The business case for soft skills development in IT

Further evidence was published today supporting the business case for developing appropriate soft skills in IT teams. Bob Jones (IDG) states that without developing appropriate communication and networking skills departments will struggle with staff retention and succession planning (see when soft becomes hard for IT - Fiona Bates).

However, implementing change and upskilling staff to develop, implement and review skills sets requires a thorough understanding of what the business needs, what is currently in place and a plan to ensure that implementation becomes entrenched in the culture of the department.

Plan, audit, implement, review - by following each stage and spending time developing an appropriate strategy for your staff will ensure that skills are used, changes implemented and informal learning becomes ingrained in the departmental culture.