Soft skills have a very important role in determining the performance of individuals in an organization. The integration of soft skills into the workplace will greatly assist managers and subordinates to work more effectively through more harmonious team work, make employees more adaptive to various changes that occur and able to build happiness and satisfaction in the workplace [1]. Besides, soft skills assist employees in understanding the work environment so that it will accelerate the achievement of shared goals [2]. Parente, Stephan & Brown in their research found that soft skills help managers carry their duties because high work pressure and the increasing level of differences in the world of work require managers not only to have strong hard skills for more effective performance, but the managers also really need soft skills in carrying out their duties [3]. Other findings stated by Garwood that successful professionals have good soft skills [4]. The importance of soft skills also arises when organization makes selection process of employee, managers still place soft skills as an important component [5, 6]. Furthermore, soft skills should have been developed since at school [7].

With those various reasons, organizations develop the soft skills of their employees through training methods. One of the advantages of training compared to other methods is because training can involve a large number of participants and it is more efficient in terms of time [8]. In the level of organizational practice, training is an activity with the largest portion in human resource management activities [9]. Due to the importance and strategic role of training, the organization allocates and invests its funds in organizing training programs for its HR. As an illustration, the Associations for Talent and Development (ATD) reported in 2018, out of 399 organizations in America invested an average of $ 1,296 per employee with an allocation of 34.1 hours per year for each employee. Although no similar data has been found on organizations in Indonesia, it is assumed that organizations in Indonesia also allocate and invest their resources to carry out training to improve their HR soft skills. Is this large expenditure offset by equivalent benefits? Is training effective to develop the soft skills of the employees in the organization?.

From the review of various research results on training effectiveness, it is found that the training is beneficial for individuals, work teams, organizations and even the community [10]. Training is the creator of human resources quality in organizations that will guarantee long-term sustainability of the organization [11]. Training can also improve employee competencies through the development of various skills and as a form of support for the career development of employees in organizations [12]. Training which is conducted in accordance with educational principles will be able to increase productivity and organizations’ profit in this third millennium [13]. Continuous learning and the development of various skills are the modern organization’s way of life. They can be achieved through properly run training [14]. In Taiwan, training still becomes an effective strategy to improve the quality of human resources. In fact, the Taiwan government intervenes by launching the “Taiwan Train Quality System” to boost the quality of human resources through quality training [15]. Recent research has found that training is effective in entreprise resource planning system [16].

However, some research results show that training is not always effective. The results of Fitzpatrick's research show that only 10 percent of what is learned in training can be applied to work [17]. A study by Saks & Belcourt's on 150 companies indicates a different number, that is 46.6 percent for the transfer of training [18]. A different analysis is also proposed by Nikols who states that so far the effectiveness of training is mostly measured through the participants' reactions to the trainings that they follow [19]. Nikols calls the evaluation of the reactions as “smile test”, which does not reveal the effectiveness even more often “plunge”, because often the results are very good but do not reveal the real effectiveness. The findings and analysis above are certainly a very serious problem for all parties including the training organizer, academicians, researchers and especially for organizations.

The writer’s preliminary studies confirm that the training is less effective. The author conducted research in a company that had held Agent of Change training programs and found that the four stakeholders in the training stated that the results of the training have not been effective yet even though it has cost a lot. From the results of the interview and focus group discussions, the training participants, supervisors of training participants, HRD managers and company leaders stated that the implementation of training results was not optimal [20]. Some recent research findings have found that training is not always effective in increasing competencies, including cognitive skills [21, 22]. Baldwin, Ford & Blume stated that over the past 30 years, there has been an explosion of research in the Human Resource Development (HRD) literature devoted to transfer of training – and much has been learned. Yet despite recent demands for evidence-based practice, too little of the science of transfer is informing professionals in their design and execution of training initiatives [23]. Ford, Baldwin & Prasad stated that there are still 3 challenges in research on the transfer of training: (1) what is now reliably known with respect to the generalization and retention of learned knowledge and skills to work contexts; (2) on what is unknown-the significant gaps in our knowledge where we believe new directions in our research strategies are warranted; (3) shifting the operative paradigm of research to examine contemporary learning from a problem-centered perspective [24].

