EQ: Invest in Employees to be More Competitive in the Workplace

Emotional intelligence is understood as the ability to identify our feelings and the people around us, the basis of self-motivation and control of emotions within us and in our relationships (1). The professional with emotional intelligence is the one who has the ability to overcome themself, to motivate themself and keep focused on their goals. In order to be more competitive in the capitalist world, organizations know that it is necessary to invest in their employees (2). Managers need to be prepared to face challenges in the corporate environment. The effects caused by a bad temper, intimidated workers or even arrogant bosses, are consequences that reflect on the level of productivity, missed deadlines, errors, accidents, a series of problems that keep accumulating.

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Among the five building blocks of emotional intelligence, motivations play a critical role in enhancing employee performance and job satisfaction. The success of any business is largely dependent on how employees are engaged and motivated towards the businesses' objectives. Well-executed people management drives the organization to obtain better performance and satisfactory results, improving the quality of life and productivity of employees. Although in the past people did not have due importance in companies, they were just part of a process that if it did not "work" correctly, it would be discarded and replaced; currently, the scenario is different; many managers of small, medium or large companies realized that the intellectual capital and the valorization of the employee creates an environment of partnership, which significantly contributes in the success of the business.

Currently, an organization that looks to the future must invest unceasingly in the motivation of its biggest factor, human capital, such a factor obtain profits for the company making it a competitive differential in business and always keeping it ahead in the market (2). Managing a work team requires attention to several issues and aspects that lead the manager to achieve excellence in the role. The workplace environment is prone to friction, competitiveness, intense pressure, ethnic and cultural differences which generates stress and conflict among the workers (3). Given these problems, the central goal is to keep the team motivated and focused on the company's purposes and make employees share the same purposes in order to obtain the best results.

Applicable Motivational Theory for Influencing Walmart Employees

Motivational theories are aimed at identifying and analyzing factors responsible for stimulating employees' behaviour. They consider three main stimuli of human behaviour: material gain, social recognition and personal fulfilment. The most applicable motivation theory for influencing the employees at Walmart is Frederick Herzberg's Theory of Motivation. Developed by psychologist Frederick Herzberg, the theory argues that the level of employee performance depends on their job satisfaction, that is, their perception of the organizational environment and on the factors influencing their motivation or demotivation (4).

2. EI and Social Skills and Decision Making

The Core Concepts of Emotional Intelligence in Enhancing the Decision Making Efficacy of the Management Team

Studies indicate that emotional intelligence, more than IQ or intellectual capabilities alone, is responsible for better decisions, more dynamic organizations and a more satisfying and successful lifestyle (1). Many companies are implementing emotional education at work, because emotions, when properly handled, are able to generate more loyalty and commitment to tasks, leading to a gain in productivity, development and innovation. Within this context, motivation constitutes the capacity to use the emotional system to arouse interest in something specific and keep a process going. It is necessary to always be motivated, thus deepening in the emotions and using them to stay focused, inspired and making progress. Any demotivating activity or situation can cause a setback that demands some motivation techniques to revert the emotional challenge and facilitate better decision making at the workplace.

Currently, an organization that looks to the future must invest unceasingly in the motivation of its biggest factor, human capital, such a factor obtain profits for the company making it a competitive differential in business and always keeping it ahead in the market.

To improve the emotional intelligence of the employees, it is necessary to develop, in each one, five core aspects, which are (2):

Self-awareness: being aware of one's emotions and oneself;

Self-regulation: knowing how to deal with situations, even the most difficult ones, in addition to dealing with emotions (one's own and those of others);

Motivation: knowing how to put emotions in favor of your goals;

Empathy: recognize other people's emotions and put yourself in their shoes;

Social skills: knowing how to relate to other people taking into account the emotions of everyone involved.

Developing these emotional intelligence aspects and skills in the workplace can take time, but when put into practice, they make relationships and the organizational environment more harmonious.

There are multiple strategies that managers can use to keep their employees motivated and engaged with the company's mission, in addition to maintaining a cooperative, harmonious and healthy environment for effective decision making.

