The Importance of Emotional Intelligence in Recruiting
Kristine Le
Sep 24, 2020 11:03:11 PM
As businesses continue to turn to automation and AI to improve and streamline their hiring process, human connection becomes even more so important. Recruiters may automate a job, but not their own; establishing meaningful and human relationships with candidates cannot be replaced by technology.
As a matter of fact, companies with staff who have higher levels of emotional intelligence (EQ) have 63% less turnover than companies with lower EQ. Emotionally intelligent recruiters are more likely to detect and hire emotionally intelligent candidates faster, resulting in a cohesive, productive, and collaborative work culture.
But what exactly is emotional intelligence?
Emotional intelligence (EQ) is the capacity to understand your emotions, as well as evaluate the emotions and motivations of others. EQ is especially important in recruiting, as recruiters need to manage their personal goals while identifying EQ candidates and deciding if they are a good fit for the company.
How can recruiters become more emotionally intelligent?
Practice self-awareness and social skills
Self-awareness builds a successful recruiter. Not only do recruiters represent their company, they also work to build unique relationships with their candidates; in order to succeed at both, they need to be aware of their actions, performance, and mannerisms. To do this, recruiters should always be in a dual-mindset of both the recruiter and applicant to understand how to help candidates feel comfortable during the hiring process. Thus, feedback can be very helpful in identifying areas of strengths and weaknesses for recruiters. Companies like XOR provide recruiters with a feature that implements feedback surveys at the end of every interview, allowing candidates to comment on the recruiting process. Additionally, pulse surveys can be set-up internally; recruiters can leverage this feature to express their sentiments about their role and performance, company’s culture, and the overall health of their company—this can determine areas recruiters may need additional guidance or help from their company.
Be empathetic and flexible
Professional relationships don’t have to be rigid, cold, and unforgiving. In this age of technology, recruiters can leverage many tools to be more flexible and empathetic of candidates. During challenging health and economic times such as COVID-19, it’s essential that recruiters are aware of potential hardships or inconveniences that their candidates may be experiencing. Virtual career fairs, automated scheduling, and video interviews are only some of the modern recruiting solutions that XOR provides, all of which can be used to help recruiters nurture relationships with candidates while staying safe. Technology saves time, provides flexibility, and allows recruiters to focus on the most important element of recruiting—human connection.
How do emotionally intelligent recruiters screen for emotionally intelligent candidates?
Asking behavioral interview questions
Behavioral interview questions give recruiters more insight into the candidate’s personality, thought process, and work ethic. To identify emotional intelligence, recruiters can ask interview questions like:
— Can you describe a time you had a conflict with your team? How did you solve it?
— Can you describe a time you struggled on a project? How did you overcome it?
— Can you describe a time you came up with a creative solution?
This will allow recruiters to understand how candidates work under high pressure, with different teams, or changing environments.
Paying attention to the candidate’s language
During an interview, it’s crucial for recruiters to pay attention to the candidate’s language when they are describing emotions. The more specific they are, the more likely that they have adequate levels of EQ. Showing signs of empathy, forgiveness, and positivity are some other things to look out for, as this will determine whether the candidate fits in with the team or not. Companies like XOR offer live and on-demand video interviews that allow recruiters to download video recordings post-interview and analyze the candidate. This can help determine if the candidate is a good fit for the company.
Emotional intelligence will be the one factor that sets recruiters apart as technology becomes more of an integral part of the hiring process. Not only will it help attract and hire top talent quicker, it also ensures that recruiters retain the human aspect of recruiting. As candidates become more and more comfortable with the use of technology in recruiting, they’ll definitely appreciate a recruiter who can create a lasting meaningful relationship and a positive candidate experience. Schedule a demo with XOR to see how we can fit into your emotionally intelligent recruiting strategy.
Tags: Automation, Recruitment, recruiting automation, scheduling interview, Emotional Intelligence