AI Won’t Save Your Company Culture, Upskilling Your People Will.
- WE CREATE SPACE
- 3 hours ago
- 6 min read
The business case for investing in talent development has never been stronger, and those who don't prioritise upskilling risk being left behind.
In a world where automation, AI, and hybrid work are reshaping how we connect, communicate and lead, one truth has become impossible to ignore: the future of work will be driven by human-centred skills.
The skills that now define great organisations aren’t purely technical; they're emotional, relational, and deeply human. Empathy, adaptability, active listening, and emotional intelligence are no longer “nice to have” leadership traits; they are strategic business assets. Harvard Business Impact found 70% of leaders believe they need to master more effective leadership behaviours to meet current and future business needs.
According to the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report (2025), nearly 40% of current skills will be obsolete by 2030, while analytical thinking, empathy, resilience, flexibility, and curiosity are among the fastest-growing priorities for employers. Yet most companies are still underinvesting in developing these skills, even in the face of retention challenges, disengaged teams, and leadership burnout.
We Create Space has worked with 200+ organisations since 2020 to address these challenges head on through digital learning, talent development, shared experiences and data-led insights to create inclusive cultures and build community, at a global and local level. Utilising our Leadership Collective of 300+ global experts, we combine lived experience, structured feedback and coaching to develop skills, not just teach theory. Using frameworks for managing tough conversations, giving feedback, and crafting clear messages that build trust to help leaders connect strategy to purpose and values, grounding vision in inclusive decision-making.
The Rising Value of Soft Skills
Soft skills are often called “power skills” because they fuel everything from innovation to retention. But their importance is growing faster than many organisations realise.
The World Economic Forum notes that seven in ten companies now rank leadership, social influence, and resilience among the most in-demand capabilities for 2025. Meanwhile, Gallup’s 2024 Employee Upskilling Report found that employees who feel encouraged to learn new skills are 47% less likely to leave their organisation.
This means that how people learn and what they learn directly impacts belonging, retention, and performance. For underrepresented or historically marginalised employees, access to soft skill development can be transformative, empowering them to lead with confidence in systems not originally built for them.
"Soft skills are the foundation of psychological safety, the single greatest predictor of team performance." - Amy Edmondson, Harvard Business School
WCS Resource: What is Psychological Safety? And why do I need it?
Inclusion, belonging, and leadership development are therefore not separate challenges. They are interconnected and when approached together, they drive measurable business results.
From Technical Capability to Emotional Credibility
In most organisations, professional development has traditionally focused on role specific technical mastery or compliance. But today’s workforce expects something more personal, training that translates to future roles and helps them communicate effectively, lead with empathy, and navigate differences with confidence.
McKinsey’s Upskilling Imperative report shows that 42% of workers are actively seeking upskilling opportunities, but most cite lack of support from employers as their biggest barrier.
This isn’t about “emotional training” for the sake of it; it’s about building the emotional intelligence that powers innovation. Teams perform best when people feel seen, respected, and psychologically safe. This is why soft skills are business critical to drive scalable talent pipelines and current research confirms this.
The Mercer Global Talent Trends 2024–2025 Report highlights that:
Improving people managers’ skills is now the #1 HR priority worldwide.
Employee upskilling ranks as the top driver of productivity (51%).
Organisations that reward skill development see higher engagement and lower attrition.
The Retention ROI of Soft Skill Development
It’s not just a feel good exercise, the numbers are clear.
Employees who are recognised for learning new skills are 75% more likely to feel motivated to continue upskilling. (1)
Workers encouraged to learn are 47% less likely to be looking for another job. (2)
In fact employee retention is 20 times greater at companies with a focus on leadership development. (3)
At a time when replacing an employee can cost up to 200% of their annual salary, soft skill investment is one of the most cost effective retention strategies available. Developing cultural competency, building resilience, active listening, and inclusive leadership skills also improves team cohesion creating the conditions where diverse talent can thrive.
