Discussion: Why communication and soft skills are the elephants in the room?

Indians take great pride in education and the fact that English is learned and taught from an early age. While the knowledge is great, the execution is flawed. A cross between Hinglish is born, and in many cases, either the speaker has no idea it's wrong or finds an exaggerated accent works better to "identify" with the West.

In my years of working in the support system (Training), why are budgets restricted, or why is there no importance given to a substantial training period dedicated to building someone's soft skills or language communication? We can argue on the ROI, and I am willing to delve into that subject. But I think it comes down to the positive correlation between impeccable communication skills - and the reflexive reaction by the customers' or clients. People are willing to work more, build relationships, compromise, and negotiate with people who speak better.

And when training is organized - it's haphazard, without a purpose or goal, and rather just to tick it off their client's expectations. You've got a classroom full of blank-stared employees with varied proficiency and a trainer just spewing out grammar rules and culture blips on American Basketball and hot dogs for 2 weeks. And I specifically talk about the MNCs here because, face it, in India, the culture of "up-skilling" their employees and investing - hasn't caught on. And the only reason why MNCs do it is that their clients want it.

So my question is this: Why aren't more companies investing more in training their employees in communication skills that are more relative and relevant to them? Why is it that when broached no company is willing to admit that they have a need? And why aren't more HR and L&D departments more willing to invest in their employees' growth and capability.

Dear member,

You have written about the poor communication skills of the employees and have criticized the employers for not allocating sufficient funds to train the employees. However, while composing this post, you could have run a spell check. More importantly, you have written your post in spoken English. If you had adhered to the principles of business writing, you could have added credibility to your argument.

Therefore, before lamenting the quality of others' English, why not begin with yourself and contribute a high-quality post to this forum?

Thanks,
Dinesh Divekar

Hi,

We can't say all employers are ignoring the training. It depends on the nature of the employer's business. When there is no need for client communication, either verbal or written, based on their business process, the employer may not show interest in investing money for employee training. On the other hand, employers in Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) providing voice or non-voice services or in the hospitality industry, where client communication is crucial, invest quality time and money in training their employees from a business perspective. Also, during the selection process, they filter candidates with average communication skills, thereby minimizing their training costs to a great extent.

However, it is concerning that many employers view training costs as an "expense" rather than a "future investment." Employers facing higher attrition rates are reluctant to invest in training. Training is not a one-time activity and should not happen as a ritual. Training and Development are continuous processes where training needs are identified, post-training evaluations are carried out, and it should be a cyclic process.

Employers should proactively train their employees by hiring the services of professional trainers like Mr. Dinesh Divekar.