What is adaptability?
Adaptability is the degree to which an individual can change their attitude, routine, habits and understanding of their environment to conform to a new situation. In the workplace, employees typically need to be adaptable when a department or branch merges, when you implement new policies and procedures, new management enters your team and even when your company moves to a new office space.
Benefits of being adaptable as a company and hiring adaptable employees
Being adaptable as a company and hiring those with flexible qualities can bring a variety of benefits to your business, including:
- Allowing you to adapt your business as the industry changes
- Promoting continued work ethic during change
- Inspiring less adaptable employees to embrace change
Skills that imply adaptability in job candidates
During the hiring process, you can potentially identify the right employees by reviewing the skills and qualifications they include on their resume and cover letter. Here are some examples of skills that can imply adaptability in job candidates:
Problem-solving
Problem-solving implies adaptability because it requires someone to acknowledge a problem, identify potential solutions and foresee their outcomes. For example, a problem-solving accountant could figure out that your company can still keep its current employees during an economic recession by implementing a pay decrease across the board.
Teamwork
Teamwork or collaboration implies adaptability because it involves working with other people to complete a common goal. Employees who have excellent teamwork skills might be able to take on additional work to help a coworker or present a team member’s data during a presentation on short notice.
Creativity
If a job candidate lists creativity as a skill on their resume or cover letter, this could be an indication of their ability to adapt to change. For example, if the marketing team had to cut a marketing campaign because an industry competitor just came out with a similar campaign, a creative marketing specialist might be able to come up with a new angle for your company’s ad.
Project management
Project management implies leadership and an ability to adapt to change. Project managers typically have to oversee a team of individuals and work around deadline changes, budget cuts, team member absences and other factors that require them to adapt quickly to complete projects on time.
Flexibility
Flexibility implies the ability to quickly adapt to change. For example, a flexible employee might be able to take on additional work that falls outside of their job requirements to help out another employee in their absence. Flexibility also implies that an employee could switch around their daily schedule or change priorities with ease.
Leadership
Those who demonstrate leadership typically have experience with change and making hard decisions. They usually understand that change is a part of business and have their own methods to help inspire employees to embrace change.
Curiosity
Curiosity implies a desire to learn and explore, which could be a promising trait in an employee because they might be more willing to learn about new procedures. For example, an employee who demonstrates curiosity may be more likely to do their own research on a new communication channel and learn how to use it quickly and effectively.
Industry certifications
Candidates who mention recent industry certifications they’ve received could prove more likely to adapt well to changes within the workplace because their certifications demonstrate their desire to learn and update their knowledge within their industry. For example, if your company suddenly switched to a new online calendar program, an employee with a recent computer software certification might adapt better than an employee who doesn’t have that certification.
Tips for improving adaptability in the workplace
With the right employees, you can embrace change within your company and continue striving for success. Here are some tips for improving adaptability within your workplace:
Hire job candidates with adaptable traits
One way you can improve adaptability in the workplace is by creating a strong foundation with new hires who exhibit adaptable traits. They can help instill flexibility in your existing employees while contributing to successful change within your organization.
Provide your employees with an adaptability certification course
There are several online courses and seminar opportunities that can help your employees better adapt to organizational change. You could host a company-wide presentation or allow individual departments to complete the course at their own pace. As a result, your employees can earn an additional qualification to expand their job duties and have more tools to adapt to change.
Encourage feedback during organizational changes
Make sure you communicate to your employees that they can come to you with any concerns or problems regarding changes to your company. This can help you determine which employees are having trouble with transitions and you can then provide additional resources or training.
Show your employees how changes will impact your business
Sometimes it can be hard for your employees to accept change if they don’t understand the reasoning behind it, so consider outlining the reasons for company changes. For example, if you’re limiting the number of company trips or banquets due to budget cuts, you could communicate that you’re doing that because you want to make sure there’s enough money at the end of the year to give them each a holiday bonus.
Lead your employees by example
As a business owner, manager or supervisor, you should set an example for your employees when there are changes within your workplace. If you embrace change, you can encourage your employees to be more comfortable with the changes and adapt to them like you.
Workplace adaptability FAQs
What are signs of adaptability on a resume?
Here are some examples of language that implies adaptability on a resume:
- Motivated
- Embraced
- Fostered
- Corrected
- Garnered
- Modified
- Accommodated
- Restructured
- Altered
- Cooperated
What is an example of adaptability?
Here’s one example of adaptability in the workplace:
- The sales team discovers that they were given the wrong spreadsheets to record their quarterly sales quotas. They demonstrate adaptability by being willing to work an additional two hours every day for a week to make corrections.
What is a sample adaptability interview question to ask candidates?
Here are two questions you could ask to evaluate a candidate’s adaptability skills:
- “How do you handle stress at work?”
- “Tell me about a time you had to adapt to change in your professional life.”
How can adaptability be measured in the workplace?
You can measure adaptability in several ways. You could send out an anonymous survey asking your employees to rate their comfort level with company changes. You may also measure adaptability by monitoring any increases or decreases in errors relating to a new policy or procedure.
Change may not always be easy, but with the right tactics and employee education, you can adapt your business for continued success within your industry.
Improving Adaptability in the Workplace Templates for PDF & Word
Use these templates to help you find candidates who are adaptable to change and improve adaptability in the workplace.
*Indeed provides these examples as a courtesy to users of this site. Please note that we are not your HR or legal adviser, and none of these documents reflect current labor or employment regulations.