Covid19: The top five essential business skills in a pandemic world
The Covid19 pandemic has disrupted basically everything since 2020 - the short-term consequences were sudden and often severe: Millions of people were furloughed or lost jobs, and others rapidly adjusted to working from home as offices closed.
Many other workers were deemed essential and continued to work in hospitals, supermarkets and warehouses, yet under new protocols to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus.
As the UK tries to deal with an ever-fluid situation, a new survey has revealed the five essential skills employers are looking for as we learn to ‘live with Covid’.
These most valued business skills for 2022 have been identified by the programme directors of GBSB Global Business School's Master in Digital Business, using insights from leading research and articles.
With a ‘new normal’ following the global coronavirus pandemic, businesses are reconfiguring their plans, and thus what skillset they are looking for.
Digital Literacy
The ability and skill to find, evaluate, utilise, share, and create content using information technologies and the Internet.
These days, most careers and work environments utilize a myriad of technologies, and employers want to know that their job candidates will be able to keep up. Digital literacy is commonly defined as a soft skill since it’s less about one specific technology (the likes of which are changing daily) and more about the ability to learn and adapt to technology.
The most exciting thing about digital literacy for a job-seeker might be that it isn’t restricted to specific technologies or systems. The ability to adapt to new technology is a skill that will grow every time you master a new platform, and you can take it with you into any job setting.
Working without direct supervision
You can work by yourself and get the job done with minimal direction and supervision.
This requires several skills, including self-motivation, initiative, resourcefulness, confidence, dependability, organisation, planning, and problem-solving skills.
Working independently does not mean you will never be required to work with others (or that you should never ask for help). Instead, it means you can manage your own time, priorities, and resources to get the work completed.
Essentially, an employer wants to know you can be set a task and get it done without any ‘handholding’.
Adaptability
People who can adapt to change are motivated, not easily discouraged, and are usually more creative than the average employee. Adaptability in project managers, for example, reflects the manager’s ability to integrate various moving parts of a project and deliver a quality product or service in a timely manner.
Adaptability is important because as new technology evolves, companies established in the “old ways” may have difficulty competing with major players in their industry. Employers are looking for employees who can demonstrate strong adaptability skills and become company leaders.
Positive thinking and empathy
It seems like the importance of a positive attitude would be obvious, but it’s so easy to become consumed with our own thoughts and dramas. In those times, whether you’re going through a hard time or one of your co-workers is, you have to try to keep the negativity at bay.
A negative attitude affects everything from how you work, how you feel, even to your relationships with coworkers and clients, and how productive you are. While it might not seem like a big deal at first, over time negativity will chip away at your performance until it’s all but gone.
Self-regulation
An attribute that allows an individual to control their responses to situations and people, resulting in the avoidance of outbursts and rash decisions, as well as exhibiting predictable and calming behaviour to your colleagues.
A good colleague takes their time to deliberate on any decisions, acting primarily on logic and well-honed instinct. Without self-regulation, you’re likely to let emotion rule you, resulting in snap judgements that lead to regret and misfortune either short or long term.
It allows you to focus on yourself and the company objectively, with a firm focus on what will make the company thrive. This means you’ll be able to evaluate effectively; this could mean the evaluation of yourself, your peers, how well targets have been met, and more. Self-regulation also allows you to draw boundaries but also be empathetic, distinguishing what must be prioritised when and for what reason.
“Staffing positions with an urgent demand for novel skills has become even more competitive, as technology continues to rapidly advance in line with the new reality, where the need for digital business acumen and independent learning becomes more viable daily,” says Olga Ivanova, Head of Innovation and Development at GBSB Global.
“Keeping digitalisation, innovation and disruption at the core of all our academic offerings, GBSB Global aims to give rise to diversely-skilled, future-proof, influential business leaders, equipped with the latest tech tools, knowledge, and hands-on experience within the context of global business today.
“Connecting with faculty, peers and industry experts from all over the world, students get to expand their international perspectives, network and professional opportunities, ready to accelerate their careers beyond borders.”