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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of soft skill acquisition and the training methodology adopted on employee work performance. In this study, the authors study the trends of research in training and work performance in organisations that focus on the acquisition of technical or “hard skills” for employee training and evaluating work performance. This study was conducted to redirect the focus of employee training and development goals to the acquisition of soft skills, which have a very high and lasting impact on improving employee performance.

This study adopted a quantitative research approach. Questionnaires were administered to selected managers and executives of a few Malaysian private companies. The questionnaire was specifically designed to examine the competencies of various Malaysian-based company managers, executives and supervisors who had undergone a soft skills training programme over a period of a few weeks or months. These soft skills training programmes were not conducted consecutively, but rather with a break or “time-space” in between each session. The target population in this study consisted of 810 employees from nine companies. The sample size was 260 trainees who were selected from the population with a 95 per cent confidence level within 0.05 risk of sampling error.

Using regression analysis, this study estimated the relationships between employees’ acquisition of soft skills, the training methodology adopted by the trainer, and work performance. The results indicate that the two predictors – soft skill acquisition and training methodology – significantly predict employee performance. The authors propose the need for employers to redesign the methodology for training employees in soft skills. Based on the findings, “time-spaced learning” is highly potent in undermining the hindrance associated with training transfer.

The findings of this study help to raise the awareness of employers, human resource managers, professional and industrial experts and the government to rethink the need to improve soft skills training methodologies. Specifically, this can be achieved by giving the trainees “space” or breaks to practice, apply and internalise what they have learnt intermittently during the training programme. This will enhance employee performance, and consequently, organisational performance. These findings also inform company managers that the time-spaced learning method enables employees to acquire soft skills more effectively, which will invariably bring about positive behaviour changes in employees towards their work and co-workers.

The originality of this research is based on the fact that the results are peculiar to Malaysia, whereas most of the literatures on training methodology especially the time-space and soft skill have focused on developed countries. Furthermore, the study emphasised that time-space learning training methodology helps employees in transferring knowledge acquired during training to their work. The research also emphasised that soft skills acquisition brings about increase in employee work performance. This research shows 14.5 per cent increased employee work performance in the selected companies because of their employees’ acquisition of soft skills and a 27.9 per cent increase in employee performance is based on time-space training methodology. This makes the investigation on the effects of soft skills acquisition and the training methodology adopted on employee performance very important for organisational survival.

This study aims to investigate whether soft-skills trainers and hard-skills trainers have different perspectives regarding their required instructional knowledge and skills.

An online questionnaire was completed by 129 soft-skills trainers and 61 hard-skills trainers. The authors used 14 items covering relevant instructional knowledge and skills based on the training literature.

An exploratory factor analysis identified the following two factors: managing interactions and instructional activities. A multivariate analysis of variance showed significant differences in the assessments of managing interactions (p = 0.00) and instructional activities (p = 0.01) between soft- and hard-skills trainers. The differences in managing interactions were larger than those in instructional activities. The soft-skills trainers showed higher agreement with all items. Most individual items had medium effect sizes. The differing perspectives of soft- and hard-skills trainers are not an effect of different educational backgrounds.

These findings suggest that differences exist in the required instructional knowledge and skills depending on whether trainers teach soft or hard skills. Further research should consider the training content.

Practitioners can ensure that soft-skills trainers meet the respective requirements.

This study is the first to investigate the differences in soft- and hard-skills trainers’ perceptions of instructional requirements.

Transfer motivation has been identified as a pivotal factor influencing transfer of training. However, the role of training content has often been overlooked as explanatory variable for the rate of transfer motivation. This study aims to examine to what extent experiences in transfer motivation and its personal and contextual antecedents depend on whether the training content is soft or hard skill. To this end, this study used the perspective of the unified model of task-specific motivation.

A total of 1,122 trainees (462 soft skill and 660 hard skill) filled out a questionnaire representing the components of transfer motivation and its personal- and contextual antecedents. Data were analyzed by means of multi group structural equation modeling.

The results showed mean differences between soft- and hard-skill trainings in personal- and contextual antecedents of transfer motivation and for different types of transfer motivation. However, no differences in transfer intention were found.

The outcomes provide insight as to what practitioners and trainers could do in training design and work environments to raise personal and contextual antecedents and to what extent a differentiation should be made between soft- and hard-skill trainings. This can eventually help them in raising transfer motivation among trainees.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first that examines whether experiences in personal and contextual antecedents of transfer motivation, transfer motivation and transfer intention differ for trainings consisting of different characteristics.

The purpose of this paper is to provide an update on a longitudinal research study that examines the content delivery of courses provided by private training providers (PTPs) for first level managers (FLMs). It measures, against a contemporary soft skill model, the relevance of “off the shelf” training which is aimed at FLMs managerial soft skills, as opposed to “technical” or “hard skill” training. The research has been carried out over three phases. The paper will critically compare and contrast the results and determine if there are any prevailing management paradigms in the content of the courses.

