Why Recruit People with High Levels of Emotional Intelligence?

Emotional Intelligence is an often discussed concept, but seldom understood. In the interview we conducted with one of the concept's creators, Yale's David Caruso, I asked him: "Dr. Caruso, do you think the concept of Emotional Intelligence is a trend?". He replied, "If you had asked me in the first 10 years that the concept was being developed I could have said yes; but now, 20 years after its discovery, it can not be considered a trend, but a reality”.

One of the biggest lessons I have ever received came from my mentor Santiago Vazquez. He told me: "A good selection is the key to a successful business". Richard Fairbank, CEO of Capital One says: "Most companies use 2% of their time recruiting, and 75% of the time managing their own recruiting mistakes." The CIPD goes even further, and quantifies the cost to the British market of recruiting the wrong employee: ￡8,200.

A good selection is the key to a successful business

And if you ask yourself, what do recruitment and Emotional Intelligence have in common? We could say they go hand in hand. The three fundamental reasons to recruit people with high levels of Emotional Intelligence are:

1. Better prediction of future performance: According to Daniel Goleman, career success depends more on Emotional Intelligence than IQ. The results of their studies indicate that up to 66% of success at work depends on Emotional Intelligence and reaches 85% when the professional leads people.
2. Retaining talent and developing better leaders: Considering that the time an employee remains in a company is determined by their relationship with their immediate supervisor, it is necessary to attract and retain people with high levels of Emotional Intelligence that as leaders can inspire and retain this talent.
3. Improvement in the company's financial results: People with higher levels of Emotional Intelligence have the ability to stimulate and create better working environments. Considering that there is a positive correlation between working environment, performance, and financial results, it is easy to understand the impact of these professionals in the organizations that they work for.

66% of success at work depends on Emotional Intelligence and reaches 85% when the professional leads people

And how can these factors be evaluated and measured in an interview? The three most important models of Emotional Intelligence in the world (the MSCEIT of Caruso, Mayer & Salovey, the ECI of Goleman & Boyatzis and the EQ-i of Reuven Bar-On) give a theoretical framework to evaluate the different factors of Emotional Intelligence such as empathy, optimism and teamwork. The models of behavioral interviews help to assess more accurately all these factors.

For these reasons, as recruiting professionals, we have the responsibility to measure the different Emotional Intelligence factors that distinguish the excellent from the good professionals. The success of our company is at stake.

Interview conducted in collaboration with and thanks to AEDIPE Galicia (Spanish Association for Development and People Management).

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Original post (Portuguese): Collaborative Culture Review

If you want to know more about using Emotional Intelligence as the key to professional success, come and see my lecture at The Developer's Conference 2016.