Recruiters and team leaders have a fairly standardized set of qualities that they will look for in a candidate or applicant. Some of these include confidence, experience, communication skills, general aptitude, leadership potential, and the ability to work in a team, among others.
What the hiring world has neglected for so long and what corporate leaders are starting to recognize is the value of emotional intelligence in the workplace.
Emotional intelligence, sometimes referred to as EQ or EI, can be broadly defined as the ability to recognize and manage your emotions and others’ emotions. Part of what makes emotional intelligence valuable is the ability to adapt to situations, especially in social or team-oriented environments. EQ is also especially useful in sales calls or when working with clients or customers.
While this might just sound like the ability to be empathetic, EQ is a strong indicator of productivity, engagement, motivation, and leadership potential in your employees. Below we’ll look at the value of workplace emotional intelligence and why emotional intelligence is being prioritized today in the recruiting world.
Emotional intelligence in the workplace
What does emotional intelligence in the workplace look like, and why is it so important? Where can it be found, where is it useful, and how does a high EQ translate into concrete and identifiable advantages?
With a high EQ, you can expect workers to be more:
- Team-oriented and socially aware – Empathy, reading emotions, and gauging how others are feeling in a conversation or during a meeting are all valuable aspects of what it means to communicate effectively. People with a high EQ are better at accepting others’ opinions and communicating opposing ideas, which makes them ideal for collaboration. On top of being able to communicate more effectively, they can build closer bonds with their team members, leading to a more robust company culture and employee morale.
- Motivated – Because employees with a high EQ are better at recognizing and managing their emotions, they’re better suited to understand their motivations and to enable the kind of mindset to be as motivated and productive as possible. Individuals with a high EQ are better at managing themselves because they’re better suited to understand when they’re experiencing negative emotions, stress, or burnout, and they can then adapt and prevent their situation from spiraling.
- Productive and engaged – Individuals with high EQs are more productive and are better at time management. Because they’re better at self-management and staying motivated, they’re better equipped to get their tasks done and meet deadlines.
Where emotional intelligence appears in the workplace
There are areas in the workplace and within an organization where emotional intelligence is a necessity, and often individuals that find themselves in these roles will have a high level of emotional intelligence.
You can expect to find workplace emotional intelligence in the following areas and roles:
- Leadership – Individuals in leadership positions are probably in leadership positions because they have a high EQ among their other skills and qualities. Team leaders need to understand how their employees and team members are feeling. They need to be able to gauge the room and redirect a meeting to make it as productive and efficient as possible. Emotional intelligence will give leaders the tools to coordinate, communicate, and direct their team members effectively.
- Assessing performance – Assessing performance isn’t just about measuring sales, customer service interactions, and productivity. It’s about providing the feedback or assessment in a way that will actually enable an employee to improve or recognize their work habits. This requires communication skills, empathy, and emotional intelligence to execute effectively.
- Recruitment – As emotional intelligence continues to be prioritized in the corporate world, recruiters will be needing to assess the emotional intelligence of candidates. Utilizing scenario questions, personality tests, and a 360-degree feedback instrument can help recruiters evaluate the EQ of their candidates.
There are a number of benefits of hiring emotionally intelligent employees, including productivity, employee morale, collaboration, and much more. Taking the time to understand and invest in emotionally intelligent employees will allow you to enhance your organizational procedures and lay the foundation for sustainable long-term growth and success.
How Crosschq can help you hire emotionally intelligent candidates
When it comes to what to look for in a candidate, emotional intelligence is here to stay. Crosschq combines the power of reimagined reference checking and robust talent analytics to help organizations build diverse, qualified, and emotionally intelligent teams.
Contact us to see a live demo on how Crosschq can help you start hiring quality candidates today.