Understanding the relationship between Emotional...
Transcript of Understanding the relationship between Emotional...
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Understanding the relationship between Emotional Intelligence and job
Performance at the Thebe Ya Bophelo Healthcare Administrators
A Research Report
presented to
The Graduate School of Business
University of Cape Town
In partial fulfilment
of the requirements for the
Masters of Business Administration Degree
by
Grant Jackson
8th December 2013
Supervised by: Dr. Shadrick Mazaza
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PLAGIARISM DECLARATION
I know that plagiarism is wrong. Plagiarism is to use another’s work and pretend that it is
one’s own.
I have used a recognised convention for citation and referencing. Each significant
contribution and quotation from the works of other people has been attributed, cited and
referenced.
I certify that this submission is my own work.
I have not allowed and will not allow anyone to copy this essay with the intention of passing
it off as his or her own work
Grant Jackson
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
What a journey. Never did I think it would end, never did it seem to want to and never was
the journey more excruciating than at the end but it is the end and it is bitter sweet.
Firstly I would like to thank God for giving me the never say die attitude in all adversity. I am
who I am because of him and for that I am eternally grateful.
Secondly to my mom who can not celebrate the end of this chapter and new beginnings with
me, I am forever grateful for the life you gave me up until your end. I live to make you proud
of me.
To my partner in crime and the person who stood by me throughout this with the strength of a
champion, my one and only, Cheryl Plato. You made this easier than it should have been and
never doubted me for a moment even in the moments that I did. I can not thank you enough.
To my brother for his constant encouragement and belief in me, you will always be a light in
my life and example of what our mother would be if she was with us today.
To Pieter Kitching, you made this all possible through the patience and kindness you have
shown to me. You efforts to do all that you can to make my dream a reality I will never be
able to repay, I am forever in your debt.
To my MBA class, you guys were brilliant, I could not have asked for a better class and a
better group, I loved every moment and minute of our interaction and hope to continue to
enjoy it long after this MBA is done.
To my supervisor who put up with my quest to make a mess of this and had to right the ship
on numerous occasions, I thank you for never giving up on me and always encouraging me to
be better than I thought I was.
To TYB, I could not have done this without you guys and to you I owe the greatest thanks in
constantly putting up with my pestering, my unplanned calls, visits and relentless questioning.
You guys are all heroes in your own right. I have never met a more talented, gifted group of
individuals and I hope you grow from strength to strength. You will never be forgotten.
Thank you finally to the UCT GSB for choosing my application and allowing me to do this
MBA course. You made a little boy’s dream come true…
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
PLAGIARISM DECLARATION .......................................................................................... I
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................. II
TABLE OF CONTENTS ..................................................................................................... III
INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................... 1
RESEARCH AREA AND PROBLEM ........................................................................ 1
AREA OF STUDY .................................................................................................................................................. 1
RELEVANCE OF STUDY ........................................................................................................................................ 2
CONTEXT ............................................................................................................................................................ 3
RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND SCOPE .................................................................... 4
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS ..................................................................................... 4
SCOPE OF STUDY ................................................................................................................................................. 9
RESEARCH ASSUMPTIONS ................................................................................................................................... 9
ETHICS ................................................................................................................ 9
LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................. 11
DISCUSSION ...................................................................................................... 11
CALL CENTRES ................................................................................................. 11
JOB PERFORMANCE IN A CALL CENTRE ............................................................ 12
EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE .............................................................................. 12
EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................... 12
MEASUREMENT OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE ................................................................................................ 14
GOLEMAN MIXED MODEL FOR EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE ............................................................................. 14
EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND JOB PERFORMANCE ....................................... 15
EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND JOB PERFORMANCE AND THE CALL CENTRE
ENVIRONMENT .................................................................................................. 16
CONCLUSION .................................................................................................... 17
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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ................................................................ 20
TYPE OF RESEARCH .......................................................................................... 20
RESEARCH DESIGN ........................................................................................... 20
OVERVIEW OF PRIMARY DATA COLLECTION METHODOLOGY .......................................................................... 20
THE SAMPLE ..................................................................................................................................................... 21
RESEARCH INSTRUMENTS ................................................................................................................................. 22
THE EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE QUESTIONNAIRE ............................................................................................ 23
JOB PERFORMANCE RATINGS ............................................................................................................................ 24
DATA ANALYSIS METHOD ................................................................................ 25
RESEARCH FINDINGS, ANALYSIS, AND DISCUSSION ................... 27
DESCRIPTIVE RESULTS ..................................................................................... 27
DETAILS OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE TESTING ............................................ 29
SELF-AWARENESS - KNOWING ONESELF .......................................................................................................... 31
SELF-REGULATION - MANAGING ONESELF ....................................................................................................... 33
SELF-MOTIVATION ........................................................................................................................................... 35
EMPATHY .......................................................................................................................................................... 37
SOCIAL SKILLS .................................................................................................................................................. 39
SUMMARY......................................................................................................................................................... 40
CORRELATIONS................................................................................................. 41
CORRELATION BETWEEN JOB PERFORMANCE AND EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE ............................................... 41
CORRELATION BETWEEN PRODUCTIVITY AND EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE ...................................................... 41
CORRELATION BETWEEN THE QUALITY ASSURANCE MEASUREMENT (QA) AND EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE . 42
CORRELATION BETWEEN PRESENCE AND ABSENCE MEASUREMENT AND EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE ............. 43
SUMMARY OF CORRELATIONS BETWEEN EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND JOB PERFORMANCE CATEGORIES ... 44
SUMMARY......................................................................................................................................................... 45
MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS ................................................................................ 45
SELF-AWARENESS AND OVERALL JOB PERFORMANCE ....................................................................................... 46
SELF-REGULATION AND JOB SATISFACTION ...................................................................................................... 47
SELF-MOTIVATION AND OVERALL JOB PERFORMANCE ...................................................................................... 48
EMPATHY AND OVERALL JOB PERFORMANCE .................................................................................................... 49
SOCIAL SKILLS AND OVERALL JOB PERFORMANCE ............................................................................................ 50
DEMOGRAPHIC AND SOCIAL FACTORS AND OVERALL JOB PERFORMANCE ........................................................ 51
SUMMARY ........................................................................................................ 52
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LIMITATIONS OF RESEARCH.............................................................................. 56
CONCLUSION .............................................................................................. 57
FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS ....................................................... 58
BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................................................................... 59
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ABSTRACT
The South African Call Centre industry is growing annually and despite of the fact that it is
still trying to position its self for greater growth in the local and international opportunities
(Wayde & Rogerson, 2014) there is however, very little empirical evidence on this industry in
particular (Banks & Roodt, 2011).
