The trend in the past was behavioral interviewing. The premise was to train interviewers to detect signals of emotional intelligence (EQ). It was a good idea, but hard to do well. The next evolution was using full-blown EQ assessments. This approach offered excellent data, but was awkward to use in an interview and much too expensive for large-scale hiring. Here are our recommendations for an integrated approach of best practices for hiring with emotional intelligence.

First, a preview:

Adobe makes it clear why they value EQ in potential candidates

Selection: Hiring for Emotional Intelligence

Use a well-validated emotional intelligence assessment. Some tests are too simplistic (you can get whatever score you want), while others are overly complex (it takes an hour just to begin to understand the report). The right tool has strong psychometrics and a simple output. Here is an analysis of several well-validated emotional intelligence tests. [2]

The way to use emotional intelligence in selection depends on your situation:

1. Filter a large number of candidates: screening

2. Distinguish between final candidates: interviewing

3. Go in-depth with senior candidates: critical selection

Onboarding: Embedding Emotional Intelligence

To gain full value from emotional intelligence in the hiring process, these concepts need to become integrated into the culture of the organization. New hire training is an excellent forum to introduce this vocabulary. Ideally, senior leaders are walking the talk when it comes to emotional intelligence. If they’ve gone through EQ assessment and coaching, it’s very powerful if they’re the ones presenting EQ content in the new hire training.

Next, the team manager can bring a new person into the team quickly by using EQ. Focus on identifying and sharing each team member’s EQ-related strengths and how those link to the roles and goals of the team. This fosters practical conversation about the team culture and the new person’s fit. Using a strengths-based approach is key to creating buy-in and boosting energy for the new hire and the team. [7]

With emotional intelligence embedded from the beginning, the stage is set for ongoing consideration of EQ competencies in performance appraisal and professional development. Early indicators suggest this kind of onboarding process will improve employee retention (see the Zenet example)

Notes

Here are several tools and resources that Six Seconds publishes that are well suited to the different stages of selection:

[1] An example of this is the Six Seconds global State of the Heart Report. This type of data can be created within an organization. You can request a copy using the form to the right.

[2] The Six Seconds Emotional Intelligence assessment, SEI, works well in hiring. SEI is practical and it’s extremely well validated (over 100,000 people in the dataset, robust psychometrics, numerous national norms). There are multiple outputs to meet selection needs and more information can be found here: http://6seconds.org/tools/sei/sei-eq-assessment/.

[3] The Six Seconds DNA Profile is a quick way to correlate in-house performance measures with EQ scores for a specific organization or role. Request a copy using the form to the right.

[4] A Selection Matrix spreadsheet is available from the SEI for groups to quickly view and sort by various key capabilities. Request a copy using the form to the right.

[4a] The Brain Discovery Profile is an example of a highly effective 1-page summary of key emotional intelligence assets and challenges. It can be shared with a candidate for an open discussion, and has built-in questions for a structured interview process. A sample is included with the files you can download using the form above-right..

[5] The SEI Leadership Report is ideal for this process because it has great depth, but is also easy to understand.A sample is included with the files you can download using the form above-right..

[6] Tools include the SEI Group Report or the Brain Profile Team Dashboard. A sample Dashboard is included with the files you can download using the form above-right.

[7] More on the Brain Talent and other Profiles is here: http://6seconds.org/tools/sei/profiles/

authors: Joshua Freedman, Paul Stillman, Lorenzo Fariselli, Jan 29, 2016