Sharpen Your Soft Skills: Part 2

Sharpen Your Soft Skills: Part Two

Soft skills are personal attributes and interpersonal abilities that influence how effectively someone interacts with others and navigates their work environment. Unlike hard skills, which are technical and job-specific, soft skills are more about how you work and relate to people.

In campus card administration, soft skills are just as critical as technical expertise. Here are some important skills to learn, practice, and hone. I’m also sharing a few stories that have shaped my soft skills journey while serving as a campus card director.

In my last post, I shared about Collaboration and Teamwork, Communication Skills, Cultural Competence, and Customer Service. Let’s explore additional soft skills.

Adaptability

• Navigating change in policies, technologies, and student needs
• Responding to technology updates or policy changes
• Adjusting to seasonal demands (e.g., orientation, athletic events, semester start up and end)

My campus landed a major concert to be held in the stadium. I was on vacation when I learned that a large block of tickets would be sold in person using the campus card to verify enrollment / employment. It was certainly validating to get the nod that we were the official database of record, but Jumpin’ Jack Flash, it could’ve been a Beast of Burden. Instead, we found Sympathy for the Devil in the details. 

Changing technologies, vendors, or systems all require adaptability.  

Discretion and Integrity

• Handling sensitive information with confidentiality
• Upholding ethical standards

You hold the key to sensitive information. Make sure policies are in place and approved by legal counsel. It’s always better to err on the side of discretion than to try and retrieve information.  

Empathy

• Understanding and responding to the needs of students and staff
• Understanding team dynamics and individual motivations
• Managing stress and maintaining composure in high-pressure situations

Put yourself in your students’ shoes. Do you want to stand in line only to be told you’re in the wrong line? Make your signage clear and visible and create a process for anyone to bypass the line if they absolutely must go elsewhere and then return to the campus card center.

It’s the first week of school and of course, students need their campus cards to function. We had a visual quality issue with our cardstock and were waiting for an emergency shipment. We handed out a coupon with any defective card for a free beverage at one of the dining services locations in our building. Due to our relationship with the venue manager (teamwork), he was willing to accept the coupons and bill our department for the claimed beverages. It cost less than $50 and bought us a lot of goodwill with our new customers and our administration.

Leadership

• Managing staff or student workers
• Setting goals and maintaining service standards

Let them learn and lead and watch them bloom. Consider allowing your staff to use working titles instead of position classifications (Business Manager instead of Accountant III) along with your student staff. The ability to use Student Marketing Manager or Customer Service Specialist increases engagement and helps them build their resume.  

Encourage your student staff to suggest improvements to their work procedures and if approved, ask them to present the new procedure at a staff meeting. 

Problem-Solving

• Addressing challenges creatively and efficiently
• Making data-informed decisions

We tracked customer visits and services provided and based on the data were able to adjust our front desk hours and staffing. This resulted in budget savings and a less-stressed staff.

Create reports from the card use data you hold to help your user departments make sound decisions. The NACCU Data Summit will launch your reporting skills.

Be proactive and reach out to your stakeholders.  Did they forget to send an updated door schedule? Remind them, they’ll appreciate it.

Let’s face it, every campus card director has a lot of resoluteness and a little bit of MacGyver in them. How have you solved a challenge?  

Strategic Thinking

• Planning for long-term system upgrades and campus growth
• Aligning access control strategies with institutional goals

What are your one-year, three-year and five-year plans? They may change but at least start thinking about direction. Involve your stakeholders, corporate partners, and students.

Watch the Strategic Planning 101 webinar for ideas and direction.

Tech-Savviness (as a soft skill)

• Comfort with learning and explaining technical systems
• Bridging the gap between users and IT support

In charge of access control? Ask facilities services for a floor plan of every building and note every door installation.

Even if you’re not the sysadmin, you need to learn and understand your systems, data feeds, hardware, software, budget, and how they all fit together in your campus card program.

Time Management

• Prioritizing tasks during peak periods
• Front load seasonal tasks if possible
• Meeting deadlines for reporting and system updates

We all know there are not enough of you or hours in a day. Find a system that works for you, be it digital, paper, apps, a pomodoro timer or a full-year calendar on the wall. And then share it with your colleagues!  

Time is On Your Side.

Don't Overlook Soft Skills

At the end of the day, soft skills aren’t just “extra”. These skills build the foundation that lets you connect, adapt, and lead effectively. These are capabilities that deepen through honest self-reflection. Take time to assess where you shine and where you stumble. Ask for feedback. Try small experiments. And remember: developing soft skills is a journey, not a destination. Keep refining, stay curious, and you’ll find yourself stronger, more agile, and better equipped to meet whatever challenges come your way.