Edition: June 2nd, 2021
Curated by the Knowledge Team of ICS Career GPS
Excerpts from article by Piyush Nangru, published in India Today
Problem-solving has been critical to any business as far back as we can remember. The advent of digital markets and communication media has further pushed businesses into a whirlwind of challenges that require novel, innovative and tech-backed solutions. Businesses need to power through multiple challenges at any given time with ingenious solutions.
In the current COVID-19 era, businesses have been hit harder with uncertainty — pushing them to adapt to a digital way of functioning, leading to quite a few unprecedented challenges for firms of all sizes.
Today, businesses have a much shorter reaction time. So, both business owners and employees need to step up. Little wonder then that most employers are looking at problem-solving as a key job requirement.
Demands of employers
- Employers or business owners are looking for effective solutions to tackle the dynamic issues at every level of their enterprise.
- These issues vary from simple linear problems to the more complex ones.
- While the recommended solutions may include changes in internal processes, training and development and bringing in new technology, recruiting problem solvers is on the top of most employers’ list.
- The aim is to improve efficiency at the individual level in the organisation.
Challenges that employees face
- There is a lot of pressure on the employees to perform well.
- They deal with a constant requirement to improve in a dynamic environment and need to continuously upskill themselves to become an invaluable resource to their organisation.
- There’s also the challenge of proving oneself as an asset to the company and developing one’s skills in alignment with the organisational goals and growth.
The skills that matter today
- Quick and effective problem-solving is the need of the hour for businesses.
- Credentials that were held in high regard, such as technical skills, brand name of the B school, past work experience and sector, etc., have taken a back seat.
- For employers, theoretical knowledge, years of experience, past work experiences don’t matter unless these enable one to be more agile in tackling the unknown.
- What does matter is openness to challenges, proactiveness, taking ownership of one’s work, negotiating with stakeholders, eagerness to learn — qualities that make you agile and adaptive to change.
- A survey suggests, top CEOs and recruiters say that teamwork is another vital skill.
- They also consider communication and time management to be the next in line of invaluable employable skills.
- People skills or interpersonal skills are being held in a higher regard as compared to technical skills.
It is important for freshers and job seekers to realise that none of these skills are innate but are more like a muscle that one could be built with consistent efforts. Problem solving is imperative to the current job market.
(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in the article mentioned above are those of the author(s). They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of ICS Career GPS or its staff.)
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