The Growing Importance of Soft Skills for Employers in the Modern Workplace

As businesses across Aotearoa navigate rapid change – from digital transformation to evolving workforce expectations – the importance of soft skills has never been clearer. While technical know-how remains essential, it’s the human qualities like communication, empathy, adaptability, and leadership that often determine long-term success.

In a candidate-rich but skill-short market, these interpersonal abilities have become key differentiators.

Why Soft Skills Are Now Business Critical

From client service to cross-functional collaboration, soft skills shape how teams work together, lead through change, and drive innovation. A recent global report found that employers across all industries are placing increased emphasis on attributes like resilience, emotional intelligence, and critical thinking as automation and AI reshape roles.

In New Zealand, this trend is particularly relevant as organisations adjust to hybrid work models, generational change, and a renewed focus on employee wellbeing. As we shared in our article Navigating a Candidate-Rich Market, hiring managers are overwhelmed with applications, but many struggle to find candidates with the right balance of soft and hard skills.

The Business Benefits of Hiring for Soft Skills

Employees who demonstrate emotional intelligence, strong communication, and adaptability tend to collaborate better, manage conflict more effectively, and contribute to a more cohesive and productive team environment. These qualities directly impact day-to-day operations and are especially valuable in fast-paced, high-change industries.

For employers, prioritising soft skills leads to tangible outcomes: improved customer satisfaction, higher employee engagement, and lower turnover. Teams with strong interpersonal capabilities respond better to change, navigate uncertainty with resilience, and are more likely to innovate and problem-solve proactively. This is particularly important in hybrid work environments, where trust and communication are critical.

Soft skills are also skills that cannot be fully replaced by AI, as it excels at collecting data, but lacks the ability to analyse information like humans do and respond in an ethical way. In our article The Soft Skills Machines can’t Replace shows the many soft skills that people will still be relied on that AI cannot replicate.

Ultimately, businesses that actively recruit and develop soft skills build stronger leadership pipelines, more inclusive cultures, and greater long-term agility. In a competitive market where many candidates have the same technical qualifications, it’s soft skills that truly set high performers – and future leaders – apart.

The Top Soft Skills Employers Want in 2025

Based on insights from our clients, candidates, and workforce trends across New Zealand, these are the soft skills most in demand right now:

• Adaptability & Resilience
  The pace of change in today’s workplace means employees must adapt quickly and bounce back from challenges. Our article on Hybrid Work in 2025 highlights how flexible thinking and resilience are vital for navigating remote work environments.
• Communication
  Clear, respectful, and timely communication will always remain a cornerstone of effective teamwork, especially across distributed teams.
• Emotional Intelligence & Empathy
  Leaders and employees alike are expected to build inclusive, respectful environments. In our article Fostering a Culture of Care: Mental Health & Inclusivity in the Workplace, we explore how emotionally intelligent workplaces create stronger retention and more engaged teams.
• Critical Thinking & Problem Solving
  As AI and automation handle more routine tasks, employers are looking for people who can assess and analyse situations, ask the right questions, and make sound decisions.
• Teamwork & Collaboration
  Even the most technical roles now involve a degree of interpersonal collaboration. Businesses need people who can listen, compromise, and support others to reach common goals.

Soft Skills and Recruitment: What Employers Should Do

Recruiting for soft skills isn’t always easy – resumes don’t always capture them, and interviews don’t always reveal them. That’s why it’s important to:

• Ask behaviour-based questions that reveal how a candidate handled a past challenge, resolved a conflict, or led a team.
• Involve multiple interviewers to spot different aspects of a candidate’s interpersonal skillset.
• Work with recruitment experts who know how to assess both technical skills and human qualities. At Adecco, we tailor recruitment solutions that identify top talent with the right blend of experience and personality.

If you’re conducting interviews, we recommend reviewing Preparing for Interviews: A Guide for Employers for a checklist to help you assess key soft skills more effectively.

Upskilling Your Current Workforce

Hiring for soft skills is one part of the equation – but developing them in your current team is just as important.

In How to Support Parents in the Workplace, we discuss the value of empathy and flexible communication when supporting life transitions. Similarly, articles like Building a Future-Ready Workforce remind us of the importance of cultivating soft skills in younger employees through mentorship and on-the-job development.

Investing in soft skills development doesn’t just make your business more resilient – it boosts engagement, retention, and long-term performance.

Partner with the Experts in People

At Adecco New Zealand, we work with employers across the country to find, place, and develop people who make a real impact – because they bring both skill and heart to their roles. Whether you’re hiring for a leadership role or building a frontline team, we understand how to spot the human strengths that drive lasting success.

Visit adecco.co.nz to learn more about our recruitment, workforce development, and talent solutions.