There were three key phases undertaken during the research. Phase 1 involved developing a multi-dimensional best practise core soft skills framework for professional managers. The second phase involved a pilot study conducted as desk research using various online and direct marketing channels in researching 45 PTPs first line manager courses in the UK over a period of two months during October to November 2011, and this exercise was repeated in phase 3 during February and March 2015 using a sample (20) of the same 45 PTPs. Both exercises involved comparing and contrasting the Core Soft Skills Framework to the PTP courses using thematic and coding techniques.

The studies have revealed surprising omissions and contrary positions when it comes to teaching FLMs non-technical skills. On some PTP courses there appeared contrary positions taken up on key managerial concepts such as leadership. In both research phases, “delegation” is an area which FLMs receive significant training. The activity of delegation is an example of top down management used to demonstrate command and control paradigms within the workplace, and fails to take into account todays cultural behavioural shifts. There is also a total lack of acknowledgement on the impact technology is having on a younger generation of managers interpersonal and intrapersonal skills.

The best practise core soft skill framework is based on three key soft skill models which do not take into account soft skills for FLMs. These models do not presently exist. Both the initial study and 2015 follow-up are undertaken by desk research and the content marketing collateral as promoted by the PTPs. What actually happens on the courses themselves: broader management discussions, role play, sharing experiences, etc. cannot be evaluated as part of this research. No distinction has been made in the research with regard the length of the courses.

PTP FLM training is not irrelevant; it is necessary for managers. An issue is the training is pitched at concepts and skills which are too advanced for the FLM who are missing out on the basic non-technical skills. Without this fundamental introduction, it is teaching FLMs to run before they can walk. Of all the FLM courses now researched, there has only been one which covers all the soft skills identified in the framework. With so many core soft skills from the framework omitted from PTP FLM courses, how can FLMs be expected to grasp the basics of soft skills and apply them?

By breaking down the findings, this research can have considerable impact with regard the provision of training for new managers. It informs HR departments about the inconsistencies of new manager training between the providers, but it also highlights areas to new management which are not covered by the courses. For training providers it will act as a reminder that training courses need to be continually reviewed and redesigned to remain relevant as culture rapidly changes from a personal interaction society to a technology interaction society. As a result more emphasis needs to be placed on communication, teamwork, interaction type activities to build intuition and “nous”. Today’s young people are “streetwise” – in technology but not in personal relationships….

This paper aims to synthesize existing knowledge on trainee motivation to transfer (MTT) soft skills training through a systematic literature review (SLR).

By applying a rigorous reproducible process, this SLR identified a total of 33 peer-reviewed articles on MTT in soft skills training.

The systematic review offers several important findings. First, research on MTT has accelerated in the recent past with studies conducted in varied geographic contexts. Second, MTT has been operationalized and measured as an antecedent and mediator of training transfer as well as an outcome itself is sampled papers. Third, MTT is recognized as critical in facilitating the transfer of soft skills. Finally, an investigation of empirical studies helped locate gaps in research methodologies, measurement of MTT and finally its predictors.

The study is limited by the search string and its choice of peer-reviewed articles published in the English language only.

In the absence of systematic reviews on MTT in the context of soft skill, the study contributes immensely by providing an updated, cogent summarization of extant work and potential directions for future research/practice.

This paper examines how soft skills training for owner-managers affects the financial performance of exporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Furthermore, the authors examine the differential influence of specific owner-manager skills, such as “team working skills”, “technical skills” and “leadership skills”, on performance.

The paper utilises the Longitudinal Small Business Survey, which is a nationally representative employer dataset of UK SMEs with up to 249 employees, including those with no employees. The dataset contains information on firms' turnover, export status of goods or services and training provision for employees or owner-managers.

The results suggest that owner-manager's training has a positive effect on turnover in non-exporting firms. Moreover, a combination of soft and hard skills is associated with higher turnover in exporting firms. Amongst the specific skills of owner-managers, training on “team working” has the most significant impact on exporting SMEs' performance.

The authors' findings imply that managerial training to develop soft skills such as leadership, decision-making and communication is a worthwhile investment. The knowledge that owner-managers acquire through soft and hard skills training enables them to develop essential internationalisation competencies. Moreover, the authors demonstrate that teamwork is a significant predictor of performance.

The authors contribute to the literature by examining the role of owner-managers' training in shaping internal systems, structure, processes and internationalisation strategies, thus affecting SMEs performance. The authors' also provide a nuanced analysis of how various types of soft and hard skills underpin the successful implementation of internationalisation initiatives.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the influence of factors that affect human resource competency (HRC) 4.0, employee readiness for transformational change as well as analyzing the mediating and moderating factors that influence the relationship of factors such as soft skills training and individual characteristics on employee readiness for transformational change and HRC 4.0.

