Demand for emotional intelligence (EQ) will soars higher in response to the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and automation in customer service delivery in Africa.
Whilst Emotional Intelligence is “your ability to manage your emotions and the emotions of people around you” Customer service according to Langois and Tocqueris “is a process that creates service quality for customers. However, one cannot satisfy a customer if one is unable to satisfy both the emotional and physical needs of that customer.
Today’s audience make purchase decisions based on their emotional experiences and not just by price point and product feature. Data savvy but yet emotionally intelligent employees with the requirement to understand customers’ emotional needs can effectively translate into better customer engagement. Daniel Goleman, in his book “Working with Emotional Intelligence”, helps make the connection between customer service excellence and emotional intelligence: He assets that the way a customer feels when they interact with a staff of an organization determines how they feel about the company itself. In a psychological sense…, loyalty is lost or strengthen in every interaction between a company and its customers”.
Research shows that leadership and people skills account for more than 85% of employees’ success at work, while traditional qualifications (work experience, academics and IQ) only account for 15%. According to Claudia Crummererl companies are increasingly aware of the need for emotional intelligence skills but are not moving quickly enough to invest in them.
Employers in Africa should now beginning to place a premium on an employee’s ability to manage emotions, think critically, and solve critical customer problems with creative solutions while being able to thrive in a constantly changing environment. In this era of digitalization, business must strive to achieve customer service excellence. The experience of most successful organization in this space shows that businesses must prioritize EQ in recruitment, training, and culture to build a resilient team in a changing world.
VR Corporate Consult specializes in the promotion and development of EQ in organizations. This February from the 26th- 28th at La Palm Beach Hotel VR Corporate Consult is putting together a “Customer Service with Emotional Intelligence” Workshop for Customer service managers, Sales/marketing managers, HR Managers, CEO, General Managers, Front line managers and Leaders who interact directly with customers. This training will be of immense benefit to individuals or organisation who want to improve their customer service or people management skills and develop a relationship style that suits their personality.