The objective of this study is to add to this empirical data on the industry by further
scrutinising whether there is a relationship between an employee’s emotional intelligence and
their particular job performance within the call centre environment of a medical aid scheme
administrator.
The sample consisted of 30 call centre agents who worked at Thebe Ya Bophelo Healthcare
Administrators who operates in the medical aid scheme administrators industry with their
office located in Johannesburg, Gauteng.
A self-assessment test, created by ITISA, was used to obtain the emotional intelligence scores
of the call centre agents. The test is based on to Bar-On’s (1997) definition of emotional
intelligence, while using Goleman’s (1995) quadrant framework and constructs in his book,
as well as adapted constructs from Cooper & Sawaf (1998).
The results found a weak positive correlation which is not particularly significant between
emotional intelligence and job performance and its categories as well as the factors of
emotional intelligence and job performance and it’s catergories.
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LIST OF TABLES
Table 1 - Previous Studies Done On Emotional Intelligence And Job Performance In A Call Centre Environment
17
Table 2: Overview Of The Data Collection Process 21
Table 3: More Social & Employment Characteristics 29
Table 4: Self-Awareness – Knowing Oneself 31
Table 5: Reliability - Self Regulation 32
Table 6: Self-Regulation – Managing Oneself 33
Table 7: Reliability - Self Regulation 34
Table 8: Self-Motivation - Determining One's Future 35
Table 9: Reliability - Self Motivation 36
Table 10: Empathy – Understanding Others 37
Table 11: Reliability - Empathy 38
Table 12: Social Skills - Interacting With Others 39
Table 13: Reliability – Social Skills 40
Table 14 Job Performance And Emotional Intelligence 41
Table 15: Productivity And Emotional Intelligence 42
Table 16: Quality Assurance Measurement (Qa) And Emotional Intelligence 42
Table 17: Presence And Absence (P&A) And Total Emotional Intelligence 43
Table 18: Summary Of Correlations 44
Table 19: Qa Vs. Productivity And P&A 45
Table 20: Self-Awareness And Overall Job Performance 46
Table 21: Self-Regulation And Job Satisfaction 47
Table 22: Self-Motivation And Overall Job Performance 48
Table 23: Empathy And Overall Job Performance 49
Table 24: Social Skills And Overall Job Performance 50
Table 25: Demographics And Job Performance 51
Table 26: Top Eigenvalue Scores 53
Table 27: Questions And Answers Summary 54
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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Research Questions.................................................................................................................................. 8
Figure 2: Illustration Of The Literature Review ................................................................................................... 19
Figure 3: Conceptual Model.................................................................................................................................. 26
Figure 4: Respondents By Age Group .................................................................................................................. 27
Figure 5: Gender Of The Respondents .................................................................................................................. 28
Figure 6: Ethnicity Of Respondents ...................................................................................................................... 28
Figure 7: Education Attainment ............................................................................................................................ 29
Figure 8: Mean Scores - Self-Awareness .............................................................................................................. 31
Figure 9: Mean Scores - Self-Regulation .............................................................................................................. 33
Figure 10: Mean Scores - Self-Motivation ............................................................................................................ 35
Figure 11: Mean Scores - Empathy ....................................................................................................................... 37
Figure 12: Mean Scores - Social Skills ................................................................................................................. 39
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INTRODUCTION
Research Area and Problem
Area of study
When compared to intelligence quotient (IQ), emotional intelligence is increasingly taking
prominence in recent literature as being equally if not more important than IQ as a predictor
of success in the workplace (Goleman & Sutherland, 1996; Romanelli, Cain, & Smith, 2006).
Emotional intelligence is believed to be a good predictor of success or failure in various tasks,
jobs, functions, sporting abilities and the like.
Emotional intelligence has generated significant interest from academics and practitioners
alike who deliberate whether it has a significant role to play in the success of individuals in
the work place.
Emotional intelligence however is not stagnant or fixed for the life time of the individual as
everyone has the ability to improve their emotional intelligence through self-awareness and
training (Salguero, Extremera, & Fernández-Berrocal, 2012). Because of this, a few
companies are starting to train/coach their employees in emotional intelligence to improve
employee performance in the work place (Kram & Cherniss, 2001).
It is evident that emotional intelligence is having an influence on how employers recruit staff,
how employees perform and interact (Brackett, Rivers, & Salovey, 2011; Cherniss, 1998) and
becoming more prevalent in pre-employment tests during recruitment (Rooy, Alonso, &
Viswesvaran, 2005). Employers find it increasingly more important to recruit staff with good
levels of emotional intelligence and to train existing staff (Fox, 2002) in order to improve
their emotional intelligence and provide the organisation with a competitive advantage.
In order to improve human resource management practices to such a degree that it increases
the probability or likelihood of a prospective/current employee becoming a high performance
employee, specific job criteria needed to be addressed. These criteria included minimum
levels of both IQ and emotional intelligence and hence the need to identify and gain greater
clarity on these areas in order to improve the ability of the organisation to find the best suited
candidates for the available positions.
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Emotional intelligence proved to be key to job performance (Lyons & Schneider, 2005), and
much like IQ there was research in numerous roles such as students (Ahmed, Naoreen,
Aslam, & Iqbal, 2010; Nwadinigwe & Azuka-Obieke, 2012), nurses (Augusto Landa, López-
Zafra, Berrios Martos, & Aguilar-Luzón, 2008; Bulmer, Profetto-mcgrath, & Cummings,
2009) and criminal investigators (Ono, Sachau, Deal, Englert, & Taylor, 2011) which has
determined that emotional intelligence has a role to play in the performance of these
individuals.
