Published September 2001

Teaching ‘people skills’
can be tricky, beneficial

Q. Our electronic component design and manufacturing company grew quickly to about 100 employees, evenly split between professionals (engineers and computer design artists) and plant personnel. We recently have experienced a rash of disappointing results both in new-product design and in not meeting production goals. Our processes are sound, according to an independent systems engineer we hired as a consultant. Where else can we look for the cause of this unusual and troubling downturn?

A. Systems and process best practices can get an enterprise off to a good start. But as success builds and leads to more business, the inevitable increase in staff will follow. The question to consider: How properly integrated are “the people” of your company? Are they interacting with each other and with customers and vendors as seamlessly as your design and manufacturing processes are operating?

Start by looking at your training, specifically your “soft skills” training, which covers issues such as customer service, teamwork, collaboration, leadership and management. Statistically, U.S. companies get very little in return on such training, if they offer it at all. Most “people skills” training programs are ineffective because they don’t address employees’ “emotional intelligence,” their ability to deal effectively with others.

Emotional intelligence explains why “super sales people” have the uncanny ability to sense the needs of customers or why certain customer service employees excel in calming angry customers. But these skills are not inherited; they can be and must be taught to everyone in an organization.

Yet, when companies do provide interpersonal skills training, they often take shortcuts that destroy much of the benefit that could be gained. To gain more insight, I turned to Daniel Goleman, author of the groundbreaking books “Emotional Intelligence” and “Working with Emotional Intelligence” (Bantam Books, 1998).

According to Goleman’s research, companies should take steps to:

• Teach “people skills” differently than the cognitive method of honing technical skills. Emotional training requires learning to replace unconscious behavioral habits most of us develop growing up. For instance, a shy, technically oriented engineer may learn, cognitively, that consulting others more and building personal relationships can help advance his career. But actually learning how to accomplish this requires emotional learning — unlearning old habits such as shyness and replacing them with new ones, gregariousness. It often can be a long and difficult process.
• Avoid a “one size fits all” training philosophy. Organizations that use 360-degree performance assessments can best assess the individual training needs of workers by analyzing ratings given by managers, peers and subordinates.
• Avoid relying on single seminars and workshops. Effective emotional training programs include repeated sessions of practice and feedback and involve methods such as role-playing, group discussions and simulations.
• Follow up. Provide ongoing support to enhance change.

Eric Zoeckler operates a marketing communications firm, The Scribe, and writes “Taming the Workplace,” which appears Mondays in The Herald. Contact him at 206-284-9566 or by e-mail to mrscribe@aol.com.

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