What about the effectiveness of training to develop soft skills? The effectiveness of training within the soft skill area is relatively more difficult to achieve. It is indeed not easy to achieve effectiveness in design, delivery and measurement of the effectiveness of soft skill training. The results of soft skill training are not always concrete. It is in contrast with hard skill training the results of which are easier to observe and measure [25]. One reason for the difficulty of transferring in soft skills training is because soft skills are included in the category of far transfer. It is in contrast with hard skill training. Adjust the suitability of the learning situation and the situation at work is relatively easy for hard skills training. For example, in a training to operate a machine, it will be very easy if the machine used in the learning context is the same as the one that participants used in daily work. This is a contrast to soft skill training. For example, in a training for excellent service to customers. The situations faced at work will vary greatly and these situations are not easily provided in the learning context [26].

Another reason why soft skills training is difficult to achieve effectiveness is the type of skills. There are two types of skills that have consequences for different transfer processes, namely open skills and closed skills. Open skills refer to training materials that allow participants to use a number of ways to be applied at work, whereas closed skills refer to strict procedures for participants to apply at work. According to Yelon & Ford, the transfer process is easier for closed skills, as it has been strictly limited by the implementation procedures. In contrast, in open skills, there are various ways that participants can choose when applying them at work. Referring to Yelon & Ford’s opinion above, the soft skill training is included in the category of open skills, hence the challenges for transfer become greater [27].

Laker and Powell in their article identify at least there are nine differences between soft skill training and hard skill training. From those nine dimensions, both of them conclude that soft skill training has a higher level of difficulties in terms of training needs identification, training objective formulation, method use, effectiveness measurement and implementation in the work contexts. In other words, the transfer of training within the soft skill domain is more difficult to achieve [28].

However, a variety of recent research results indicate that training is effective in developing soft skills. Van de Geer, Vegeer, & Groot found that multidisciplinary training for spiritual care can improve the attitudes and competencies of medical staff in hospitals [29]. Communication training can improve communication skills in healthcare professionals working with people who have cancer [30]. Slade et al. found that health care communication training can improve nurses' ability to conduct bedside handovers in hospitals [31]. Therefore the research question raised is whether the training is effective for developing soft skills?

To be able to optimally achieve its effectiveness, it is necessary to design training that facilitates the transfer of training, or what is known as transfer design, the degree into which the training is designed and delivered so that participants can apply the results of the training and instructions. It is given in accordance with the situation that will be encountered at work [32]. Transfer design has two main constructions: content design and instructional methods. Content design is to prepare the contents of training materials that are in accordance with the real situation which will be faced by participants in their work, including general principles in application and the examples of specific behaviors and procedures that must be carried out when the participants apply them at work [33]. The method of instruction includes the use of various methods that allow participants to experience learning and gain experience to apply training material at work, for example, the method of conducting sample demonstration exercises, using analogies, and simulations. This is in line with the findings of Lynch, Leo & Downing which show that learning in the workplace will be more optimal if the material and methods used are always contextual [26]. To ensure the transfer of training, trainers must provide opportunities for participants to practice so as to demonstrate the relevance of training content to its application at the work place [34]. A study by Velada et al. finds that the transfer design had a strong effect on the transfer of training, with the r value = 0.87. Therefore, there are two keys for organizations to have effective training programs: training must be designed in accordance with the ability of participants to learn the material and how to apply it in real work situations [35]. If the soft skill training is properly designed both the material and the method, the effectiveness of the training will be achieved. Therefore, the hypothesis proposed in this study says that training is effective to develop an individual’s soft skills.

The research hypothesis proposed in this study is accepted. Training is effective to develop an individual’s soft skills, which in this case are friendly and helpful behaviors. The results of this study are in line with several results of research in the hospital setting. For example, research conducted by NaShao et al. of 32 nurses in Chinese hospital who participated in simulation-based training for empathic communication skills. A quasi-experimental with single group pre-test post-test used in the study. They found that the behaviors of nurses toward communicating empathetically improved significantly after undergoing the simulation training [45]. There are many similarities in this study with research conducted by NaSaho et al. in terms of research methods, research settings and the intervention.

Yamada et al. found that the intrapersonal empathy of oncologists in Japan increased after a two-day Communication Skill Training (CST) workshop. The study was conducted on 383 respondents three or more years of clinical experience in oncology [46]. Yamada's research uses an oncologist as a participant. The results of this study indicate that empathic communication can be developed both in doctors, nurses and support staff in hospitals. Other findings that are in line with the results of this study are stated by Van Beusekom et al. who found that Communication Skill Training (CST) improves emotional conversations between radio therapy members and patients [47].