This study attempted to support previous studies on the topic through further analysis of the
correlation between emotional intelligence and job performance in a call centre located in
Johannesburg, South Africa. The research was unique in that it aimed to confirm a correlation
for a medical scheme administrator call centre by using a pre-existing emotional intelligence
test and the job performance criteria of the call centre being studied. The study also attempted
to understand whether a positive correlation exists between emotional intelligence and job
performance. Finally, it wanted to add to the limited knowledge of which sub-constructs of
emotional intelligence are greater predictors of job performance and further explore this
through multivariate analysis of the factors of these sub-constructs.
Relevance of study
A deeper understanding of the ideal employee requirements for any given job would allow
companies to better hire and train staff for any given position and in so doing improve job fit
and performance. This may also decrease poor work performance, reduce training expenses as
well as recruitment costs relating to incorrect job fit.
This study is particularly relevant for the call centre environment where call centre agents are
the first line of interaction between the company and the client (Gryn, 2010). Poor
performance in this area could have a negative impact on customer satisfaction ratings,
customer relationships and ultimately business performance (Deery, Iverson, & Walsh, 2010;
Rod & Ashill, 2013). Not only is the aforementioned problematic but call centres also suffer
from higher attrition and absenteeism levels (Holloway, 2002; Mckendrick, 2011) possibly
due to poor employee fit and uninformed recruitment practices. Benner, Lewis and Omar
(2007) noted that staff attrition rates can be as high as 16% with costs amounting to just over
R17,000 to recruit, hire and train a new individuals excluding the loss in productivity and
subsequent financial impact to the organisation.
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The research also planned to contribute to the body of knowledge regarding call centres
within the Medical Aid Healthcare Administrators industry in South Africa, specifically in
terms of job performance and emotional intelligence while also contributing to the available
literature with regards to performance management, human capital improvements and human
resource management within the call centre environment.
Context
The research was focused on a Thebe Ya Bophelo Healthcare Administrators which operates
an inbound call centre and is an administrator for a two medical aid schemes, namely
Thebemed and Hosmed, a wellness program named Phela Wellness as well as a lifestyle
product called Thebe Lifestyle. They are also recognised as the leading fully black-owned and
managed medical aid scheme administrator in South Africa.
The Medical Aid Scheme operates a centralised call centre out of Houghton in Johannesburg
which is the first point of contact for its customers. The call centre’s main purpose is to
receive feedback and queries from customers, doctors and brokers via telephone and email.
The emails are handled by a separate team called the Correspondence team. (G. Bagus,
personal communication, 26 September, 2014)
The call centre is operated Monday to Saturday, 08h00 till 17h00 during the week and till
13h30 on a Saturday. The call centre layout is an open plan office environment with a
separate work space for each call centre agent. Work stations consist of a telephone and a
computer. There are also work stations for the team leaders and one for a workforce planner.
The types of calls handled on a day toward day are strictly on an inbound call basis and could
vary from either being benefit confirmation calls, membership calls, finance call, claims calls
as well as complaint calls. There are roughly 35 members of staff with each call centre agent
handling on average 40 calls per day. Calls vary from typically 3 minutes for a benefit
confirmation call to 45 minutes for a customer complaint call. (G. Bagus, personal
communication, 26 September, 2014).
Typical challenges facing this call centre are as follows:
Learning the product takes more than 6 months before a call centre agent is proficient
The medical aid products are particularly difficult to learn so people who struggle with
the content take longer to become productive and effective
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Knowing what to look for in a claim is critical to swift problem resolution
Complex antiquated systems and the inability to see the complete process from
customer registration to billing is also a hindrance for productivity rates
Challenges with other parts of the organisation responding to requests timeously
Levels of product knowledge of the clients
Job performance of the agents is measured constantly and is described in greater detail at a
later stage. Call volumes handled is a key metric however, over and above the number of calls
handled each day, they are measured on the quality of service delivered during the call as well
their availability to take calls and absence from the call centre. (P. Pillay, personal
communication, 20 August, 2014)
To date, no formal studies have been conducted on call centres of medical aid scheme
administrators in South Africa. Therefore the aim of this study was to add to the body of
knowledge on emotional intelligence and how it affects job performance in this particular
environment and industry. It also sought to provide assistance to the medical aid scheme
administrators industry on how improving their employees’ emotional intelligence in their
call centres could have a positive effect on not only the self-motivation of staff but also
improved customer service and relationships.
Research Questions and Scope
In this section the objectives of the study is outlined along with the research questions and the
rationale behind choosing them along with the specific scope of the study, assumptions made
prior to the research and the ethics concerned with conducting the study.
Objectives of the study and research questions
Previous studies have shown a positive correlation between job performance and emotional
intelligence in a call centre environment (Higgs, 2004; Nel & de Villiers, 2004; Shamsuddin
& Rahman, 2014).
Nel and de Villiers (2004) conducted a survey at an insurance company focusing on their
sales, client services and administration call centre departments in the Western Cape while
using a multi-rater survey called the Emotional Competency Inventory test. In this study
however, the details of the job performance criteria were not clear and how emotional
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intelligence could influence job performance in a call centre environment could not be
determined as the company did not make this information available to them.
Higgs (2004) made use of the personal factors model developed by Dulewicz & Higgs (2006)
which looked at call centres in the UK but also failed to note the different aspects of job
performance and the correlation between these aspects. The study was conducted on three call
centres however the details of the call centres were not given.
Shamsuddin & Rahman (2014) did a study on the emotional intelligence and job performance
of call centre agents in two call centres in Kuala Lumpur using the Wong and Law Emotional
Intelligence Scale (Wong & Law, 2002) and noted the criteria of job performance but failed
to do any correlations between these and the factors of emotional intelligence as described in
the Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale. This study interestingly made use of gender
as a moderator for emotional intelligence and job performance.
In contrast to the aforementioned, this study focused specifically on the emotional intelligence
of individuals and its correlation with their job performance in the call centre of Thebe Ya
Bophelo Healthcare Administrators. It made particular use of their current job performance
criteria and looked at the various aspects of the criteria to ascertain firstly:
(Q1) What is the relationship between emotional intelligence and job performance in
Thebe Ya Bophelo Healthcare Administrators call centre staff in the given context?
The rationale behind this question is to confirm whether there is indeed a relationship
between emotional intelligence and job performance and what type of relationship exists in
the context of the call centre environment of a medical aid scheme administrator. This
allowed us to postulate about the ramifications of this relationship for the industry going
forward and how best to manage and improve it going forward.
