Hiring for Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace

Hiring for Emotional Intelligence in the WorkplaceHiring for Emotional Intelligence in the WorkplaceIn the administrative field, professionals face myriad demands and challenges daily. Many of them are technical, but some can be emotional.Most schreibstube staff handle these pressures with grace, relying on their years of experience and a deep well of patience, empathy and practical prowess. Collectively, these skills are known as emotional intelligence, a quality increasingly valued by managers, especially those of administrative professionals.In a nutshell, emotional intelligence refers to a parts capacity to be aware of, control and effectively express emotions. It involves understanding how others feel and using that knowledge to manage how one interacts with them.In a recent OfficeTeam survey of mora than 600 human resources managers and 800 office workers in the United States and Canada, fruchtwein HR managers (95 percent) and workers (99 percent) said its important for employe es to have a high emotional quotient (EQ), a measure of emotional intelligence, because it helps them manage their own emotions and understand and react to the emotions of others in the workplace.Here are some tips for hiring administrative professionals with emotional intelligence and promoting positive interpersonal skills among your existing staff.What does emotional intelligence mean for the administrative workforce?Emotional intelligence means being smarter with feelings, explains Joshua Freedman, CEO of Six Seconds EQ Network, a panelist-expert on OfficeTeams recent webinar addressing the importance of this skill in the workplace. A high EQ is especially relevant for administrative professionals because their job involves interacting personally with a wide range of people.Emotions are data, Freedman said. Emotions in the workplace are information about how were perceiving ourselves and others. And as with any data, to be smart with it, we must accurately assemble emotional dat a and use it to solve problems.The work of the administrative professional requires - among other skills - calmly executing under pressure, remaining motivated to tackle challenging situations, and responding diplomatically when faced with negative emotions from others. If you are a manager of administrative professionals, you play a large role in strengthening the emotional intelligence of your employees.By preparing your team members to deal with complexity, preserve their wellbeing and maintain a holistic view of the company, you can help them be more effective and advance in their careers. Case studies also show that high emotional intelligence among staff has led to improved employee retention, a better customer experience and higher company sales, Freedman said.Kemetia Foley, coordinator (research) at the American Staffing Association - another webinar panelist - said emotional intelligence boils down to admins keeping their cool and modeling good etiquette. Be a good obse rver, practice empathy and do not react negatively if a client or colleague is in a bad mood, she said.Were generally the first people folks encounter when they come to our companies whether by phone or at the front desk, said Foley. To be able to make that emotional connection, and to be aware of the state of that person is really important. I keep that in mind when I come across anybody who seems a bit out of sorts.Office staff views on the importance of emotional intelligence in the workplaceThe OfficeTeam survey also suggests professionals at all levels of business place high value on emotional intelligence in the workplace. Here are some highlightsMore than one in five team members (21 percent) believe a high EQ is more valuable in the workplace than a high IQ. Nearly two-thirds (65 percent) said the two are equally important.Most workers (92 percent) think they have strong emotional intelligence slightly fewer (74 percent) believe their bosses do.Three in 10 HR managers (30 p ercent) feel most employers put too little emphasis on emotional intelligence during the hiring process, overlooking its many benefits.Forty percent of HR managers said soft skills, such as communication, problem-solving and adaptability, are more difficult to teach workers than technical abilities.More than six in 10 employees (61 percent) admitted theyve let emotions influence them negatively in the office.Eighty-six percent of workers said when a colleague doesnt control his or her emotions, it affects their perception of that persons level of professionalism.Interested in the details? Check out our report Emotional Intelligence at Work What It Is and Why You Should Care.Motivation and morale among the top benefits of emotional intelligence at workHR managers surveyed by OfficeTeam identified increased motivation and morale (43 percent) as the greatest benefit of having emotionally intelligent staff. Other benefits those in management positions cited include improved leadership, better collaboration and effective conflict resolution.I find staff with a high EQ extremely valuable, said panelist Joan Burge, founder and CEO of Office Dynamics International, who brde year had to let go of an employee who lacked emotional intelligence. You could immediately tell when she welches upset, Burge recalled. Her tone or attitude or her closing up or shutting down would affect the other members of our team. It wasnt good for the coworkers. It wasnt good for me in my leadership role, nor good for what we could give to our clients.Burge said the former workers behavior is starkly different from the administrative professional who holds the position today. Our current staff member uses a lot of emotional intelligence, including paying close attention when spoken to and being observant.Added Burge, One of the elements of emotional intelligence is social awareness. Its behaving as if, I know you. Im paying attention to you and others in the organization and adapting as I nee d to with you. With this approach, were going have a better relationship, better collaboration and were going to produce better results. When I think about assistants being leaders, visionaries and modeling change that they want to see in others, Im reminded of how important emotional intelligence really is.How to find administrative talent with the right self-awareness and social skillsThere are several tools managers can use to gauge the EQ of job applicants. All involve practicing a little psychology. In the OfficeTeam survey, 70 percent of HR managers said they use reference checks for help in determining a candidates emotional intelligence, 55 percent use behavioral-based