The above research findings strengthen the findings of this study that empathic communication training is effective for developing service behavior in a hospital setting. The effectiveness of training to develop soft skills in this research is largely determined by the transfer design that is designed as an intervention. In the implementation of empathic communication training interventions, 70% of the time was allocated for simulation, practice and role play to apply empathic communication in the workplace. For material presentations, although in smaller portions, many concrete examples of organizational values ​​and empathic communication were given. The first session was a material presentation about the role of values ​​in organizations both for individuals and organizations. This session provided examples of organizations that were able to live the values ​​through concrete actions in their daily work. Meanwhile, the example of an organization that was unable to live its values ​​effectively was also given. In the second session, the simulation method through several games was applied to give an understanding of emphatic communication. Following this activity, debriefing ​​was given through the photos of the participants while playing the game.

In the next session, the implementation of emphatic communication was presented through two behaviors, friendly and helpful. The material presentation was continued with a group discussion session. In this discussion, participants were asked to identify situations that often occur in hospitals and the reactions they should give in such situations. Next, it was continued with a role play with a variety of situations that were predicted to occur in the hospital. The situations were raised from the results of the discussions and other situations that had not been identified by the participants.

The purpose of role play was to enable participants to give an appropriate response that was friendly and helpful behavior when dealing with these situations. For example, a situation when a patient was confused to look for a particular room when a patient's family complained about a doctor's examination schedule that changed, a situation when a patient asked to upgrade the service class, a situation when the doctor explained something to the patient, a situation when there was a queue at the pharmacy, a situation when the patient's belongings or his family were left in the hospital, a situation when facing an angry and panicked patient. Role play was also performed to deal with situations relating to coworkers. For example:, situations when there was a build-up of patients, situations when there were new employees, situations when there were internship students, situations when there were overloaded colleagues. In the role play, participants were trained to provide appropriate responses through friendly and helpful behavior. In each situation exhibited through role play, the trainer gave feedback related to the response that had been appropriate and the response that had not been appropriate.

Theoretically, the training design as described above must be done at the soft skill training level, and the results of the study show that the transfer design had a significant direct effect on the effectiveness of soft skill training. The results of this study further strengthen the assumption of experiential learning theory put forward by David Kolb, that learning through concrete experiences will help participants in making generalizations and implementations in the workplace [48].

The findings of this study are in line with the results of research conducted by Lynch, Leo & Downing, which reveal that learning for individuals who have worked will be more optimal if the material and methods used are contextual [26]. In line with these findings, Velada et al. state that if the training participants have got knowledge background and practiced how to apply it in the workplace, and the methods and instructions in the training describe the situation to be faced at work, the chances of transfer of training will increase [35]. The results of a recent study conducted by Chauhan et al. also found almost the same thing, that was if the training participants believed that the trainer provided a variety of exercises on how to apply training results to the job, the opportunity for transfer of training would be very large [49].

The training design as described above, is very appropriate for the implementation of soft skill training, considering that soft skill training is included in the far transfer category. The training design which provides material that illustrates the work situation accompanied by concrete examples and simulations and role play will be a bridge of transfer experienced by trainees. Simulations and role play with a variety of situations really help participants to anticipate various obstacles when applying training results at work. Considering that soft skills are an open skill type, the method can be a reinforcement of transfers and help participants deal with various situations at work.

This study is aimed to examine whether training is effective in developing individual’s soft skills in organizations. From the results of the data analysis, training has proven to be effective in developing individual’s soft skills. The design of training that facilitates the transfer is a very determining factor in achieving effectiveness. Material that is appropriate to the situation at work, accompanied by concrete examples, simulations and role play that illustrates behavior at work is crucial to the transfer.

The results of this study have several implications. Theoretically, it strengthens the conceptual belief that training is still effective in developing an individual’s soft skills in organizations. Although the effectiveness of soft skills training is more difficult to achieve than hard skills training caused by the type of far transfer and open skills, however, if the training is designed appropriately by giving trainees the opportunity to practice the behavior to be formed, the training can achieve its effectiveness. Practically, training can still be used as an effective medium for organizations to develop their HR competencies, especially in the soft skill level if it is done with appropriate design.

This research has some weaknesses in which this study only focused on one attribute of soft skills namely empathic communication, which was actualized through friendly and helpful behavior. It was specified in accordance with the context and formulation of the policy of the organization where the research was conducted, so it cannot be generalized to other organizations and soft skills attributes. Conceptually, soft skills have many attributes. Therefore, research on the effectiveness of soft skill training can be done on more general soft skill attributes, either intrapersonal attributes such as integrity, discipline, fighting spirit, toughness, and or interpersonal attributes such as leadership attributes, communication, cooperation and so on.