EI is also one of the most sought after employee characteristics
The term emotional intelligence or EI is not just a modern buzzword. It was first coined in 1964 and it’s remained popular ever since – particularly in relation to managing modern workplaces. Emotional intelligence describes a collection of skills and characteristics which can drive leadership performance. These skills include being able to “perceive, use, understand, manage and handle emotions” in such a way as to guide your thinking and behaviour.
On Wednesday, 13 July, HRD will be live-streaming a free-webinar hosted by Criteria Corp with the topic: “Ask me anything: emotional intelligence in the workplace”.
This live and interactive webinar is a unique opportunity for busy HR executives to join and ask questions about how to best leverage emotional intelligence (EI) in the modern workplace. This webinar will look at all the latest research on the subject of emotional intelligence in the workplace to help HR thought-leaders learn how to build resilient and high-performing teams.
Criteria Corp is a leading provider of web-based employment testing services. Their mission is to make testing accessible to companies of all sizes by providing world-leading tools to help organisations make more objective, evidence-based talent decisions which reduce bias and drive better outcomes.
Criteria global headquarters are based in Los Angeles, and they were formed in 2006 offering some of the first SaaS solutions to provide assessments for the marketplace. Since that time, Criteria Corp has grown rapidly.
Their award-winning team expanded internationally including to Australia, so that, by 2020, the company acquired Revelian, an Australian-based leader in game-based assessments. The following year, 2021, Criteria acquired Alcami, one of the world’s leading video interviewing providers.
HRD sat down with Dr Matthew Neale, Vice President of Assessment Products at Criteria and Craig Gillies, Senior Consulting Psychologist at Criteria to consider ways in which HR executives can adeptly manage staff using emotional intelligence (reword). Both Dr Neale and Craig Gillies considered both the challenges facing HR leaders now, potential solutions and lessons learned from 2021.
By way of background, Dr Matthew Neale is Criteria’s VP of Assessment Products. Matt leads Criteria’s professional team of organisational psychologists and assessment software developers to deliver innovative psychometric assessments that give client organisations genuine insight into their current and potential talent. Matt plays a strong role in advancing the science of psychology through collaboration with academics and practicing IOs worldwide.
Dr Matthew Neale – Vice President of Assessment Products - Criteria
Craig Gillies is a Senior Consulting Psychologist at Criteria. He holds a Masters of Organisational Psychology from Griffith University in Queensland. Craig has experience across a broad range of customer engagement, and he provides expert advice for HR executives and hiring specialists in best practice use of assessment tools.
Craig Gillies is the Senior Consulting Psychologist at Criteria Corp
HRD asked Dr Neale what he considered were some of the most pressing challenges facing HR leaders this year in relation to emotional intelligence in the workplace. Dr Neale said: “The task of managing and leading has always been emotionally complex - leaders need to manage their own emotional displays and respond effectively to the emotional states of their followers. These demands are only increasing as employees and managers navigate a post-pandemic world in which employees expect a more responsive and satisfying workplace while also spending less and less time physically present at work. Through these trends we've seen an increase in the emotional demands made of managers and a decrease in the emotional signals available to them.”
When responding to HRD’s question about how HR leaders can better prepare themselves for these challenges, Dr Neale told HRD: “It's more and more important now for managers to gain effective insight into the engagement, satisfaction and commitment of their employees. This means getting better at decoding emotional cues and getting better at creating an inspiring and satisfying workplace. Emotional Intelligence is key to these requirements.”
We asked both Dr Neale and Craig Gillies, what did they consider to be the standout lessons of 2021 regarding emotional intelligence in the workplace. They said that in the studies they conducted, they found that “employees who were better at perceiving, understanding and regulating emotions experienced less stress on the job and reported higher levels of resilience. These are critical benefits that you get from regarding emotional intelligence as a core workplace ability.”
Emotional intelligence is increasingly looked at through the lens of a strategic work and life skill which is critical for survival in the modern workforce. HR leaders and employees who master emotional intelligence will find that this can set them apart from competitors and others who have similar job skills and knowledge.
If you want to learn more about how you can more effectively leverage emotional intelligence in the workplace to get the best results out of your teams, come along to the HRD-Criteria hosted webinar: “Ask Me Anything: Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace”.
This webinar will be livestreamed on Wednesday, 13 July 2022 at 11.00 am (AEST). Here you will learn about:
- The latest research on emotional intelligence
- How to leverage EI to build high performing teams and resilient organisations.
When you register, you can also submit your questions in advance to our keynote speakers – in the Questions and Comments section of the registration form.
