Making soft skills stick
A study by researchers at Durham University identifies key reasons why soft skills training rarely delivers lasting behaviour change at work. Their analysis of 69 factors affecting training transfer identified a fundamental disconnect: organisations focus primarily on training design whilst overlooking the capability, opportunity and motivation barriers that prevent application of new skills.
The research introduces the COMPASS model (Capability, Opportunity and Motivation of Professionals' Application of Soft Skills), which integrates Baldwin and Ford's (1988) training transfer framework with behavioural science principles from the COM-B model. The COM-B model, developed by behavioural scientists, identifies three essential components for behaviour change: Capability (having the skills and knowledge), Opportunity (environmental factors that enable the behaviour) and Motivation (the desire and drive to act).
The COMPASS (capability, opportunity and motivation for professionals’ application of soft skills) model.
Unlike hard skills, soft skills require automatic, habitual behaviours that develop through practice across various contexts, yet traditional training approaches generally fail to address this complexity. The study found that all elements of the COMPASS model contribute to training transfer success, challenging the assumption that better training design alone will solve the 'transfer problem'. Factors such as management support, physical opportunities to practise and voluntary participation proved more critical than training content itself.