What are Soft Skills?
Soft skills, or behavioral skills, are character traits, behaviors and attitudes that allow a person to interact well with others.
Unlike technical skills, which are specific to a task or profession, soft skills are transversal and applicable in various professional or personal situations.
To name only the main soft skills:
-
Communication: the ability to listen, express ideas clearly and interact effectively with others.
-
Leadership: the ability to inspire, motivate and guide others.
-
Collaboration: working effectively as a team, understanding and valuing everyone’s contribution.
-
Time management: organizing your work efficiently to meet deadlines.
-
Problem solving: analyze situations, identify problems and find effective solutions.
-
Adaptability: Adjusting quickly to changes and new situations.
Soft skills and the professional world
In the professional context, soft skills are, for several reasons, crucial.
They promote a harmonious and productive work environment. We can take as an example that good communication reduces misunderstandings and improves cooperation between colleagues.
Soft skills are essential for leadership. A good manager must know how to motivate and inspire his team, manage conflicts and make informed decisions. Additionally, adaptability and time management are major assets in a work environment where priorities and conditions change frequently.
Employers are increasingly actively looking for these types of skills when recruiting. Having soft skills allows you to stand out in a competitive job market, because they indicate an ability to evolve, adapt and contribute positively to the company.
The PAPI: A tool to assess soft skills
What is PAPI
The PAPI, or Personality and Preference Inventory, is a psychometric tool designed to assess the personality traits and behavioral preferences of individuals. This tool is particularly useful for identifying soft skills of a candidate or employee.
The PAPI was first developed by an American psychologist, Max Kostick, in the 1960s. Since its inception, the PAPI has evolved and been adapted to meet the changing needs of the professional world, but its primary goal remains the same : provide valuable insights into the behavioral aspects and motivations of individuals at work.
The PAPI measures various aspects of personality, such as how a person interacts with others, their motivation, their work style, and their ability to handle stress. It thus provides a detailed profile that can help employers understand how an individual is likely to behave in various work situations.
PAPI in action
The PAPI can be used in various professional situations, from recruitment to team management:
-
Identification of strengths and areas for improvement: the PAPI helps identify the behavioral skills that the individual already masters and those that they could develop further.
-
Recruitment: when hiring for a position the PAPI can help recruiters assess essential skills such as stress management, the ability to influence and motivate a team, and organization.
-
Professional development: the PAPI can also be used to plan training programs, focusing on the soft skills most relevant to an employee's career development.
-
Team management: Managers can use the results of the PAPI to better understand the dynamics of their team and adapt their management style according to individual profiles. For example, knowing that a team member has a profile very oriented towards collaboration, the manager can entrust him with tasks requiring strong interaction with others.