Secondly, this study aimed to establish whether there is a relationship between emotional
intelligence and the various aspects of job performance by asking the following questions:
(Q2) What is the relationship between emotional intelligence and the productivity of
call centre staff in the given context?
(Q3) What is the relationship between emotional intelligence and the quality assurance
measure of the call centre staff in the given context?
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(Q4) What is the relationship between emotional intelligence and the presence and
absence of call centre staff in the given context?
The rationale behind these questions was to confirm whether there is indeed a relationship
between emotional intelligence and the sub sections of job performance and what type of
relationship exists in the context of the call centre environment of a medical aid scheme
administrator. This will allow us to postulate about the ramifications of these relationships for
the industry going forward and how best to manage it. It provided clarity on which section of
job performance, emotional intelligence has the greatest influence and hence a precursor for
further study.
Thirdly, this study wanted to establish what the relationship is between the various sub
sections of emotional intelligence and job performance of call centre agents. In essence it
attempted to answer the following questions:
(Q5) What is the relationship between self-awareness and the job performance of call
centre staff in the given context?
(Q6) What is the relationship between self-regulation and the job performance of call
centre staff in the given context?
(Q7) What is the relationship between self-motivation and the job performance of call
centre staff in the given context?
(Q8) What is the relationship between empathy and the job performance of call centre
staff in the given context?
(Q9) What is the relationship between social skills and the job performance of call
centre staff in the given context?
The rationale behind these questions was to confirm whether there is indeed a relationship
between the sub-constructs of emotional intelligence and job performance and what type of
relationship exists in the context of the call centre environment of a medical aid scheme
administrator. This will allow us to postulate about the ramifications of these relationships for
the industry going forward and how best to manage it. It also provided clarity on which
section of emotional intelligence has the greatest influence on job performance and hence a
precursor for further study. It would also help human resource management on focusing on
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specific areas of improvement in emotional intelligence to have the greatest return in terms of
improved job performance.
Fourthly, this study attempted to establish the relationship the various sub sections of
Emotional Intelligence have on the various sub sections of job performance of the call centre
agents. In essence it will attempt to answer the following questions:
(Q10) What is the relationship between self-awareness and the productivity of call
centre staff in the given context?
(Q11) What is the relationship between self-regulation and the productivity of call
centre staff in the given context?
(Q12) What is the relationship between self-motivation and the productivity of call
centre staff in the given context?
(Q13) What is the relationship between empathy and the productivity of call centre
staff in the given context?
(Q14) What is the relationship between social skills and the productivity of call centre
staff in the given context?
(Q15) What is the relationship between self-awareness and the quality assurance
measurement of call centre staff in the given context?
(Q16) What is the relationship between self-regulation and the quality assurance
measurement of call centre staff in the given context?
(Q17) What is the relationship between self-motivation and the quality assurance
measurement of call centre staff in the given context?
(Q18) What is the relationship between empathy and the quality assurance
measurement of call centre staff in the given context?
(Q19) What is the relationship between social skills and the quality assurance
measurement of call centre staff in the given context?
(Q20) What is the relationship between self-awareness and the presence and absence
of call centre staff in the given context?
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(Q21) What is the relationship between self-regulation and the presence and absence
of call centre staff in the given context?
(Q22) What is the relationship between self-motivation and the presence and absence
of call centre staff in the given context?
(Q23) What is the relationship between empathy and the presence and absence of call
centre staff in the given context?
(Q24) What is the relationship between social skills and the presence and absence of
call centre staff in the given context?
Finally, this study will look at the factors of the sub-constructs using Multivariate analysis to
obtain which factors have the greatest influence on the results? (Q25).
Figure 1 is a graphical representation of the questions raised.
Figure 1: Research Questions
Primary Question (Q1)
Sub questions (Q2, Q3, Q4)
Sub questions (Q5, Q6, Q7, Q8, Q9)
Sub questions (Q10, Q11, Q12, Q13, Q14, Q15,
Q16, Q17, Q18, Q19,Q20, Q21, Q22, Q23, Q24)
Emotional intelligence (EQ) Compared with Job Performance
Productivity
QA
P&A
Self-Awareness - Knowing Oneself Compared with Job Performance
Self-Regulation - Managing Oneself Compared with Job Performance
Self-Motivation - Determining One's Future Compared with Job Performance
Empathy - Understanding Others Compared with Job Performance
Social Skills - Interacting with Others Compared with Job Performance
Productivity
QA
P&A
Productivity
QA
P&A
Productivity
QA
P&A
Productivity
QA
P&A
Productivity
QA
P&A
Self-Awareness - Knowing Oneself Compared with
Compared withEmotional intelligence (EQ)
Social Skills - Interacting with Others
Empathy - Understanding Others Compared with
Compared with
Compared withSelf-Regulation - Managing Oneself
Self-Motivation - Determining One's Future Compared with
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Scope of study
The research focused on the relationship and many facets of emotional intelligence with
regards to job performance and its varying criteria of a single call centre within the medical
aid scheme administrator’s environment.
As the research focused exclusively on one call centre which has only 35 staff, this study is
not meant to be a representative of all the Medical Aid Scheme Administrators’ call centres
but merely offer insight into the industry and the role of emotional intelligence in their
particular call centre environment noting the unique environment in which they operate.
It may however, provide direction for further research which other companies, outside of this
particular call centre environment, can make use of if they are able to notice similarities
between their call centre environment and the one being studied.
Research Assumptions
The main underlying assumptions of the research included the following:
the number of call centre agents will be significant enough to produce findings
the participants are able to read and understand the questionnaire
the participants will answer the questionnaire honestly and accurately
discussions amongst call centre agents during the collection of data will not affect the
answering of the questionnaire as they were not be separated during this time.
There are no moderating or mediating variables which could affect the strength of the
relationships between emotional intelligence and job performance.
Ethics
“Researchers have an obligation towards their respondents to make sure that they are not
harmed, deceived and have a right to confidentiality.” (Sudman & Blair, 1998, p.645).
