مهارت های نرم و یادگیری زمان-فاصله دار: مطالعه کمی از عملکرد کار در سازمان های مالزی Soft skills and time-spaced learning: A quantitative study of work performance in Malaysian organizations

Time-spaced learning If soft skills and training are both important contributing factors to a company’s success, it is necessary to focus on specific soft skills that are significant factors and, therefore, what kind of training and development a company needs. Many managers do not fully recognize the value of soft skills and are loathed to spend money on it, given the fact that it is an area which is difficult to measure and see return for investment. More than $30bn is spent every year on training and development, with the typical approach being a consecutive-days classroom or a lecture hall approach. In fact, time-spaced learning is a far more effective style of learning, for both hard and soft skills. This is when learning takes place over time, rather than being crammed into a few days. Learning occurs and then trainees are given an amount of time (days, weeks, months) to practice and experiment with learning in the workplace, internalizing the knowledge and transferring the skills to their job. They then return to the classroom to reinforce the learning, and they then build on it with new learning. This cycle can repeat as much as is necessary. This style of learning, with the opportunity to experiment in the workplace, helps to change old habits and create new attitudes and behaviors. Although it is not a new style of learning, and is a trustworthy method, it is one of the least used training and development styles. Research methodology and results Ibrahim et al. (2017) investigated the hypotheses that increasing soft skills leads to improved work performance and that a suitable training style will also increase work performance. They performed a quantitative survey with participants who had been through soft skills training via time-spaced learning. There were 260 participants based in nine private companies in Malaysia. The survey contained 55 questions which assessed soft skills, work performance, and training methodology. They also included demographic variables. The survey was piloted, reviewed, and revised for validity. After two months, the participants were tested to see the effect of the learning and if the soft skills acquired had been transferred to the workplace. To predict the employees’ work performance, multiple regression analysis was used. The results showed a 17.8 per cent variation that can be attributed to soft skills and training methodology. A single unit increase in soft skills and training methodology led to a 15.9 per cent increase in work performance. The survey strongly showed that increasing soft skills led to an increase in work performance. Similarly, there was a strong suggestion that the training methodology (time-spaced learning) led to increased work performance. The training methodology had more influence on work performance than soft skills – 27.9 per cent increase compared to 14.7 per cent increase.