The Skills of the Future are Human-Centred
The shift to human-centred talent development is already underway. Across sectors, from finance to retail to logistics, organisations are realising that belonging, inclusion, and wellbeing are not side initiatives, they are key drivers of engagement, retention, and productivity. Soft skills that will define leadership success over the next five years include:
Core Soft Skills | Business Impact |
Emotional Intelligence (EQ/EI) | Builds trust, improves team cohesion |
Empathy & Active Listening | Increases psychological safety and innovation |
Resilience & Agility | Enables adaptability during change |
Courageous Communication | Strengthens feedback cultures and conflict resolution |
Cultural Intelligence (CQ) | Supports global collaboration and equity |
Storytelling for Influence | Enhances leadership credibility |
Boundary Setting & Self-Awareness | Prevents burnout and compassion fatigue |
In other words, the most important technologies shaping the future of work are human beings.
Best in Class Practices from Leading Organisations
Forward thinking organisations are already integrating emotional skill development into their leadership ecosystems. For example:
Microsoft introduced empathy based leadership training linked to innovation metrics, improving team psychological safety by 17% within one year.
Salesforce built “Inclusive Leadership Playbooks” to equip managers with soft skill practices that directly impact promotion and retention outcomes.
Accenture and Unilever embed emotional intelligence and storytelling modules into all leadership pathways, resulting in higher engagement and internal promotion rates.
Coventry City Council worked with We Create Space to deliver a leadership development programme for LGBTQ+ employees. 60% of participants felt extremely confident in their ability to use the skills they learned across all sessions vs only 16% feeling confident before the programme started.
Conclusion: Human-Centred Skills Are the Future of Work
At We Create Space, we believe the next era of competitive advantage lies in how well organisations equip people to connect, belong, and lead authentically. We Create Space bridges this gap by reframing belonging, wellbeing, and inclusion through the lens of leadership development and talent growth. Through leadership programmes, consultancy, and community powered learning, we help organisations transform soft skills into a measurable lever for retention, engagement, and sustainable performance. This is inclusion as a performance strategy, one that reduces attrition, builds loyalty, and strengthens brand reputation.
We help clients:
Develop emotionally intelligent leaders who can manage complexity and model inclusion to accelerate business growth.
Turn ERGs into talent accelerators, building communities that retain and develop underrepresented talent.
Equip people managers with the tools to navigate difficult conversations with empathy and confidence to foster connection.
Embed wellbeing into leadership pipelines, making sustainable performance a shared goal.
How We Help Organisations Build These Capabilities
We Create Space supports clients through three integrated pillars that reflect the future of work:
Talent Development Solutions
We design experiential, evidence based learning that strengthens soft skills at every level from early career professionals to senior executives. Each programme blends storytelling, neuroscience, and reflective practice to ensure learning becomes habit, not theory.
These solutions are strategic investments for retention, engagement, belonging, and internal mobility that help create a pipeline of talent and opportunities.
Our consulting services help organisations translate inclusion into measurable talent, retention, and engagement outcomes. Through belonging audits, engagement diagnostics, and leadership coaching, we identify cultural friction points and build long-term talent strategies. This could look like:
Community Strategy Design (internal ERG/Networks)
Community Activation Labs (events, storytelling)
Community Measurement & Impact Reporting (linking belonging to retention)
Integrated Membership Packages
Our annual integrated memberships give clients modular access to workshops, insights, and executive coaching. We help organisations build learning ecosystems that sustain growth over time, embedding emotional intelligence into their everyday culture. These memberships leverage consultancy, data insights, and community-based learning for long-term impact. Working with We Create Space increases your resource efficiency and access to intersectional perspectives to help you focus on organisational and culture change.
Community Building
For organisations striving to build a more inclusive, engaged, and thriving workplace, we believe community-building isn’t just a solution. It’s the foundation. We Create Space is built on a global network of intersectional and diverse experts made up of trained DEI specialists, therapists, certified coaches, consultants, mental health professionals, activists, senior execs, legal experts, community builders, and corporate change-makers. This community model ensures every programme is authentic, intersectional, and inclusive. Working with WCS means organisations gain access to a living ecosystem of shared learning, data insights, and storytelling to transform training into connection.
WCS Resource: Community Building 101: Our Top 30 Considerations.
While you're here...
Did you know we consult with Businesses, ERGs and Change-Leaders providing bespoke corporate solutions? Through consultancy we design shared learning experiences, produce DEI insights and craft bespoke content that support individuals with strengthening their roles as change-agents within their communities and organisations. Find out more here.
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