Business leaders have realized the importance of upskilling their employees, but what does that truly mean? On the surface, it could refer to training them to become more fluent in certain technologies, but soft skills may be just as important.

Automation has played a key role in transforming the workforce over the past several years. Along with automated integration has been a fear that technology would be taking over jobs. However, that has not happened. Instead, workers have learned to work alongside this technology and learn new skills in the process.

This is happening even more so today, with automation taking over menial tasks and allowing humans to adapt and focus on more complicated work. The importance of the human touch is synonymous with soft skills. Things like creativity, emotional intelligence and leadership cannot be replicated by automation.

A LinkedIn survey found that the most essential skills workers need in 2020 were leadership, management, creative problem solving and communication. This is particularly challenging as employees are now forced to hone these skills while working remotely. Now, workers must navigate how to effectively communicate with colleagues outside of the office, sometimes even in different time zones.