Part II: Administering a Self-Report EQ-i 2.0

Planning the EQ-i 2.0 Assessment Process

Step 3: Gaining Buy-In

Gaining buy-in for EI begins with the very first interaction with a client and is an ongoing process until the contract is complete. However, as a formal step, buy-in is required on your value proposition before you move onto contracting, hence its current position in the EQ-i 2.0 Engagement Process. However, even the best value proposition will likely stir up questions and/or concerns in your audience unless you do some additional work to secure buy-in.
The EQ-i 2.0 is like any other psychological assessment and may at first be met with resistance or skepticism from future participants. To help gain buy-in and support for the assessment and any accompanying activities, proactively counter any concerns or barriers from the start, before you begin contracting or administering the EQ-i 2.0. Some practices for gaining buy-in for the EQ-i 2.0 are outlined here.

Gaining Individual Buy-In

Individual clients may have reservations or concerns about psychological testing in general that may color perceptions of the EQ-i 2.0. It is a psychological test by its very nature but there are  some things that distinguish the EQ-i 2.0 from traditional tests and testing practices. You may want to use the following points to ease your client’s concerns and help gain buy-in for taking the EQ-i 2.0:

1. The EQ-i 2.0 is not a diagnostic test.

2. There are no right or wrong answers.

3. Self-reports have limitations.

4. You, the test taker, own the results.

5. There are very few age, gender or ethnic differences in EQ-i 2.0 scores.

6. Emotional Intelligence is comprised of “dynamic” skills

Gaining Organizational/Stakeholder Buy-In

Any of the concerns raised above at the individual level may also apply when you are engaging a group, department or entire organization in an EI initiative. You may find it helpful to include some common misperceptions or Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) in your presentations on EI to preclude any barriers to buy-in. If you are working with EI in organizations, universities or other large group settings, you may find you need to do more than just overcome personal fears and hesitations around testing; you may also need to address questions like:

Evidence-Based Practice

To help support your EI initiative, it can be effective to present information that demonstrates the impact to the bottom line for your potential client. This section outlines several cases that you may find relevant to your objective and wish to leverage to gain support and buy in for your EI initiative. For more information on these cases refer to the resource center at http://ei.mhs.com.

LEADERSHIP

Sample of 220 North American Leaders – MHS (2011)

Leaders score consistently higher on the EQ-i 2.0 than the general population. Additionally, there are links between certain EQ-i 2.0 subscales such as Assertiveness, Independence, Self-Actualization, Empathy and Optimism, and transformational leadership qualities. By linking EI to any leadership model or framework one can distill down a majority of leadership competencies (whether transformational or transactional) into the specific emotional or social skills that need to be developed in order to see gains at the broader competency level.

THE AMEX CHALLENGE

American Express – Durek (2005)

MHS conducted a study for American Express in Fort Lauderdale to determine the EI skill set that best predicted success for customer-focused Sales Associates. Two metrics that defined success in this role were customer satisfaction (feedback regarding customer service based on 13 behaviors) and sales goal attainment (profitability of associates’ work). MHS quickly realized that while some associates had high customer service skills and some had high sales group skills, few were strong in both performance criteria.

Associates who scored high in both performance categories scored significantly higher on the EQ-i as compared to those who only scored well in one performance area, or were low in both. In other words, high emotional intelligence was a strong predictor of associates with both required skill sets. Those who excelled in sales as well as meeting customer needs clearly outperformed those who did not. In fact, emotional and social skills make up one-half of the skill set that existing successful telephone service centre reps need to be successful in their new role.

SALES PERFORMANCE

Pharmaceutical Sales Company – MHS (2010)

A North American Pharmaceutical Sales company integrated the EQ-i 2.0 into their sales representative’s performance appraisals and found that the top third of their sales representatives (as rated by managers) had significantly higher scores on scales such as Impulse Control, Decision Making and Stress Management than the sales reps in the bottom third performance group.

SELECTION AND RETENTION CASE

U.S. Air Force – Handley (1998)

U.S. Air Force recruiters were suffering from high rates of first-year turnover. In their efforts to increase recruiter retention, the USAF used the EQ-i assessment to study the differences between successful and unsuccessful recruiters. Notable score differences between the two groups were evident in areas such as: assertiveness, self-actualization, stress tolerance, flexibility, problem solving, and happiness.

Using their findings from the EQ-i, the USAF developed a pre-employment screening system which led to a 92% increase in recruiter retention with  a savings of $3 million annually.