Why is Emotional Intelligence Important in the Workplace?
In this age of artificial intelligence, social media, remote work, and an increasingly digitized society, we are seemingly moving further and further away from the fundamentals of humanity. We have never had more ways to connect, yet in the wake of this shift, social and emotional intelligence (EI or EQ), or “soft skills,” have declined, causing significant workforce issues such as disconnects in communication, poor decision-making, and lack of employee engagement and satisfaction. Now more than ever, EI is a valuable and highly sought-after skill in the workplace, especially in leadership. To better understand the benefits and need for EI in today’s workplace, we will define it and its contextual application in the workplace, evaluate its influence on the workforce, and explore resources and strategies for leaders and employees to improve EI in their organizations. What is Emotional Intelligence? According to psychologists and leading researchers Peter Salovey and John D. Mayer, emotional intelligence is the ability to recognize and understand emotions in oneself and others. EI comprises five distinct components: self-awareness, self-regulation, internal motivation, empathy, and social skills. In the 1990s, emotional intelligence was initially established as a psychological construct and gained momentum with Daniel Goleman’s 1995 publication “Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ.” Goleman, an EI expert, argues that while traditional intelligence is essential, emotional competencies are a critical factor in the workplace, ultimately impacting leadership ability, stress management, employee performance, and interpersonal functioning— “The interest in emotional intelligence in the workplace stems from the widespread recognition that these abilities – self-awareness, self-management, empathy, and social skill – separate the most successful workers and leaders from the average. This is especially true in roles like the professions and higher-level executives, where everyone is about as smart as everyone else, and how people manage themselves and their relationships gives the best an edge.” (Goleman, 2012). According to a recent study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, seven key traits deem someone as emotionally intelligent: Emotional stability (greater ability to manage their own emotions and tolerate stress) Conscientiousness (tendency to be diligent, hardworking, and control impulses) Extraversion (a personality trait that makes people more open and better at establishing relationships with others) Ability EI (individuals’ ability to perform emotion-related behaviors, like expressing emotions, empathizing with others, and combining emotion with reasoning) Cognitive ability (IQ; studies suggest there is at least some overlap between IQ and EQ) General self-efficacy (confidence in the ability to cope with the demands of our job) Self-rated job performance (Bailey, 2015). It may seem obvious how these competencies positively influence the workplace, but understanding the how and why of EI implementation is imperative for your future hiring and employee engagement. The Benefits of EI to Your Organization While there are many areas that emotional intelligence benefits the workplace, two are of vital consideration: job satisfaction and job performance. Not only is higher job satisfaction linked to employees with strong EI, but also to those whom leaders with high EI manage. Many studies have shown a negative correlation between EI and burnout and a positive correlation between EI and internal job satisfaction. In addition to employee happiness, job performance is positively impacted by high EI levels, displayed through increased performance metrics, a boost in employee productivity, and improved evaluations from management. However, how exactly does emotional intelligence influence job performance and benefit businesses? In the hospitality sector, EI is considered extremely important, and according to an article in Elite World Hotels, they have identified five significant advantages of EI in the workplace that can be applied to any industry: Motivation – High EI/EQ translates to better control of our motivation and perhaps even more motivation for our coworkers. Common Vision – Those high in EI/EQ can more effectively understand and communicate with others, making it easier to develop and maintain a shared team vision. Change – Highly emotionally intelligent people can handle the stress, uncertainty, and anxiety that come with working in business. Communication – Clear communication is a telltale sign of emotional intelligence, and it contributes to better relationships, an easier time getting help from others, and more effective persuasion and influence of others. Leadership – Self-leadership, leading others, and influencing others— all of these are vital for those in business. (Elite World Hotels, 2018) Therefore, a lack of emotional intelligence in the workplace can negatively impact a company’s communication, decision-making, and organization. Moreover, much like standard workplace metrics, emotional intelligence can be assessed and measured in the workplace. Strategies and Resources There are many reliable and valid