The research was conducted on the employees of the organisation and hence an ethical
clearance was required by the University of Cape Town’s Ethics Committee for this type of
research. The employees’ names are not mentioned in this study however, their names were
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required to ascertain who was taking the Emotional Intelligence test and how their test scores
related to their individual job performance assessment. In light of this an ethical clearance
form was completed and uploaded to the Graduate School of Business’s intranet for approval
by the Ethics Committee. The form was subsequently approved.
While the research did involve interaction with the employees, the data gathering process was
strictly monitored and controlled by the researcher. The confidentiality of the participants was
maintained throughout the research process and their right to refuse to participate was
observed at all times.
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LITERATURE REVIEW
Discussion
The review of the literature focuses on the following main areas:
Defining call centres and the call centre environment.
Defining job performance in a call centre environment
Defining emotional intelligence, the measurement thereof and Goleman’s mixed
model
Highlighting the connections between job performance and emotional intelligence
Describing the relationship between emotional intelligence and job performance in a
call centre environment.
Call Centres
“Considering it can cost up to 10 times more to acquire a customer than it does to retain one,
businesses are taking their existing customers’ needs more seriously. To this end, companies
are reinvesting in their call centres and using new technologies, from customer relationship
management tools to automated service systems with friendlier voices, to gain better insight
into their customers and enhance the call centre experience.” (Schroeck, 2011)
Call centres are essentially the human communication element for receiving incoming and
sending outgoing information between the customer and the organisation or business. They
are primarily there to service the customers of the business they serve where human
interaction is still preferred or necessary. They require flexibility with regards to problem
solving as customers often have complex issues which require several and varied data inputs
and/or multiple solution steps or phases.
In terms of the environment in which they work with regards to dealing with customers, call
centres are highly stressful places with call centre agents having to manage their emotions on
a daily basis and regularly having to fake emotions of calmness and happiness as well as
understanding and empathy which is often seen as emotional labour (Wegge, Dick, &
Bernstorff, 2010). Coupled with this, call centre agents experience additional stress due to
performance related items such as time management (Wegge, Vogt, & Wecking, 2007) where
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they are constantly watching the clock whether on or off a call. This, according to Lewig and
Dollard (2003), often leads to emotional exhaustion and emotional dissonance as the call
centre is seen as one of the top 10 most stressful jobs today (Sadien, 2010). The knock-on
effects of this type of environment is higher rates of absenteeism and staff turnover and is
often portrayed as sweatshop type environment (Rose, 2002).
Job Performance in a Call Centre
Due to the varying types of services a call centre could offer such as sales, customer
complaints as well as an information centre, each type of call centre comes with its own
challenges, job requirements and subsequently job performance metrics such as the number of
staff, working hours, type of individuals required, call metrics, quality metrics and more.
However, they all generally have two main factors to consider which are often
counterproductive namely productivity (number of calls that can be serviced by a call centre)
and the quality of call (how the call was handled and whether the customer was satisfied with
the outcome) (G Robinson & Morley, 2006). There is always a give and take within call
centres as to what balance they would like to achieve in terms of productivity and quality i.e.
the “best fit” or “configurational approach” as noted by Delery and Doty (1996).
Emotional Intelligence
Emotional Intelligence Introduction
The term emotional intelligence is described by Salovey and Mayor (1990) as being made up
of the following concepts:
the ability to recognise and appraise the emotion in oneself and others though verbal,
non-verbal appraisal of self and non-verbal perception and empathy of others
the ability to regulate your own emotion as well as others
the ability to utilise emotion through motivation, flexibility, creative thinking,
changing and elevating moods and more
Goleman (2001, p. 2) described emotional intelligence as “self-awareness, self-management,
social awareness and relationship management”. Simply put, emotional intelligence is the
ability to recognise one’s emotion or that of others, evaluate it (is it good or bad, useful or
not), regulate it (as in the ability not to cry during sad events), and to harness the power of
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emotions to act (such as being productive when motivated or creative when one has feelings
of joy and happiness).
Emotional intelligence has shown positive effects on a number of skills, tasks, actions or
abilities such as leadership (Antonakis, Ashkanasy, & Dasborough, 2009; Nordin, 2011),
moderating stress (Aghdasi, Kiamanesh, & Ebrahim, 2011; Koortzen & Oosthuizen, 2009) ,
having a role to play in our psychological wellbeing (Carmeli, Yitzhak-Halevy, & Weisberg,
2009), as well as health benefits (Schutte, Malouff, Thorsteinsson, Bhullar, & Rooke, 2007).
Therefore, improving the emotional intelligence of the work force will have an overall effect
on wellbeing, decreasing stress (Aghdasi et al., 2011) and providing a general increase in
people’s abilities to cope with challenges as awareness of their emotions grow.
“Individuals with higher emotional intelligence may have both a greater sense of power in
their work environment and perceive their work as more supportive” (Schutte & Loi, 2014, p.
134).
Schutte & Loi (2014) mention that increased levels of emotional intelligence shows positive
correlations to more social work environments where interactions with others is imperative to
work performance. Employees with higher levels of emotional intelligence tend to have more
social capital, are more supportive and have more constructive conflict management skills.
Emotional intelligence is not however necessary in all situations nor offers the same
advantages in every aspect of human endeavours. Studies have shown that in environments
where interpersonal skills are not a necessity for success or the activity requires a lower
degree of social interaction, the correlations between emotional intelligence and an increase in
performance/output is reduced or shows no correlation at all. This can be seen in an
educational environment where scholars with lower emotional intelligence scores do not
necessarily have a lower performance on scholastic tests (Mitrofan & Cioricaru, 2014; Parker,
Summerfeldt, Hogan, & Majeski, 2004).
Emotional Intelligence is not solely positive however. Even though Schutte and Loi’s (2014)
research concluded that emotional intelligence can lead to improvements in the work place,
employees who are able to hone and master their emotional skills may become better at
manipulating others (Austin, Farrelly, Black, & Moore, 2007). Another aspect for
consideration is that when employees are good at controlling their own emotions they could
disguise their true feelings. Similarly, when employees are acutely aware of the emotions of
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their colleagues they can manipulate them to act in their own interests. Examples of this are
incidents of extra marital affairs in the work place or theft through collusion (Nagler, Reiter,
Furtner, & Rauthmann, 2014).
