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Great employees think alike

COSE Update
December, 1998

by Juliana Lucas

When selecting employees, business owners generally like to have all the quantitative data (the "numbers") they can find. Information such as IQ scores, college GPA, SAT scores, and number of years experience makes it easy for employers to rank job candidates. But there's one important number that most employers neglect.
That number is EI, or emotional intelligence, and according to William Croom, Ph.D., it's an essential part of the equation. EI is a measurement of a group of competencies not related to intellectual capabilities, such as motivation, personality and leadership.
By measuring this group of factors, you can evaluate what type of work your candidate is best suited to execute and will enjoy. "If you get someone of a similar temperament, ability, and emotional makeup, you can achieve milestones and reach higher levels of performance quicker or better," says Croom.
Unfortunately, this measurement is not as easy to obtain as an SAT score. First you'll need to find a licensed psychologist who specializes in employment issues. This individual will either administer pre-made questionnaires to potential employees, or questionnaires that were specially created by evaluating your present workers. These tests are created by analyzing successful employees, and using the information as a template by which to compare job candidates.
How well do these questionnaires work? Recently, Croom assisted a local company in hiring a new sales force. The group of salespeople hired by the selection system Croom put in place sold, on the average, 17 percent more than those who were not hired using the system. Croom estimates that a good selection system will save you $1,000 to $1,500 per every $10,000 in salary that you shell out.

William Croom, Ph.D., is President of William Croom Associates, a firm specializing in psychological assessments and organizational development.

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William Croom Associates
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Information: wcroom@williamcroom.com