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Soft skills like teamwork, adaptability, and emotional intelligence fuel productivity and innovation — yet many organizations struggle to measure and develop them. Without a thoughtful strategy in place, soft skills often go unrecognized, limiting their impact.
Half of HR leaders believe their soft skills training works — but only 20% of employees agree, according to the Achievers Workforce Institute (AWI) New Skills Gap report. This disconnect highlights the immediate need for a better way to develop and reinforce these critical skills.
Recognition is the solution. Employees who receive meaningful, real-time recognition for demonstrating soft skills are more likely to repeat these behaviors. But a few compliments here and there won’t cut it — companies need a structured approach to make soft skills a core part of workplace culture.
Achievers turns recognition into a powerful tool for strengthening soft skills. With a platform designed for frequent, meaningful recognition aligned with company values, organizations can celebrate the behaviors that matter most. Let’s explore how Achievers helps companies build a company culture where soft skills thrive — and help drive real business results.
What are soft skills?
Soft skills are interpersonal and communication abilities that shape how employees work together. Skills like teamwork, communication, and problem-solving help employees navigate challenges and build strong relationships.
Unlike hard skills — technical skills learned through training — soft skills are harder to measure but just as important. They complement hard skills by improving collaboration, leadership, and problem-solving, making them essential for workplace success.
How do soft skills drive business outcomes?
Soft skills are the foundation of stronger teamwork, leadership, and innovation. Skills like empathy help build deeper connections, collaboration boosts efficiency, and problem-solving drives adaptability. To maximize their impact, organizations need to actively nurture and reinforce these skills every day.
Companies that invest in soft skills see higher engagement, stronger decision-making, and improved productivity. According to the AWI New Skills Matrix report, employees who say their company has a great internal mobility program are 2x more likely to have job loyalty and 2x more likely to say they’re productive at work.
Investing in both recognition and career growth creates a workplace where employees feel valued and perform at their best — leading to better business outcomes.
The role of recognition in cultivating soft skills
Recognition plays a valuable role in identifying and nurturing soft skills. Through frequent, meaningful recognition, organizations can quickly find their top talent and create growth opportunities to close the skills gap.
Why recognition matters for soft skills
Soft skills like communication, adaptability, and emotional intelligence are essential for business success, but they’re often harder to measure and develop than technical skills. Without positive reinforcement, employees may not realize the value of these behaviors or feel motivated to improve them.
Recognition bridges this gap by making soft skills visible, appreciated, and repeatable. When employees receive recognition for showing key behaviors — whether it’s resolving a conflict, mentoring a teammate, or leading with empathy — they’re more likely to continue strengthening these skills. A culture of recognition ensures that soft skills aren’t overlooked but actively nurtured and embedded into daily work.
How recognition platforms enhance soft skills
Soft skills thrive when they’re acknowledged and reinforced in real-time. With Achievers, organizations can ensure these behaviors don’t go unnoticed — helping employees develop essential skills through continuous feedback, meaningful recognition, and real-time insights.
- Provide real-time feedback: Immediate recognition helps employees understand which behaviors drive success, creating a continuous learning environment.
- Highlight specific behaviors: Recognition messages can call out soft skills like collaboration or problem-solving, making these contributions more visible and repeatable.
- Encourage peer-to-peer recognition: Employees feel empowered to recognize each other’s strengths, fostering a culture where soft skills are valued and practiced daily.
- Offer analytics and insights: Leaders can track recognition trends to identify strengths, skill gaps, and opportunities for targeted development.
The business impact of Achievers
Companies like General Motors (GM) understand the value of recognition in reinforcing soft skill behaviors. It’s why they partnered with Achievers to create a program that would transform their culture and empower employees to recognize when their peers were leading with those key qualities.
Through a customized platform, GM was able to break the record for most activations on the first day through an Achievers-launched program — amassing 87% of the entire global population and over 80,000 unique recognitions.
These results prove that when recognition is at the forefront of an organization, employees take notice. They’re eager to be seen and are ready for leadership to invest in their potential — helping them reach the next level of their career.
How Achievers bridges the gap in soft skills development
Soft skills drive collaboration, leadership, and innovation — but without recognition, they often go unnoticed. Achievers helps organizations reinforce these behaviors by integrating recognition into daily workflows, making soft skills development continuous and measurable.
Here’s how we do it:
Recognition tied to core values
Achievers enables businesses to design recognition programs that align with company values, reinforcing behaviors like collaboration, problem-solving, and innovation. By linking recognitions to specific soft skills, employees clearly see how their contributions support business success.