measures of EI available, two of the most credible being the Multidimensional Emotional Intelligence Assessment – Workplace (MEIA-W) and the Work Group Emotional Intelligence Profile (WEIP). The MEIA-W measure provides a personality-based measure of EI through 144 short items that are intended to measure ten distinct facets of emotional intelligence: recognition of emotion in the self, regulation of emotion in the self, recognition of emotion in others, regulation of emotion in others, nonverbal emotional expression, empathy, intuition versus reason, creative thinking, mood redirected attention, and motiving emotions and takes about 20 minutes to complete. The WEIP is a self-report measure consisting of 30 points rated from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree) between two scales determining the ability to deal with one’s own emotions and the ability to deal with others’ emotions. Utilizing these two resources is essential in beginning the process of measuring EI in an organization. From there, leaders can further train their employees on EI and how to teach it to their staff and themselves. A helpful guide created by EI experts (Cherniss et al., 1998) details four phases to use when implementing emotional intelligence training in your organization: Phase One: Preparation Assessing the organization’s needs Assessing personal strengths and limitations Providing feedback with care Maximizing learner choice Encouraging participation, not requiring it Linking learning goals to personal values Adjusting expectations Gauging readiness. Phase Two: Training Fostering a positive relationship between the trainer
Successful Retention Strategies (Part 4 of 4): Organizational Design
It’s finally here – the end of 2022. What a wild and crazy ride it has been. As business leaders, we have had a lot to contend with and still do. Our work is far from over. More layoffs have been announced beyond the FAANG companies and broader tech sector, inflation persists at uncomfortably high levels, and the labor market remains the tightest in recorded history. Finding top talent is still more challenging than ever. Quit rates remain high, and ghosting by candidates continues. November’s labor statistics reflected continued increases in employee compensation over the 5% mark on average squeezing company budgets and frustrating employer hiring decisions. What is the secret to reducing the harmful impact of all of these challenges, you ask? RETENTION STRATEGIES. The previous articles in this series addressed the role that Onboarding, Recruitment, and Total Rewards play in retention. This article will explore Organizational Design and Development strategies, specifically internal mobility, that will help reflect the vision of the future and the career path for the long-term success of your people. With concerns of a potential recession in 2023 looming large, we will also touch on retention when restructuring your company includes a reduction in force (RIF). Defining the job Not every business can build robust tiered structures for all roles, functions, and departments. For example, many small companies often have departments of just one person. For the medium and larger business, it may seem easier for them to structure tiers for employees and chart a career path. Still, they often run into pay compression and bottlenecks leading to too much bulk in the middle, a reverse hourglass that is thin at the top and bottom but nice and plump in the center. It is easy to see that this is a complicated issue with different challenges facing companies of various sizes. But there are still commonalities that businesses of all sizes can implement, which will aid in retaining top talent. The best place to start, regardless of the company size, is defining the job. What do you want them to do? I know some leaders are disappointed in the obviousness of this but bear with me. This is about more than building an effective and compliant job description. That is part of it, but defining a job begins with understanding your company’s strategic plan. It starts with asking, “how does this role fit?” and “how will it help achieve my business strategy?” These questions get right to the heart of necessity. Sometimes, a role is created not because it advances the business strategy but because it is convenient for someone, a way to shift responsibility onto someone else. While that could be helpful to business strategy, it may not be. However, defining the role in terms of business strategy rather than convenience is critical to ensuring strategic alignment. It’s also important to remember that you are hiring human beings. People. Again, some may roll their eyes and think, “um… yeah…” but keep in mind that as business leaders at organizations of many different sizes, it is easy to get caught up in the daily grind, the strategic struggle, and even the business viability worry and forget that we employ people. They have hopes, dreams, and desires. Employees support their families, contribute to their communities, and most genuinely care about the company’s success. When hiring people, some may be very content doing the same job the same way and producing the same result. Many more are happy to do this job now but want to know what comes next. This