at work. As an individual within the team, you must cooperate and get along with your colleagues through respect.
As a team member, you need to work together with other team members to achieve a team goal. So, it is essential to communicate with your colleagues in a respectful way.
Also, everyone in the workplace has a different opinion. It is therefore important to allow everybody to say what they think without disrespecting them.
5. Numeracy
Numeracy is the ability to use numbers and think mathematically to estimate, measure, count, and make calculations. As one of the core working competencies, people need to have some numeracy skills for their specific job role.
The type of numeracy skills you need to do your job well varies, depending on your profession, role, and the goals of each assignment. For example, if you are a team leader, you might need math skills to set budgets and key performance indicators, track inventory levels or place orders.
Being able to manage time is necessary for almost all professions and requires good estimating skills. You need to be able to calculate and estimate your work tasks and plan your workday accordingly.
6. Oral Communication
In almost all jobs, employees need to interact with each other, customers, and others. The type of oral communication skills you need to do the job well depends on your role and the purpose.
You need different forms of speaking and listening in different work situations. Many jobs involve face-to-face communication with people. However, you may also make phone calls or use other technology tools to communicate with other people.
When communicating in any situation, it is crucial to use the correct language to convey your message. There are some general speaking skills that you will need in almost any job.
However, it is critical to make sure that the language you use is appropriate for your listeners. For example, the language you use with your work colleagues can be different from the language you use with clients and others.
7. Active Listening
Listening is probably the easiest way to build strong working relationships with other people in the workplace. Every day in the workplace, people discuss issues with other workers, customers or clients, and others external to your work.
To participate well in any discussion, you need to listen carefully to others before speaking when you get the opportunity.
Good listening is first and foremost a choice, but it is what makes you a better communicator. As a listener, you have to put aside whatever else might be distracting you and make listening a real priority.
Read More: What Makes a Good Team Worker
8. Continuous Learning
Technology is changing fast so, companies need people not only with the appropriate skills but also who are interested and curious about acquiring new knowledge and new skills. Also, learning new skills is key to developing a professional career.
But it is more than achieving personal career growth. The digital age nowadays can inflict serious undesirable career consequences if you don’t engage in continual learning.
So you must continue learning new skills and remain relevant to the rapidly changing workplace caused by automation and digitalization.
You also need to know that continual learning is an individual responsibility. However, employers usually raise awareness and provide the necessary support for employees to keep learning new skills.
Continuous learning is so important because people who continue to learn new skills are more valued and get promoted often to higher positions. Being a continuous learner doesn’t just raise your importance, but also improves your confidence in the workplace.
9. Service Mentality
Nowadays, many companies face increasing competition, so the need to focus on customer service is getting bigger. One of the best weapons against the competition is excellent customer service. This is what helps an organization to stand out from another.
A customer can get the same or similar services from several competitors. Therefore, excellent customer service is a determining factor.
Customers want to know that you see things from their point of view. So, you must be someone who listens, understands, react, and is sensitive to other people’s situations — those are some of the main ingredients for an excellent customer service mentality.
When starting a new job you’ll be expected to have most of these core competencies. So, what do you think? Share your thoughts in the comment below