To get, and keep, a new job you typically need a repertoire of technical skills. Waiters, for example, must be able to note orders quickly and accurately, and deliver the correct order to each customer.

Beyond the technical skills, though, which restaurant would you go to? The one where workers are pleasant and friendly and take time to give full attention to what other people are saying, having a positive approach.

Essentially, it's the soft skills that make the difference.

While your technical skills may get your foot in the door, your personal skills are what open most of the doors to come. Your integrity, your relational skills, your communication skills, your resilience... are crucial for career success.

So why is the importance of these soft skills often undervalued?

For some reason, organizations seem to expect people know how to behave on the job. They tend to suppose that everyone knows and understands the importance of being on time, taking initiative, being reliable, and producing high quality work.

Nowadays, in the case of young graduates, for example, soft skills are the main critical mismatch between labor supply and demand. The serious deficiency, in fact, of soft skills has been reported by several surveys and researches.

Furthermore, Business experts are predicting that, very soon, workforces will be divided between those highly skilled individuals able to carry out technology-related jobs and charismatic, innovative individuals, whose relational skills will make others want to do business with them. And that is something that can't be transferred to a computer.

Soft skills should be recognized and encouraged.

The greater the positive attitude of a person, the better his/her relations. This approach will foster a great team performance, leading people to contribute strongly to the vision and strategy of the organization.

How to measure soft skills in an effectively, quick and innovative way? Artémat proposes some integrated tools: Business Game, Skillgame and Web In Basket ...