While we of course won’t deny that workplaces can be completely different, what they all have in common is people. And, as hard as it can be to compare a construction site with an IT office, they both have teams working there, and that is a very important thing in common. At least, until robotics are more developed, but that’s a different story.

Because people are what connects workplaces, it is not so hard to make a list of skills that these people should have to make the team more successful and safer. Here is our list of top five.

1. The team must communicate well

Good communication is essential for team members to work well together and finish their tasks. They must be able to deliver the message clearly and in a proper manner, no matter what their position in the team is.

Lockdowns of 2020 and 2021 showed us both how important it is to communicate and how hard it can be when communication is limited because you simply are not in the same room. Luckily, technology helped here, providing us with video communication tools, making sure that the often crucial non-verbal signs are also transmitted between team members, as much as possible.

2. Solving health-related crises

Emergencies at a workplace can happen surprisingly often, again no matter what type of company it is. This is why life-saving equipment like fire extinguishers, First Aid kits, and AEDs are an absolute necessity. But it is not enough to have emergency supplies in place, employees must be trained on what to do in case of fire, and a certain number of team members should have a CPR license to know what to do when someone’s heart stops, for example.

Another important part of employees’ well-being is their mental health. Unfortunately, diseases like depression are very common nowadays and are often a slow killer. This is why mental-health first aid is another skill team members should have to recognize symptoms of mental-health-related problems and give a helping hand to each other promptly.

3. Empathy filled relationships  

Teams can be different and so can their members. This is why a very important skill is empathy. It’s a way to “put ourselves in someone else’s shoes”, no matter how different our characters and backgrounds are.

People who are skilled with empathy can not only understand each other better and explain certain behavioral patterns, but they can also help each other by knowing exactly what to say or what to offer.

4. Team-building abilities

When good communication skills are combined with developed empathy among the team members, foundations are created for every improving team-building. It also helps new team members feel welcome and become an integral part of the team quickly.

This skill also improves the trust between employees and helps them form bonds that will help their productivity. Not to mention that classic team-building exercises and trips bring a lot of fun and relaxation and help create memories of good times.

5. Creativity improves everything

The ability to think creatively and find solutions that are out of the box can be crucial for getting the job done, but also it can help a lot with developing all the skills we mentioned so far.

Creative thinking can improve the ways we communicate, it can help us think in stressful emergencies, it can help us find a way to feel empathy for someone completely different than ourselves and it can be crucial for building a team and finding ways to develop it and increase its bond.

To conclude

All of the skills we mentioned above will make you an irreplaceable member of any team. But it doesn’t mean you have to be born with these skills. Not to mention you can’t be born with First Aid knowledge. However, you can be trained in all of them.

And if you are in charge of selecting new employees, you don’t have to be exclusive in hiring only people who have these abilities, but you can make sure the company will invest in training for these skills to be developed.