Emotional Intelligence: Bridging the gap between employer and employee

In recent years, the world has faced enormous economic and technological disruption.

Large-scale automation, big data, and artificial intelligence are likely to impact labour markets as the Fourth Industrial Revolution looms large. The effects of these technological advances are wide-reaching and significant. Old models and old working practices are being refined, improved and – in some instances – outright challenged.

At the same time, longer working lives mean companies are having to balance the demands of up to five different generations of employees. These different generations want different things from their leaders. Emerging generations want leaders who can inspire, build relationships, and do not simply expect to derive their authority from hierarchy alone.

Increasing levels of diversity are also having an impact on workplace cultures, forcing leaders to develop a new skill set or be left behind by the advance in societal expectations.

Unsurprisingly, these three strands of disruption have led to a profound shift in the employer/employee dynamic. In a world of home or hybrid working, where employees are aware of both their rights and their expectations, employers are facing a new and uncomfortable truth: employees have increasingly more power.

For organisations looking to progress, both culturally and economically, understanding the physical and emotional needs of their employees will become ever more paramount. In this post, we’ll reveal how Emotional Intelligence (EQ) training can help you secure good working relations, engaged employees, and enduring financial success.

There is a growing disconnect between employers and employees

A worrying trend is developing across the corporate world. Senior leaders and executives increasingly appear to operate in a different reality to their employees.

Of course, each group has different pressures, responsibilities, and priorities. But the widening gap between employers and employees speaks of a deep lack of understanding between the two parties. And this is not good news for either side.

A striking example of these differences is in how both sides viewed the Covid-19 pandemic. As the world emerges from two years of lockdowns and home working, 63% of workers want to continue working remotely. But 56% believe their company wants them back in the office.

We know, for example, that almost two-thirds (64%) of leaders think their company handled the pandemic well. Yet only 45% of workers agree. And only a minority of workers are confident in their boss’s ability to respond to:

• Flexible working requests (38%)

• Sickness (41%)

• Bullying (41%)

• Mental health (36%)

• Performance management (38%)

In all of these areas, the confidence of bosses is significantly higher in their ability to handle these issues. Yet if this confidence was translating into demonstrable, real-world results, the confidence of employees would rise accordingly. These jarring disconnects highlight that something, somewhere, is not working.

And the overall result? More than one in three (35%) of all employees are actively looking for a new job.

Businesses can’t afford to let this situation worsen

Without urgent action, the potential for conflict and dissatisfaction is growing in every corner of professional life. The impact for businesses could include:

• Low morale

• Poor customer service

• Low productivity

• Disruptive employees

Yet all of these impacts, as well as the difference in perceptions among employees and employers, could be tackled by strengthened skills in one key area of our lives: Emotional Intelligence. Actively developing your EQ capacity is achievable for people of all ages. EQ is not an innate skill. It is something that can be learned and developed with appropriate training and practice.

The impact of EQ training

Introducing formal Emotional Intelligence training initiatives helps leaders and teams to foster an environment of psychological safety within the workplace. This encourages people to operate at their best, giving them the freedom to find even more productive ways of working without being fearful of the consequences.

EQ training from RocheMartin, for example, focuses on 10 core competencies:

1. Self-knowing

2. Self-control

3. Self-confidence

4. Self-reliance

5. Empathy

6. Relationship skills

7. Straightforwardness

8. Adaptability

9. Optimism

10. Self-actualisation

Broadly, better EQ skills among leaders have been proven to drive employee engagement, increase productivity, and lower staff turnover rates. Among employees, enhanced EQ skills can lead to better sales performance, increased morale, and better customer service.

More specifically, introducing Emotional Intelligence training in your organisation can:

• Help people to understand more about themselves and others, and equip them with strategies to manage life’s challenges.

• Protect mental health by building emotional resilience, self-control and self-confidence, all of which can help to thwart the development of burnout, mood, and mental health disorders.

• Strengthen people’s ability to manage their attention, enabling them to stay focused for longer and maintain productivity when important projects are in progress.

• Develop self-awareness and social awareness, which in turn helps to build and cement collaborative and supportive workplace relationships.

• Build psychological flexibility across all employees, giving them the capacity to adapt to change as well as encourage innovation and creativity.

• Foster diversity and inclusion by advancing skills such as adaptability and empathy.

• Create better teams and quicker and easier conflict resolution by giving participants the skills to develop a more straightforward communication style.

These results have been demonstrated repeatedly in high-pressure corporate environments. Australian telecoms giant Optus, for example, achieved uplifts of 16% (leadership), 6% (engagement) and 6% (customer focus) in just nine months after integrating RocheMartin EQ training into its day-to-day activities.

Today, hundreds of businesses around the world continue to follow in its example.

EQ training has never been more accessible

Whether you are looking to provide Emotional Intelligence training online or in person, or for individuals or large groups of people, RocheMartin’s suite of options covers all potential scenarios. It is structured in four parts to motivate participants and maintain their progress regardless of their starting point. You can choose from:

Initial Engagement 

Workshops and keynotes, which are designed to instil Emotional Intelligence principles in teams large and small that are looking to work together to collectively advance their performance.

Measurement 

ECR Self and ECR 360 reports enable participants to get a comprehensive understanding of the EQ skills before they undertake any formal training. This provides a benchmark against which future progress can be accurately measured.

Ongoing Development 

SmartCoach online coaching, which enables busy leaders to complete their training on their own schedule, fitting in sessions in the gaps in otherwise busy diaries without the need to block out a whole day to attend an in-person session. SmartCoach also enables participants who have attended workshops and keynotes, or completed an initial ECR assessment, to further develop their skills.

Coaching workshops, which give HR professionals and executive coaches the ability to deliver Emotional Intelligence training to others on an ongoing basis by attaining an EQ certification, are also available to help to ensure progress does not stall.

Evaluation

Re-testing a participant’s EQ skills against the initial benchmark scores achieved in their first ECR report allows for precise monitoring of individual and team progress, giving a clearer view of the potential return on investment achieved through Emotional Intelligence training.

Harnessing the power of Emotional Intelligence

If you are concerned about a widening gap between your leaders and your employees, embracing Emotional Intelligence training is likely to be the smartest move you could make.

Organisations around the world have already benefited from its capacity to develop empathy, adaptability, resilience, self-confidence, straightforwardness and more among all participants who are willing to practice their learnings.

As technologies and societies continue to advance, providing your team with the skills to not only cope but thrive in this new world will be key to your enduring success.

Contact us today to start to narrow the gap between you and your employees – before it becomes too late.