EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

Definition

• Emotional intelligence can be defined as the capacity to be aware of, control and express one's emotions and to handle interpersonal relationships judiciously and empathetically
•  Emotional intelligence (EI) also known as emotional quotient (EQ) is the capability of individuals to recognize their own emotions and those of others, discern between different feelings and label them appropriately.

God gave us emotions so that they could be useful to us. Life without emotions is like food without salt. Without emotions you experience neither joy nor sadness, neither excitement nor boredom , neither compassion nor dislike. We would be in a state of sameness.

Emotional intelligence is responsible for over 80 % of our success in life.

Uncontrolled feelings always cause absolute chaos in our lives.

•      If our thoughts cause our feelings and our feelings and emotions drive our behaviour, then we become what we think.

•      This is nothing new. It was noted by a man referred to as being the wisest man to ever walk on planet earth some 3000 years ago.

•      His name was King Solomon a mighty man of his time.

•      If we become what we think, we probably should be more selective with what we allow into our brain.

•      We have often heard of this idiom

 “WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW WON’T HURT YOU”

•      Is that true? I don’t think so.

The truth is that the things that we are not aware of are very likely to have an impact on us.

•      Our thoughts are an example of this.

•      Our thoughts can be likened to wild horse. If you had a wild horse on your farm and you did not know about it, would it cause havoc? Of course it would. That is the same with our emotions.

WHAT ARE YOUR WILD HORSES? Is it

• Anger
• Short Temper
• Impatience
• Hatred
• Greed
• Jealous
• Un-forgiveness

THERE IS A NATURAL LAW THAT SAYS THAT OUR THOUGHTS TEND TO GO TO THE MOST NEGATIVE POSITION FIRST e.g.

-         Your supervisor calls you to the office

-         You walk into a room and everyone bursts out laughing

-         Your parent says we need to talk

-         Your neighbours want to talk to you about your child.

-         Your mums doctor calls from the hospital at 3 in the morning

CATEGORIES OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

SELF AWARENESS: the ability to recognize an emotion as it happens is the key to your EQ. The major elements of self-awareness are :

• emotional awareness- the ability to recognize your own emotions and their effects      
•  Self-confidence- sureness about your self-worth and capabilities

SELF REGULATION- Self regulation involves :

•   Self-control-managing disruptive impulses.
•  Trustworthiness-maintaining standards of honesty and integrity
•  Conscientiousness-taking responsibility for your own actions
•  Adaptability-handling change with flexibility
•  Innovation-being open to new ideas

HOW TO IMPPROVE YOUR EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

The good news is that emotional intelligence can be learned and developed. As well as working on your skills in the areas above, use these strategies:

•  Observe how you react to people. Do you rush to judgment before you know all of the facts? Do you stereotype? Look honestly at how you think and interact with other people. 
•  Look at your work environment. Do you seek attention for your accomplishments? Humility can be a wonderful quality, and it doesn't mean that you're shy or lack self-confidence.
•  Do a self-evaluation. What are your weaknesses? Are you willing to accept that you're not perfect and that you could work on some areas to make yourself a better person?
•  Examine how you react to stressful situations. Do you become upset every time there's a delay or something doesn't happen the way you want? Do you blame others or become angry at them, even when it's not their fault?
•  Take responsibility for your actions. If you hurt someone's feelings, apologize directly – don't ignore what you did or avoid the person

CONCLUSION

•      In conclusion I would like to challenge you to have an introspection of your life and find out the wild horses that are hampering your progress. Could it be your

•       short temper, anger, bitterness, greediness,

•      Make a deliberate effort to tame these negative thoughts and you will be surprised at how your life will dramatically change to be prosperous, meaningful and enjoyable.

•      You may not succeed the first time but keep persevering until you succeed.

Wishing you all a great and successful future filled with breakthroughs and joy. 

THANK YOU

AUTHOR: Shingi Gundu

IMPORTANCE OF H R RISK MANAGEMENT

What Is HR Risk Management

HR Risk Management is a systematic approach of the identification and subsequent addressing of the people risks (uncertainties and opportunities) that can either have a positive or negative effect on the achievement of the goals and objectives of an organisation.

Why HR Risk Management

Organizations need employees to get work done. The trade off for that work is paying a salary and benefits. However, the overall cost of employing someone is not just their salary. In fact, the overall costs have been growing. If you turn a blind eye to them, they can make a huge dent on your bottom line. 