3. Effective Teams

Core Attributes of an Effective Team and the Strategies for Developing Team Dynamics That Will Benefit the Organization

A team is a collection of people united towards a common goal. Effective teams require trust among members, openness for discussion around new ideas, commitment to the organization's goals, recognition of progress and performance difficulties, and most importantly, an approach to collective results (5). The basis of these relationships, whether formal or informal, is significantly determined by communication. That is why managers must use emotional intelligence to recognize and react to the emotions and feelings of others, guiding them towards the productive resolution of a problematic situation, thus benefiting others and themself.

The search for training and transforming people into successful professionals is the premise of development in corporate environments, and there are many ways to develop employees both personally and intellectually (1). Some of these training and people development strategies can be used to develop teamwork in the organization:

Behavioral training: This type of training is focused on working on self-knowledge, mental health and the development of emotional intelligence. It also focuses on facilitating relationships between people on the same team or from different sectors of the same company.

Leadership training: The leader has a direct impact on those under his management. And the example is always more striking than what is said. Training leaders internally means improving communication between managers and between them and their teams. This can be done through analysis of points for improvement, feedback, training and career plan development.

Skills training: For the company, it can be much more interesting to teach an employee to improve or learn a specific skill than to look for someone else in the market who already has that skill. The alignment of corporate competencies increases the levels of knowledge, of productivity and makes the professional reference in the market. The skills can be specific to the area, as well as broader skills, but they help in everyday business. Some examples are foreign language learning, time management, improved communication etc.

Courses, lectures, dynamics and internal training: Offering this type of interaction means encouraging participation. This happens mainly if the course, lecture or any other training takes place inside the company and during working hours. This can be a great resource for stimulating interaction and sharing experiences, feelings and knowledge.

Maintaining effective teams also requires continuous efforts to keep the team spirit alive. In this regard, there is nothing better than celebrating the achievements achieved by the team. These team celebration functions demonstrate that employees are valued and also increase engagement. If employees are dedicated and do their best to make the organization achieve its goals, it is only fair that they can enjoy this victory together with the company, celebrating the good performance obtained. The "party of the firm", in addition to integrating employees and bringing them closer to the organizational culture, is also an excellent way to increase motivation and team spirit in employees.

4. Reward Systems

An Effective Reward System for Walmart

One of the most effective ways to show that organization and management value their employees is by taking the opportunity to encourage good professional conduct adopted by the team through rewarding the merits. The reward may not be in cash, it may simply be a sincere compliment, a day off or the possibility of functional progression, for example. The fact is that, in doing so, the leader unleashes a cycle of engagement and gratitude in the employees, showing that he is attentive to the performance of each one and values the individual effort to obtain the general results.

Some of the following strategies can be incorporated to motivate Walmart employees and influence their behaviour (3):

Developing a personal action plan: Most managers prefer to hold regular meetings with all team members together. They rarely focus on each employee's own development. Talking privately with team members facilitates the creation of a personal action plan, which allows them to identify which activities are ideal for motivating each one and better direct tasks. Thus, it is possible to increase productivity through individual goals.

Assessing the team and giving feedback: Offering feedback is a great way to better guide the team's work, highlighting the successes and mistakes. When identifying flaws, the managers should not hesitate to talk cordially with employees and indicate the points that need improvement, offering suggestions to help them. Also, they should not forget to sincerely praise the good work of the employees, as this makes them aware of their importance in achieving the company's goals.

Investing in enabling tools: Several obstacles can arise due to the lack of adequate tools to carry out the tasks. Team members are not always open enough to discuss these matters with the IT manager. Therefore, management should seek to identify which activities can be facilitated through the automation of processes, for example. This avoids rework and optimizes the time of employees in the sector, obtaining greater agility in deliveries.

Offering growth opportunities: Many employees are discouraged by the lack of prospects for professional growth within the company. This can make them quit their job in search of better opportunities. To avoid this problem, the management should invest in the professional training of the employees that creates a career path to better recognize their work and keep the best talent on the team.

Betting on the use of gamification: Gamification is a technique that seeks to use the logic of games to stimulate and increase the engagement of teams at work. It is one of the motivation strategies increasingly used in companies. To implement this methodology, the management can create challenges related to the sector's goals, establish scores for its fulfillment and...