Measurement of Emotional Intelligence
The validity of the emotional intelligence construct is often debated as there is no consensus
on the measurement tools namely: ability based or mixed model based. The ability based
measurement uses specific tasks which rates one’s emotional intelligence whereas the mixed
model is based on self-assessment questionnaire with the answers to the questions being
scored to give an overall score (Killian, 2012). Neither of these tests are considered as the
preferred standard for testing emotional intelligence (Romanelli et al., 2006).
Each of these measurements has its own set of sub constructs which make up the emotional
intelligence construct; therefore questioning its validity (Romanelli et al., 2006). Examples of
this is the Emotional Competency Inventory test which makes use of the Emotional
Competency Framework that highlights recognition of emotion and management of emotion
as the two key sub constructs of emotional intelligence (Nel & de Villiers, 2004). In contrast,
the Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale notes self-emotion appraisal, other’s
emotional appraisal, the use of emotion and regulation of emotion as being the key sub-
constructs when measuring emotional intelligence (Shamsuddin & Rahman, 2014). Dulewicz
and Higgs (2000) developed a personal factor model which measures emotional intelligence
using 7 elements to make up the emotional construct.
Goleman Mixed Model for Emotional Intelligence
The method employed in this research to measure emotional intelligence is based on the
mixed model for emotional intelligence (Goleman, 1998) which measures not only one’s
emotional intelligence but also one’s self-awareness, self-regulation, social skills, empathy
and self-motivation abilities as the sub-constructs of emotional intelligence.
The model is deconstructed as follows:
Self-Awareness
Self-Awareness is defined as the ability to consciously acknowledge the presence of one’s
own feeling , emotions, desires, motives, character and more (Morin, 2011).
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Self-Regulation
Self-Regulation is defined as the ability to regulate one’s emotions and the response to them
in a manner which is socially acceptable however, one must be able to remain sufficiently
spontaneous and flexible to permit or delay reactions as needed. It is a complex process as it
contains regulation of both physiological and behavioural responses (Cole, Michel, & Teti,
1994).
Social Skills
Social Skill is defined as being the ability to conduct oneself in accordance with social rules
in facilitating communication and interaction with others in verbal and non-verbal ways
(Greene & Burleson, 2003).
Empathy
Empathy is defined as being the ability to identify and react emotionally as if one was sharing
the emotions of another (Redmond, 1985; Stotland, 1969).
Self-Motivation
Self-motivation is defined as the ability of an individual to self-determine their behaviour, to
initiate and achieve their desired needs and wants when those desires are not met
automatically (Harter, 1978).
Emotional Intelligence and Job Performance
A study conducted by Chaudhry and Usman (2011) showed a high correlation between
emotional intelligence and job performance and went so far as to suggest that emotional
intelligence be used as a selection tool by human resource managers in the future.
Further readings suggest that emotional intelligence and the positive correlation with job
performance exists primarily in jobs that require emotional labour (Güleryüz, Güney, Aydin,
& Aşan, 2008), where emotional labour is described as the act of displaying appropriate
emotion (Ashforth & Humphrey, 1993). An example of such a job is nursing, where patient
interaction is key and typically involves a very stressful environment, has shown positive
correlations between emotional intelligence and job performance (Por, Barriball, Fitzpatrick,
& Roberts, 2011; Trivellas, Gerogiannis, & Svarna, 2013). Another such example is criminal
investigators who displayed positive correlations between job performance and emotional
intelligence (Ono et al., 2011).
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Two meta-analysis studies of emotional intelligence and job performance also showed results
which support the overall validity of emotional intelligence in predicting job performance (Jr,
Humphrey, Pollack, Hawver, & Story, 2011; Zhang & Wang, 2012).
Côté & Miners (2006) on the other hand studied the link between emotional intelligence and
cognitive intelligence and their associations with job performance and how the relationship
becomes more positive between emotional intelligence and job performance as cognitive
intelligence decreases. They noted that possibly studies on emotional intelligence and the
performance increases should be measured with their use of known cognitive intelligence to
give a better representation of the performance increase gained from emotional intelligence
when measuring employees of equal cognitive intelligence. Sarpong and Rees (2014)
however found no link between emotional intelligence and academic achievement whereas
Nwadinigwe & Azuka-Obieke (2012) noted that an improvement in the emotional
intelligence of students would result in an increase in their academic achievements.
Emotional Intelligence and Job Performance and the Call Centre
environment
Zapf, Isic, Bechtoldt, and Blau (2003) describe call centre environments as stressful with
elements of emotional labour where “customer service representatives had to express less
negative emotions, but were most frequently exposed to states of emotional dissonance” (p.
311).
Therefore, it would seem that call centres would be perfect for a study on whether
correlations exist between call centre agents with high emotional intelligence and improved
customer satisfaction ratings. Coupled with this, they should perform better due to the fact
that higher scores in emotional intelligence would allow them to cope with the stress
associated with the call centre environment.
A study was done on customer satisfaction and emotional intelligence (Kernbach & Schutte,
2005) outside of the call centre environment which showed improved levels of customer
satisfaction ratings for service providers with higher emotional intelligence ratings. This was
also true for sales people with higher emotional intelligence ratings who were customer facing
(Rozell, Pettijohn, & Parker, 2004).
Studies done on call centres have shown a definite positive relationship between the
emotional intelligence of call centre employees and job performance (Higgs, 2004; Jacobs &
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Roodt, 2011; Nel & de Villiers, 2004; Shamsuddin & Rahman, 2014) however these studies
were always lacking to some degree or other. Higgs (2004) noted his studies fell short
because the tenure of the agents was not sufficiently lengthy in nature. Nel and de Villiers
(2004) never took cogniscence of the demographcal makeup of the call centre and how that
could have effected the outcome of their results and Shamsuddin & Rahman (2014), while
including gender as a demographic moderator and confirming that relationship did not show
any significant correlation, excluded all the other demographical variables.
Conclusion
Emotional intelligence is relevant for most human endeavours but it is not an exact science
due to other factors which may or may not have an influence on its prominence in a given
context. Factors such as IQ levels still play a role in predicting success however emotional
intelligence is starting to edge us towards sustainability and how long we can be successful if
we are not in tune with our emotions.
