Society tends to value and invest in the well-known hard skills, betting on knowledge and know-how for success. But what has been coming to light as essential (more so since the pandemic hit us, where relationships and mental health took a forefront) are the lesser-known and so important soft skills, especially when we’re talking about a remote work setting.
If you take a look at this Harvard study, for example, you’ll see that what they found is that 85% of people said that soft skills are actually what make up for professional success, while only 15% are due to the hard ones.
But, since we don’t seem to be that well versed in soft skills, what are they, really? What do they look like? What are the ones that matter for success in remote work or in any type of work, period? And this is what we’re going to tell you, besides how they benefit your business, why you should be putting them in the hiring equation, and how to assess these skills in the hiring process.
Here are the 16 soft skills we’ll be talking about:
- Autonomy & Accountability
- Self-Awareness & Emotional Intelligence
- Asynchronous Mindset & Digital Fluency
- Communication & Documentation
- Relationship Building & Empathy
- Conflict Resolution & Problem-Solving
- Time management & Self-Management
- Cultural Literacy & Intelligence
And, finally, we’ll share with you How to Spot and Assess Them in Remote Candidates.
Are you ready? Let’s go.
1. Autonomy & Accountability
These two soft skills are foundational for the success of remote workers in general.
Because, if they’re autonomous, they’ll be making choices on their own, taking charge of projects and their own tasks. When met with roadblocks, they’ll figure out what to do (and most likely make great choices) without needing you or any other leader to guide them.
Now, if they’re accountable, the part of taking charge of their projects and tasks gets taken a bit further. They are and feel responsible for what they’re doing. They are not just cruising along and letting others do the hard work. For example, if they notice something is wrong, they’ll look for ways to fix it. Besides, if they feel like they need help with something, they’ll be the first to ask. Because, for them, it’s not about being right or in the right, it’s about making sure things are done right and work right.
In tech, you’ll notice these two soft skills when your developer suddenly realizes that technical debt is so high they can’t move forward without actually looking back. Instead of freezing or brushing over it (and allowing it to become an even bigger issue), they’ll do whatever it takes to get this solved in order to make sure the software or app doesn’t crash. Even if it was their own actions that caused this, it’s not a problem—they will own up to it and find ways to fix it.
And what you get, in turn, by hiring such soft-skilled employees are deliveries you can trust and a lot less stress and delays.
2. Self-Awareness & Emotional Intelligence
These two are foundational and crucial to remote team success. While self-awareness lays the groundwork for emotional intelligence, it’s the latter who ends up shining. We could say that self-awareness is more like that root, something that is hidden from view, but from it grows something beautiful that all can see, like a sturdy tree, which is EI. And from this tree, comes this great fruit in the form of other soft skills for remote work.
We say that because self-awareness is more of an inner process. It has to do with how one perceives and understands themselves, their moods, their strengths, their limitations, and their triggers. Ultimately, they’re aware of themselves, meaning they are able to see themselves.
Think about this: a lot of people spend most of their time and lives looking at others, judging and blaming others. Self-aware people can still do that, but not at the detriment of their own selves.
Now, emotional intelligence, while also an inner process, allows the person to extend an olive branch outwardly. People who possess this soft skill, besides knowing what’s going within themselves, know how to manage these emotions, and how to deal with them in a constructive way. And in the same way, they are able to understand others, showing patience and understanding, dealing with conflicts, stress, and challenges in a positive manner.
And what this translates to in a remote environment is that if you have self-aware and emotionally intelligent developers in your team, they won’t be blind to their own mistakes or shortcomings. Also, they’ll be very aware of their strengths and how they can put them to use, while knowing what makes them tick and how to control it, how to deal with it.
In action, these two soft skills combined look like developers staying calm and focused when dealing with complex technical problems or misunderstandings within the team, since they’re able to emotionally regulate. You won’t get defensiveness from them. There’ll be no lashing out or putting the blame. They’ll also be able to offer and take criticism and feedback gracefully. They also tend to act as a calming presence within the group, helping to de-escalate conflicts that they might not even be a part of (and no one might ever know).
What this all means for businesses is that you get people inside that are looking to work peacefully and achieve results, and can actually help you keep the team connected and conflict-free. Self-aware and emotionally intelligent employees are trustworthy and mature, and so you, as a leader, don’t have to worry about “people problems,” as your team can handle their own problems, if there’s ever one.
3. Asynchronous Mindset & Digital Fluency
This one is a big one for remote global teams. When you have people working from all over the world, “business hours” are not really a thing. You might have a developer in Serbia which is GMT +1 and another one in Brazil, which is GMT -3. That means that when your Serbian developer is starting to work at 8am their time, the one in Brazil is still fast asleep.
