Ignore Emotional Intelligence At Your Peril

Ignoring Emotional Intelligence (EQ) in the Workplace Can Cost You…

Time and Money

  • The US Air Force selected recruiters with high EQ, resulting in a threefold increase in the number of recruits while generating a savings of $3 million annually.
  • When L’Oreal hired sales people with high EQ, they proceeded to generate an average of $91,307 more per year, resulting in a net increase of $2,558,360 the first year. They also showed 63 percent less turnover during that time period, representing significant savings for the company.
  • A large beverage firm noticed that half of newly hired division presidents left during the first year, usually due to poor performance. When the company hired presidents based on EQ competencies, the turnover rate dropped to six percent, and the new hires outperformed their performance targets by 15 to 20 percent.
  • A manufacturing plant instituted training in emotional competencies such as listening and helping employees solve problems. The results: Time lost due to accidents plunged by 50 percent, and the plant exceeded productivity goals by $250,000.
  • A medical malpractice insurance company analyzed doctors most likely to be sued. Researchers found they could predict with accuracy based on tone of voice alone: Doctors who sounded dominant were at highest risk for lawsuits, regardless of intelligence, training and years of experience. The vast majority of those who sounded concerned were not sued—even when they made significant mistakes.

 
Professional Advancement

A UC Berkeley study followed 85 Ph.D. candidates in various scientific fields over a 40-year-period, assessing two critical career outcomes: Prestige in the person’s chosen field of science and overall level of professional success. The study concluded that high emotional intelligence was four times more important in determining success than raw IQ and training.

As Bob Wall, author of Coaching For Emotional Intelligence and Working Relationships likes to say, “IQ and training get you in the arena, EQ helps you win the game.”

How would you like to discover how to significantly improve your career chances?