Because of the nature of emotional intelligence it is noted that context matters and that it only
shows a significant increase in performance under certain circumstances such as social
interaction (with customers and others, in this instance, in the call centre environment) and
the ability to deal with stress, hence the decision to test it, under slightly varied conditions
than the previous research to expand on what is already known.
Table 1 represents an extract from a study done by Jacobs and Roodt (2011) with regards to
previous research done on emotional intelligence and job performance in the call centre
environment. It notes the purpose of previous studies, their context, the sample size, method
of analysis, key findings and limitations. It includes an additional study done by Shamsuddin
& Rahman (2014) which was not part of Jacobs and Roodt’s initial study.
Table 1 - Previous studies done on Emotional Intelligence and Job Performance in a Call Centre
environment
Author(s) Purpose of the study Sample and setting Method and/or analysis Key Findings (and Limitations)
Higgs (2004) This research detailed a
study designed to explore
the relationship between
the emotional intelligence
of contact centre agents
and ratings of their
performance.
A sample of 289 agents
from three United
Kingdom organisations was
studied from inbound
contact centre
environments.
A quantitative cross-
sectional correlational
design was employed using
the Environmental Impact
Quotient measure.
Results included a strong relationship
between overall emotional intelligence as
well as several elements of the model
performance and individual performance.
These elements include: conscientiousness,
emotional resilience, motivation and
interpersonal sensitivity. Limitations
included that the sample was an inbound
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environment with subsequent generalisation
implications; the performance measures
were limited in objectivity and cross
organisational consistency.
Nel & de Villiers
(2004)
The study aimed to
determine whether there
was a relationship between
emotional intelligence and
job performance in a call
centre environment.
The sample comprised 135
call centre agents from
client services, sales and
administrative
environments in a life
insurance company.
Emotional intelligence was
measured by means of the
Emotional Competency
Inventory that is a multi-
rater survey instrument
based on the Self-
Assessment Questionnaire.
A statistically significant and positive
correlation between emotional intelligence
and job performance was found. The
combination of emotional competencies
namely emotional self-awareness,
trustworthiness, self-confidence and
influence explained the greatest degree of
variance in job performance in the contact
centre environment as a whole. Limitations
include that agents’ team managers (n = 31)
completed the questionnaires and that the
sample was insurance industry specific.
Shamsuddin &
Rahman (2014)
The study examined the
relationships between
emotional intelligence and
job performance of call
centre agents; and also
examined the effects of the
moderator variable, gender,
towards the relationship
between emotional
intelligence and job
performance of call centre
agents
The sample comprised of
118 call centre agents form
two call centres in Kuala
Lumpur
Emotional intelligence was
measured by means of the
Wong and Law Emotional
Intelligence scale (WLEIS)
making use of gender as a
moderator
Results of the study indicate a relationship
between emotional intelligence and job
performance however, only two of the three
dimensions of WLEIS had influences on job
performance, namely regulation appraisal
emotion and use of emotion. The results
also showed that gender did not have a
moderating effect. Limitations of the
research was that job performance was a
single construct and the details of the call
centres and there job performance criteria
were omitted.
Table 1 is adapted from “A human capital predictive model for agent performance in contact
centres” by Jacobs & Roodt (2011, p.10)
This study will try to reduce the limitations of the studies which went before it by fully
describing the call centre it wishes to study and only include call centre agents and not
management in the sample. It will show how sub constructs and their factors regarding
emotional intelligence correlate with the various aspects of job performance according to the
chosen emotional test which has not been done before.
It will make use of a readily available, easy to administer, self-assessment questionnaire for
emotional intelligence making use of Golman’s (1998) mixed model. It will also show any
correlations between the sub constructs of emotional intelligence using Goleman’s model and
the sub sections of the job performance ratings of the call centre agents which has not been
done before.
It also aims to deconstruct the sub-constructs of emotional intelligence to interrogate whether
there are any significant correlations within them to point to possible future research items.
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Figure 2: Illustration of the Literature Review
Literature Review
Emotional Intelligence
Emotional Intelligence and Job Performance
Emotional Intelligence and Job Performance in a Call Centre Environment
Call Centres and Job Performance
Overview of
Emotional Intelligence
Emotional Intelligence and Job Performance
Emotional Intelligence and Job Performance in Call Centres
Emotional Intelligence and Job Performance Measurements in Call Centres
Moderation of the Emotional Intelligence and Job Performance using the measurements
Literature Review
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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Type of Research
The research conducted will be deductive, noting the top-down approach, and quantitative in
its strategy because it will be a study “in which the investigatory primarily uses postpositive
claims for developing knowledge (i.e., cause and effect thinking, reduction to specific
variables and hypotheses and questions, use of measurement and observation, and the test of
theories), employs strategies of inquiry such as experiments and surveys, and collect data on
predetermined instruments that yield statistics data” (Creswell, 1994, p. 21).
Studies which aim to quantify emotional intelligence have mainly made use of quantitative
techniques such the Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence scale (WLEIS) (Shamsuddin &
Rahman, 2014), the MSCEIT test (Brackett, M. A., & Salovey, 2004), Bar-On model of
Emotional intelligence (EIS) (Reuven Bar-On, 2006) as well as the Emotional quotient
Inventory (EQ-i) (Reuven Bar-On, 2004) test to name a few.
The researcher has chosen quantitative measurement by using a test based on the Goleman
mixed model theory.
Research Design
The research design type is experimental and not cross sectional or longitudinal due to the
fact that there are time constraints which will not facilitate more than one test of the sample
group.
Overview of Primary Data Collection Methodology
The data collection strategy for this study is as per Table 2. The data collection approach will
incorporate a literature review, self-assessed paper based questionnaire as well as
unstructured explorative questioning of Thebe Ya Bophelo Healthcare Administrators
management as well as call centre management regarding their views on the possible outcome
of the findings, difficulties the call centre is experiencing and job performance metrics and
their makeup.
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Table 2: Overview of the data collection process
Background Research Primary Data Collection
QUANTITATIVE
Primary Data Collection
QUALITATIVE
Literature Review
To identify and elaborate the key
variables and research as well as
establish a theoretical framework for
the topic.
