Personal Productivity / Emotional Intelligence

Why should your firm invest training dollars in a program designed to increase emotional competencies for your staff?

Psychologists understand that the traditional IQ test does not measure all of the factors of an effective, successful, happily productive person. “Book learning” is not the only, and perhaps not the most important, measure of intelligence.

Many of the factors psychologists found to be important in making people successful in their business and personal lives are included in the terms emotional intelligence or emotional competence. The more aware we are of our own emotions, the more control we have over them. The more we empathize with the emotions of others, the more emotionally intelligent we become.

It certainly seems that emotional intelligence is an important aspect of many business roles. But, business people have one dominant question: how does it affect the bottom line? Can putting employees in touch with their emotions actually make them more productive?

Emotional intelligence is not some new age, touchy-feely concept. Over two hundred studies, done in various countries, agree that emotional competence accounts for two-thirds to four-fifths of the difference between top performing and average performing employees.

When L’Oreal used emotional intelligence as a selection criterion for hiring sales representatives, they discovered that emotionally intelligent people outsold their colleagues by $91,370 a year, on the average.

The United States Air Force saved three million dollars by using emotional intelligence screening to select recruiters. The General Accounting Office reported an annual savings of $300,000 per year on a $10,000 investment in screening.

Emotional competencies can be learned. With a good training program in emotional intelligence, a firm can maximize the potential of the employees it already has, from the top to the bottom of the organizational chart.

For any business that would like to see increases in productivity and efficiency; more effective sales people; more creative teams and more responsive management, it is vital to invest in a good emotional intelligence training program.

Released by NEXT LEVEL Consulting Co., a 360Solutions Strategic Business Partner.