It seems like hard skills would be at the top of your priorities list when hiring an electrician for your organization.
After all, this trade is based so heavily on technical knowledge and execution. However, there comes the point where candidates’ hard skills begin to cancel one another out.
Beyond that, during the COVID-19 pandemic, you need something beyond technical abilities from your people. During these trying times, intangibles such as interpersonal skills, listening, and time management are much more integral than they were before.
A candidate with high-level soft skills has transferable traits; these will help them adapt and pivot as their role continues to evolve.
So, what should you value most during your search for electrician candidates? This blog will highlight the three top soft skills that you should prioritize:
- Look for Someone With Top-Notch Listening Skills.
Doing one’s job as an electrician requires tremendous listening skills.
It comes down to functionality in the role. Your people must listen to their commercial and residential clients describe the problem before diagnosing it.
As such, active listeners always make for extraordinary electricians because they realize hearing every fact helps them apply better solutions. Electrical issues can be exceptionally complicated. And small details provided by clients can make the difference between a job well done and a job not done.
Active listening means your candidate is engrossed in a discussion. They’re doing everything in their power to hear the full story. Keep an eye out during the interview for fully immersed candidates versus someone only half paying attention.
- Interpersonal Skills Are Integral to the Role
Your talent won’t strictly be dealing with demanding, angry people. Most of your clients will likely be perfectly reasonable. However, by the nature of electrical work, there’s a level of anxiety and frustration often involved.
Construction is typically high stress. Contractors, inspectors, and other workers need electricians to be adaptable and cooperative with their demands.
A productive electrician that helps boost your brand’s reputation is one who can read people and their personalities. From there, it’s possible to navigate seamlessly through any circumstances.
Look at it like this:
All the technical proficiency in the world means nothing when your people are challenging to get along with. The only thing your clients will remember was the unfriendliness of your employee, reflecting poorly on your brand.
- You Need An Electrician Who Can Go with the Flow
In the electrical and construction industries, things don’t always go as planned. The nature of the work often has to do with problem-solving. As such, there’s rarely going to be a straight pathway toward the finish line.
Your people need to be patient. They must roll with the punches and pivot when the time comes to adjust to complicated problems.
Furthermore, patience is required during even the most ‘basic’ jobs. It’s all too common for someone to deem a given repair as straightforward, thinking they could do it in their sleep. That’s where mistakes are made. You need people who won’t rush and maintain their focus on every last detail, no matter the work.
Why Are Soft Skills More Important During COVID-19?
Many soft skills are rooted in navigating one’s way through complicated circumstances. When someone boasts a robust set of these traits, they have the intangibles to see their way through any challenge. No matter the setbacks, they’ll continually look for solutions and do so with a positive, solution-forward attitude.
COVID-19 has presented your organization with its biggest test to date. You need people with the soft skills to stand tall during these times and build your brand’s reputation.
Do you need access to a vast candidate pool with these high-level skills?
Then contact Anistar Technologies for all your infrastructure and networking hiring needs, from cable pullers and electrical engineers to project managers and electricians—we’ve got you covered.