is a KEY driver for the great resignation. The old saying, “people don’t quit businesses, they quit managers,” is typically a true statement. But people with internal mobility will often find ways to leave the managers they want to quit and remain with the company. So, you have to have options internally to retain top talent. Here is where we inevitably receive pushback from many small business leaders. Addressing the elephant in the room, yes, only some small businesses will be able to create the same level of mobility as medium and large companies. Every small business, however, will be able to generate SOME mobility. And for mid-sized and larger companies, internal mobility is KING at retaining top talent. Many books have been written demonstrating that investment in the training and development of people, creating lateral and vertical growth as well as realigning responsibilities to expand a role’s sphere of influence and strategic importance leads to employee retention and outperformance of competition no matter the industry or market in which they exist. This could only be accomplished if you first define the role in terms of your business strategy. Up, Left-Right, Hold, Down When talking with leaders about career advancement, nearly 100% latch onto the word “advancement” and take only two of the Webster’s Dictionary definitions of the word literally— “promotion or elevation to a higher rank or position” and “progression to a higher stage of development.” In addition, nearly all forget there is a third definition -“an improved feature: IMPROVEMENT.” Improving someone in your organization is perhaps the greatest advancement any business leader can aspire to achieve with their employees. And this is something that can be done at organizations of every size. Some people want vertical advancement. Ask them, and they will speak in terms of moving up from an individual contributor to a supervisor, manager, director, VP, and into the C-suite of a company. Small family-owned businesses may have the greatest challenge here, with limited structure and family owners filling the highest positions. Larger companies may have more layers, but every business has bottlenecks at the top. While there are limits, there is still opportunity. Evaluating your business growth and regularly reviewing your strategic plan may reveal the point where a new level/layer of management is appropriate or necessary. Even in small businesses, upward mobility happens. However, if employees are frustrated by a lack of upward mobility, share with them alternative mobility
Successful Retention Strategies (Part 3 of 4): Total Rewards
With 3/4 of 2022 behind us, and despite record inflation and fears of recession, we are still seeing the most robust labor market in recorded history. Despite news of layoffs at FAANG companies, the broader tech sector, and retail giants such as Walmart and Target, candidates still have more choices and power in the labor market than ever. Even with historic wage growth of over 5% YoY, wages still significantly lag inflation leading to net wage growth of below -3%. Technology improvements and the continued failure of businesses to appropriately demonstrate caring and support for their people are still significant drivers of the current Great Resignation, which is rapidly becoming “Quiet Quitting” and “Ghosting” as employees – well, they stop showing up for their jobs rather than provide appropriate notice. We are still seeing that resignations are not impacting all businesses, industries, and sectors nor all career levels equally, yet all segments are impacted, nonetheless. Even the Executive level (Vice President through C-Suite) continues to cash in on this wave, driving up base salaries, signing bonuses, and restructuring bonus packages to be more favorable to them and less so to the companies they serve. This is the third of a 4-part series addressing Onboarding, Recruiting, Total Rewards, and Organizational Design strategies that collectively affect and reflect the retention strategies of an organization. As shared in the previous two articles in this series, there continues to be an absence of a single silver bullet to stop the resignation trend. There is still too little attention placed on the one focus area with the highest probability of making the most positive and significant impact on stabilizing the challenging labor and employment market. That focus – RETENTION STRATEGIES. In this article, we will shift our focus toward the role that Total Rewards play in employee retention. Total Rewards is a combination of both compensation and benefits. The term benefit is not intended to be applied exclusively to medical, dental, and vision benefits. Any benefits – vacation, sick pay, parental leave, tuition reimbursement, continuing education, Flexible Spending Accounts for Child Care, and more all fall into this category. When we open our minds and eyes to the breadth of options in the benefits category of Total Rewards, it is easy to see that there is an entire untapped arsenal of options available to retain top talent. That is not to say that compensation is not important. Still, we want to call out that many companies have relied too heavily on direct compensation as a retention tool and too little on