Shared Services Should Leverage Emotional Intelligence to Battle Change Management

It’s a little known fact that in the work performance of an average employee, EQ is twice as important as IQ. EQ or emotional intelligence quotient refers to the ability to perceive, control and evaluate emotions. In a shared service centre where metrics on cost cutting, invoice processing and chargeback models are the order of the day, emotion is an often over-looked facet of leadership and training. However, the ability to properly connect with your employees and peers on an emotional level could dramatically reduce your attrition and propel your own personal development. At the recent Shared Services and Outsourcing Week China held in Shanghai, SSON were lucky enough to have celebrated psychologist Dr. Showline Chang present on the subject of: Key Skills for Raising Emotional Intelligence in Change Management. A regular feature on Chinese television Dr. Chang is a highly sought after corporate trainer and China’s leading authority on EQ and EQ leadership. She argues that an employees’ success in a company is not down to their intelligence, technical skill or even experience – but purely their adaptability. Like Charles Darwin proclaimed: "In the long history of humankind those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed." Adaptability is necessary in most jobs, however in shared services where change and change management are an integral part of what you are trying to achieve, finding employees who can adapt and be positive with it, is crucial. Chang states that when faced with change a human goes through the following stages: Surprise, Anger, Bargaining, Sadness and Acceptance. Why me? How can you do this to me? If I increase my workload can I stay in this department? Will I be fired? These are all questions that many SSC leaders must have encountered when asking an employee to change from a business line to a shared service centre. What you need is to be able to look at change not with fear and apprehension but as an opportunity. If you or your employees could go straight from surprise to acceptance and do so positively, how much more impactful and productive would that be. No easy task, however Chang gave delegates some useful insight into how this can be achieved. The first is obviously in recruitment if you can become or surround yourself with people that are energetic and ready to accept a challenge then you are half way there. People with a high EQ are more ready to take personal risks, a change presents ‘no problem’ as opposed to ‘oh no!’ Changes to them are opportunities and they see themselves as capable of taking on more responsibilities. If you aren’t in the lucky situation to have access to many of these boundlessly energetic individuals Chang describes some tricks to get your existing staff to broaden their horizons. Chang asserts that when discussing a change that your employee is against, ask them to rank their feeling towards the move from 1-10, 1 being the lowest. They will inevitably pick somewhere around 3. Refrain from asking them to describe why they don’t want the change, a question which only reinforces their hesitancy, but instead ask them to describe why they didn’t mark their resistance to change lower. The typical answer is because they think they ARE capable – leading you into a discussion on why you agree and what the opportunities are. Whilst some researchers suggest that EQ is an inborn characteristic that cannot be taught, Chang asserts that through the right training and self-awareness we can all become more emotionally intelligent. Whilst the ideal ratio of IQ to EQ is 1:2 for regular employees, for leaders its 1:6, demonstrating that self-development in this area is absolutely crucial. Relaxation and stress relief are a great way of managing the amygdala, the part of your brain that directs emotions. In the digital era, where everyone is constantly multi-tasking, meditation can help you concentrate on your job as opposed to checking your iPhone during a meeting. There is also positive imagery, having a clear picture in your mind’s eye of where you are going and what success looks like is enormously valuable. Visualization of a successful end goal helps with the release of Dopamine, a neurotransmitter that helps control the brains reward and pleasure centres, regulating movement and emotional responses and enabling us not only to see the rewards but to take action to move towards them. So, next time you are proposing a change management initiative, Dr. Chang recommends you include a visual of your end goal to light and sustain the passion of your team. Of course, none of these changes will happen overnight. Changing a culture is a long-term project and something that constantly needs to be supported and revisited. However, evidence shows that being able to identify how your employees are feeling, and adapt your management style to emphathise with them, can reduce attrition and help them to see change as an opportunity, not a threat. When planning change for your shared service centre next, remember the old adage ‘Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.’ George Bernard Shaw [eventpdf] [Note: if you liked this article, please use the buttons on the left side of the screen to share it across your LinkedIn groups – and contribute to this discussion by posting your thoughts in the comment section, below. Thank you for being part of SSON's community - Barbara Hodge]

Shared Services Should Leverage Emotional Intelligence to Battle Change Management

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