In order to achieve great collaboration across time zones with little to no overlap, having an asynchronous mindset is golden. And this soft skill ties back to self-management and time management with a huge dose of organization, initiative and clear communication. Also, emotional intelligence, as being able to regulate emotions and not become anxious or stressed is crucial, since replies might take a little while at least to arrive.
And, of course, in order for anyone to be able to handle the challenges (and beauties) of asynchronous work, they just have to have digital fluency. Digitally fluent people not only know how to use their hardware, software, and platforms for remote workers, they are also quick learners and problem-solvers. They’re able to start using a new piece of technology and get the hang of it quickly. They can find themselves with a tech issue and figure out how to solve it easily.
This soft skill for remote work, if your team is in different locations, is not optional, as you can see and might already know. The people in your team or that you consider hiring must be able to deal with delayed responses, prolonged periods of solo work, different tools and technologies, time and self-management.
If they do, the wheels turn perfectly, basically 24/7, giving your company a true edge over others. If they don’t, it means you have an issue on your hands, and will deal with delays and setbacks. So make sure you hire the right ones.
4. Communication & Documentation
Communicating well isn’t a soft skill that’s just required for remote work. It’s a skill we all need, but not all of us possess. If some people have trouble communicating face to face and seeing eye to eye, long-distance can definitely put a damper on things.
And, when your team needs to work with written communication first, having a team member who has this soft skills lightens the mood and allows for understanding rather than misunderstanding.
This means that they’ll speak and write well and clearly, especially in English. They’ll be polite and friendly, choosing sentences like “Could you take a look at this today, please?” instead of more forceful (and maybe aggressive) ones like “Fix this ASAP”.
Besides, as our VP of Marketing Luis said on our podcasts about Enhancing Job Satisfaction, this communication skill shows up in the form of employees closing the loop. Which means they don’t wait to be asked if a task is done, they go ahead and tell their manager or boss: “Hey, that thing you asked for, here it is.” As he put it:
“When I give you a task, don’t expect me to check if it’s completed. Come back to me and tell me, hey. I completed that task. Right? That closes the loop, and I know that you’ve done your part right, and I don’t need to be micromanaging.”
And while you might think documentation does not belong here, we’ll show you it does. If you think about it, documentation is a form of communication, written communication. It can be done in a meeting for example, to register what was decided and/or to inform someone who couldn’t be there. It can also happen so asynchronous work can be achieved when multiple people are working on the same project.
For developers, this looks like writing superb documentation for a software the team is building, making it easier for everyone involved, and for anyone onboarding in the future.
And what these two soft skills do for you in a remote setting, is getting everyone on the same page and up to speed, by avoiding mix-ups, things getting lost in translation, or actually lost (as in important software or code info).
5. Relationship Building & Empathy
These two soft skills make a big difference in any type of context. In order for things to happen and work, we need human connection.
Some leaders may think the way into getting something done is through fear (and even harassment).
Exhibit A: Michael Scott, from The Office series, once said:
“Would I rather be feared or loved? Easy. Both. I want people to be afraid of how much they love me.”
Exhibit B: The Queen of Hearts in Alice of Wonderland, who’d rather be feared, and used to say
“Sentence first—verdict afterwards,” and “Off with his head!”
While Michael Scott might not be the best example of leadership, he had this going for him—he definitely wanted to build relationships (even if he couldn’t). Now, the Queen couldn’t care less about her subjects, and made them live in constant fear. And I’m pretty sure that whatever they delivered was never to their full potential, as with fear comes insecurity, and insecurity never allows for the highest potential to be expressed.
The reality is that, if relationships are strong, employees and team members might go the extra mile, work a bit harder, or lend a coworker a helping hand, just for the sake of their relationship. Meaning, they’re more proactive and productive.
And if you’re building a team and/or hiring a leader, you must surely want someone who can connect to the other team members. And that’s where these skills come in.
Empathy allows people to really put themselves in the others’ shoes, which makes room for understanding and connection, a foundation for relationship building.
Relationship building comes in handy when people can’t meet in person and notice subtle cues and body language. And where, in an async work environment, most of the communication is done through writing.
What this looks like in action is an employee who can be honest, open, and welcoming. Who actively listens to their coworkers and shows they care about them, for real. They’re open to feedback, and consistently share constructive criticism, with awareness for the right place and time.
In a developer, you’ll see this trait as someone who can build strong connections within the team, not just among him or herself and the other team members, but among all team members. They build not just relationships, but an environment of trust, where mistakes are dealt as a team, and so as deliveries.
