A new campaign is focusing on improving employees’ so-called ‘soft skills’, which researchers say contribute nearly £90 million a year to the UK economy.

The campaign is being run by a collection of businesses and lobby groups including McDonald’s, Barclays and the CBI.

Soft skills include things like communication, using initiative and team working. They are considered essential to successful careers but are undervalued, according to the group.

It commissioned research by Development Economics which shows they are worth £88 million annually, particularly in the service sector where face-to-face communication is an everyday occurrence.

Failing to maintain high standards in soft skills could result in a host of problems, including higher operating costs, lost sales, lower standards of quality and delays for new products and services.

"Businesses think they are important, they are massively important to the UK economy, but they are not recognised to the extent that they should be,” BBC News reported a McDonald’s spokesperson saying.

"Maybe it's because of the terminology or maybe it's because people haven't defined what those soft skills are or people are not sure how to articulate those skills when they're talking to their boss about promotions."

The spokesperson added that soft skills, “probably have a reputational problem. They are not recognised for their importance to individuals and the economy.

"We're interested in any policies the government can implement to help employees and employers to develop soft skills."