other forms of compensation. Without getting too deep into the weeds, let’s look at some amazing ways Total Rewards can be leveraged to drive up retention and reduce unwanted attrition or turnover. Compensation In the years 2000 through 2019, the average annual wage increase in the US was 2.92% (Average Wage Index (AWI) (ssa.gov)), and the average inflation rate was 2.10% ($160,000,000 in 2000 → 2019 | Inflation Calculator (officialdata.org)). This does not mean that wage increases were evenly distributed. CEO pay alone from 1978 – 2018 grew 1,007.5% vs. 11.9% for the average worker over the same period (CEOs see pay grow 1,000% and now make 278 times the average worker (cnbc.com)). However, overall average wage growth was close to where inflation existed, justifying in the eyes of employers the 2-3% annual wage increases most employees who performed well in their jobs were used to seeing. But the pandemic upended all of this. There are many levers that compensation specialists have at their disposal beyond base compensation. Cassandra Faurote, Owner, and CEO of Total Reward Solutions in Indianapolis, shared some revealing trends in total rewards. Some of these have a minimal impact on the bottom line, and it was very eye-opening to see just how little it could take to obtain and retain top talent. According to Cassandra, “A new and very hot back-to-office perk is a Pet Stipend. This is a monthly sum that can be used on dog walking, pet sitting, or some other form of daycare for pets.” Many of us have pets and love them as much as any family member. After working from home with these pets for so long, it is important to make sure they are cared for. Cassandra’s research revealed that “1,300 job listings [in 2022] describe offices where workers can bring their pets.” And yes, the BEST Human Capital & Advisory Group is one of those. See our precious ”steakholder” Tyson’s profile on our website. The four-day workweek is another key trend. While not appropriate for every role in the green industry, judicious use of this schedule for office-based roles, leadership, or any role not mission-critical for onsite during typical operating hours can lead to impressive results. A Maru Public Opinion Poll conducted for The Business Journal in February 2022 revealed the following: 82% of workers would trade 8-hour days to 4 ten-hour days for the same pay. 88% of earners at $100,000+ per year wanted this. 76% of those making less than $25,000 per year also wanted this. The Midwest was 84% higher than all other regions in the country in their desire for the 4-day work week. 74% said they would leave their current jobs for a 4-day work week. 97% said they would be more productive. Cassandra also shared other key compensation drivers of retention that are too often overlooked by businesses, including free lunch (after all, who wouldn’t want a free lunch?), variable pay, performance management, and merit pay. Employees respond very well to variable pay. This helps them connect the importance of what they do to the company’s results. It provides them with greater control over their own earning potential. Through variable pay, employees can see what the company values most and put their best efforts into those activities that are most impactful to the company and their own financial goals. Cassandra shared that, according to World at Work, a global association for human resources management professionals and
Successful Retention Strategies (Part 2 of 4): Recruiting
As the year continues to see upheaval and tremendous instability with rising inflation, tight supply chains, and persistent pandemic fears, the labor market also remains the tightest in recorded history. The Great Resignation has left many businesses scrambling to fill open roles and struggling to figure out how to continue growth or achieve strategic plans with a seemingly revolving door of employees. There is no silver bullet to stop the trend, but there is one critical focus that has received too little attention leading up to and throughout this pandemic and the new challenges that stem from it. This focus has the highest probability of making the most positive and significant impact on stabilizing this challenging labor and employment market. What is it, you might ask? RETENTION STRATEGIES. This is the second of a 4-part series addressing Onboarding, Recruiting, Total Rewards, and Organizational Design strategies that collectively affect and reflect the retention strategies of an organization. The previous article focused on the Onboarding piece. This was important to address because of the egregious errors we saw many companies make in their rush to bring in talent. This article will focus on recruitment’s role in employee retention. While the apparent function of Recruitment is to add headcount to an organization or backfill open positions, little has been shared about Recruitment’s role in employee retention. In fact, employee retention starts with Recruitment. We all know that it is rare, if ever, when we get a second chance to make a first impression. The Recruitment function of an organization is the first impression candidates, and prospective candidates may receive. Thus, it is critical to make it a positive one. Following are several steps that Talent