In today's intense and dynamic hiring landscape, technical skills don't seem to be the only criteria that drives a favorable hiring decision. Emotional intelligence is another variable that also helps measure the value an individual will bring to a team and add to the company culture.
Understanding and regulating our emotions helps build relationships and ultimately leads to breakthrough success in the respective workplace. So, emotional intelligence assessments have started to enter the hiring process to measure candidates' soft skills and growth mindset.
Understanding Emotional Intelligence Assessments
Emotional intelligence assessment tests are recruitment tests that help measure one's ability to recognize, understand and manage emotions. Assessment tests help assess candidates on various dimensions of EI, such as self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy and social skills. These factors are important for a healthy work culture, as well as for performance and results-driven leadership.
Benefits of emotional intelligence assessments in recruitment
An emotional intelligence assessment provides a holistic view of a person's profile and capability beyond their skill sets and certifications. Recruiters can assess the candidate's soft skills, which go a long way in collaboration, teamwork and conflict resolution.
For example, a person with high empathy may excel in a customer-focused job that involves taking customers' points and using them to find a solution.
On the other hand, someone with good self-control can keep their cool in fragile situations and avoid making rash decisions. Such candidates can excel in jobs that require strict monitoring and work under pressure. Such assessments reduce the chances of hiring emotionally incompetent people on board, even if they technically align with job descriptions.
Identifying high potential candidates
High potential candidates have good EI. The reason behind this is that these individuals are more adept at navigating workplace challenges. Such candidates possess good emotional control and have a natural inclination to build professional relationships positively and constructively.
These candidates are more likely to promote positive reinforcement and help create high levels of engagement, optimism and satisfaction for their teams. For example, an emotional test evaluation shows that the candidate has good empathy and high social skills.
This person may be suitable for a role that requires working closely with people, such as in the role of a project manager or human resources person. This EI ability has a far-reaching effect on the organization as well due to improved decision-making ability, enhanced conflict resolution skills and better people relations.
Strengthening leadership selection
Leaders with a high emotional quotient are also better able to motivate their team members, face challenges with courage, and foster a positive organizational climate.
Emotional intelligence assessments can also help organizations identify potential leaders who have the right emotional skills to perform well in that role.
Applying Emotional Intelligence Assessments to Recruitment
Organizations must be diligent in ensuring that the EIQ assessments they choose to implement are both validated and reliable for their particular needs. It is imperative to select assessments that measure all important components of EI to accurately understand an individual's emotional abilities.
They also need to ensure that HR staff and hiring managers are trained in how to interpret the results and how best to use them for maximum benefit. Integrating EI assessments into the recruitment strategy will require specific interventions on the part of all these stakeholders.
Impact on Organizational Success
Emotionally intelligent people are also more flexible, adaptable, resilient and good at managing stress. All of these characteristics have a direct correlation with team performance metrics and job satisfaction status.
Organizations that strive to communicate their focus on emotional intelligence during recruitment will enjoy more cohesive teams with positivity, leading to lower turnover rates and high organizational culture resilience. Better equipped emotionally intelligent employees are also good at handling difficult situations, creating a pleasant atmosphere in the organization.
Assessments of Emotional Intelligence in modern recruitment
Overall, incorporating emotional intelligence assessment into a hiring process can benefit employers by giving them a holistic view of how well a person can function in an interpersonally intelligent manner. The EIQ assessment also helps determine a person's interpersonal skills and overall range of behavior in the workplace in general.