This research is a quantitative research with descriptive statistics. The analytical tool used is a structural equation model of partial least squares (PLS). This research was conducted at five Bank Indonesia Offices in Aceh and North Sumatra Provinces. Using a proportional random sampling technique, 200 respondents of employees were selected.

The results of this study are as follows: (1) both soft skill training and individual characteristics have a significant effect on HRC 4.0; (2) HRC 4.0, soft skill training and individual characteristic have a significant on employee readiness for transformational change; (3) soft skill training has significant effect on employee readiness for transformational change through HRC 4.0; (4) individual characteristic has a significant effect on employee readiness for transformational change through HRC 4.0; (5) the effect of HRC 4.0 on employee readiness for transformational change moderates by transformational leadership; (6) the effect of HRC 4.0 on employee readiness for transformational change moderates by employee commitment to change.

This research contains valuable novelty, which is a new concept of HRC 4.0 that is linked to soft skill training and individual characteristics variables, and employee readiness for transformational change. Furthermore, transformational leadership and employee commitment variables have significant effect in moderating the influence off HRC 4.0 on employee readiness for transformational change.

The purpose of this paper is to achieve sanctimonious status to the soft skills discipline. It explores soft skills in global organizations and educational institutions.

This paper explains the significance of soft skills and the methods to acquire these. It differentiates between soft and hard skills with examples and illustrations. It draws a blueprint to offer soft skills program. It unveils expository strategy, guided strategy and active strategy for teaching and training soft skills.

The finding of this study reminds that the world is shifting from knowledge economy to self-knowledge economy and of the importance of soft skills with the advent of artificial intelligence. It enlightens that a judicious blend of hard and soft skills is essential for achieving professional and leadership success. It implores not only to build hard skills but also mind soft skills. It concludes that soft skills are essential for everyone from janitors to chief executives to achieve the desired outcomes.

This paper explains from the academic and organizational perspectives only.

This methodology can be applied in any industry and in any size of organization globally.

The social implications of this research suggest that educational institutions and global organizations can adopt these methods and strategies to impart and improve soft skills.

This research explores tools and techniques to measure soft skills. It encourages experiential learning to impart soft skills. It coins an innovative evaluation tool – Meka’s five-level model – to measure soft skills training. It outlines a few sample questions to measure soft skills training. It crafts course curriculum for soft skills. It unveils a list of soft skills essential for leaders.

This paper aims to highlight the importance of soft skills for leadership and offers recommendations for soft skill development training for the next generation of leaders.

An integrated review of current research literature was conducted on management, leadership and soft skills to develop recommendations for integrating the development of soft skills in leadership development training protocol.

A one-size-fits-all approach does not work for soft skills development or measurement. Each soft skill is defined differently and should be assessed based on different behavioral actions. Progress in this area of measurement development will make a great impact on the use of soft skills. The development of assessment tools for the different soft skills across professional disciplines is assumed to enhance other aspects of transformational leadership such as coaching and mentoring.

Current strategies for the assessment and measurement of soft skills present an obstacle for including these skills in current leadership training models.

The paper includes implications for the development of soft skills for the next generation of leaders and offers recommendations for integrating the development of soft skills in leadership training programs.

This paper fulfills an identified need to study how soft skills can be measured and assessed. This is important given that specific skills vary across professional disciplines and organizational contexts.

This paper aims to investigate the relationship between employee training and bank risk to verify whether and to what extent an increase in employee training, as a soft component of total quality management (TQM), affects bank risk.

The research adopts a panel regression, based on a unique dataset of a sample of Italian banks over the period 2011–2018, to test whether employee training affects bank risk, measured alternatively in terms of Z-score, a proxy of bank stability and non-performing loans (NPLs)/gross loans ratio as a proxy of credit risk.

Research findings reveal that increasing employee training leads to growing bank stability. In contrast, credit risk is not affected by employee training. However, by investigating training heterogeneity, this study found that the increase in the number of managerial training hours, as a proxy for soft skills training, negatively impacts credit risk. Therefore, an increase in soft skills leads to a reduction in bank credit risk.

This study provides empirical evidence in support of the relationship between employee training and bank risk, which seems novel in the literature. From a managerial point of view, this study highlights the need for banks to pay attention to the skills, particularly soft skills, that banks' employees must possess to effectively manage bank risk and, more specifically, the core bank risk.

Empirical evidence on the relationship between employee training, soft/hard skills and bank risk appears limited if not absent. Therefore, the findings provide insights for a more nuanced interpretation of variables that affect bank risk.