Finding the right candidate is about more than just matching technical skills to a job description. Soft skills—such as communication, adaptability, and leadership—play a crucial role in long-term success and team cohesion. These skills help employees navigate challenges, collaborate effectively, and contribute to business growth. However, soft skills can be difficult to measure through resumes or traditional interviews alone. That’s why organizations need data-driven strategies to assess and integrate soft skills into their hiring decisions.
What are soft skills?
Soft skills refer to the personal attributes, interpersonal abilities, and behavioural traits that influence how someone interacts with others in the workplace. Unlike technical skills, which are job-specific and measurable, soft skills are more about how work is done rather than what work is done. They impact communication, collaboration, problem-solving, and adaptability—making them essential for success in any role. Unlike hard skills, which can be taught through training programs, soft skills are often developed through experience and require continuous refinement.
Why do soft skills matter?
While experience and qualifications are important, soft skills are what truly set high performers apart. In fact, studies show that 85% of job success comes from well-developed soft skills, while only 15% comes from technical skills. Companies that prioritize soft skills in hiring see higher engagement, better retention, and stronger team performance. But here’s the challenge: soft skills don’t always show up on a resume, and traditional interviews aren’t always the best way to measure them. So, how can hiring managers and HR teams accurately assess these crucial traits? Let’s explore what to look for and the best ways to evaluate soft skills during the hiring process.
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Top 7 soft skills to consider
Before assessing soft skills, it’s important to know which ones are most valuable for your workplace. While different roles require different strengths, some universal soft skills stand out across industries:
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Communication – The ability to clearly convey ideas and listen effectively.
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Adaptability – How well someone responds to change and unexpected challenges.
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Problem-solving – Critical thinking and the ability to analyze and resolve issues.
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Emotional intelligence – Understanding and managing emotions to foster positive workplace relationships.
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Collaboration – Working well in teams, valuing different perspectives, and contributing to shared goals.
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Leadership potential – Inspiring and guiding others, even in non-managerial roles.
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Resilience – Staying motivated and productive in the face of setbacks
Identifying which of these skills are most critical to success in a given role before you start your candidate search helps ensure hiring decisions align with business needs.
How to assess soft skills
Since soft skills aren’t always easy to measure, organizations need structured methods that go beyond gut feelings. McQuaig assessments can be an invaluable tool in this process to dive deep into who each candidate is and how they're likely to succeed in a role.
1. Use behavioural assessments to reveal workplace traits
One of the most effective ways to assess soft skills is through behavioural assessments. Tools like the McQuaig Word Survey provide insights into a candidate’s natural work style, communication preferences, and approach to teamwork. By understanding a candidate’s behavioural tendencies, hiring teams can better predict how they will fit into a role and workplace culture. A well-designed behavioural assessment helps uncover personality traits like resilience, leadership potential, and decision-making styles—factors that are often hard to gauge in an interview setting.
2. Leverage structured interview techniques
Interviews can be a powerful tool for assessing soft skills—when done right. Instead of relying on generic questions, choose targeted, behaviour-based questions and ask every candidate each question in the same order. Behaviour-based interview questions avoid less helpful yes/no responses and instead allow candidates to describe real-life experiences where they demonstrated critical soft skills. Examples of these types of questions include:
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Communication – “Tell me about a time when you had to explain a complex idea to someone with no background in the topic. How did you ensure they understood?”
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Problem-solving – “Describe a situation where you faced an unexpected challenge at work. What steps did you take to resolve it?”
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Leadership potential – “Can you share an example of when you took initiative on a project without being asked?
Focusing on past behaviour provides a stronger indication of future performance while allowing candidates to showcase who they are and what they've done.
3. Gather insights from reference checks
Reference checks often focus on verifying work history, but they can be an invaluable tool for assessing soft skills. When speaking to a candidate’s former colleagues or managers, ask targeted questions like:
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How did they handle feedback and constructive criticism?
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Can you describe their approach to teamwork and collaboration?
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How did they manage stressful or high-pressure situations
Gaining insight from people who have worked directly with the candidate provides a fuller picture of their soft skills in action.
Read More: How can you use assessments to help you hire?
The future of soft skills in hiring
Soft skills will only grow in importance as workplaces become more dynamic and technology continues to evolve. Automation and AI are streamlining repetitive tasks, which means the human elements of work—like creativity, emotional intelligence, and adaptability—are becoming even more valuable. Companies that prioritize hiring for soft skills will have more resilient, high-performing teams that can navigate change and drive innovation. Moving forward, expect to see greater use of assessments, AI analysis, and experiential hiring techniques to measure these critical traits more effectively.
Hire for more than a resume
The best hiring decisions go beyond resumes and technical skills. Soft skills play a crucial role in determining how well a candidate will integrate into a team, adapt to challenges, and contribute to long-term success. By using behavioural assessments, structured interviews, and reference check strategies, hiring teams can make more informed decisions and reduce the risk of bad hires. After all, technical skills can be taught—but mindset, collaboration, and adaptability are much harder to train.