HR’s Main Role In-Risk Management

Human resource management is a process that can be broken down into specific activities such as recruitment and selection, workforce planning, on- boarding , writing job descriptions, training, employee relations, performance management, compensation, etc. Understanding these activities assists to explain the relationship between human resources and risk. Failure to successfully carry out these activities increases risk and penalizes the business by not taking advantage of what the employees are able to contribute towards the growth of the organisation.

HR is responsible for the effective integration of risk management and human resource management and this requires that managers have certain skills and competencies..

Over the years, risk management has paid very little attention to human resources and human resource calamities such as divorce, chronic illness, accidental death, or the impact of interpersonal relations on businesses and families. Including human resources in risk management reflects the fact that people are fundamental to accomplishing firm goals.

 HR Risk Management Objectives

These include inter alia:

·        Ensuring appropriate risk controls are designed and applied to HR activities and interventions

·         Aligning HR management practices within the governance, risk and compliance framework.

·        Increasing the probability and impact of positive events and decrease the probability and impact of negative events caused by people factors on the achievement of organisational objectives

·        Ensuring appropriate risk assessment practices and procedures relating to people factors are embedded within the organisation.

·        Contributing in creating and sustaining a risk culture in the organisation.

 AREAS OF HR RISK

Organisational Culture

Organisations generally have a culture that unites everyone in the organization to achieve the desired goals of the organization’s leadership. This culture is typically embodied in how business is conducted, how unified efforts are, and how well communication flows in the organisation. Building this type of culture is a different process for every organization.  

So how can the organisational culture break down and harm your organization?

Employee Unrest caused by either the perception of unfair treatment or concern over the direction of the organization can result in employee turnover, decreased morale, decreased productivity, little or slow overall growth.

Lack of Leadership often leads to organizational failures. This is never more apparent than in cultural failures. Leadership needs to buy in and practice what they preach. 

Disasters and Economic Crisis are better managed where the culture is healthy

Accidents Cost And Lost Productivity

Accidents can be prevented but it is not possible to prevent all of them. Potential impacts to your organization may include:

Loss of productivity and Increased labour costs, decreased employee morale and medical & disability payments. Fines, Regulatory Penalties and Employee Turnover will become inevitable.

Human Capital Related Litigations

Your organization needs processes in place to make certain that employees feel that their complaints and feedback are heard and taken seriously. Employment-related litigation is one of the fastest growing HR expenses. 

Some of the effects are:

·        Lawsuits for legal defence and damages

Low Employee morale where employees believe the organization is not doing enough to protect them from an unsafe work environment.

Low productivity and absenteeism 

Tarnished company image – if it gets bad enough, a toxic work environment can lead to a negative opinion within the business community and pool of potential new hires.  

 Employee Benefits Liability

 It is important to keep in mind that how you administer your benefits program can open you up to risks related to who has access, how you inform them about their eligibility, support in enrolling, and what they are covered for.

  Beware of these specific causes and effects:

Poor communication can result in employees misunderstanding which benefits they are eligible for, deadlines for eligibility, resulting in lower morale, higher employee turnover, and a potential lawsuit.

Program Design - intentionally excluding eligibility when regulations or legal statutes are misunderstood or ignored can result in costly lawsuits.

  IT Security Risks

Hackers can gain access to your network and data several different ways. One of the most frequently exploited channels is your employees’ behaviour from opening suspicious emails to voluntary sending log-in credentials or financial information. The key here is training and awareness because the causes mostly relate back to improperly followed procedures. 

Potential costs will entail lost data and lost revenue during down time, network and business interruption, costs to fix the damage or replace the data and regulatory fines & penalties.

 Theft & Fraud

Theft is a very common and often difficult risk of loss to protect against.  The ultimate losses here are any assets that are unrecoverable, the loss of an employee (sometimes they’re even really good at their job), and any public relations exposure associated with the event. 

 Employee Turnover

Turnover is a common theme in almost every aspect of HR Risk Management.  The costs of unhealthy employee turnover rates can be crippling for an organization. In fact, some studies show that a single lost employee results in expenses equal to a multiple of that employee’s yearly salary.

Human Resource risks are present at every step of the hiring, retention, and daily operations processes. It is essential to take a proactive approach and make sure that human resources planning is always top of mind. If not, the consequences will catch up with you and these issues have a habit of escalating.

Shingi Gundu