5 Cs and an A = an awesome employee report card

When evaluating employee talent, and rating the most important skills that workers need to stay ahead in today's business environment, it might be that five Cs and one A turns out to be the perfect report card.

In the article, "6 Critical Skills For Tomorrow's Workplace," Ira Wolfe, president and founder of Success Performance Solutions, lists the following as the six most critical skills that workers will need over the coming decade:

1) Curiosity: In a world of accelerating exponential change, characterized by uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity, curiosity may be among the top critical skills most required to survive and thrive in this age of acceleration. Curiosity is much more than the dictionary definition of a strong desire to know or learn something. To become a valued skill, curiosity requires a willingness to explore new experiences, take risks, and the desire and ability to reflect on those experiences.

2) Creativity: This is a word that is bounced around in today’s workplace. Some leaders praise it as a cure for our future; others claim it to be a massive distraction and threat. However, in the context of job skills, there is no doubt that creativity is crucial. Someone’s ability to generate new ideas and turn them into solutions, to see the world in a new way and to connect the dots in ways that others have missed is essential in today’s rapidly changing business world.

3) Conscientiousness: A staggering amount of research links conscientiousness with success, regardless of the employee’s role or the employer’s industry. Someone who is conscientious is dependable, responsible, organized and proactive. He or she arrives on time, stays late, does his or her work, meets deadlines, exercises self-control and manages themselves well. But is conscientiousness a skill or a trait? Can you increase or improve it? Train people in it? The truth is, conscientiousness is probably a combination of genetic hard wiring, environmental influences, skill training and motivation. And this is good news given that many employers will need to nurture and grow it within workers.

4) Critical Thinking: When brawn was valued over brain, workers were asked to check their critical thinking at the door. Now employees’ critical thinking is highly desirable and essential. Their employer needs the ability to analyze, evaluate and create. They’re expected to carry out a growing list of responsibilities and meet higher expectations with fewer resources. That requires them to think analytically and apply the results of all that thinking without benefit of supervision or experience.

5) Collaboration: Organizations are shifting from a hierarchical, top-down structure to a network of teams. What’s more, thanks to technology, the internet, globalization and mobility, employees may be working with team members they’ve never met. In the ever-changing, complex environment of today’s workplace, employees will be valued because they are skilled collaborators who are able to communicate using multiple platforms, keep up with the flow of information, and accept the responsibility that comes with collaboration in both physical and virtual spaces.

6) Agility: Agility is the ability to keep pace, shift gears often and quickly, and keep current with the flow of information. Workers need to move nimbly and draw conclusions quickly. That requires both high personal energy and fast cognitive abilities so employees can perform well in many jobs and functions. The more aggressive, dynamic and growth-driven an organization, the more agility matters.

I could not agree more. Here at Plus, as we expand and add staff around the world, we know that in order to stay above the competition and deliver the highest level of customer satisfaction to our clients, we have to seek talent with these six critical skills. When people come with these skills and the right attitude, we become talent developers as opposed to "supervisors." These employee skills allow us to offer flexible, customized, innovative services that help our clients achieve world-class global mobility programs.