In a newly redefined world of work, prioritising emotional intelligence, has been identified as a vital consideration within the workplace,

LinkedIn’s Global Talent Trends 2022* report suggests that more than 45% of UK job seekers consider company culture a top priority when picking a job, which is why understanding your employees and encouraging them to understand others, has become a necessity for businesses amongst ‘The Great Resignation’.

The term ‘emotional intelligence’ was formed in 1990 by psychologists John D. Mayer and Pete Salovey, who suggested that whilst people’s intellectual ability is often equated with success, individuals also hold a vast range of emotional skills that fundamentally affect their thinking and actions. Daniel Goleman, an American psychologist and author of the ground-breaking book, ‘Emotional Intelligence,’ proposes that EI has five abilities: self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy and social skills, that when managed, help individuals attain a higher level of emotional intelligence and therefore, a greater understanding of workplace behaviour and performance.

Businesses can actively model personal profiling through training and various tests, which will in turn help to reduce workplace stress, teach employees how to respond to constructive criticism and provide management with tools to identify potential mental health risks, whilst encouraging a positive and motivational environment.

EI plays a significantly positive role in predicting a potential candidate’s job performance, therefore, employers who usually look out for general IQ abilities during the recruitment process should consider looking to implement personal profiling tests as part of the process, to access how they could best support that individual, and whether their personality lends itself to their suitability for the role. This would then help to determine their overall happiness and job satisfaction if they were to be successful, which is key for employee retention.

Managing director at Breedon Consulting, Nicki Robson, explains that: “Behavioural assessments help organisations and recruiting managers understand the level of interpersonal skills that a person has, and help to predict how they might for with the team and respond to new and different scenarios.

“A person will be hired for having the right skills, knowledge and technical expertise but are most often fired, reassigned or overlooked for promotion because they lack the appropriate interpersonal skills.

“Behavioural assessments help ensure that the best-fitting candidates are hired and that the right people are promoted. They enable people to increase their self-awareness and help individuals and groups to better communicate with each other.

“Businesses who can help employees understand their natural strengths and weaknesses is one of the keys to unlocking their potential. Identifying these can be done through profiling tests such a DISC profiling or an Emotional Intelligence assessment. Results can indicate the likelihood of success in a given role or team as well as identifying the natural leaders and influencers.”

Personal profiling gives individuals a powerful insight into their own behaviour, characteristics and how that differs from others and can help improve leadership ability and understanding of to get the best from their team.

Breedon Consulting offers a range of personal profiling services and workshops with a free initial 15-minute consultation for employers.