Soft skills, Hard skills, and Mad skills: towards a better combination to ensure job-profile fit

Abstract

   The role of soft skills, hard skills, and mad skills in the job-profile fit, particularly in public organizations, is becoming an increasingly growing field of research. However, there is still little research on how these skills can be used to ensure an optimal fit between job positions and employee profiles in public organizations and how this can contribute to the improvement of performance and efficiency of public services. These public organizations are expected to take into account the specific needs and goals of each job position. It is also important to note that soft skills, hard skills, and mad skills are not static skills and must be continuously developed and updated to adapt to changes in job requirements and professional environments. In this regard, we adopted a methodological approach based on a review of existing literature to clarify the differences between these three types of skills and to propose a set of measures, including job descriptions, to find the optimal combination of these skills and consequently ensure job-profile fit.