The Soft Skills for a Hard Digital Shift: Why Comms Training Is an Essential IT Investment

Digital transformation initiatives continue to accelerate across businesses – from construction firms adopting AI-driven planning tools to retailers rolling out M365 ecosystems. But despite significant investment, many of these programmes stall or underdeliver.

Often, the core issue isn’t technology. It’s people. Projects fail when teams aren’t aligned, messaging is unclear, and communication breaks down between functions. Instead of boosting efficiencies, this can create friction, increase siloed working and slow down adoption of new systems. 

The good news for HR managers and L&D leaders? With the right training in place, they have the power to positively impact change.

In this blog, we’ll look at:

• • • The areas where improved communication skills have a direct impact
    • The most valuable soft skills for driving digital transformation
    • How to ensure your team has what it takes to make technical investments pay off

Which communication skills to focus on?

When it comes to soft skills, there are several common misconceptions. They’re often considered less important than technical skills or only necessary in certain roles where knowing how to manage team or customer expectation is key. 

But investing in improved communication skills across the business can have a direct impact on the smooth running of digital projects. Soft skills that focus on good communication and critical thinking can reduce friction and enable faster, better and more resilient transformation.

Enabling faster tech adoption

Digital transformation can often feel like just another admin task for employees. It’s easy to disengage and put the onboarding of new tools aside until a more convenient moment. 

But when IT teams and change champions can clearly articulate the value a tool brings, employees feel more incentivised to pay attention. Speaking user-friendly language, presenting benefits clearly and outlining the real-world applications all help employees adopt new tools quickly. They’re more engaged and more likely to make the most of new programmes – rather than letting cost and effort go to waste.

Improving collaboration in hybrid teams

Over recent years, miscommunication and disconnect across remote and hybrid workforces have become a growing issue. With fewer teams meeting face-to-face on a regular basis, staff rely on inconsistent channels to share information. This can lead to fragmented knowledge, misalignment and a lack of collaboration. 

Knowing how to communicate across dispersed teams clearly and empathetically reduces friction between remote and in-office colleagues, aligns priorities and ensures Teams, SharePoint and other digital tools are used as intended.

Building greater resilience

The current pace of digital transformation means teams are having to adapt quickly to new ways of working. This can create pressure for employees when the right preparation, information and communication isn’t in place. 

Both communication and critical thinking skills are crucial to helping employees stay solution-oriented, navigate ambiguity and maintain productivity during transitions. With those embedded, organisations are primed for positive change.

The key soft skills that drive digital transformation

Every successful digital transformation needs a workforce with the human capabilities to navigate complexity, communicate clearly and collaborate effectively. 

While organisations often focus on technical or systems training, it’s these deeper skills that determine whether new technologies actually land and deliver value. Finding the right targeted employee training courses means teams will be empowered to develop these soft skills alongside more specialised subjects:

Complex communication

Digital change introduces new terminology, new workflows, and new expectations – often at a speed that leaves employees overwhelmed. Teams that can translate technical concepts into simple, actionable language create clarity rather than confusion. 

The right communication isn’t just about explaining “how” a tool works – it’s about helping people understand why it matters, what will change and how it supports broader organisational goals. This ability to connect the dots accelerates adoption and reduces resistance across all levels of the organisation.

Critical thinking

As data volumes grow and AI-driven insights become more common, employees need the ability to interpret information thoughtfully, challenge assumptions and make well-reasoned decisions. 

Critical thinking helps teams spot risks early, avoid unnecessary bottlenecks and apply new tools in ways that genuinely improve workflows and drive smarter, more confident actions.

Empathy

Digital transformation is as much an emotional journey as a technical one. Change can trigger uncertainty, scepticism or frustration, particularly in hybrid or distributed teams where communication happens across roles, shifts and geographic boundaries. 

Empathy helps colleagues recognise one another’s pressures and perspectives, reducing friction and enabling more constructive collaboration. When teams feel understood and supported, they are far more likely to engage positively with new systems and ways of working.

Effective virtual presenting

With so many key interactions now happening on Teams, Zoom and other virtual platforms, the ability to communicate confidently through a screen has become a core professional competency. 

Virtual presenting is about more than delivering slides – it’s about influencing stakeholders, gaining alignment and keeping people engaged in digital-first environments. Strong virtual communication ensures that messages land clearly regardless of location, making it essential for everything from project updates to system rollouts.

Together, these skills form the human capability layer that underpins every successful digital transformation.

How to ensure your team has the soft skills to make technical investments pay off

Technology can automate tasks, streamline processes and enhance productivity – but will only deliver ROI when people have the communication, thinking and interpersonal skills to bring that technology to life. This is where business-focused training, such as Go Tech’s training programmes come in.

Go Tech delivers bespoke, targeted, on-site training designed for digital-first workplaces across sectors. Each training programme is practical, scenario-based and directly addresses the real communication challenges that can derail tech adoption.

Investment in soft skills enables teams to understand, articulate and embrace new technologies. Go Tech helps provide the training that delivers the missing capability layer that turns digital plans into real-world execution. 

If you’re embarking on a technology rollout and need people-focused training that empowers faster adoption, smoother collaboration and far higher transformation success rates, why not explore Go Tech’s courses.