The communication skills new employees lack

[klr]

Food for thought. This has not been my experience with all younger people - not by a long shot. But I've seen more than enough youths who are lacking in social skills ...

The crucial skill new hires lack

Millennials would rather send an instant message than walk a few feet to speak directly to a colleague. They spend hours texting and playing games on smartphones, but regard voice calls as intrusive wastes of time. Connecting through social networks is usually preferable to chatting over coffee. And even their student clubs “meet” online rather than in person.

Because of such extensive reliance on online communication, many millennials — the generation born during the 1980s and 1990s — have missed out on valuable face-to-face interactions and failed to learn how to speak in a polished manner, listen attentively and read other people’s expressions and body language.

As a result, employers are finding that their young hires are awkward in their interpersonal interactions and ill-prepared to collaborate effectively with teammates and develop relationships with clients.

“Speaking and writing are the number one set of skills that our advisory board and recruiters say need more work,” said Mark Zupan, dean of the Simon School of Business at the University of Rochester, in New York state, which is putting more emphasis on interpersonal communication.

Simon’s MBA core curriculum includes a “Communicating Business Decisions” sequence, and the school has made classroom participation an integral part of a student’s grade in all required courses. The career management office also recently created a four-person professional development team to offer programmes on leadership and communication.

There are other business schools trying to turn millennial students into confident, articulate communicators as well. The management school at the University at Buffalo, also in New York, started a leadership certification programme called LeaderCORE, which enables students to assess themselves on a variety of skills, including communication and interpersonal relationships, and then develop a customised development plan for the two-year MBA programme.

...

continued: http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/201308 ... hires-lack

[JimC]

Generally, it's getting them to shut up for a while that's the trick...

[klr]

Generally, it's getting them to shut up for a while that's the trick...

"Yeah, like, really, whatever ..."





Seriously: It's the quality of the communication (or lack thereof) that's the problem, not the quantity.

[Azathoth]

Talk to people? With words, out of my mouth? Fuck that, I'm doing computer science for a reason.

I suppose it is sort of a required skill for MBAs though

[klr]

Oddly enough, despite being a computer programmer, I have to communicate with people a lot.

Although I increasingly find myself doing too much of the latter at the expense of the former.

[JimC]

"Sit down, shut up, and do Exercises 1 to 10"

"What part of that didn't you understand?"

(I leave all that touchy-feely communication stuff to English teachers)

(FBM was good at touchy-feely)

[Bella Fortuna]

I suppose it is sort of a required skill for MBAs though

Masters in Blathering Arseholery?

[Azathoth]

masters of bugger all

[mistermack]

There's nothing wrong with MY communication skills.

[Audley Strange]

"Sit down, shut up, and do Exercises 1 to 10"

"What part of that didn't you understand?"

(I leave all that touchy-feely communication stuff to English teachers)

(FBM was good at touchy-feely)

Ermergerd suuur, how am like I like um like meant to like do like exercises? Like sitting down? LOL! and was that one two an ten or d'ye want us to like do like all the questions?

Suuur? Can I just like google the answers noworrameen?

A generation of Highly specialised idiots.


Edited to add. My young cousin got the highest mark in the country for his civil engineering degree (fuck knows how but still) but can't do anything with it even though he was head-hunted because he acts like a wee fanny, which I think our transatlantic brethern would consider sort of like a "bro". Seriously he's monotonal and monosyllabic, seemingly bereft of any higher cognition. Smart enough to work like fuck and get the degree but not smart enough to think the "skull fucked weegie" persona is actively detrimental.

I know lots of young guys and girls like that. Get them talking about the one thing they know about they'll wow you, but most of them couldn't even read the instructions on how to tie their laces. I'm not even that clever and I can see how dumb a lot of them are and thats the ones with 17 years of education.

[Clinton Huxley]

The cane. That's the ticket. You can beat almost any quality into a cub with a cane.

[klr]

...

Ermergerd suuur, how am like I like um like meant to like do like exercises? Like sitting down? LOL! and was that one two an ten or d'ye want us to like do like all the questions?

Suuur? Can I just like google the answers noworrameen?

A generation of Highly specialised idiots.


Edited to add. My young cousin got the highest mark in the country for his civil engineering degree (fuck knows how but still) but can't do anything with it even though he was head-hunted because he acts like a wee fanny, which I think our transatlantic brethern would consider sort of like a "bro". Seriously he's monotonal and monosyllabic, seemingly bereft of any higher cognition. Smart enough to work like fuck and get the degree but not smart enough to think the "skull fucked weegie" persona is actively detrimental.

I know lots of young guys and girls like that. Get them talking about the one thing they know about they'll wow you, but most of them couldn't even read the instructions on how to tie their laces. I'm not even that clever and I can see how dumb a lot of them are and thats the ones with 17 years of education.

I see you share my prejudices on this matter.

The cane. That's the ticket. You can beat almost any quality into a cub with a cane.

... and again.

[rasetsu]

"Sit down, shut up, and do Exercises 1 to 10"

"What part of that didn't you understand?"

(I leave all that touchy-feely communication stuff to English teachers)

(FBM was good at touchy-feely)

Ermergerd suuur, how am like I like um like meant to like do like exercises? Like sitting down? LOL! and was that one two an ten or d'ye want us to like do like all the questions?

Suuur? Can I just like google the answers noworrameen?

A generation of Highly specialised idiots.

Edited to add. My young cousin got the highest mark in the country for his civil engineering degree (fuck knows how but still) but can't do anything with it even though he was head-hunted because he acts like a wee fanny, which I think our transatlantic brethern would consider sort of like a "bro". Seriously he's monotonal and monosyllabic, seemingly bereft of any higher cognition. Smart enough to work like fuck and get the degree but not smart enough to think the "skull fucked weegie" persona is actively detrimental.

I know lots of young guys and girls like that. Get them talking about the one thing they know about they'll wow you, but most of them couldn't even read the instructions on how to tie their laces. I'm not even that clever and I can see how dumb a lot of them are and thats the ones with 17 years of education.

I can see you know a great deal about communicating effectively. :rolls-eyes:

[SteveB]

I remember a time when people talked on the phone. The 90's. Thank goodness that shit is over with.

[Audley Strange]

I can see you know a great deal about communicating effectively. :rolls-eyes:

Thanks!