Intelligent CXO Issue 18 | Page 28

FEATURE

WHY SOFT SKILLS BUILD STRONG CUSTOMER- BRAND RELATIONSHIPS

Francesca Zanisi , Chief People Officer at Webhelp , talks to us about the importance of soft skills and why human interaction is vital to building good client relationships . you want it done via real human interaction . And this desire is even more acute when your issue is urgent and complex , as human connection helps satisfy emotional drivers , which are fundamental to creating and maintaining brand love and are associated with positive customer behaviours .

Today , we demand more than ever from our interactions with brands . Now , customer experience ( CX ) is about the power of personal touch – hyperpersonalisation , loyalty and the ability to resolve issues effortlessly and quickly . And while technology has advanced in leaps and bounds , it can ’ t deliver the soft skills .

Think about when you have a problem at work , or a specific issue with a product that you ’ re unable to resolve despite protracted filtering through generic ‘ frequently asked questions ’ or endless online help sections . The truth is if you want your issue resolved swiftly and painlessly ,
Very simply , at the heart of human connection in brand-consumer interactions lies soft skills , yet their value is not a new concept . According to a US survey of over 80 million job postings across 22 industry sectors , two-thirds of the job adverts listed soft skills among their list of more technical qualifications . While technical skills can be acquired and perfected on the job – softer skills , such as communication , empathy , listening and teamwork – can be harder to pick up and apply in daily work . It ’ s no surprise , therefore , that soft skills are still in hot demand .
Monster ’ s global report , Future of Work 2022 , states that employers ’ most sought-after
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