How Do Interpersonal Skills Influence Business Culture?

Interpersonal skills influence business cultures because they affect job performance, which in turn helps to decide the outcome of a company’s success. Many multicultural companies employ people with strong interpersonal skills. Employees learn how to interact and communicate with people from many backgrounds, which can lead to inclusivity and diversity in the workplace. Companies should realize that interpersonal skills are not learned in a classroom. Rather, they are characteristics that an individual may possess naturally. But these skills can be honed.

Key Takeaways

• Interpersonal skills can influence business culture because of how it affects job performance.
• Referred to as soft skills, they allow for effective communication and conflict resolution.
• Companies rely heavily on verbal and non-verbal communication.
• Interpersonal skills help companies to attract and retain talent while boosting customer relationships.
• To improve interpersonal skills, companies may want to consider

What Are Interpersonal Skills?

Interpersonal skills are often referred to as soft skills. They allow people to communicate effectively, handle conflicts, and respond to others’ needs accordingly. In an ever-changing job market, these skills teach workers and business owners how to be agile, solve complex problems, perform critical thinking on their feet, and manage diverse relationships internally and externally.

Measuring a potential employee’s ability to interact with others respectfully and appropriately determines how likely they are to thrive in a team-oriented environment. According to Harrison Assessments, a person’s interpersonal skills are primarily made up of diplomacy, helpfulness, optimism, influence, and flexibility. Also vital are collaboration skills, empathy, tolerance, and frankness.

These characteristics are important in corporate culture as well as in a small business. Business owners generally want to ensure that everyone is on the same page and that business flows consistently and cohesively.

Meeting Business Needs

Verbal and non-verbal interpersonal skills are extremely important to a company’s success. When you can speak to people articulately, you avoid communication errors. You’re also more likely to have happy customers. It’s just as important to maintain the correct tone of voice and posture.

Non-verbal communication consists of facial expressions, hand gestures, and body language. It can also determine whether or not your interaction results in a satisfied customer. When you combine both verbal and non-verbal skills, the result is a powerful demeanor that may help to determine a company’s success.

Good interpersonal skills also encompass listening skills, problem-solving, decision-making, and negotiation skills. The ability to communicate internally with employees and co-workers is just as important as building and maintaining solid relationships with customers.

Employing people with great interpersonal skills and encouraging their development can help businesses meet their objectives and lessen conflicts. It can also help attract and retain new talent while building strong relationships with customers and other key stakeholders.

Note

Unlike hard skills, soft skills like interpersonal skills cannot be taught or learned.

Improving Interpersonal Skills

Business owners must realize that even if they have a vision and goals, these cannot be achieved without solid communication skills, which are needed for relationship management. For instance, a big budget does little to no good if you cannot build rapport with employees and customers.

Empathy, active listening, asking for clarity, constructive conflict resolution, managing emotions, and being open to feedback (both positive and negative) are some of the most common ways of improving interpersonal skills.

Businesses can implement other measures to help their management teams and employees improve these soft skills. Some of these action items include:

• Touring different sites and departments
• Managing staff through direct observation
• Arranging lunches
• Corresponding consistently via phone or email

Having good interpersonal skills promotes approachability, likability, and comfort. Managers who possess strong interpersonal skills motivate their staff to challenge themselves and do a better job. Most importantly, they make workers feel as if they can go to their bosses with any problems or concerns.

What Are Some Interpersonal Skills that Employers Look for in New Hires?

Interpersonal skills are a valuable resource for employers. Companies often look for the following interpersonal skills in new hires (and existing employees): problem-solving, communication, listening, empathy, organization, and creativity. A positive attitude is also a commonly sought after trait.

What Are Soft Skills?

Soft skills are positive personal attributes that allow people to interact with others. Some of the most common soft skills include interpersonal skills, communication skills, leadership, creativity, organizational skills, teamwork, problem-solving skills, and the ability to collaborate.

What’s the Difference Between Soft and Hard Skills?

Soft skills are behavioral while hard skills are any attributes that can be learned. Soft skills include communication, problem-solving, leadership, and organizational skills. Hard skills, on the other hand, rely on education and training and include things like technical skills, computer skills, and accounting.

The Bottom Line

Good interpersonal skills include verbal and non-verbal communication. While hard skills such as knowledge, expertise, and experience are important, without interpersonal skills, you or your company can go only so far. Good interpersonal skills can help motivate employees and attract and keep customers. Happy employees and customers are critical to business success.