This study investigates the influence of soft skills, in the labor market, comparing
the private retail sector and the public health sector. The choice of this topic reflects
the growing recognition of the importance of these competencies in organizational
development. The research was conducted based on a retail multinational, “Privado,
Lda,” and a public hospital in the Lisbon region, where a lack of investment in behavioral
development practices is evident. The study analyzes how technological evolution has
impacted the development of new professional profiles and the variations in development
practices between the sectors. The methodology adopted includes a case study, with
a survey of 25 employees from each sector, to assess the value placed on soft skills,
as well as the impact of leadership development policies and workplace satisfaction
on motivation and talent retention. The results indicate that investment in training
is positively correlated with talent retention, being more significant in the private
sector (ρ = 0.657) compared to the public sector (ρ = 0.492). In the private sector,
43.11% of the variation in talent retention is explained by training, while in the
public sector, this value is 24.19%. Additionally, investment in job satisfaction
impacts employee commitment, with stronger correlations in the private sector (ρ =
0.629), while in the public sector, the correlation is low (ρ = 0.094). The impact
of leadership and work-life balance is also noteworthy, with stronger correlations
in the private sector (ρ = 0.820) compared to the public sector (ρ = 0.703). The results
highlight that the private sector is more mature in terms of training methods and
programs, emphasizing the importance of developing behavioral competencies to enhance
motivation and talent retention.
