Million Dollar ROI!

 

New USAF study says EQ-i will save them millions

It takes some pretty specialized training to become a Pararescue Jumper. For the United States Air Force (USAF), training potential grads is a lengthy and expensive process. In 2009, each pararescue trainee spent 21 months in training focused on airborne skills, combat diving, underwater egress, and in paramedic and apprenticeship programs. When you factor in all the flight time and specialized equipment, the price tag checked in at $250K per grad. So it’s no wonder the USAF began looking into ways to increase training efficiency. Aware of a successful emotional intelligence-based employment screening and training program used with their recruiters, the USAF decided to partner once again with MHS to determine if they could achieve more cost savings. 

Why it was worth a look

Back in 1995, USAF recruiters were suffering from high rates of first-year turnover. In their efforts to increase recruiter retention, the USAF used MHS’s EQ-i assessment of emotional intelligence to study the differences between successful and unsuccessful recruiters. Using their findings from the study, the USAF developed a pre-employment screening system that led to a 92% reduction in first-year turnover and resulted in $2.7-million in training cost savings in the first year alone. A report to a congressional sub-committee stated that Air Force recruiters are twice as productive as recruiters in other branches of the armed forces. (Gourville, 2000; Handley, 1997).

Encouraged by the EQ-i’s ability to predict successful recruiters, the USAF and MHS teamed up to examine whether emotional intelligence testing could improve selection and development for two other high-cost-training jobs: Pararesuce Jumper (PJ) and Explosive Ordance Disposal (EOD).

Accurate EI testing = Better selection + cost reductions 

In 2009, the USAF assessed their Pararescue division using the EQ-i assessment.  The EQ-i is a standardized test that measures how an individual rates him- or herself across 15 emotional and social factors. Five factors were linked to successful completion of the PJ program: Flexibility, Optimism, Self-Regard, Happiness, and Reality Testing.

Figure 1:  Better Recruits in the USAF

Source:  MHS

In fact, trainees who scored higher in these areas were two to three times more likely to successfully complete the PJ program. This powerful information will be used by the Air Force to offer guidance to trainees regarding their potential for successful completion of the program.

By using the MHS EI-based model, the USAF predicts a 72–74% potential increase in training efficiency. The Air Force estimates the potential savings/cost avoidance of trainees with the requisite EQ-i skills entering the Pararescue training to be approximately $19 million per year. A preliminary study of EOD trainees is showing a different skill profile that could yield cost savings in the millions.  

If you would like information about how MHS can help you achieve bottom-line results through the EQ-i assessment, please call 1-800-456-3003 or email growyourbusiness@mhs.com.

EI and ROI: Ten Case Studies in Your Back Pocket

 

Like most consultants and HR professionals, you need to be bottom-line focused and show real results in order to get buy-in from key decision makers.  When it comes to selling the benefits of Emotional Intelligence and specifically, the EQ-i, we know that this imperative certainly applies. Perhaps this imperative is required even more when it comes to EI because CEOs and Directors need even more proof that the often-thought-of “soft” emotional intelligence skills can indeed deliver “hard-line” results. 

The following white paper helps to overcome the challenges you may face from skeptical decision makers. It highlights our ten best EQ-i case studies from MHS, showcasing the real bottom-line results achieved by some top name companies.

In this shareable pamphlet, you will see clear statistics that link the EQ-i to:

• Higher sales and profits
• Improved customer satisfaction
• Increased performance potential
• Decreased attrition rates
• Reductions in training costs

 Get buy-in on your emotional intelligence initiative:

 Download the “EI and ROI” case study white paper

Emotional Competence and Customer and Staff Loyalty

Dr. John L. Avella, President of EQ International Perspectives, generously contributed the following article in which he details his work on the relationship between Emotional Intelligence and customer and staff loyalty.

How a customer service provider deals with emotions (theirs and the customers’) in a customer interaction can influence the outcome of that experience. That outcome can be positive, negative or neutral. (Price, Arnould and Deibler, 1995), and positive outcomes encourage customers to return continuously and provide a lifetime income stream for the organization. Additionally, positive customer-staff interactions encourage customers to publicly praise the organization, and this word-of-mouth advertising is the most effective and cost efficient form of advertising (Reichheld, 2006). These positive experiences are the foundation of customer loyalty and can increase the value of each customer by 25-50% while saving millions in advertising costs.

The literature is rich with research about the role of emotions in the customer experience and the role of positive emotions in customer and staff loyalty. Some examples would be Rosenberg (1998), who points out that emotions reveal what is important for customers, as well as Yu and Dean (2001), who detail the importance of positive and negative emotions in predicting customer loyalty.

I have focused my own research on a training process that enhances emotional competence. For my research, I actually implemented this training process in four companies and at Columbia University.

This training process utilizes the following: an Emotional Intelligence assessment—the Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i®)—confidential assessment feedback, behavior change planning, workshops, one-on-one goal coaching, and organizational strategies for effective learning transfer. This process has produced statistically significant increases in the participant’s emotional competence and customer and staff loyalty. The training also benefits managers and non-customer-facing supervisory staff. When managers are involved in the loyalty training, there is a substantial reduction in staff turnover. This powerful competitive advantage helps these loyalty leaders grow at twice the rate of their competition.

In a study I conducted at Columbia university, the participants as a group had statistically significant changes in six emotional skills measured by the EQ-i. In one of the implementations, the group that experienced the training had a 20% decrease in turnover. Lastly, in implementations where customer loyalty was measured, there was an increase in loyalty from 22-33%. Participants immediately recognized the competitive edge of using an EI-based program.

For more information on Dr. Avella’s work, please contact him directly at john@eqinternationalperspectives.com or visit the EQ International Perspectives site.