Time for a rebrand of soft skills?

Are the ‘soft skills’ of behaviour, empathy and coaching, often considered secondary to technical skills in financial services, about to receive equal recognition? The third Financial Services Skills Commission (FSSC) report suggests they might be. While machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) skills have the largest supply-demand gap among the technical skills in the industry, the demand for behavioural skills is growing faster than supply for the first time since the FSSC began its research.

Sandra Wright, NatWest Group’s head of organisation and workforce design, leads the bank’s programme to enhance empathy among staff for improved customer service. Her master's degree in occupational psychology has been invaluable for her HR career, helping her navigate the complexities of employee performance.

She believes these skills need rebranding: “They are increasingly recognised as critical for effective leadership, teamwork and communication. The term 'soft skills' can sometimes suggest that these skills are less important or valuable than technical skills. In reality, coaching, empathy and relationship management skills are vital for building strong relationships, fostering collaboration and driving performance in any industry, including financial services. By reframing these skills as ‘essential’ or ‘core’ skills, organisations can better communicate their importance and emphasise the value they bring to the workplace.”

The FSSC report indicates a proficiency gap – defined as “a supply of skills, but not at the required level” – in relationship management (a high gap of 13%) and empathy (7%). Sandra advocates for a mindset shift towards valuing these behavioural skills, and NatWest has a coaching programme to support this. This includes microlearning, curated playlists and formal courses, with a central focus on self-coaching, based on the premise that no one knows you better than yourself. Colleagues develop listening and questioning skills and use ‘observational prompt sheets’ to continuously improve and acknowledge what works well.

Can empathy be taught?

NatWest’s inclusion in the FSSC report as a case study suggests it can. Sandra explains the approach: “The Thrive Leadership programme empowers our leaders to support their teams by creating a safe environment, setting an inclusive tone and allowing people to feel valued and able to thrive. It helps colleagues understand perspective-taking, clarifies the difference between empathy and sympathy, and enhances emotional intelligence. This builds stronger relationships and aids in informed decision-making.”

Sandra emphasises that inclusion is key to building empathy skills. Over 53,000 colleagues have completed the enhanced learning module, Choose to Challenge, which provides real-life examples of the importance of challenging non-inclusive behaviours.

Another programme, Leadership Fundamentals, helps new and existing line managers develop self-awareness about their leadership style, focusing on behaviours that encourage inclusion, commitment and teamwork. 

The leadership learning programme is underpinned by behavioural science research, including a focus on cognitive and emotive empathy and empathetic action. For example, NatWest’s behavioural science team collaborates with product and frontline colleagues to optimise communications, such as developing a more empathetic tone in letters to bereaved next of kin.

This learning translates into improved customer outcomes and trust – a critical component in banking. Sandra notes: “Banking is a people business. We are here to help people thrive, and to do this, we need their trust. Unfortunately, trust is often lacking. Recent FCA research shows trust in financial services is low. While banks were found to be the most trusted financial services institution, only 20% of adults trust them highly, and 40% have little trust.”

The complementary behavioural research used by NatWest delivers evidence of positive outcomes for customers. For example, research by the global nonprofit Centre for Creative Leadership indicates that empathy is positively related to job performance. For managers, this involves considering employees’ experiences and perspectives, which aids in problem-solving, conflict management and innovation.

The training ensures that frontline colleagues can use the four Rs – Recognise, Respond, Record and Refer – with empathy underpinning all stages when helping customers in vulnerable situations. 

By emphasising and developing these essential skills, the financial services industry can foster stronger relationships, better teamwork, and greater trust, ultimately leading to improved customer outcomes and organisational success.

Lora Benson is head of media at the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI). Lora leads the communications team within the CISI Marcomms unit, developing and influencing the CISI’s global external comms strategy, with reputational risk overview and managing media relationships. A Chartered PR practitioner and member of the CIPR, Lora has 30 years of PR and media relations/reputation management experience, both in-house and consultancy, including with foreign government, local government and corporate global brands.

Lora's post was first published in The Review, the CISI's membership magazine. Read the original post.