When you hire someone who has this soft skill, what you get in turn is a smooth flow of work, great relationships within the team, lower turnover rates, among others. Which means bosses don’t feel the need to hover as they feel they can not only trust a single team member, but the entire team, giving them time to focus on what really matters—growth.
However, if you end up bringing a bad apple home, it might poison the rest of the team, and spoil everything. And that’s especially true in remote IT teams, where developers must be able to share complex work asynchronously, which is a challenge in and of itself.
6. Conflict Resolution & Problem-Solving
Conflict resolution and problem-solving might look different in writing, but they’re pretty much the same when it comes to how they show up in life and in a remote work setting. And that happens because they both grow from the same root or ability: the ability to stay level-headed and think critically about that task at hand and the path forward.
And since remote work presents an even bigger challenge, as people can’t see each other’s body languages, are more often than not relying on written communication, don’t all speak the same mother tongue, and don’t have as many casual talks as they would in a regular office, managing conflicts and solving problems becomes even more difficult.
To settle them they need to interact with others, and that’s where this soft skill rears its beautiful head.
It might have to do with resolving a conflict between developers who disagree on a feature (conflict resolution) or with dealing with technical debt that has come to haunt the team (problem-solving), the ones who possess these two soft skills are well-equipped to deal with these issues head-on and come out on top. Trust them to.
What you get when you hire them is allies who are able to handle and work out disagreements and problems that may arise, without letting it take a toll on relationships and company goals.
And, in fact, here’s something interesting: when asked in 2024, IT professionals rated problem-solving as the top soft skill to have, with a score of 21.34, beating others such as good communication and relationship building. This result shows how being able to resolve conflicts and solve problems truly impacts not only the workers themselves but entire teams and businesses, making this a soft skill that should not be ignored.
7. Time Management and Self-Management
In a setting where leaders and teams are away and there’s no constant supervision, these soft skills definitely come in handy. And they’re both similar in the aspect that they have to do with how one manages, either themselves or their time.
Self-management has more to do with the person, per se. Their goals, priorities, behavior, to do lists, etc. It shows up in how someone handles themselves and their work, and how independent they can be. If they’re organized or not and if they’re able to self-motivate. People with these skills know where their strengths lie and use them to their advantage. And they’re also aware of their weaknesses, and work on them.
Time management is a type of self-management, I would say. But it actually comes down to the daily schedule and keeping track of one’s tasks and deadlines. These people know what they need to do, how long it takes to complete each task, and how to work right to hit—and not miss—deadlines.
Remote workers with these soft skills benefit businesses and teams in big ways. Their leaders, then, are needed but only for what really matters, and not for putting out fires, stressing over missed deadlines, or fixing last minute problems. They can trust the work that’s being done, and actually that the work is being done. And not only the leaders, but the whole team, which lowers stress for everyone and ensures quality and delivery.
8. Cultural Literacy and Intelligence
Remote teams are not confined within countries, they’re everywhere. And with this geographical expansion comes also a possible clash of cultures.
Not only do employees have to adapt to and work with the company culture, they also have to deal with each other’s cultures. And when you have people working together that might not even speak the same mother tongue, how can you expect them to be aware of other cultures?
Well, actually, you can. And this is where this soft skill comes in.
When workers are skilled in cultural literacy and intelligence, they might not exactly know the culture rules of other countries, but that doesn’t stop them from caring and wanting to adapt better.
In action, this soft skills shows up in the way someone (1) can make space and understand that different nationalities communicate differently, (2) knows when and how to shift tones and styles themselves, (3) appreciates and values the cultural diversity within their teams, and makes an effort to know more, and (4) takes into consideration holidays and time zone gaps, in order to be respectful and mindful of team members’ private and personal times, among other ways.
As a consequence, when you bring a new employee onto your team who’s culturally literate and intelligent, you’ll see that they’ll be able to strengthen bonds and prevent conflict. They’ll also foster innovation by pulling from the team members’ different backgrounds and viewpoints. In a nutshell, they’re a win-win for your team and your business.
How to Spot and Assess Soft Skills in Remote Candidates
In the end, although you may know what these soft skills may look like, picking the right candidates takes more than just following a gut feeling. So, to make sure you’re hiring the perfect people, you actually need a careful and solid plan to assess them. To help you do that, here’s how you can evaluate a candidate’s soft skills with confidence and certainty:
#1 – Create and Keep a Soft Skills Scorecard
First and foremost, before you start your hiring process with soft skills in mind, you must know what you’re looking for and how to rate your applicants’ essential people skills with a thorough and fair checklist.
