Emotional intelligence vs previous experience – which one measures up?
The days of looking at people’s past experience and present day skill sets when recruiting are fast disappearing.
Today, the key to success in business is a high touch approach in what fundamentally is a high tech world. Those businesses that tap into an individual’s emotional intelligence as the main criteria for selection during any recruitment phase are more likely to be on to a winner.
That is because they will achieve a tighter fit where the individual’s and the company’s values are more closely aligned. Where that fit really works the individual’s values will also drive their behaviour when dealing with the external paying customer.
Emotional intelligence and a feeling that there is a fit in terms of values, determines the amount of discretionary effort any one of us decides to put into anything we do.
Within an employer / employee context, if given willingly, an individual’s discretionary effort will make the difference between those businesses that stand-out and the also-rans – those businesses who gain a reputation for hallmark service and those that gain a reputation – but not for the first class quality of the customer experience!
Discretionary effort is the real key to achieving consistency across a business, both internally and externally because it is the individual who decides how consistently well they will behave / deliver good quality service. It DOESN’T depend on how skilled they are or their previous experience or different roles that they may have had. It DOES depend on how valued, supported and dare I say ‘empowered’ (to use a well worn cliché) they feel, to exercise their individual effort.
If values are aligned, a person’s emotional intelligence comes into its own. That is why using emotional intelligence as the key criteria for selection rather than any traditional methods is more likely to result in the accelerated integration and the longer term retention of a new recruit at any level within a company.
There are a number of businesses developing and using these tools as you read this. This is exciting because a successful outcome from the customer’s perspective is about getting the right people, doing the right things, in the right place at the right time, (where have you heard that before?).
The result? Delivery of an excellent service experience to the paying customer.
Take the next step
To discuss Emotional Intelligence and the impact it could have on your organisation, please contact Customer Champions.