interview questions and 32 percent use personality or psychometric tests.The OfficeTeam Emotional Intelligence at Work report found that a growing number of companies are factoring emotional intelligence into their hiring process because they value people with a high emotional quotient. Thats because workers w ith high EQ can more effectively deal with workplace changes, challenging situations and difficult colleagues - and they make great leaders.The language applicants use to describe their goals and accomplishments often holds clues to their emotional intelligence.Here are some other tips for hiring for high EQAre there indicators candidates were self-motivated enough to take outside development courses?Do they give credit to others when describing initiatives that would clearly be joint efforts?When it comes to handling criticism, does the candidate display an ability to listen, acknowledge any shortcomings and keep things in perspective rather than becoming defensive and making excuses?When it comes to teamwork, can candidates describe how they have confronted simmering issues and helped to solve them with a team, or are the answers slanted more individually?Are you able to gauge their ability to juggle multiple demands from different supervisors and shifting business priorities?Hel ping your team polish their social skillsDaniel Goleman - psychologist, author and co-director of the Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations - helped popularize emotional intelligence with his writing on the topic. Goleman identified five key components of emotional intelligence self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy and social skills. Here are a few steps your staff can take to boost their emotional intelligence at work, based on his and others research.Start by stepping back. Take notice of your emotions when they surface. What types of situations or people trigger your emotions, and how do you react?Learn to control your emotions when things dont go smoothly.Maintain a friendly tone.Ask for input on how youre coming across to others.Think about how your behavior may impact your colleagues.If youre in a management position, its particularly important to model good emotional intelligence. Poor self-awareness can cost your company employee s, money and time.Ignore distractions (e.g. your cellphone, computer screen, or office television) while youre talking about something important with someone at the office.Take an inventory of your interpersonal skills and do a self-evaluation, or ask a colleague, friend or mentor for areas where they think you could improve.Study and practice your interpersonal skills. Become a pro at conflict resolution.Evaluate your progress with the help of a peer or mentor, and dont forget to pat yourself on the back for improving your emotional intelligence in the workplace.Why your leadership strategy should include development of your own personal skillsAdministrative professionals, including those in management positions, reap tremendous professional rewards, but also have a lot of stress in their work lives. Foley encourages employees at all levels to pause and think about the physical reaction you have to a stressor in the workplace.If you think about the physiology, the physical reaction you have when youre stressed, thats the same reaction you have when youre excited, Freedman said.It comes down to nipping a conflict in the bud. If you can start thinking about these stressful situations and ask yourself, Whats exciting in this situation? Thats a powerful tool for confining the positive side of that stress.Emotions are not a problem, Freedman added. Rather, he said, This emotion is telling me something about how I am perceiving this situation. Am I perceiving it as a problem or as part of the value I am going to add in my work? If I can tune in to it when its small, I can get into it before it turns into something big and hard to handle.Hiring an administrative assistant? We can help you find the right fit for your teamREQUEST TALENTMotivating your team to boost EQMotivating your team can be as simple as writing a creative positive intention for the day on an employee bulletin board. Whats the self-fulfilling prophecy we want for today? Burge said. At my office, we have magnificent Monday and thankful Thursday among others. Thats what our focus is for the day. We all take turns. Its fun because we all get to be creative. It does make us laugh and does keep us upbeat. Other ideas includeHold a team-building activity.Leave a positive sticky note on someones desk.If youre in a management position, reward team members for their accomplishments.Administrative professionals are in a wonderful position and place to motivate others, Burge said. They are the core. They are the hub. Positivity is important, especially today. With all thats going on in the world and in our personal and professional lives, we need to work at keeping our motivation going.Listening closely, practicing empathy and noticing nonverbal cuesA persons EQ is his or her ability to understand the views, needs and wants of others. That is only achieved through active listening, practicing empathy and watching nonverbal cues.Administrative professionals are famous multitaskers. Howev er, for your team to be active listeners and more emotionally intelligent workers, they may need to put this strength on hold at critical times. Consider Foleys approach when a colleague or client comes to you with a problem.Basically, stop what youre doing and make eye contact with that person, Foley said. Dont try to think a step ahead. Im reminded of the Steven Covey quote, Most people do not listen with the intent to understand they listen with the intent to reply. Thats human nature to do so. But when somebody is upset at your desk or on the phone, put yourself in their shoes. I try to keep that in the forefront. It helps me be calm. How can I help this person? How can I make sure that person knows they have my full attention?Emotional intelligence means being honest about personal challengesBurge said being candid with your boss is the best policy even in times of difficulty. Reflecting on the employee she had to let go last year, Burge said she spoke with the admin on a coupl e of occasions about the difficulties but it only resulted in further outbursts. I thought maybe there is something deeper here. I know when I was an admin assistant for 20 years, if things were tough at home or with children, I would think, Gee Im not quite acting like myself, but thats because this is going on, but Im going to do my very best. We need to be open in terms of our communication so others dont have doubts about you.