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In today's blog, the experience of Enrique Martín, currently an HRBP at Bip Consulting, will showcase the more human side, quite literally, of human resources.
Enrique has dedicated the last 12 years of his career to the fascinating world of human resources, where he has had the opportunity to work in all areas of the team. From recruitment to talent development and labor relations management, he has approached every facet of human resources management with enthusiasm and commitment.
We interviewed him to address an important topic: Soft Skills in the Hiring of Young Talent, a broad subject that, as he himself admits, could be discussed for hours.
The well-known Soft Skills are personal and social competencies that facilitate human relationships and enable success in any aspect of life, including the professional realm.
What are the most important Soft Skills? How are they evaluated? Do they contribute to the success of employees? Have they changed with the pandemic and remote work? These are the questions we will address with Enrique and his experience.
Let's get started!
"At Bip Group, and in practically all companies, it's quite common. For us, effective communication is crucial. The ability of people within a consulting firm to express themselves clearly, concisely, and actively listen is essential for collaboration and problem-solving.
Teamwork, the ability we all must have to work harmoniously with others, contributing to common achievements and being aware of the personal impact it can have on the team.
Another aspect we value highly is adaptability, the flexibility to adapt to changes and face new challenges. Why is it crucial in our company? Because we are a consulting firm that always has different projects, and there's the possibility of rotating between them. We need people who can adapt to changes and accept new challenges.
Linked to that adaptability is problem-solving, the ability to analyze, identify effective solutions, and make decisions. In a consulting firm, it's crucial to identify what we can do to help and ultimately make timely and effective decisions to solve the problem.
Empathy is fundamental, the ability to understand and share the feelings of others. This builds strong relationships and a positive work environment, which is crucial for a consulting firm to function well.
Time management, organizing, prioritizing efficiently, always meeting deadlines while maintaining the productivity we demand is also crucial.
And to conclude: Initiative, proactivity, taking on new responsibilities, demonstrating commitment not only to the team but also to the organization.
And I'll finish with emotional intelligence. The ability to handle your own emotions and a bit of others' contributes to healthy relationships and the positive work environment we seek.
There could be more, but these are the general ones."
"There are various ways; in many cases, soft skills are assessed comprehensively throughout the entire hiring process, from reviewing the resume to the final interaction with the selection team and the team responsible for the position, which, in our case, also conducts interviews with candidates. We seek consistency in social skills in different contexts to make decisions about their suitability for the specific position and also for the company's culture. Then there are more specific tools that we often use in interviews, which are more behavioral. We look for specific examples of situations in which candidates could demonstrate those most relevant soft skills. For example: How do you handle a conflict situation? How do you see yourself working in a team? It's a bit of threading within the interview, different, more behavioral questions.
Many times, we assess references, meaning we contact companies they have been with before. It's true that, perhaps for Young Talent, it's not as relevant since it's usually either their first job or previous jobs are unrelated to the position, but it's another tool we use. On other occasions, we conduct group dynamics. If we have a high number of candidates who could fit within the organization but we have to make a selection, group dynamics are a good tool.
Networkme - The dreaded group dynamics...
Yes, that's why we don't usually use them. We use them occasionally when we have a lot of young candidates, and we inevitably have to make a selection."
"In my opinion, social skills play a crucial role in the long-term success of employees in various aspects. In the end, it translates into effective collaboration. Employees who can work well with others are usually more productive and contribute to the team's success and, therefore, to personal success. This long-term success, that projection within the company, is very important.
Leadership, which we haven't talked about yet because it might be more of a hard skill, leaders who have that empathy we talked about, those communication skills, that ability to build slightly stronger relationships, tend to motivate teams, and that makes conflicts resolve more effectively, fostering a good atmosphere, positive work.
Employees who can effectively resolve disputes also contribute to their personal and professional success in the company.
From my point of view, something else that is important is that employees with strong social skills usually contribute to a positive work environment, and this greatly improves job satisfaction, employee retention, attracting new talent... In the end, it's a cycle. This makes you not want to leave when you're inside, but when you're outside, and you talk to people inside, you want to come in. Technical skills are important, obviously, but beyond that, the work environment, that satisfaction, is fundamental."
"Yes, they have changed. We are a fairly flexible company regarding hybrid work, and it is inevitable that these soft skills have to change, although in some cases, they remain the same. With the rise of remote work and these changes in the work dynamic due to the pandemic, some soft skills have gained more relevance. For example, effective virtual communication is crucial. The ability to communicate through virtual platforms, written messages, participate in video conferences effectively, use online collaboration tools... all of that has gained importance since the end of the pandemic.
Another soft skill that has also gained weight is autonomy and self-management. Employees who can maintain that productivity and personal management without the direct supervision of someone sitting beside them become much more important with remote work. That ability for self-management and personal initiative are valuable skills.
Other things, adaptability and resilience. The pandemic has brought rapid and very significant changes in work environments like ours. The ability we must have to adapt to new circumstances and show resilience in the face of new challenges, new ways of working, is also crucial and has gained special relevance.
And of course, distance collaboration. Collaborating effectively at a distance. Losing contact with my colleagues would be a mistake; I have to be in constant contact with my colleagues because collaboration is necessary. This is also a soft skill that needs to be developed because not everyone can be at home and have that dynamic of talking with one, talking with another... All of this has come strong since the pandemic."
—> At the end of this interesting interview, we asked Enrique some quick questions, and his answers might pleasantly surprise you.
When I was little, I wanted to have a bar. Be behind the bar, be in the kitchen... I love cooking, but I wanted to work in a bar. Of course, then I realized that what I wanted wasn't to work in a bar; I wanted to own a bar and run it myself, you know? It has evolved over time because it's super demanding and unfeasible in my way of thinking, but I always, always, always wanted to have a bar, serve tapas, coffees, a menu...
Evolving a bit and so on, I don't rule out the option of having my own business, but not from within, not from behind the bar.
I get emotional here, it moves me to say it. I would give this advice to my past self and all the "yous" that exist in the world. And it is: Listen to your elders. Always listen to your elders. And especially, if you have a mother, to your mother. Because they almost always have a point.
At the time, I didn't listen to her, and she forced me, and here I am. You know?
It's crucial when you're young to listen to your elders. And now that I'm a father, obviously, it's the advice I'll give to my children even though they won't listen to me, of course.
The biggest challenge is a classic, it's talent retention and especially job satisfaction. Right now, there's a range of possibilities that allow young people to choose where they want to work, and in my opinion, it should be that way. It shouldn't be precarious; they should be paid well, etc.
The challenge is that they want to work with us, that is, retain them once we have them.
The main responsible for talent not being retained is the company itself, so we have to work on making the person comfortable, in that good environment we talked about, that camaraderie... that has to be worked on from within. Because when you're young, I think what matters most, apart from the salary, is learning because we'll have time to take on more responsibility roles, but what young people prioritize is learning and learning.
I'm very clear about it. 100% hybrid. Nowadays, it's very complicated to reconcile personal life with work if it's not in a hybrid format. I think we tend towards that, and in my opinion, it should continue that way. But I think it's also necessary to go to the office, have that human contact. For me, a 3/2 - 3 remote, 2 office, or vice versa is the perfect balance to encourage that.
Thank you, Enrique, for contributing to this blog with your experience and knowledge.
Connect with your future
