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Emotional Intelligence: Fundamental Competencies for Enhanced Service Provision
Mark Slaski
Dept. of Psychology, University of Hertfordshire, UK
Philip Bardzil
Manchester School of Management, UMIST, UK.
In S.Tax et al (Eds.) ‘Quality in Service: Crossing Borders’.
University of Victoria, Vic., BC. pp. 3-6
(ISBN: 1-55058-252-6)
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Previous research indicates that one feature of successful organisations is that they are able to create a climate for service (e.g.: Schneider & Bowen, 1993, Schneider et al, 1998). At the level of the individual employee this manifests itself as concern for customers and awareness of the practices and behaviours that are expected by management. In effect, these qualities may be expressed as broad interpersonal competencies such as communication skills (e.g. Ostell, 1996), empathy (e.g.: Zeithaml, Parasuraman & Berry, 1990, p. 26) and emotional labour (e.g.: Hochschild.1993, Morris & Feldman. 1996). At the organisational level, a climate for service requires reinforcement through the implementation and support of appropriate employee behaviours based on clear 'service quality specifications' (i.e. from the SERVQUAL model - Parasuraman et al. 1988). This also involves genuine concern for employees as 'internal customers' (eg: Schneider et al.1998, Johnson 1996), and is facilitated by an appropriate leadership style. It is further encouraged by empowerment of the employee, which is largely achieved through removal of obstacles and 'inhibitors' such as inappropriate HR policies, restrictive management style, etc.
In this article we propose that the relatively new concept of Emotional Intelligence (or 'EQ' - e.g. Goleman, 1998) captures many of the key competencies involved in creating and maintaining an appropriate climate for service. This approach suggests that individuals vary in their capacity to process, regulate and manage information of an emotional nature, and is further supported by recent evidence that demonstrates specific areas in the brain for this emotional processing (LeDoux, 1998). By and large, emotional experiences are intricately related to maintaining social self-images and psychological aspects of the self such as values, beliefs, needs, goals and expectations.
However, emotional intelligence is not about emotions per se, but more about the relationship between thoughts, feelings and behaviour. It may be seen as a measure of the degree to which individuals vary in their ability to perceive, understand and regulate their own emotions and those of others, and integrate these with their thoughts and actions. Therefore, individuals with high EQ display strong self-awareness and interpersonal skill. They are empathic, adaptable and able to cope with pressure, and generally experience less stress and better health and morale (Slaski & Cartwright, 2002). All these attributes are highly desirable for customer facing positions, and enhance the type of transformational management style required to create a positive service climate (e.g.: Barling et al., 2000). As evidence also suggests that EQ is a better predictor of management success than IQ, and that it can be developed, it seems appropriate to incorporate this concept into staff selection, performance management and training policies.
The key to successful development of emotional intelligence lies in an emphasis on self-awareness. We argue that attempts to address social skills without the development of self-awareness are fruitless. In a sense, effective behaviour is the authentic expression of 'who we are'. Thus, high levels of self-awareness among organisational employees are seen as essential in the creation of enhanced climate for service.
In order to test this hypothesis, sixty managers from a large retail chain were invited to attend an EQ development programme. This programme was delivered for one day per week over a four-week period. During this time trainees were encouraged to develop awareness of aspects of themselves, and their relationships with others, through an examination of their emotional experiences. In this way trainees were able to acquire a greater sense of 'who I am' in terms of their own personal values, beliefs, attitudes, expectations, goals, and ambitions. In so doing they were also able to develop a greater understanding of others from this perspective.
Participants completed research questionnaires prior to the programme, and again six-months following the programme. The questionnaires were designed to measure EQ, stress, health, morale, and quality of working life. In addition, participants' line-managers were asked to complete a questionnaire examining management performance both before and six-months following the programme. This instrument was based on the organisation's own 'critical success factor' model of performance and included a number of items highly related to service orientation.
To fully test the effectiveness of the programme, a further sixty managers acted as a control-group. The control-group completed the questionnaires but did not participate in the EQ development programme. Results showed that after six-months, participants in the programme demonstrated statistically significant improvements on all the research variables in comparison with the control-group i.e. emotional intelligence, stress, general health, morale, quality of working life and management performance (Slaski & Cartwright, 2002b). A follow-up survey up to 18 months later involved interviewing managers to ascertain the impact of EQ development on their behaviour. Below are some comments recorded from these interviews:
"A whole new world has emerged - 'other peoples feelings'. At work I have had the most productive six-months I have ever had, I've handled pressure and disappointments in very positive ways". D.B.
"The EQ programme has helped me develop a clearer sense of my own personal responsibilities. It has also helped me to establish purpose in my life, and I am happier with myself. I now seem to have created more time by worrying less, and as a consequence life has slowed down. I now bring my whole self to work rather than leaving part of me at the door, and I feel both my relationships and my performance have improved". K.D.
"I was previously not aware of the impact of emotions, consequently I have become more emotionally observant which has helped me with relationships both at work and in my private life." J.B.
In conclusion, it is clear that those organisations that are successful in today's dynamic business world take a more proactive approach to developing a positive service climate. It follows that excellent service, with positive emotional content, is most likely to be facilitated by employees who are emotionally self-aware - and who understand others on a more emotional level. This ability has been described as emotional intelligence. In purposefully developing emotional intelligence, managers have been able to acquire greater self-understanding, have demonstrated better health, morale and quality of work life, and have been able to foster and build closer working relationships. We argue that it is crucial for organisational leaders to recognise the importance of emotionally intelligent behaviour, and to actively reward it. Positive reinforcement of an emotionally intelligent environment will enable the development of a service-orientated climate which is authentic in nature, and therefore more effective. On this basis, it seems appropriate that the role of emotional intelligence is taken into consideration when devising organisational policies, processes and procedures - particularly around staff selection, training and development, and performance management.
References
Barling, J., Slater, F. and Kelloway, K. (2000). Transformational leadership and EQ. Leadership and Organisational Development Journal, Vol. 20, Issue 4.
Goleman D, (1998). Working with Emotional Intelligence. Bloomsbury Publishing PLC. London Hochschild A (1993). The Managed Heart. University of California Press.
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LeDoux, J. (1998). The Emotional Brain. Weidenfeld and Nicholson, London
Morris J. and Feldman D., (1996). 'The Dimensions, Antecedents, and Consequences of Emotional Labour'. Academy of Management Journal. 21. pp 989-1010.
Ostell, A. (1996) Managing dysfunctional emotions in organisations. Journal of Management Studies. 33. pp. 525-557.
Parasuraman A. Zeithaml V. and Berry L., (1988), 'SERVQUAL: A multiple-item Scale for Measuring Consumer Perceptions of Service Quality'. Journal of Retailing. 64. pp 12-40.
Schneider B. and Bowen A., (1993), 'The Service Organisation: Human Resources Management is Crucial'. Organisational Dynamics. 21 (4), pp 39-52
Schneider B. White S. and Paul M., (1998). 'Linking Service Climate and Customer Perceptions of Service Quality: Test of a Causal Model'. Journal of Applied Psychology. 83. pp 150-
Slaski M. and Cartwright S. (2002). 'Health, Performance and Emotional Intelligence: An Exploratory Study of Retail Managers'. Stress and Health, 18 (2) pp. 63-68.
Slaski, M. and Cartwright, S. (2002b). 'What is emotional intelligence? Can it be developed in managers? If so, what are the effects on stress, health, well-being and performance?'. (In Preparation).
Zeithaml V. Parasuraman A and Berry L., (1990), Delivering Service Quality: Balancing Customer Perceptions and Expectations. Free Press: New York.
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