Accelerator Solutions are a training, development and research company who recently delivered a workshop on emotional intelligence in the workplace at our recent event. Richard Harvey joined Accelerator Solutions in 2003. Prior to this, he spent many years at Marks & Spencer Plc, working in management at store level and then expanding his involvement to cover financial, process and quality development on a national basis. We caught up with Richard to ask him his views on emotional intelligence.
What is emotional intelligence?
I see EI as the practice of tuning in to your own thoughts and emotions in order to guide our behaviour; and tuning in to other people in order to build and manage interpersonal relationships effectively.
How can an organisation use Emotional Intelligence to improve their customer service?
There are many ways organisations can use EI to improve customer service, for example by taking a step back to think about the emotional context that may be playing out across the whole range of customer interactions, and adapting their service provision accordingly.
Should emotional intelligence be the number one priority in a organisation’s customer service strategy?
I think EI is becoming increasingly important where employees are being encouraged and empowered to create positive customer relationships and proactively resolve customer-related problems. Rather than being the number one priority I think it should be integral to any customer service strategy.
What are the benefits of employing people with high levels of emotional intelligence?
Put simply, people with higher levels of EI are more likely to possess the attitudes and behaviours required to understand what we mean by customer service and be effective delivering service to their customers and internal colleagues.
Can managers use emotional intelligence to motivate their employees?
Absolutely. Managers need to be aware of the emotional domain that may be engaging or disengaging their employees – both individually and collectively - and tailor their approach to each situation. Sometimes they may even need to consciously turn their own emotional dial up to show enthusiasm and act as a role model, for example.
How can you find out how emotionally intelligent you are?
The best way is to ask other people! Through feedback from others we can increase our Self Awareness – a core attribute of EI – and gain new insights into how we can improve.
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