Unit GWorkplace Readiness

Objective 7.01Recognize soft skills

necessaryin the workplace.

Soft Skills

• A mix of necessary interpersonal skills and business skills that a successful person develops and nurtures.

Interpersonal Skills Are Soft Skills

• Ethics

• Integrity

• Goal setting

• Assertiveness

• Professional conduct/etiquette

• Positive Attitude

• Empathy

• Teamwork

• Problem solving skills

Communication Skills Are Soft Skills

• Two types of communication skills:

– Verbal communication

– Nonverbal communication

Importance of Interpersonal Skills

• Developing and maintaining positive human relations requires the use of soft skills.

• Positive customer relations are the result of courtesy, interest, helpfulness, and tolerance. An employee is the face of the business or company. The way in which a customer is treated in a fashion retail store determines whether that customer will return. Repeat customers enable a business to become more successful.

Importance of Interpersonal Skills(cont.)

• Employer/Employee relations– Happy employees=Happy customers=More

profits– Companies strive to keep employees

satisfied, motivated, and loyal by offering competitive wages, attractive benefits packages, and other incentives.

– Benefits: Added compensation other than money that an employer gives his/her employees.

– Other incentives might include tuition reimbursement, special bonuses, special recognition, performance awards, and internal promotion programs.

Importance of Ethics

• Ethics: Guidelines for human behavior; the study of moral choices and values.

Terms Related to Ethics• Morals: The part of human behavior that

can be evaluated in terms of right or wrong.

• Standards: Accepted levels of behavior to which individual behavior is compared.

• Virtues: Positive traits, such as loyalty, respect, honesty, and compassion, found within a person.

• Utility principle: The idea that the right action is best for everyone involved, not just for one individual.

• Consequences: The results of an action.

Ethical Behavior

Recognizing the difference between right and wrong, then choosing what is right.

• Ethical people can be trusted to make the right decision, even when the decision does not benefit them.

• Ethics deals with principles that apply to everyone, but these principles become personal and individual and vary depending on an individual’s own belief system.

• Sources of ethical beliefs:

Higher authority, culture, intuition, reason

Ethics in the Workplace

• The development of strong work ethic relies on self-discipline, self-control, initiative, and a productive work behavior.

Ethical Terms in the Workplace•Business ethics: Applying principles of right and wrong to workplace situations.

Business ethics includes taking personal pride in accomplishments on the job and for the work itself.

This is an area of growing concern in today’s workplace.

•Code of ethics: A systematic set of rules and procedures used to guide the behavior of an individual, a business, or a culture.

•Employee duties: The obligation of an employee to fulfill the job responsibilities and to give the employer a fair day’s work for the pay earned.

Ethical Terms in the Workplace(cont.)

• Employee rights: The entitlement of an employee to equal opportunity, fair pay, and safe working conditions.

• Positive climate: A work environment that fosters positive productivity, quality work, workplace values, commitment to excellence, constructive criticism, encouragement for growth, and continuing education. Positive work ethics can be encouraged by

managers practicing good principles of supervision.

Examples of Unethical Behavior

•Conflict of interest, such as an employer pressuring an employee to do outside business with another company owned by the employer’s family

•Employee conflicts that cause either or both employees to behave in an unethical manner

•Immoral and/or illegal activity

Possible consequences of unethical behavior

•Unethical behaviors may or may not also be illegal.

• If news of unethical behavior reaches the media and/or the outside public, then poor public relations may result.

•Unethical behavior can result in decreased profits for the business.

•Possible lawsuits can occur as a result of unethical behavior.

Possible consequences of unethical behavior (cont.)

•If the law is broken the penalty may include jail time, as in the case involving Martha Stewart.

•An employee who reports a business associate or superior for illegal, immoral, or unethical behavior may be identified as a whistle blower.

The Value of Teamwork

• Teamwork: The good working relationship among employees resulting from combined support, leadership, and cooperation.– Agreement: A specific commitment made by a person or a

group of people.– Consensus: A collective agreement reached by the

members of a group.

• Employees are asked to work together as a team to complete a task. The more effectively and efficiently the team members work together, the more likely they are to achieve the desired goal for the business.

Effective Communication in the Workplace

• Effective communication is the process of transmitting clearly understood messages between all involved parties.

• The ability to communicate effectively is extremely important to a person’s success in the workplace.

• Communication of information is a primary resource for every business.

Nonverbal Communication

The ability to convey messages without using words.

•Body language such as hand gestures, facial expressions, eye contact, and other body movements

•Personal appearance

Verbal Communication

The ability to convey messages with the use of words.

•Reading

•Listening

•Speaking

•Writing

Verbal Communication--Reading

• Critical in the fashion industry for reading fashion periodicals, journals, and reports that focus on marketing, forecasting, and trends

• Letters, memos, emails, and requests must be read and responses communicated.

Verbal Communication--Listening

• For communication to take place the receiver must listen to and understand the message being sent in order to respond.– Active listening: Providing the speaker with

feedback (a nod, smile or response) that indicates the message is being received and is understood.

– Open-ended questioning: Asking questions that require more than a yes or no response.

– Allows more information to be retrieved from the customer/speaker

– Shows genuine interest

– Helps build stronger human relations by encouraging credibility and trust

Verbal Communication--Speaking

• How well one speaks may prove to be a determining factor in the degree of his/her success in many fashion careers.

• Speaking skills are equally important in one-on-one conversations or in presentations to a group.

Verbal Communication—Speaking (cont.)

• One-on-one conversations with a customer might take place face to face or over a telephone.– Word choice and tone of voice should convey

friendliness, sincerity, and interest in the customer.– Full attention should be paid to the customer.– When taking a telephone message, be certain to

record the date and time of the call, who it is for, who is calling, the return telephone number, and the message.

–Telephone orders must be recorded completely and accurately. It is recommended that the information be repeated to the caller to verify that the details are correct.

–Remember to express appreciation to the customer.

–While voice mail is a fast and effective way to communicate with someone who is not able to answer the telephone, the absence of face-to-face contact makes telephone manners and verbal skills very important.

Verbal Communication—Speaking (cont.)

Verbal Communication--Speaking(cont.)

• Speaking to groups may occur in formal or informal situations.– One might be speaking with more than one customer in the retail store,

making a presentation of a new line to a buyer, or delivering a workshop or speech to a group such as fashion educators or students.

– Tailor the presentation for the specific audience.

– Organize the presentation in a logical format.

– Visual aids always enhance a presentation. Computer-aided presentations are used frequently in business and industry.

– Speak correctly, slowly, clearly, and distinctly.

– Practice the presentation.

Verbal Communication--Writing

• Written documentation is important and is often required in the workplace.

• Use of electronic media for written communication is becoming commonplace.

• Attention to spelling, grammar, and sentence structure is critical.

• If a document is handwritten, legibility is also critical.

• Examples: email, electronic calendaring, group news mailboxes, on-line services, Internet conferencing, business letters, memos, and reports

Barriers to Communication

• Noise, distractions, or interruptions in service that interfere with sending or receiving the message

• Language barriers

• Information overload