Communication Tops Skills Sought by Employers

Communication skills--the ability to synthesize and transmit ideas both in writing and orally--is likely to be the top employee development priority for the immediate future, according to a survey of more than 2,000 senior managers and executives by the American Management Association (AMA).

Effective communication edges out critical thinking, collaboration/teambuilding, and creativity and innovation as competencies increasingly essential in a fast-paced, competitive economy. The study assumes employees have entry-level proficiency in the three Rs of reading, writing, and arithmetic.

Here are the responses to the survey question: The following skills have been articulated within my organization as priorities for employee development, talent management, and succession planning in the next one to three years:

Communication Skills    
Agree/Strongly Agree: 79%
Neutral: 13%    
Disagree/Strongly Disagree: 7%

Critical Thinking
Agree/Strongly Agree: 73%    
Neutral: 17%    
Disagree/Strongly Disagree: 9%

Collaboration/Teambuilding    
Agree/Strongly Agree: 72%    
Neutral: 19%    
Disagree/Strongly Disagree: 9%

Creativity and Innovation    
Agree/Strongly Agree: 66%    
Neutral: 23%
Disagree/Strongly Disagree: 10%

The study also examined the importance of the “four Cs” for annual performance reviews and hiring. Communications skills again ranked first among the competencies assessed on a yearly basis. Likewise, during the hiring process, more organizations make an effort to assess communication abilities than any other competencies.

For more information, visit www.amanet.org.