Assess your Audit Team's Soft Skills
Assess your Audit Team's Soft Skills
A Guide to Assess and Enhance Soft Skills for Successful, Transformative Audits and Professional Advancement.
A successful auditor requires a spectrum of soft skills.
In essence, auditors function as interviewers, gathering evidence by engaging with people.
Proficiency in the field being audited, coupled with strong communication (both verbal and written), attention to detail, and more, is indispensable.
While we can argue that there are a few important soft skills, I would like to focus today on the ability to communicate effectively and navigate interpersonal dynamics, which is as crucial as technical expertise.
Yet, if I were to highlight the two soft skills I consider paramount, they would be:
Diplomacy: Diplomacy in auditing involves the art of managing relationships and negotiations tactfully.
Assertiveness: Being assertive is about expressing your thoughts, needs, and expectations clearly while respecting the opinions of others.
These are soft skills that often have nothing to do with experience.
But can these be worked out consciously?
Let me explain to you today:
Characteristics to be an Assertive Auditor
Secrets for a Diplomatic Auditor
How to assess development into this soft skills?
Characteristics to be Assertive
Here's a piece of advise of how to put in place this soft skill:
Clear Communication: Articulate clearly the expectations and observations, using concise and assertive language to convey your points and avoid ambiguity.
Confidence: Establish your credibility. Confidence in your expertise and knowledge not only enhances your standing as an auditor but also acquires trust among those you engage with during the audit process.
Setting Boundaries: Clearly define the scope and objectives of the audit, maintaining focus on relevant areas without being sidetracked by non-essential issues.
Providing Constructive Feedback: Be firm but constructive. Be honest about findings while offering solutions for improvement.
Cultivating assertiveness in auditing is not just a skill.
Assertiveness is a strategy for precision and professionalism that you can apply in other areas.
Secrets for a Diplomatic Auditor.
Being a diplomatic auditor involves mastering subtle yet powerful techniques that create a positive and collaborative audit environment.
Here are three secrets to becoming a diplomatic auditor:
Active Listening: It is more than just hearing; it's about paying close attention to what is said and looking for a positive atmosphere during audits.
Empathy: It is the ability to understand the challenges, cultural differences, and concerns of the individuals being audited.
Handling conflict: In cases of disagreement or conflict, a diplomatic auditor employs techniques to find common ground.
Becoming a diplomatic auditor is about more than technical proficiency; it's about creating an environment where trust, understanding, and collaboration are continuously present.
How to assess development into this soft skills?
Independently you are crafting your own development plan or if you are assessing other’s auditors skills, see below a set of assessment criteria and applications for the following auditor attributes:
Clear Communication:
Assessment:
Conduct role-playing scenarios where auditors have to explain complex audit findings to non-experts.
Review written reports and presentations for clarity, coherence, and the ability to convey technical information in a comprehensible manner.
Application:
Implement communication workshops or training sessions focused on articulating audit findings effectively.
Encourage the use of visual aids and straightforward language in reports and presentations.
Confidence:
Assessment:
Observe auditors during meetings or presentations, noting body language and vocal tone.
Request auditors to lead discussions or present findings to assess their comfort level.
Application:
Organise public speaking or presentation skills training to boost auditors' confidence.
Assign auditors to mentor junior team members, fostering a sense of responsibility and self-assurance.
Setting Boundaries:
Assessment:
Evaluate how auditors prioritise tasks and manage time during an audit.
Examine instances where auditors stay focused on the audit objectives despite external pressures.
Application:
Provide time management workshops to enhance boundary-setting skills.
Emphasise the importance of clearly defining audit scope and objectives in training programs.
Providing Constructive Feedback:
Assessment:
Review past performance evaluations to assess how auditors deliver feedback.
Conduct surveys or interviews with team members to gather feedback on the constructive nature of communication.
Application:
Train auditors in feedback techniques, emphasising the "sandwich" method (positive feedback, constructive criticism, positive reinforcement).
Encourage the use of specific examples and actionable recommendations in feedback.
Active Listening:
Assessment:
Observe auditors during meetings, noting their engagement level and ability to summarise key points.
Incorporate feedback from team members on the auditor's ability to incorporate input from diverse sources.
Application:
Offer workshops on active listening skills, including techniques like paraphrasing and asking clarifying questions.
Encourage auditors to summarise discussions at the end of meetings to confirm understanding.
Empathy:
Assessment:
Evaluate auditors' interactions with team members and those being audited.
Collect feedback on the auditor's ability to consider the unique challenges faced by individuals in different roles.
Application:
Incorporate empathy training into professional development programs.
Encourage auditors to seek feedback from team members on their interpersonal skills.
Handling Conflict:
Assessment:
Examine past instances where conflicts arose during audits and assess how they were resolved.
Collect feedback on how auditors manage disagreements or differing opinions.
Application:
Conduct conflict resolution workshops, focusing on techniques such as mediation and compromise.
Encourage auditors to share conflict resolution success stories and lessons learned with the team.
Conclusions
This is not an easy job, but line managers have a big play on setting expectations on development of auditors skills.
Same if you want to work on your development plan.
And remember… these secrets are not just for auditors—they are principles that can elevate professionalism in any collaborative environment.
That’s all for today.
See you next week! 👋
Disclaimer: The information provided in the newsletter and related resources is intended for informational and educational purposes only. It does not constitute professional advice, and any actions taken based on the content are at the reader's discretion.