From administrative and customer service jobs to office managers and bookkeepers, having talented professionals in these important positions is imperative to maintaining productivity, ensuring continued success, and creating a well-rounded environment for all your staff members. And while there has been a push for AI and automation in customer relations, consumers continually maintain that they have a better experience when they have access to actual employees. According to the Achieving Customer Amazement Study, 83% of customers say great service increases their trust in a company when buying something, and 81% said they’d consider returning to a company that sought to repair a bad customer experience.
However, finding the right candidates to fit your culture and meet the needs of your organization takes more than posting on job boards and asking for referrals. It takes a team of highly skilled individuals screening for specific qualities needed to perform well in these critical roles. Maintaining a focus on the skills needed to have a successful Office Services team is the first step toward finding and hiring the best people for your organization.
Soft Skills Essential for Successful Teams
According to an Express Employment Professionals-Harris Poll survey, hiring for soft skills is essential to building a successful team. Among the top skills deemed essential or very important by hiring managers are:
- Dependability – 90% U.S., 86% Canada
- Communication skills – 89% U.S., 84% Canada
- Willingness to learn – 88% U.S., 87% Canada
- Problem-solving skills – 85% U.S., 77% Canada
- Adaptability – 85% U.S., 82% Canada
- Critical thinking – 84% U.S., 71% Canada
- Initiative – 84% U.S., 75% Canada
More than 7 in 10 hiring managers feel that fitting in with the company culture (79% U.S., 71% Canada), creativity (72% U.S., 54% Canada), and/or leadership skills (71% U.S., 48% Canada) are also of high importance. The right combination of hard skills, such as technical skills and job-specific training, and soft skills like personality traits, experience, and communication skills, is needed for a qualified candidate.
Put Soft Skills First, Train for Experience
The top three most desirable soft skills for employees that the Harris Poll survey discovered—dependability, strong communication skills, and willingness to learn—all focus on specific traits that not only help the individual but also the organization as a whole run more effectively and efficiently. More companies are trying to do more with a smaller staff; having specific experience and training may not be as important as being flexible, moldable, and adaptable. Candidates who show up, are ready to hit the ground running, and are eager to learn new skills have a higher chance of succeeding in new roles than those who tend to be stuck in their ways.
The survey found that companies want candidates who are willing to reskill and make a difference at an organization, regardless of their role. These traits, such as problem-solving skills, adaptability, critical thinking, and initiative, are all crucial characteristics hiring managers are looking for. Simply put, finding workers who possess the right soft skills are more desirable than those who may have more experience and training, but who don’t fit this mold.
Each of these steps is crucial in helping you find skilled, qualified employees. But the most important part of our process is finding the right person who not only fits the job, but your unique company culture, as well.
About Express Employment Professionals
Express was named the #1 Largest Office/Clerical Staffing Firm in the U.S. by Staffing Industry Analysts in 2025, and helped 64,000 job seekers find Office Services jobs in 2024. If you’re hiring for Office Services roles, contact the office nearest you to learn more about finding your next hire.
The Job Insights survey was conducted online within the United States and Canada by The Harris Poll on behalf of Express among job seekers in the U.S. (n=1,002) and Canada (n=506) Dec. 1–15, 2022. For complete survey methodology, please contact Communications@ExpressPros.com.
Last Updated on September 23, 2025
