Nowadays many employees lack interpersonal qualities such as communication skills or team spirit. This could be due to the inadequacies of our education system and the method of interview used to select employees. Both problems need to be addressed to find a solution.

The most predominant factor which leads to lack of interpersonal skills in potential employees is our education system itself. To elaborate, academic success of students is measured in terms of their ability to grasp voluminous syllabus with little focus / emphasis on extracurricular activities. Employers also give preference to candidates with good academic grades. Consequently, students focus on improving their scores in exams rather than participating in sports and other events, which may enhance their interpersonal skills.

To tackle this problem, it is important to change the grading criteria of students and the selection method of employees. If students are given extra marks for participating in a college function or stage programme, they will make these activities a part of their study life. And when they work with their college mates they will acquire useful skills such as teamwork, interpersonal communication or leadership.

Furthermore, instead of focusing solely on their academic grades, interviewers should test candidates from various aspects to judge their true potential. For instance, group discussion before an interview can be used to analyse how participants accept others’ opinion or how they react to differing views.

In conclusion, our faulty grading system and the focus on academic success are the reasons for the lack of interpersonal skills among employees. The only solution to this problem is to make extracurricular activities an integral part of the learning process.