Acquisition partners can and should take to lay the foundation for long-term employee retention, whether internal or external to an organization. Be Real Often, recruiters approach talent acquisition as a transaction, “selling” the company by focusing on all of the exciting and wonderful features, perceived or real, about a company. It comes naturally for many recruiters because they are often selected to be a Talent Acquisition professional based on prior or exhibited sales experience. And while salesmanship is not necessarily a bad trait, it boils down to “how” not “that” you use the skill set. Whether in retail, B2B relationships, or even in the most complex business interactions in the M&A arena, no one wants to be “sold” to today. What people want are solutions to problems. A big challenge is that people don’t want to bluntly disclose the very problems they need to solve. Uncovering these concerns requires a consultative approach. A true consultant will reflect care and compassion, listening to understand first before being understood. A high Emotional Quotient (EQ) combined with an analytical approach will allow the Talent Acquisition professional to best consult with the candidate and help them understand the alignment between them and the role to be filled. This soft approach opens the hearts and minds of candidates to what they can expect when joining a company and often is the first trigger towards high engagement— a key we will address in other articles in this series and a critical link to employee retention. Part of consulting is ensuring prospects and candidates understand the good and the bad about a company. No company is perfect, just like there are no perfect candidates. The exclusive pursuit of only the perfect will always disappoint, leading to disaster and an impossibly long recruitment cycle. Every company has challenges. The right candidate must understand these challenges and be excited to tackle them. They should not be daunted by the challenges but willing to embrace them. Of course, there must certainly be something in it for them, and the advantages should be presented to balance the discussion. In the end, there should be a win-win scenario where the advantages and disadvantages are shared, where both see that the right candidate will enhance the company’s advantages while solving their challenges. The right candidate’s advantages should be the right fit to solve these challenges, while a company’s advantages should be able to support the candidate’s growth and development. Like a jigsaw puzzle piece with curves on various sides with high and low points, the highs of one should fit the lows of others and vice versa. This is being real. Be Engaged Automation permeates so much of our lives, and the intent is to make things easier and faster, to do more with less. Unfortunately, there are times and interactions where technology is just a poor substitute. How many of us receive blind outreaches on LinkedIn, email, or even spam calls about products or services that have no alignment to us, what we do, want, or need? Someone is throwing mud on a wall and hoping something will stick. But how do you feel about such an approach when you receive one? Do you think a candidate will feel something different just because you are the one deploying such an approach? Everyone, to one degree or another, wants to be noticed and be recognized for their accomplishments. They want to be wanted and sometimes pursued. When reaching out to the passive job market, craft personal messages that tell the prospective candidate you read their profile or resume. Connect the dots to show them what made you believe a conversation may be worth their time, and importantly— do your homework. When Talent Acquisition professionals are disengaged, they fail to pay attention to the little details that make the most significant differences. They fail to catch experience, education, and geography. There is a lack of analysis and understanding of career trajectory or directionality. But the most critical miss of the disengaged Talent Acquisition professional is a failure to follow up. They make promises they do not or cannot keep. Candidates and prospective candidates view this as disingenuous. The perception is that the Talent Acquisition professional— to put it lightly— is not very professional. If by some miraculous chance the candidate is
Successful Retention Strategies (Part 1 of 4): Onboarding
The current labor and employment market is the most volatile in recorded history. Never have employee candidates had more choices and power in the market than they do today. Add to this the pandemic, continued low wage growth for most people below the executive level, technological improvements, and failure of many businesses to appropriately demonstrate caring and support of their people. The result is the current crisis known as The Great Resignation. While the Great Resignation does not impact all businesses, industries, sectors, and career levels equally, all of these segments are nonetheless affected. Even at the executive level (Vice President through C-Suite), where people are arguably treated better than many front-line, entry-level people, and who are recipients of already higher pay and higher pay growth over the