When you lay the groundwork before screening starts, you are able to compare candidates and accurately spot those who shine when it comes to communicating, taking accountability, being autonomous, and working together, besides the other skills we’ve mentioned so far and that are so crucial for professional success.
How to Do It:
- Define Your Core Soft Skills: Sit down with your stakeholders and team members and come up with a list of the key skills your team needs. Use the ones listed in the article as the basis for your list and make sure they align with your company’s culture.
- Establish a Rating Scale: Choose a standard scale (for example, 1 to 5 where 1 =poor and 5 = excellent) and use it for each skill you assess. This system is key as it lets you and any other people involved in the screening process evaluate candidates in the same way.
- Integrate Assessments into Your Process: During the hiring process, make sure to rate your candidates’ soft skills.
- Review and Compare Scores: When you’re reaching the end of the recruitment journey, get all your applicants’ scores and compare them against one another. By contrasting them, you will be able to figure out which candidates’ soft and people skills are actually what your business and your teams need.
#2 – Ask Behavioral Questions
Now that you know what soft skills you’re looking for and how to rate them, get started. Ask your candidates behavioral questions and apply the STAR Method (Situation, Task, Action Result) while doing it. As a result, you’ll see that this strategy will push them to share clear and in-depth stories that will ultimately demonstrate what skills they possess and which ones they’re most fluent at.
How to Do It:
- Ask a Core Question: Begin with: “Tell me about a time you were working remotely and were faced with a conflict. How did you sort it out?”
- Guide the Answer: If the candidate gives a vague response, ask follow up questions, like:
- “What happened and who was part of it?”
- “What was your specific goal or task?”
- “How did you address the conflict and how did you tackle the problem?”
- “What was the outcome and how did it affect and impact your team?”
- Pay Attention: Remember—you don’t want vague answers. You want real and concrete details. You also want clear and tangible results, as these will show you if and how they can solve problems and communicate clearly and effectively.
#3 – Simulate Remote Exercises
If you’re a remote global business, you most definitely need to check your applicant’s ability to work from home, interact effectively with different cultures and across time zones, and communicate asynchronously. So it’s important to focus, during the hiring process, on assessing their cultural literacy, their written communication skills, and lastly, their remote readiness.
How to Do It:
- Simulated Remote Exercise: Set up a short, brief online collaborative team task (for example, pair-coding or solving problems as a group). This exercise must mimic real remote work issues and challenges that normally arise, such as slow, delayed replies and working across time zones.
- Targeted Follow-Up Question: After the task, make sure you follow up, so ask them questions that focus on their remote work approach, such as: “When working with team members from other countries and time zones, how do you adjust your communication style, if at all? Why or why not?”
- Asynchronous Component: Include a written segment in your assessment where your candidate needs to interact and respond asynchronously through writing—for example, have them draft a project update via email or collaborate with a team member via chat—so you can evaluate their communication style and skills.
- Observation and Evaluation: Keep a close eye on how they communicate and express themselves during the exercise, both in speaking and in writing:
1. Do they express ideas clearly?
2. Do they ask any clarifying questions?
3. Do they handle challenges well?, and
4. If so, how well?
Listen closely to their answers since they’ll give away some concrete and specific strategies they might use (like using simple language, adjusting their tone, or changing meeting times to adjust to different time zones). These answers will show you if their approach matches your company’s remote work habits and practices and its cultural values.
In the end, by using these hiring techniques, you’ll go beyond surface-level evaluations, which means you’ll be closer to finding people with the soft skills that ultimately make a difference and align with your company culture and goals for the present and the future.
To wrap up: The key to building a fantastic remote team? Soft skills.
As you can probably tell by now, soft skills in remote workers are what really sets apart the ones who just manage to the ones who really excel and thrive. In the end, technical skills deal with the “whats” of the job, but soft skills actually tackle the “hows.”
So when you have someone on your team that is emotionally intelligent and aware, that is culturally literate, that is able to be accountable and autonomous, etc., you’ll feel safe knowing that you can trust them to not only do their job but also do it well and collaboratively.
Ultimately, to find the ones who possess these skills it takes much more than just looking at their resumes. So during the screening and hiring process, you need to be able to spot such qualities that aren’t actually that clear on paper—like taking initiative, showing empathy, and being self-aware. To do so, we encourage you to use behavior-based interviews, give them specific trial tasks, and check their references thoroughly to make sure you find candidates who don’t just do tasks but own them.
And the good news is, if you want to hire remote talent with more than technical skills, we can make it happen. With our access to a vast global talent pool, we’ll connect you with only top-notch remote professionals who have just the right mix of technical knowledge and key soft skills.
Contact us now, and let’s get busy creating your ideal team together.
