Why Employers Want High IQ and High EQ

1. Why Employers Want High IQ and High EQ

2. Most employers say they want to hire top talent. However, defining top talent can be vastly different for each employer. Most employers have identified KSA’s (Knowledge, Skills, Abilities) for their open position. We know that cognitive ability or intelligence (IQ) exists in a normal distribution (bell curve).

3. Given a choice, most employers would prefer to hire high intelligence over average or low intelligence. Employers expect to assign more complex tasks and greater responsibilities to employees with above average cognitive ability.

4. The reason a high level of emotional intelligence (EQ) is valued by employers is because it has a deep impact on everything a person does. Emotional intelligence is a way of thinking and behaving that indicates the level of awareness a person has about all of their relationships.

5. How Important is Intelligence (IQ) in Talent Selection? Intelligence (cognitive ability) refers to our ability or capacity to acquire and apply knowledge and skills. Cognitive Ability assessment often plays a key role in talent selection and development.

6. A cognitive ability assessment is often the first step of the applicant screening process. Pass the first stage, and you can move on to the next. Those who are not able to meet the minimum cognitive ability requirements will be eliminated from the list of qualified applicants. The cognitive ability assessment used in candidate screening has to be job related.

7. It is usually quite easy to establish that a cognitive ability assessment is job related by assessing a group of current employees in the position. This pilot study will establish the range of cognitive ability scores that exist in the employees who have proven to be successful in the position.

8. There’s a strong correlation between Cognitive Ability scores and outcomes at work. In other words, an employee with high cognitive ability has a higher potential of showing positive outcomes in the work environment. An employee’s cognitive ability can be an indicator of their critical thinking and problem-solving skills. In 1998, Frank L. Schmidt and John E. Hunter found that cognitive ability accounts for about 50% of job performance.

9. Their research publication was titled: The Validity and Utility of Selection Methods in Personnel Psychology: Practical and Theoretical Implications of 85 Years of Research Findings. Their research article presents the validity of 19 selection procedures for predicting job performance and training performance.

10. How Important is Emotional Intelligence (EQ) in Talent Selection? Talent selection assessments can be focused on IQ (cognitive intelligence) and EQ (emotional intelligence). Emotional intelligence is the ability to perceive and manage one’s own emotions, as well as those of others, and to use those abilities to get along better with others.

11. EQ is also distributed in a bell curve or normal distribution, like most other qualities in nature and human behavior. In business, higher EQ can have profound effects in executive leadership, management and supervision, customer service and sales. Higher EQ helps individuals to communicate better, promotes team efforts and problem solving with other individuals.

12. EQ is now commonly viewed as important for every business to survive and grow. About 60% of the larger global companies assess Emotional Intelligence (EQ) in their employment screening. Employers usually prefer to hire employees with a good balance of IQ and EQ.

13. This makes them well-rounded individuals, with the greatest potential to become high performers. These high performers are the employees who are able to help the organization reach its goals.

14. Applying talent selection assessments of IQ and EQ is one proven way hiring managers can position their company for success. Contact us to learn more about different talent selection assessments of IQ and EQ.