last 20 years and more, are cashing in on this wave driving up base salaries, signing bonuses, and restructuring of bonus packages more favorable to them. There is no silver bullet to stop the trend, but one critical focus has received too little attention leading up to and throughout this pandemic. This focus has the highest probability of making the most positive and significant impact on stabilizing this challenging labor and employment market. What is it, you might ask? EMPLOYEE RETENTION STRATEGIES. This is the first of a 4-part series that will address Onboarding, Recruiting, Total Rewards, and Organizational Design strategies that collectively affect and reflect the retention strategies of an organization. Employee Relations and Communication strategies overlap and lend support to these (4) categories, making them more successful at retaining key talent. Interesting to note that each of these areas (outside of Onboarding and Communication) is a dedicated Human Resources discipline. Each discipline is far too deep a topic to cover fully and impacts significantly more than just employee retention. Therefore, each area will be discussed from the standpoint of their impact on employee retention and not the totality of the discipline. A Typical New Employee Onboarding Scenario Let’s take a look at a typical start to a new hire’s onboarding journey. It’s your first day on the job. The day is filled with hope and promise. The interviews were exhausting, lasting several days stretched over several months. Many were conducted virtually due to the pandemic and precautionary guidelines (thankfully, they didn’t see your comfy fuzzy bunny slippers). The final interview included an in-person onsite series of interviews and a facility tour. You are nervous even though you are confident you made the right decision. As you walk into the office building for your first day, you notify the receptionist that you are here. He looks at you quizzically, not knowing who you are nor whom you are supposed to see. The receptionist asks you to have a seat, and he will track down who should greet you. “This is odd,” you think to yourself. “The interview process seemed relaxed, organized, and well-executed. Perhaps it’s nothing, and I’m just being critical. Relax – think happy thoughts. Today is going to be a great day!” Twenty minutes go by, and no one has come to greet you yet and begin your onboarding. You approach the receptionist and ask, “Sir, am I supposed to be meeting with HR first or my direct supervisor?” “I’m not sure,” he replies. “I contacted HR, but they did not answer. I left a message with the HR Generalist, who typically handles new hire paperwork. I am sure they will be here any moment.” And so, you go back to the seat in the receiving area where you had been sitting and continue to wait. Anxiety starts to build into frustration. “I did get the right start date, didn’t I?” you think to yourself. You pull out your cell phone, access your personal emails, and search for the welcome email with your start date information. “Yep, I got the right day and time.” After another 20 minutes, an employee comes in through the front doors. On their way past the front desk, the Receptionist stops them saying, “Akeem! So glad you are here. I left a voice mail for you a bit ago about this person starting today. Are you supposed to do their onboarding, or is the hiring manager?” Looking a little embarrassed, Akeem says. “I’ll handle it,” and he turns to greet you, arms full of coat, coffee, umbrella, and thick, overstuffed computer bag. Fumbling with everything to free up a hand, Akeem offers you a proper handshake and greets you. “Hi, I’m Akeem, HR Generalist. I hope you have not been waiting long.” Mentally you are quite miffed and barely contain the thought, “waiting long? I have been waiting for nearly an hour now,” from coming out your mouth. “Not too long,” you reply instead. “Very eager to get started for my first day.” This scenario often plays out in too many companies, from small independently owned businesses with under 20 employees to large publicly traded multi-national companies with over 60,000 employees globally. It does not matter if there is no HR presence, an HR department of one, or a large 100+ person HR department with defined HR discipline coverage and degreed/certified professionals, this first-day scenario and the corresponding train-wreck of an onboarding experience that follows it can happen anywhere. An experience such as this starts the time clock ticking towards resignation day. Not what any business wants when they spend so much money, time, effort, and energy to recruit the right person for the position. An effective new employee onboarding program is a critical step in retaining employees. The only constant in business is change, and change is the greatest source of stress, worry, and concern for most people regardless of career level. The onboarding process should be designed to reduce the new employee’s stress, anxiety, and concern by transparently and effectively communicating with them. Effective communication is critical. Each company is uniquely different, so each employee onboarding program should be customized to your company. Through the onboarding program, necessary compliance forms (such