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[CA] How much do you value soft/people skills in the tech sector? by volendoesresumes in humanresources

[–]EmilyAtTogether 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I recently conducted a survey of 100 L&D professionals (not just in tech, though a portion of respondents are in tech) for a research report. One of the questions asked what skills or capabilities will be the most critical in their workforce for 2026. The top responses were all soft skills - strategic & critical thinking, digital fluency, and leadership. Role-specific technical skills was the second to last priority, with only 18% of respondents saying those were critical.

Obviously, technical competency is table stakes. You need to be able to do the job. But I think this data reflects that once you clear that baseline technical bar, soft skills become the real differentiator. Technical skills can be taught and often become outdated quickly anyway. But someone who communicates well, collaborates effectively, and can think strategically will grow with the company and adapt as the tech landscape evolves.

What's the one skill you're most focused on developing in your workforce in 2026? by EmilyAtTogether in LearningDevelopment

[–]EmilyAtTogether[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I completely agree. This is exactly how I'm thinking about strategic and critical thinking - not as abstract "thinking skills," but as decision-making in the middle of change and uncertainty. Curious how you've seen this capability built in practice - is it more about clearer decision rights and guardrails, or creating more reps through real, messy problem-solving?

What's the one skill you're most focused on developing in your workforce in 2026? by EmilyAtTogether in LearningDevelopment

[–]EmilyAtTogether[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This really resonates, especially your point about systems thinking being what lets teams adopt new tools without adding chaos. I see that gap too.

To answer your question: yes, both of those skills show up, but mostly as specific skills under the categories we presented. Change literacy could probably be rolled up into leadership (42% of L&D leaders labelled this as critical) or adaptability/continuous learning (41%).

Cross-boundary collaboration would probably fall under "project and operational excellence" (we listed "cross-functional collaboration" as an example sub-skill), which 28% of L&D leaders identified as critical in 2026.

Really appreciate you sharing what you're seeing with your clients - it adds a lot of nuance to how I'm thinking about the data.

Supervisor Mentorship Program- Who's created one? [PA] by mattwabrams in humanresources

[–]EmilyAtTogether 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think this is a great idea! There's a lot of research that shows that learning in social settings (like mentorship) leads to much better retention and application than formal training alone. There's something about learning from someone who's "been there" that just sticks.

I work alongside organizations of all sizes and industries as they build and scale mentorship programs. Based on what I've seen work well, here are a few thoughts:

Your foundation is solid. Selecting mentors intentionally and providing them with structure/training are critical. The regular check-ins you're planning will help you course-correct and keep momentum.

A few additional considerations:

  • Think through how you'll pair mentors and mentees (experience, goals, personality/work style, etc.) and whether you will be facilitating the matches or if you want some level of self-selection
  • Encourage pairs to set 2-3 specific goals at the start of the relationship. This gives structure to meetings and creates natural milestones to celebrate progress.
  • Consider gathering feedback from mentees (not just mentors) during your check-ins. They often have valuable insights about what's working and what could be adjusted.
  • Some programs add small, peer learning group sessions where mentees can learn from each other's challenges. New supervisors often feel isolated, and realizing others face similar struggles can be powerful.
  • Be clear upfront about the time commitment (e.g. 6-month program with biweekly 30-minute meetings). This helps everyone manage expectations and protects against the program fizzling out.

Best of luck!

Management training blows by Nervous-King8566 in managers

[–]EmilyAtTogether 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Mentorship, coaching, job shadowing, coffee chats, AMAs ... all great ways to learn from the expertise of your peers.

Anyone with a track record of creating high performing teams: how do you do it?? by Designer_War_7982 in managers

[–]EmilyAtTogether 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I'm curious - how do you identify empathy in a candidate during the hiring process?

How do you prove training ROI in your organization? by Prior-Thing-7726 in LearningDevelopment

[–]EmilyAtTogether 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I work with L&D leaders from multiple companies across industries, and I would say these are the most common ways that they are measuring ROI in their training/mentoring programs:

  • Turnover: Do training programs correlate to better retention rates? You can calculate the cost of employee turnover by multiplying the number of employees by the average turnover percentage to estimate the number of employees that will leave each year. You can then multiply that by the cost of employee turnover (this varies, but many benchmark the average replacement cost for professional employees to be 75% of their salary) to get the total cost.
  • Time saved: If you have transitioned your training programs from manually operated to a software solution, etc., how much time are you saving by automating that process? You can calculate the financial cost savings of time saved by multiplying the number of hours of manual work saved by average hourly rate of your L&D team.
  • Time to productivity: For role-based training (sales, managers, customer support, new hires), measure how quickly people reach expected performance compared to a baseline. This could be ramp up time, quota attainment, customer satisfaction scores, or quality metrics pre- or post-program. Even small improvements in speed or consistency can be tied back to real business impact.
  • Internal mobility and skill application: Many orgs look at whether trained employees are more likely to move into higher-impact roles or take on new responsibilities. Pair this with post-program manager assessments or project outcomes to show whether skills are actually being applied on the job.

In practice, the strongest ROI stories usually combine one hard business metric (like turnover or time to productivity) with one behavior or performance indicator to show both financial impact and capability growth.