Why You Should Hire Employees with Emotional Intelligence
“No one cares how much you know, until they know how much you care.”
Theodore Roosevelt
Emotional Intelligence, as a psychological theory, was developed by Peter Salovey and John Mayer. "Emotional intelligence is the ability to perceive emotions, to access and generate emotions so as to assist thought, to understand emotions and emotional knowledge, and to reflectively regulate emotions so as to promote emotional and intellectual growth." Mayer & Salovey, 1997
Key Points
The five components of emotional intelligence at work, as developed by Daniel Goleman:
Self-awareness. The ability to recognize and understand personal moods and emotions and drives, as well as their effect on others. Hallmarks of self-awareness include self-confidence, realistic self-assessment, and a self-deprecating sense of humor. Self-awareness depends on one's ability to monitor one's own emotion state and to correctly identify and name one's emotions.
Self-regulation. The ability to control or redirect disruptive impulses and moods, and the propensity to suspend judgment and to think before acting. Hallmarks include trustworthiness and integrity; comfort with ambiguity; and openness to change.
Internal motivation. A passion to work for internal reasons that go beyond money and status -which are external rewards, - such as an inner vision of what is important in life, a joy in doing something, curiosity in learning, a flow that comes with being immersed in an activity. A propensity to pursue goals with energy and persistence. Hallmarks include a strong drive to achieve, optimism even in the face of failure, and organizational commitment.
Empathy. The ability to understand the emotional makeup of other people. A skill in treating people according to their emotional reactions. Hallmarks include expertise in building and retaining talent, cross-cultural sensitivity, and service to clients and customers.
Social skills. Proficiency in managing relationships and building networks, and an ability to find common ground and build rapport. Hallmarks of social skills include effectiveness in leading change, persuasiveness, and expertise building and leading teams.
The U.S. Department of Labor estimates the average cost of a bad hiring decision can equal 30% of the individual’s first-year potential earnings.
Many companies are forgoing traditional hiring methods in order to avoid this. Tech companies like Google are relying more on emotional intelligence, as opposed to where the person went to school or what grades they received.
According to By Robert Half
In a recent OfficeTeam survey of more than 600 human resources managers and 800 office workers in the United States and Canada, most HR managers (95 percent) and workers (99 percent) said it’s important for employees to have a high emotional quotient (EQ), a measure of emotional intelligence, because it helps them manage their own emotions and understand and react to the emotions of others in the workplace.
The OfficeTeam survey also suggests professionals at all levels of business place high value on emotional intelligence in the workplace. Here are some highlights:
• 21% believe a high EQ is more valuable in the workplace than a high IQ.
• 65% said the two are equally important.
• 92% think they have strong emotional intelligence
• 74% believe their bosses do.
• 30% of HR managers feel most employers put too little emphasis on emotional intelligence during the hiring process, overlooking its many benefits.
• 40% of HR managers said soft skills, such as communication, problem-solving and adaptability are more difficult to teach workers than technical abilities.
• 61% admitted they’ve let emotions influence them negatively in the office.
• 86% of workers said when a colleague doesn’t control his or her emotions; it affects their perception of that person’s level of professionalism.
The language applicants use to describe their goals and accomplishments often holds clues to their emotional intelligence.
Here are some other tips for hiring for high EQ:
• Are there indicators candidates were self-motivated enough to take outside development courses?
• Do they give credit to others when describing initiatives that would clearly be joint efforts?
• When it comes to handling criticism, does the candidate display an ability to listen, acknowledge any shortcomings and keep things in perspective rather than becoming defensive and making excuses?
• When it comes to teamwork, can candidates describe how they have confronted simmering issues and helped to solve them with a team, or are the answers slanted more individually?
• Are you able to gauge their ability to juggle multiple demands from different supervisors and shifting business priorities?
Additional Reading
Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ by Daniel Goleman
The EQ Interview: Finding Employees with High Emotional Intelligence by Adele Lynn
The Leader's Guide to Emotional Intelligence: Understand and Develop your EQ for Maximum Leadership Impact by Drew Bird
Point of Reflection
“The greatest ability in business is to get along with others and influence their actions.”
John Hancock