Check out the top 10 business skills that most companies are looking for
Business Skills are in high demand. Professionals are hearing and reading more about it, consequently they might get confused about what exactly these skills represent in their professional daily lives. The skill list below was compiled by CompTIA AITP based on IT job posts. They represent the set of abilities that managers are looking for to fill up their positions.
Whether you’re looking to climb the ladder in your current organisation or to switch jobs, you’ll need a mix of solid technical skills and crucial business or soft skills, as they are sometimes referred to. Check out the list below and see how they can impact your career and help you in your professional development.
Project Management
The success or failure of a project depends on how proficient an IT manager is at skills such as leadership, communication, organisation, decision making, problem solving, adaptability and team management to keep projects on track to achieve project goals.
Recommended courses:
Business Process and Analysis
Process is something essential in any kind of business nowadays. It’s essential for the IT department understand and be able to break down business processes, mapping a process framework and making suggestions for IT process improvements. Having solid business process and analytical skills can really improve the communication gap between the technical and business sides.
Recommended courses:
Basic Customer Service
Customers are the core of every business, there is no doubt about it. Having said that, provide excellent customer service is key for long- term organisational success. The professional need to marry technical support and guidance with maintaining good relationships. This requires soft skills such as communication, listening, organisation, conflict resolution and more.
Service management courses
Budget Management
It’s not a surprise that budget management is a crucial skill that will allow you to efficiently allocate resources across departments and help define your strategic goals in measurable metrics. IT budget planning and preparation happen at all stages of the IT hierarchy, so it is a highly valued skill for IT professionals at all career levels.
People Management
IT managers are responsible for creating a nurturing and supporting the work environment for their team, and act as a liaison between the IT team and the rest of the organisation. People management skills such as leadership, communication, motivation and organization are necessary for smooth navigation of your team through projects and programs.
Recommended courses:
Quality Assurance and Control
Quality systems need to be in place to ensure that product development is aligned with organisational guidelines and standards. This will guarantee the process level and the product level.
Business Management
IT leaders frequently need to step out and function in a business executive role, which involves planning and executing the business strategy to allocate technology, people, processes and financial spending in line with the business technology agenda.
Recommended courses:
Scheduling
Scheduling may seem simple to implement, but companies use scheduling software and work automation platforms at varying levels of complexity and function. Strong scheduling skills embrace the ability to plan projects, communicate needs and direction, assess resource strength and allocate resources effectively while adapting and prioritising organisational needs.
Recommended courses:
Business Strategy
Developing an IT business strategy requires mapping how technology supports and aligns with business processes to achieve department and organizational goals. This includes collaborating with internal departments as well as key stakeholders, like consumers and business partners.
Recommended courses:
Product Management
Whether you are working on software development or in an analytical development capacity, you are responsible for the life-cycle management of the product, from inception to customer delivery and support. You need the managerial skills to maximize business value, form lasting business relationships, enhance team performance and much more.
*The skills above were published originally by CompTIA
How to Get Trained
Although, some of these skills we might develop through our work life experience, to really master them specific training is the best option. The IT Pros are the ones who struggle the most to expand soft skills. In this situation is better to invest in a course and train than the possibility of losing a career opportunity.
At New Horizons Ireland we offer a wide range of Leadership and Professional courses tailored to help you in this journey. Our Centre for Leadership and Development is divided into 5 main paths that will help you to develop your leadership skills. Leadership and Professional Development, Human Resource Management, Business Analysis, Project Management, and IT Service Management. Choose the best option for you and increase your chances in the market.
All Leadership and Development courses