Soft Skills in the AI Era: What Tasks Matter Most?

AI use in the workplace is rapidly growing, with no signs of slowing soon. A survey from AIPRM found that 75% of workers use AI in the workplace, with nearly half doing so within the past six months. As a result, 75% of companies are looking to adapt to AI within the next five years.

One of the main applications of AI is in performing technical tasks. As AI technologies advance and take on more complex jobs, organizations may have reduced employee needs in those areas. As a result, soft skills will become increasingly important as companies increasingly rely on AI for technical work.

The Evolving Landscape of Technical Hiring

Many of the skills needed for technical roles aren’t as essential as they once were. Instead of focusing primarily on a candidate’s technical skills, hiring managers are now searching for candidates with a balance of technical and soft skills. In a 2023 survey, around 58% of HR managers either strongly or somewhat strongly agreed that soft skills are rising in importance as AI adoption spreads. Another survey found that 80% of workers say soft skills are more important than ever with the evolution of AI.

As a result, hiring managers have had to adapt their recruitment strategies. This includes asking more questions about a candidate’s soft skills during the interview process and less reliance on technical skill assessments. The interview process may also include questions about how the candidate uses AI technologies so the hiring manager can assess their ability to work with the latest tools implemented by the organization.

Key Soft Skills in the AI Era

There are a few soft skills that hiring managers prioritize more than others as AI continues to have a more extensive influence on organizational operations.

Adaptability

Hiring managers are looking for candidates who can quickly adapt to new situations. While AI can perform technical tasks at lightning speed, it relies on the parameters created by humans. This means it can’t necessarily adapt to new situations unless told to do so by a human operator. With AI’s inability to adapt, it becomes even more crucial for those working with these tools to have the ability to change plans on short notice.

Communication and Collaboration

While many technical roles were solitary, they’ve become more collaborative, with individuals working closely in teams. As AI takes on more technical tasks, those in technical positions are increasingly responsible for communicating the results generated by AI. For example, while a data analyst may not need to perform as many manual calculations, they need to be able to interpret the results of an AI analysis and communicate them to a nontechnical audience. 

Critical Thinking and Problem Solving

AI tools lack critical thinking skills. Without heavy, human-led prompting, they can’t assess a situation and come up with a creative solution. An organization that relies too heavily on AI tools will likely find that it’s unable to resolve unique or complicated challenges. This is why hiring managers should focus on hiring candidates who can work through a situation and determine the best action.

Assessing Soft Skills in Technical Interviews

Now that soft skills are so essential, hiring managers must assess a tech role candidate’s soft skills during an interview. The Situation, Task, Action, Result method is a proven strategy for evaluating soft skills. With the STAR method, HR managers can learn more about how candidates apply their soft skills to real-life scenarios.

Interviewers should start by asking a candidate to describe a specific situation, such as when they faced a challenge or had a problem with a coworker. The questions can either be about past experiences or hypothetical future ones. The candidate may structure their answer around the STAR method, describing the situation, the task they needed to complete, their actions and their final result. Understanding the STAR method allows hiring managers to ask follow-up questions if the candidate omits important details.

Here are some sample behavioral questions for assessing soft skills during a tech interview:

• Tell me about a time you had to deal with a difficult colleague. How did you communicate with them?
• How would you react if your team leader encouraged competition among team members rather than collaboration?
• Describe a time when a project’s requirements changed suddenly and how you adapted.

Building Teams to Complement AI Capabilities

An HR manager aims to build teams capable of working alongside AI tools. They need to identify and attract candidates with technical and soft skills to do this. But doing so only helps you with new hires. They’ll also need to foster an environment of continuous learning and adaptability so that current team members can collaborate with the new hires.

HR managers must take the time to assess their team’s soft and technical skills regularly. If they find that their team has primarily technical skills, they should implement some soft skills training programs. If members are great in a team but don’t know how to use the latest technologies effectively, they can host training programs for these tools. The goal is to create a balanced team, whether it’s through additional training or strategic hiring practices.

Future-Proofing Hiring Strategy

It’s impossible to predict how future technologies will impact organizations. However, by hiring individuals with strong soft skills, such as adaptability and communication, HR managers can ensure they have a team capable of navigating these transitions effectively. Now is an ideal time to evaluate the soft skill requirements for tech roles and adjust hiring processes and training programs accordingly.

Done with your hiring assessment? If so, start the next phase by finding tech candidates who fit the new requirements.

Key Takeaways

• Hiring managers now emphasize a balance of tech and soft skills, as AI adoption reduces reliance on purely technical abilities.
• Adaptability, emotional intelligence, communication and critical thinking are critical for candidates to thrive in AI-driven environments.
• The STAR method is a structured way to evaluate how candidates apply soft skills to real-life challenges.
• Organizations must combine hiring strategies and continuous training to create teams capable of effectively leveraging soft skills and AI tools.