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ADVISOR: Recruitment
An emotionally intelligent workplace BARRY WHELAN managing director of Excel Recruitment
www.excelrecruitment.com
“One way that managers increase their awareness of what their people are doing well is to spend more time working with them; managers must be engaged with their employees,” writes Barry Whelan
In today’s challenging workplace, cultivating emotional intelligence can seem overwhelming, but the rewards are well worth the effort, writes Excel Recruitment’s Barry Whelan
B
y now, the majority of leaders have heard of emotional intelligence and seem to have bought into the idea that it is important to have it in their organisations. Emotional intelligence is the trait that employers are valuing more over the traditional IQ (intelligence quotient) and technical skills in the modern workplace. Research by Talent Smart found EQ to be the strongest indicator of performance in the workplace. Yet with all the challenges faced by leaders in today’s rapidly changing workplace, the idea of building emotional intelligence can seem overwhelming.
Doing things right Ken Blanchard, author of the famous The One Minute Manager, recently updated his classic book. Although major changes have come about due to technological advances, the one thing that remains the same is his advice to catch people doing things right. It is a simple idea, but it has profound implications. Managers who engage in relentless fault-finding cannot help but lead to a culture of negativity and employee churn. Managers who celebrate small acts of kindness and who reward moments of connection give everyone permission to enjoy a positive workplace. When you want to have an
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emotionally intelligent workplace, improving your merit recognition process is the one thing that you need to concentrate on.
One size does not fit all When it comes to giving recognition and appreciation, one size does not fit all! For instance, many organisations have a staff appreciation day where everyone is involved. The hardest working, most creative high performer receives the same recognition as the employee who is just there to receive a salary. This approach can breed mediocrity and even resentment from those who feel they are going above and beyond and giving their all for the organisation. Recognising employees based on their merits and as individuals requires time, effort, and commitment from managers. One way that managers increase their awareness of what their people are doing well is to spend more time working with them; managers must be engaged with their employees. This is what makes managers leaders. While managers do better with tasks, leaders inspire employees. The best people to do this are the managers who have staff reporting directly to them, since they are in the best position to know the actual work that the person is responsible for. While this takes time away from other tasks, it’s well worth the effort. Employees learn to respect and appreciate managers who are willing to step up and keep themselves involved in their everyday work.
What to watch for? Make an ongoing commitment to find people doing something right. There will be times when leaders have to point out to their people that they need to change something. The problem is that staff will get the impression that they receive attention only when they do something wrong.
The important thing is to continually look for ways to give people positive feedback. According to recent research by Gallup, high-performance teams get five times more positive feedback than negative. That is well worth keeping in mind when it comes time for doling out feedback of any kind. Everyone loves to be appreciated and recognised. When staff see that happening to them and around them, they quickly pick up that this is a healthy, supportive workplace. Feeling better about themselves and their colleagues, they put in more discretionary effort, resulting in higher performance for the organisation. Discretionary effort is the work employees give above and beyond, and this is priceless for the culture. As an added benefit, this leads to less turnover and a decrease in the cost of recruiting and bringing new staff on board. Witnessing recognition being a serious focus of the organisation also increases the number of employees turning their attention to recognising each other.
Recognition from the top Those who are looking to be promoted and move up in the company will be more aware that their actions in recognising colleagues will be among the considerations. In this way, recognition from the top will spiral and lead to an increase across the organisation. While it will still be necessary to catch mistakes and correct them, it will become known that catching someone doing something right is what will be encouraged and rewarded within the organisation. Altogether, this will make for a happier, more engaged workplace while the organisation gains a reputation for being a good place to work. Culture is the internal brand that ultimately affects the external brand of the company, its services, and its products. ■
