Why Would You Test Remote Workers on Emotional Intelligence?
Snce the COVID-19 pandemic, remote work has become more and more popular. As a result, many businesses are transitioning fully online and reevaluating how they hire remote workers. Emotional intelligence (EQ) is one skill that can be especially helpful for a remote team. Here’s why you should test remote workers on emotional intelligence and how it can benefit your company.
Table of Contents:
- What is Emotional Intelligence?
- What Are Emotional Intelligence Tests?
- Benefits of Emotional Intelligence for Remote Workers
- What is Remote Pre-Employment Testing?
- 2022 Remote Hiring Statistics
- Reasons to Hire Remotely With Pre-Employment Testing
What is Emotional Intelligence?
Although many people are familiar with the intelligence quotient (IQ), this is only one element of work skills valued by employers. As remote work becomes more widespread, another key characteristic has emerged in the workplace: emotional intelligence (EQ).
But what exactly is emotional intelligence, and why is it an essential characteristic for remote team members? As the name suggests, emotional intelligence measures your awareness of your feelings and those of others. These skills can be critical in remote workers as they must effectively manage emotions, respectfully manage conflict, and empathize with others, remotely.
What Are Emotional Intelligence Tests?
As you might have guessed, emotional intelligence tests measure a remote worker’s EQ levels. It helps you learn how they identify vital emotions and perceive the thoughts of others. It also evaluates how they monitor their feelings and how they affect their coworkers.
However, it can be challenging to explain what this looks like, but it may become clearer by using remote work examples. Generally speaking, team members with high EQ levels communicate better, improve workplace morale, and help other coworkers feel comfortable being honest. An EQ test can analyze these skills and help you make the best hiring decisions for your remote team.
Benefits of Emotional Intelligence for Remote Workers
Enhanced Communication
Although it’s essential for any workplace, communication is really the bread and butter of remote work. When several team members are spread out all over the place, you must ensure they are completing their tasks. It can be easy for mistakes to happen when it isn’t simple to speak with team members one-on-one directly. However, remote workers with high levels of emotional intelligence will automatically make an effort to communicate with you and others on the team.
Listening Skills
After you’ve attended many Zoom meeting, it’s easy to get screen fatigue and give in to the temptation to multitask on another work duty. However, remote team members with high emotional intelligence levels understand the body language they need to use when attending online work meetings. They’ll know when to look at the camera and how to set aside other distractions to focus on the task at hand.
Proactive Leadership
Remote team members with high emotional intelligence levels are generally going to be more proactive. This is an essential need for a remote team because employees will work independently on their tasks. In other words, you shouldn’t have to constantly check in with your team to see how they’re progressing; they should already be taking the steps necessary to get the job done. Instead of you needing to approach a remote worker about their progress, they’ll already come to you, displaying positive leadership skills.
What is Remote Pre-Employment Testing?
Just as a traditional workplace employee would take a pre-employment test, remote pre-employment testing works in the same way. Because there’s a limit to what an employer can know about a remote candidate’s behavioral traits, candidates take an emotional intelligence test to see how they might perform. These tests are objective, as they rely on data and statistics, not opinions. In other words, remote pre-employment testing proves that their skills will help your workplace.
2022 Remote Hiring Statistics
The idea of the modern workplace completely changed following the COVID-19 pandemic. Starting in 2020, remote work trends shifted dramatically. Even so, as more people choose to work remotely, many of these adjustments were hard for employers unfamiliar with this workplace style. This is why pre-employment testing may be even more important for remote workers than in-office workers.
Today, around 65% of employers rely on some form of pre-employment test to make hiring decisions. Meanwhile, remote organizations are 1.5-2.5 times more likely to recruit and retain new team members. Companies also report lower turnout rates when using pre-employment tests, specifically by 39%.
Reasons to Hire Remotely With Pre-Employment Testing
It should be noted that testing employees on their emotional intelligence can be just as important in traditional workplace settings. However, they’re even more essential for remote workplaces since many of your team members’ tasks won’t be conducted face-to-face. This can make everyday work interactions more complex than they might be in a traditional office space.
For example, one challenge that tends to be more unique to remote work is a lack of belonging. Unlike other co-working environments, team members may feel more isolated. However, remote workers with high levels of emotional intelligence can make proactive decisions to engage with their teams.
If you’re hiring new team members for your remote or hybrid workplace, having candidates take emotional intelligence tests can help to predict what their performance will be for your business. EmployTest can give you the tools you need to test prospective remote employees. Try a sample emotional intelligence test to see how it works.