EEQ: How to maximize organizational performance

MODEL FOR EQ ASSESSMENT

EEQ i.e. Employee Emotional Quotient is one of the factors that organizations today can use as an effective tool to provide them with competitive advantage over others. Wondering how?

Let me draw the contours for the above statement first.

Employee Emotional Quotient can be defined as the ability of an employee to understand, assess and manage his/her emotions along with the emotions of the coworkers such that it leads to a more cooperative and cohesive work environment. But how is it related to corporate? The answer is that when one understands, EQ is one of the most dynamic aspects of organizational behavior and communication that can have a striking impact on the organizational functioning.

Is EQ and IQ the same? No they are not, EQ is quite different. Unlike IQ that measures the intellectual capital of an individual, EQ measures the ability to sense, comprehend and to effectively apply the power and wisdom of emotions to facilitate high levels of cooperation and efficiency.

Until recently emotions at workplace were to be concealed and not to be mixed with business decisions stringently. They were not to be discussed and did not have any importance in business. Employees demonstrating any kind of emotion were considered incapable and weak.

But today the scenario is different. Researches show that employee emotions can actually act as a trigger to the organizational performance and create the difference. Emotion such as creativity, freedom to think and independency etc. affect the way an employee works and contributes to the attainment of goals. EQ may affect a employee’s ability to perform under pressure, settle conflicts and cope with the challenges.

The key to using EEQ such that it yields a competitive advantage is to convert the ineffective believes and negative emotions into positive actions.

Each emotion expressed has an originator whether it is a personal factor or a professional element. What is needed therefore is, that organizations diagnose, and react aptly to these emotions specially if it’s a negative one such as-fear, anger, frustration or disgust etc.

EQ is a trainable skill which can be moulded through emotional competency training. Raising the collective EQ of the organization will not only affect the employee morale positively but will take the organization to new heights of success and achievement. The first step towards working on EQ would be assessing the current levels of emotional intelligence possessed by the employees in the organization which will provide us with the accurate data of ”where we stand”. The next step after determining the current situation would be to work on certain parameters of EQ of the employees which would directly impact interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligence. These parameters would include:

·        Self-awareness- the ability to sense and understand one’s emotions and their impact on others.

·        Self-management- the ability to regulate or control one’s emotions and urges adapt to changing situations

·        Motivation- the drive or impetus to achieve something, which may be external or internal.

·        Social awareness- the ability to ascertain and comprehend other’s emotions

·        Relationship management- the ability to develop, manage and improve relations with others

Helping employees to develop on these parameters will affect the five major areas which are directly proportional to increased productivity and success:

·        intellectual capital

·        customer service

·        organizational responsiveness

·        productivity

·        employee attraction and retention

By helping management create an environment that stimulates and preserves positive emotions and nurture human talent, HR managers can align EEQ with the strategic goals of the business that will provide a competitive edge over others.