Key Takeaways: 

• Soft skills like communication, leadership, and adaptability are critical to modern workplace success.
• Measuring and maintaining soft skills training is challenging but essential for long-term growth.
• Continuous, personalized, and practical training builds stronger, more collaborative teams.

Pop culture loves the “brilliant but impossible to work with” genius. In reality, few organizations can afford someone who alienates every colleague they meet. 

Success in today’s workplace depends as much on empathy, communication, and adaptability as it does on technical know-how.

That’s why soft skills training is no longer optional. It’s a strategic investment in collaboration, culture, and performance, yet many businesses still struggle to deliver it effectively. 

This guide breaks down why soft skills training is so difficult to get right and how modern companies can make it stick.

What Are Soft Skills, Exactly? 

Soft skills are interpersonal abilities that contribute to one’s effectiveness as a communicator, collaborator, and leader. Whereas hard skills are technical and knowledge-based, soft skills are more akin to personal attributes. Hard skills are also more frequently acquired through formalized training than soft skills, though this has begun to change in recent years. 

The most common soft skills include: 

• Critical thinking
• Adaptability
• Time management
• Leadership
• Conflict resolution
• Active listening
• Introspection
• Receptiveness to criticism
• Resilience
• Constructive communication

Why Are Soft Skills Training Programs So Hard to Get Right?

Soft skills are generally highly subjective, deeply personal, and context-specific. Someone who’s an excellent communicator amongst fellow sales engineers may struggle to convey their ideas to their organization’s marketing team, for instance. Soft skills are also difficult to assess, as there aren’t any clear, objective benchmarks against which a business can focus.  

Soft skills also don’t lend themselves well to measurement via training KPIs. Improvement often manifests far more gradually, requiring continuous reinforcement. They’re not something that can be effectively developed and mastered through a single program or workshop.  

At a higher level, employees may question the relevance of soft skills training if their organization’s culture prioritizes short-term productivity over long-term growth. Similarly, without effective personalization, they’re unlikely to engage with or retain anything from a soft skills training program. Inconsistent leadership support only exacerbates both issues, as employees may not feel comfortable using their skills in the workplace.  

The Unique Challenges of Remote Soft Skills Training for Employees

The modern workplace, defined by remote and hybrid work, can make soft skills training even more challenging. 

Employees working from home are less likely to experience the face-to-face interaction that allows one to practice and develop interpersonal skills. They must rely largely on training, and they’ve no real way to evaluate whether they’re improving.

Even hands-on training is limited in this regard, as some of the more nuanced aspects of interaction are typically only present in person. 

Related Content: 7 Best Remote Training Tools for 2025

Best Practices for Effectively Training Soft Skills

The best way to deliver soft skills training to employees is through personalized, interactive, real-world methods. Training should also be delivered on an ongoing basis to allow for continuous reinforcement. Some other best practices include:

• Embedding soft skills development in everyday work
• Leveraging training modalities like microlearning for continuous reinforcement
• Employing virtual training software for hands-on simulations
• Ensuring leadership effectively models and embraces soft skills and continuous learning
• Leveraging self-assessments and peer assessments to evaluate progress
• Adjusting training for each individual’s learning style, personality, motivation, and learning needs

Related Content: 8 Essential Features for Virtual Training Technology

Embracing Interpersonal Development in the Workforce

Soft skills have historically been undervalued in corporate learning and development. That’s gradually changing, however. Business leaders have begun to realize just how important it is for people to be capable of critical thinking, collaboration, and communication. 

Because at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how much you know if you can’t communicate or apply it. 

Bring Your Soft Skills Training to Life

Soft skills are best learned by doing, not just reading or watching. Traditional workshops and slides can only go so far, especially in hybrid and remote workplaces. To make training meaningful, employees need real-world practice in safe, simulated environments.

CloudShare’s virtual IT labs make this possible by combining interactive simulations with real collaboration scenarios. CloudShare helps teams practice communication, leadership, and decision-making in dynamic, hands-on environments.

Don’t just teach soft skills, let your teams live them. Book a demo to see how CloudShare’s experiential learning can transform your workforce.