For most employers, emotional intelligence is now an aspect of day to day decisions including hiring, promoting, developing and even firing employees.
Especially during hiring, you as a manager would like to know more about the candidate’s emotional intelligence by asking relevant questions that help you identify those with higher emotional quotient.
Why is it necessary to assess Emotional Intelligence (EI)?
This is because; Emotional Intelligence can to a large extent determine how an employee is likely to perform on the job and how well he can synchronize his goals with your organizational objectives.
You have a team of diverse personalities, strengths, weaknesses and overall emotional capabilities.
[pullquote]In fact Emotional Intelligence could be better described as an ability that allows you to identify your own emotions, manage them and also the emotions of others interacting with you.[/pullquote]
How does assessing Emotional Intelligence help?
While considering people for promotions, decisions to raise pay as well as for identifying leadership potential, you can assess the Emotional quotient to get better insights.
Though you may come across candidates with exceptional academic background, work experience as well as higher certifications, emotional intelligence can be the key differentiator and an indicator of success, especially for people moving into higher roles with greater responsibilities.
There is a higher probability that people with higher emotional quotient can be much more flexible in performing their job responsibilities and better engaged leading to much higher job satisfaction. This helps you develop and work with team members who can be much more involved and hence that much more productive in the work they do.
Here are some important reasons why Emotional Intelligence matters that much more:
- Better Communication at the workplace
Employees with higher emotional intelligence share their vision with others by opening up and communicating, thus ensuring that there is always a sense of motivation leading to higher efficiency for the business.
There is better clarity in communicating important thoughts and ideas which ensures that employees know what is required and one is able to listen without prejudice.
- Better awareness about self and surrounding situations
If your employees are self-aware, of their own strengths and weaknesses, this can be the very basis of developing and taking them to the next level. The biggest barrier to any improvement can be resistance to change which is minimal when employees are self-aware. This also means that such employees are aware of the capabilities of people around them as well.
- Effective Crisis Management
During times of crisis and turmoil, it is important that your employees lend support and do not get unduly overwhelmed with the situation at hand. If your leadership team displays the right measure of emotional intelligence, they can take care of these circumstances effectively and this in turn will reflect on the team performance as well.
- Intuitive Action
Sometimes it is not just about making decisions quickly or just thinking intellectually. Decisions at times have to be intuitive, which requires a better understanding and confidence in one’s wisdom. Any decision comes with an element of uncertainty and greater the risk, the larger is the pressure to act correctly. This requires much more than logical thinking and intelligence. Employees who can trust their instinct and rely on intuition can take solid steps that serves as inspiration to others to effectively handle any situation.
- Being Creative
In an increasingly uncertain and volatile business environment, creativity is what helps you move away from the regular course and think outside the box. People high on emotional quotient can look forward to collaborate, brainstorm and bring entirely fresh perspective with creative solutions to key challenges.
________________________________________________________________________________
What should you look for during your Hiring Process?
As an employer, you would be better off looking for candidates who know how to listen and communicate effectively – both very essential aspects of emotional intelligence. You would also like to have employees who are much more flexible and adapt to changing environments – both internal and external.
[pullquote]Emotional Intelligence ensures that your employees are also high in the ability to manage themselves better and hence also work better in teams.[/pullquote]
You should therefore ensure that while aptitude, intelligence and knowledge are important, a major differentiator can be the emotional intelligence of the candidate you interview for any role or responsibility in your organization.
Here is an excellent way, where you can identify the emotional intelligence of candidates with an excellent online tool to measure emotional quotient.