Real-time feedback and insights
Achievers’ platform delivers instant recognition through integrations with tools like Microsoft Teams, Outlook, and Slack. This ensures employees receive timely feedback on behaviors like adaptability and teamwork, helping them refine these skills in the moment.
Measurable impact
With customizable reporting and behavioral insights, Achievers helps companies track recognition trends to identify strengths and areas for improvement in soft skills development. Leaders gain visibility into how recognition supports long-term employee growth.
Rewards that motivate growth
Achievers’ Marketplace provides employees with meaningful rewards, including professional development opportunities that encourage skill-building. By tying rewards to learning and growth, companies can reinforce a culture that values and develops essential soft skills.
Building a culture of soft skills through recognition
Soft skills thrive in cultures that actively recognize and reinforce them. By integrating recognition into daily workflows, businesses can create an environment where communication, collaboration, and emotional intelligence become second nature.
Practical strategies
- Spotlight behaviors: Integrate recognition into the tools employees use daily — like Microsoft Teams, Slack, and Outlook — to highlight soft skills in action. Calling out moments of great teamwork or problem-solving in real-time strengthens these behaviors.
- Peer-to-peer recognition: Encouraging employees to recognize one another fosters collaboration and inclusivity. When colleagues highlight each other’s contributions, it creates a culture where soft skills are valued across the organization.
- Training and development: Aligning recognition with learning programs reinforces continuous growth. Employees who receive recognition for applying newly developed soft skills — such as leadership or adaptability — are more likely to retain and refine them.
Leadership modeling
- Leaders set the tone: When leaders openly recognize soft skills like empathy, communication, and innovation, they show employees what’s valued. This top-down approach reinforces a workplace culture that prioritizes emotional intelligence and collaboration.
- Cultural ripple effect: Leadership-driven recognition creates a trickle-down effect — when managers and executives celebrate soft skills, employees are more likely to embrace and develop them, strengthening company culture.
- Empowered with Achievers: Achievers’ platform equips managers with the tools to highlight soft skills in real-time. With built-in recognition campaigns, AI-driven insights, and certified integrations, leaders can reinforce behaviors that drive engagement, productivity, and long-term business success.
Soft skills that drive business success
Soft skills aren’t just personal strengths — they’re business essentials. These skills shape how teams collaborate, solve problems, and adapt to changes in the workplace. And when HR leaders use a recognition program to track these skills, our New Skills Gap report shows they’re 38% more likely than average to say their company can quickly identify the people with the skills they need.
Here’s how these five key soft skills can help drive business success:
Communication
Clear, empathetic communication strengthens collaboration, reduces misunderstandings, and fosters a more connected workforce. Using Achievers’ recognition platform, employees and managers can instantly recognize and reinforce strong communication — whether it’s active listening, concise messaging, or conflict resolution — ensuring these skills are valued and repeated.
Teamwork
Strong teamwork fuels productivity, creativity, and engagement. Achievers’ platform makes it easy to celebrate team wins, highlight successful cross-functional collaboration, and recognize employees who contribute to a positive, cooperative work environment.
Adaptability and innovation
Companies thrive when employees embrace change and bring fresh ideas to the table. Achievers allows organizations to spotlight those who pivot effectively, navigate challenges with resilience, and think outside the box — reinforcing a culture of agility and continuous improvement.
Emotional intelligence
A workplace rooted in emotional intelligence fosters trust, inclusion, and psychological safety. With Achievers, organizations can recognize and reward behaviors like empathy, active listening, and relationship-building — encouraging employees to prioritize meaningful connections and workplace well-being.
Leadership
Great leaders inspire, mentor, and drive performance. Achievers’ platform supports leadership development by making it easy to highlight emerging leaders, recognize strong decision-making, and promote mentorship — ensuring leadership skills are cultivated across all levels of the organization.
Unlock success with soft skills recognition
Soft skills shape workplace success, driving collaboration, leadership, and innovation. Yet, many companies struggle to develop and measure them effectively. That’s where recognition makes the difference — turning everyday moments into opportunities for growth.
Achievers helps organizations bridge the gap by embedding recognition into daily workflows, reinforcing essential behaviors in real-time. With top-tier software integrations, a comprehensive success model, and the industry’s most advanced analytics, Achievers enables businesses to track, encourage, and scale soft skills development.
Ready to start recognizing the skills that matter most? Discover how Achievers can help your organization build a culture of appreciation and drive long-term success.
Soft skills FAQ
