Printer-FriendlyEffective Relationships > Interpersonal Skills
Interpersonal skills enable employees to collaborate as a member of a team or work independently, as appropriate, and contribute to the overarching goals of the workplace. They include:
- Understands teamwork and works with others
- Responds to customer needs
- Exercises leadership
- Negotiates to resolve conflicts
- Respects individual differences
The following initiatives identified interpersonal skills as an important employability skill.
Rollover the matrix content to see descriptions of the skills from primary sources.
View Complete Matrix.
| Resource | Interpersonal Skills | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Understands teamwork & works with others | Responds to customer needs | Exercises leadership | Negotiates to resolve conflicts | Respects individual differences | |
| 21st Century Skills for Workplace Success, NOCTI | X Participates as a team member |
X Demonstrates leadership skills |
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| Arizona's New Workplace Skills, Arizona Department of Education | X Collaborates |
X Interacts effectively with different cultures and generations to achieve organizational mission, goals, and objectives |
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| Assessing 21st Century Skills, Board on Testing and Assessment, the National Research Council | X Understands teamwork |
X Displays cultural sensitivity and understands how to deal with diversity |
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| Assessment and Teaching of 21st Century Skills, Cisco, Intel, and Microsoft | X Collaborates |
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| Career Clusters Framework, National Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education Consortium | X Understands leadership and teamwork |
X Exhibits public relations skills to increase internal and external customer/client satisfaction |
X Uses leadership and teamwork skills in collaborating with others to accomplish organizational goals and objectives |
X Employs critical thinking and interpersonal skills to resolve conflicts with staff and/or customers |
X Listens to and speaks with diverse individuals |
| Comparative Analysis of Soft Skills: What is Important for New Graduates? U.S. Department of Agriculture | X Is productive as a team member, and maintains accountability to the team |
X Develops effective relationships with customers, businesses, and the public |
X Motivates and leads others |
X Recognizes and deals constructively with conflict |
X Demonstrates awareness of and sensitivity to diversity |
| Employability Assessment Rubric, Chicago Public Schools | X Understands teamwork |
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| Employability Skills 2000+, Conference Board of Canada | X Works with others |
X Leads or supports when appropriate, motivating a group for high performance |
X Manages and resolves conflict when appropriate |
X Recognizes and respects people’s diversity, individual differences, and perspectives |
|
| Employability Skills Blueprint, SkillsUSA | X Develops social etiquette and interpersonal skills |
X Understands effective customer relationships and demonstrates proper customer service behavior |
X Applies conflict management skills and an understanding of cultural, social, and ethnic diversity to achieve group goals and consensus |
X Applies conflict management skills and an understanding of cultural, social, and ethnic diversity to achieve group goals and consensus |
|
| Equipped for the Future, Center for Literacy Studies, University of Tennessee | X Cooperates with others |
X Advocates, influences, and guides others |
X Resolves conflict and negotiates |
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| Industry Competency Models, Employment and Training Administration, U.S. Department of Labor | X Understands teamwork |
X Displays a customer focus |
X Resolves conflicts |
X Respects diversity, works with diverse people, and learns about other cultures |
|
| Maryland Skills for Success, Maryland State Department of Education | X Works effectively with others and participates responsibly in a variety of situations |
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| National Career Readiness Certificate, ACT | X Understands teamwork |
X Has a customer service orientation |
X Displays managerial potential |
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| National Work Readiness Credential | X Works with others |
X Serves clients |
X Negotiates |
X Respects diversity |
|
| O*NET, Employment and Training Administration, U.S. Department of Labor | X Coordinates |
X Displays a service orientation |
X Instructs and persuades |
X Negotiates |
|
| Partnership for 21st Century Skills | X Collaborates with others |
X Guides and leads others |
X Demonstrates ability to work effectively and respectfully with diverse teams |
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| Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS), U.S. Department of Labor | X Participates as a member of a team |
X Serves clients/customers |
X Exercises leadership and teachers others new skills |
X Negotiates |
X Works with cultural diversity |
| Workforce Skills Certification System, CASAS and Learning Resources, Inc. | X Demonstrates sociability |
X Displays customer care skills |
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NOTE: These examples represent a sample of employability standards and assessments compiled during an inventory of employability skills conducted in 2012. They do not represent an exhaustive list of employability skills but rather include sources that are widely cited. The content of these sources may change over time to address skills that are not reflected in the above matrix.
