Developing Soft Skills at Edhouse: Why Technical Skills Are No Longer Enough

Historically, the very first training that every single employee underwent focused on Assertiveness, Argumentation, and Negotiation, delivered by the educational agency AZTEKA. To this day, we are still organizing this training for all new hires. We consider it a crucial foundation for all communication and overall company culture. It develops the ability to convey information effectively, build convincing arguments, and reach optimal solutions during negotiations. Over time, we added more topics from AZTEKA, including:

• Facilitation and Meeting Management
• Masterbrain
• Storytelling

Eventually, though, we realized these topics were no longer enough, as our colleagues had moved forward in their knowledge and skills. We needed to come up with new topics and bring in new providers. The Krauthammer educational agency earned its place with us, and later we also tried humancraft and trainer Petr Nýdrle.

Targeted Development: Differing Needs for Employees and Management

Over time, it became necessary to separate topics and courses for general employees from those designed for team leaders and management. Each group was at a different stage and had completely different needs.

We often heard from managers that they were already familiar with much of the material covered in standard training sessions. That's why we needed advanced-level training for them—courses that demonstrate how to effectively lead and grow a team. In their case, some courses also serve as a valuable refresher of previously learned principles, as every manager going into a new role also completes the Edhouse Management Academy, which consists of several training modules tailored specifically for leadership positions.

Soft Skills and That Feeling of Repetition

Soft skills training at Edhouse occasionally spark mixed opinions. Some colleagues feel that certain courses overlap in content, especially if they’ve already attended several similar sessions.

The explanation is simple: the concepts often stem from the exact same foundation of communication, which is merely applied to different contexts. For example, a standalone training session on personality types highlights how different types behave. Those same insights are then applied across various topics, such as conflict resolution or managing change. This can easily create the impression that different courses are rehashings of the same material.

A personal experience: A few years ago, I personally felt that the assertiveness course I took hadn't delivered any major value—other than making me realize in which situations I should speak up and stand my ground more. Later, however, people around me pointed out several situations where I had been assertive (maybe even a bit too much). Whether that came down to the course itself, pure experience, or newfound confidence remains open to debate. Either way, it all ended up clicking into place in the end.

Expectations vs. Reality: The Goal Isn't a "Manual"

Another key factor is participant expectations. People often hope to walk away from a course with a step-by-step manual on how to handle specific situations and fix them instantly. But that’s not the primary goal.

These courses introduce us to various topics, ideas, and scenarios. You can't master them overnight. The purpose of the whole course is to help us become aware of these things, bring them to light, and gradually learn how to work with them. As a result, the payoff often comes over time, especially as you gain real-world experience. And that is perhaps the most important thing a course can offer — opening up new ideas and sparking reflection.

On the other side, new hires are usually the most appreciative group of participants. They generally have no prior experience with these kinds of courses, so they see immense value in them, as reflected in their feedback.

Later on, some of these new hires might run into that same feeling of repetition mentioned earlier. But perhaps that’s actually proof that the courses did their job, as participants started recognizing the underlying connections and core principles.

That said, it's worth noting that despite these feelings, plenty of colleagues still find immense value in the courses and continue to see their benefits.

The Key Lies in Variety and Fresh Perspectives

Right now, we make a point of regularly switching up topics and training providers to bring in fresh impulses and ideas. Often, simply changing the instructor brings a whole new angle; they approach the topic differently, teach it in their own unique way, and add undeniable value that can really resonate with the attendees.

That’s why it’s important to stay open-minded toward any form of learning, try to extract as much as possible from every opportunity, and take a moment every now and then to reflect on everything you’ve gained before writing it off.