The importance of soft skills in consulting: What is crucial in addition to technical skills.
Professionally, we at CompliON have the most diverse backgrounds. Some team members have more classical degrees with regard to a job in IT management consulting, such as in economics and computer science. Our colleagues with a more exotic background studied e.g. history, engineering or political science. The range of our (previous) professional experience is also diverse: while some colleagues started as consultants directly after graduation, working for software manufacturers or in IT departments, others gained experience in event management, event sales, as teachers or even at the United Nations.
So what is our common denominator?
Why has our team been working successfully for and with our clients for five years now? It goes without saying that we all undergo continuous professional training to ensure that our knowledge is always up to date. However, our soft skills / social competencies are certainly an important factor. A factor that is often discussed in the HR sector, which is not part of training, but is developed individually over the course of a lifetime. Even if there are lists of generally helpful soft skills, different soft skills are crucial for successful cooperation depending on the professional activity.
Are there general requirements in consulting?
Within the field of management consulting, the requirements vary greatly in some cases. This depends primarily on the work or management level at which consultants are active.
What can consultants expect at CompliON?
- with us, all team members work with complete independence in their area from the very beginning
- everyone has the opportunity to bring forward their own ideas
- in addition to the projects, there are also tasks of corporate management and development
To feel comfortable and be successful in this environment, not only technical skills but also soft skills are crucial.
My personal top ten soft skills that our team members bring to the table:
- 1. Analytical skills: We work in projects and every (sub-) project as well as every new development in the respective field requires a quick grasp and implementation of often complex requirements.
- 2. Communication skills: What good are the best analyses and methods if we cannot communicate them in cooperation with our contact persons in the company?
- 3. Empathy: Both internally and externally, we work with many different people. Recognizing and understanding individual goals is often a key to successful collaboration.
- 4. Commitment: To each and every task, whether internal or external. This creates both the basis for successful project results and for advancing internal ideas.
- 5. Flexibility: Requirements are constantly changing and, depending on the development in the project environment, it is necessary to integrate approaches of our contact persons as well as changing needs in the project in order to achieve the individual project goals.
- 6. Time management: And this brings us to the next point: Due to the diversity of tasks, it is not always easy to keep track of everything. Realistic time planning, prioritization and mutual support help us to do this.
- 7. Reliability: This is immediately followed by reliability. Everyone makes sure that their agreed tasks are completed on time, and if something does come up (the keyword is "reprioritizing"), we communicate with each other in good time and find a solution together.
- 8. Willingness to travel: Even though our frequency of Inter City Express trains has dropped sharply since the pandemic and we can do a lot of coordination in video conferences: There are regularly good occasions for on-site meetings.
- 9. Personal responsibility: We all have a high interest in delivering good solutions for our clients. Each team member ensures that this is implemented in his or her own area.
- 10. Decisiveness: Last but not least, quick decisions are often necessary. We all work with the awareness that we are human beings who are also allowed to make mistakes.
And what should not be neglected in all this, of course, is fun in the matter and (own) motivation. Then it almost runs by itself.
Have we described your profile here without knowing you? Then we are very much looking forward to your application!
Author: Anne Pinke