Former Dragons’ Den star James Caan believes “soft skills” such as teamwork, communication and timekeeping lead to better productivity.
Former Dragons’ Den star James Caan believes “soft skills” such as teamwork, communication and timekeeping lead to better productivity.
In a discussion with BBC’s journalist and broadcaster Victoria Derbyshire, the entrepreneur explained why the productivity levels in UK are low.
He said: “Yes it is important to have [formal] education, but what about soft skills such as communication, teamwork, timekeeping those skills I think is what creates the balance in the working environment that leads to better productivity.”
Caan also said that he regularly spoke to businesses who did not know how to measure their output and correlate performance with remuneration.
“How many have a culture when they have implemented a mechanism and how many employees know they should be measured on output?”
The Mcdonalds report, The Value of Soft Skills to the Economy, which was published yesterday (July 1), revealed that softskills will boost an individual’s salary by 15% over their lifetime.
It also estimates that the value of soft skills to the UK economy is around £88 billion, and that this could grow to more than £127 billion by 2025.
Caan, who backed the report said they were “vital” and “could make or break businesses and careers.”
“From chief executives of major companies to young people in their first job, everyone needs these skills to work to their full potential and help make their business productive and high-performing.
“Economic conditions mean today’s business environment is more competitive than ever, and we need people with the right skills to stay ahead of the widening productivity gap. If we succeed, the prize is worth more than £109 billion to the UK economy by 2020, and it will make a real difference to both the careers and lives of millions of people as well as to UK plc.”
Richard Forte, Chief Operating Officer, McDonald’s UK & Northern Europe, said the purpose of the campaign was “to change people’s perceptions of soft skills and to come up with some ideas for how we can improve them in the UK.”
