Why Transferable Skills Are Important in the Health Industry
Transferable skills are essential on many levels and are crucial for you in building your public sector career path as they enable you to transfer between roles, departments or organisations.
So, whether you are a Head of Finance in a small Orthopaedic Specialist NHS department or Clinical Business Advisor for a large multisite NHS Trust, having a good set of transferable skills makes you more agile in your career path and more likely to achieve success – for yourself, your team and your organisation.
In the health industry, employers value these skills because they can be implemented in a variety of different ways. Communication, problem-solving and teamwork are crucial to an organisation’s ability to progress and grow.
The Benefits to Potential Employer
Flexibility – it’s an increasingly competitive public sector job market and having additional skills will enable you to offer the ability to successfully tackle multiple roles and tasks.
Diversity – With transferable skills, you offer your employer the opportunity to diversify their team – your skills could be useful in a variety of ways and consequently increase team diversity and dynamics.
Employability - Your transferable skills will set you above other candidates in the competitive health industry marketplace. Even with a great CV and experience – transferable skills can give you the edge over other candidates and help you secure your ideal public sector role.
So, what are the ideal transferable skills for the health industry, and what is their value? Let’s look at the main ones:
The Top Transferable Skills Employers Want
Verbal Communication
Communication is critical in the health industry. The ability to get the message across clearly and concisely to others is crucial in maintaining efficient and productive work.
For example, a Head of HR will have to deal with employees across the organisation from the Chief Executive to temporary admin staff and will, therefore, need to be skilled at communication across a variety of topics and levels, helping to promote and embed inspirational leadership and demonstrate your organisation's values.
Alternatively, as a Public Services Advisory, you may need to present information to a broad audience, both internally and externally. For employees that may mean providing transparent information about the organisation and their place in it; externally, you could be required to support clients to manage challenges and create a sustainable future.
The ability to formulate your ideas logically and articulate them well will enable you to communicate effectively.
Listening Skills
As well as being able to articulate information, your skills should also include the ability to listen well. That means listening to what the other person has to say to make sure you understand their position, without just waiting for an opportunity to start talking again. Active listening will enable you to clarify situations, understand what’s going on and generally manage your team better.
Confidence
You may be the best Director of Strategy in the world, but without confidence, you won’t inspire your team.
There’s an old saying – “Fake it ‘til you make it.” So, even if you don’t feel confident, giving the outward appearance of confidence will enable you to engage your team. It’s not uncommon to start feeling more confident when you act like this – it’s a bit like putting on formal clothes – you instantly feel taller, more impressive and professional.
Problem Solving
Being a great team leader means being able to problem solve and see ways around barriers to enable goals to be achieved.
This includes enabling your team to feel they can contribute to problem-solving – so, foster an environment where your team are nurtured, respected, and their opinions valued. This will enable you to ensure problem-solving is a key skill you possess.
Adaptability
Being flexible and agile in your work is a great benefit to employers in the health industry. An employee who can adapt easily can help make changes quickly, put new processes into place and is willing to learn new skills.
Additionally, adaptability indicates a growth mindset, rather than a fixed mindset, meaning that you can improve your self-awareness, try new things, strengthen your confidence in your skills and be prepared to make mistakes to learn and grow.
Teamwork
Collaboration means working together to achieve goals.
So, understanding the importance of sharing credit where it's due, accepting responsibly for your tasks and decisions, being receptive to others’ ideas and suggestions, and building rapport with colleagues and customers alike will enable you to work effectively as a team member. It will also ensure you avoid duplicated work, missed opportunities or misunderstandings that can arise when employees don’t share information.
Positive Attitude
Maintaining a positive attitude is crucial in an industry where you will inevitably face difficult decisions and situations. Working in the health industry can be stressful, so the ability to maintain a positive outlook and minimise your stress levels is crucial both for yourself and the team you manage to maintain good mental health in the workplace.
Time Management
Often overlooked, time management is critical in ensuring you are organised and on track with your targets.
Time management shouldn’t mean having to stay late in the office to complete tasks – it’s all about using your time wisely; blocking off your diary for planning, turning your phone on silent, scheduling times for social media responses and striving to achieve a great work-life balance are all traits of a good manager who can instil the same values in their team.
Leadership
The ability to take charge, motivate and inspire others to achieve your organisational goals is possible one of the most crucial transferable skills to have in the health sector. Leadership and team management qualities will enable you to coordinate, delegate and plan a variety of tasks and duties on a daily basis while maintaining your end goals and the organisation’s aspirations, implement strategic decisions, manage conflict and coach team members.
Westwood Harris Burns are specialists in Executive Search and Senior Finance appointments within the Public Sector; with particular expertise in NHS, Housing and Charity Sectors. With over 60 years combined experience, we have extensive knowledge of the market, proven track records and established networks, allowing us to provide a wide range of services to both clients and candidates alike.
To learn more about how we can support you to either build your team or career, visit our Get In Touch page.