Obtain Permission to administer
survey to the sample population
Details of approval to obtained through
the administration of the demographical
questionnaire
Demographic Data Collection
Administer demographic questionnaire
Administer the Survey
Paper based survey administered
Job Performance details
Collected from Call Centre
Management
Unstructured, Informal interviews
with management and call centre
management
Interviews with business management
and call centre management
The Sample
Sampling is defined as the selection of a subset of individuals from within a population to
estimate characteristics of the whole population. For the purpose of this study, purposeful
sampling was employed, where 35 respondents were selected. For a sample to be sufficient
for statistical purposes, a response rate of 30 would be required. This would be sufficient for
analytical purposes of this kind which is a statistical rule of thumb (Norušis, 2012). Struwig,
Struwig, & Stead (2001) agree with this approach due to the fact that this type of sample
provides a sample where the participants are information rich. For the purpose of this study,
the researcher will make use of purposive or judgemental sampling as per Mouton and
Babbie (2001). This was based on the researchers knowledge of population and the purpose of
the study.
The sample comprises of all the call centre employees who work at the Thebe Ya Bophelo
Healthcare Administrators who do not hold a supervisory or management position. They must
have been in the employ of Thebe Ya Bophelo Healthcare Administrators for longer than one
month and must have a job performance rating for the month of September 2014.
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The survey was administered to a call centre, the Medical Aid Administration industry, TYB,
which administers Thebe and Hosmead medical aid schemes. The respondents were chosen
purposefully from this institution as it was convenient. A total of 35 question surveys which
had 5 sub divisions namely self-awareness, self-regulation, self-motivation, empathy and
social skills were administered and completed successfully by 30 call centre agents,
representing an 86% completion rate. The remaining 5 agents were unavailable on the days
that the questionnaires were administered due either to sickness or were on vacation during
this period.
Research Instruments
Unstructured, Informal interviews with management and call centre management
The research includes informal interviews with the management and call centre management
to ascertain what the day to day activities and duties of the call centre agents were, their likely
stresses and difficulties, the job performance criteria and rating specifications, details of their
quality assessment questionnaire and what they believe would be the likely outcomes of the
research.
Not only did this establish a relationship with the Thebe Ya Bophelo Healthcare
Administrators management and call centre management, it also allowed a high level view of
the difficulties of call centre life and the challenges that would be faced when conducting the
interviews as they are generally short staffed to maximise the utilisation of call centre agents
times and hence availability to answer questionnaires would be difficult.
The Demographic Questionnaire
As per Appendix B (p.72), the demographic questionnaire was designed to ascertain the
demographical details of the call centre. This provided clarity regarding the makeup of the
call centre during the time of study and gave a clearer representation of the sample taken. It
also showed whether the sample replicated the known population of call centres within the
industry and the population at large which it did not.
The demographics questionnaire incorporated age, gender, ethnicity, education, marital status,
tenure, type of contract and whether or not the call centre agent had dependants. These are
typical attributes which can be found in the makeup of any call centre environment.
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The Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire
The questionnaire design
The questionnaire was developed by Sean Germond (personal communication, November 19,
2014) in 2000 with reference to Bar-On’s (1997) definition of emotional intelligence, but
using Goleman’s (1995) quadrant framework and constructs, as well as adapted constructs
from Cooper & Sawaf (1998) which is currently being administered by ITISA as part of the
self-assessment emotional intelligence measurements they use in their assessments with their
clients.
The questionnaire comprised of 35 questions and worked on a Likert scale of 1 – 5 with 1
representing “strongly disagree” and 5 representing “strongly agree”. Certain questions
related to the different sub-constructs of emotional intelligence mixed model theory proposed
by Goleman (1998) and therefore a score could be assigned to each of the five different sub-
constructs which could then be used to confirm correlations between the sub-construct and
job performance and the degree thereof.
Administering the questionnaire
The questionnaire was a paper based survey which was administered to the sample at the
offices of Thebe Ya Bophelo Healthcare Administrators in either a separate office or
boardroom so that the incumbents were not distracted by the day to day activities of the
environment surrounding them.
The call centre agents who completed the questionnaire did so in groups of three due to the
operational constraints of the call centre in that they could not allow more than 3 as it would
disrupt the performance of the call centre nor could they allow call centre agents to conduct
the interviews one at a time as they had other training constraints which necessitated that the
study be conducted as swiftly as possible.
When administering the survey, it was key to note to the call centre agents that, during this
time they had to relate the questions being asked to their current call centre environment and
not to external experiences. The questionnaire was administered to 3 individuals on a test
basis before finalising the details of the questionnaire to insure the questions were clear,
concise and well understood.
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Job Performance Ratings
The job performance of a call centre agent has several measurements which affect it. Thebe
Ya Bophelo Healthcare Administrators is noted as having 3 distinct catergories, as can be
seen in Appendix A (p.70) within their monthly rating of the call centre agents. These are
productivity, a quality assurance measurement (QA) and presence and absence (P&A).
Productivity is purely an objective measure which is monitered by the call centre’s call
monitoring systems which each agent has to log on to prior to the start of their shift. This
particular measure relates to the call centre agents performance with regards to their daily
scores against targets set in regards to their performance on measures such as agent idle time,
agent active time, hold time, wrap time and agent occupancy. The weight assigned to this
section of the measurement of the overall job performance rating is 40%.
The quality assurance measurement is mainly objective but has a subective aspect to it. It is
measured by the quality assurance team who objectively check whether a call centre agent has
completed the various sections of any call completely and correctly and then subjectively
addresess areas such as the listening skills and call control adequacy of the call centre agent,
amongst others. The quality assurance measurement is divided into the following sections: the
opening of the call, recording of the information, content of the call, soft skills and call
ending. The weight assigned to this section of the measurement of the overall job
performance is 40%.
The final catergory in the job performance measurment at the call centre of Thebe Ya
Bophelo Healthcare Administrators is that of Presence and Absence. This job performance
measurement checks whether the agent came to work as well as the length of time they were
on the system and available to take a call. The weighting assigned to this section is 20%
however, should an agent be late more than three times, they would automatically be
excluded from the job performance bonuses.
The job performance ratings were obtained from call centre management after the list of
participants were submitted to them regarding who participated with the answering of the
emotional intelligence questionairre part of the study. The results of the questionaire were not
shared with management at any point during this study
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Data Analysis Method
The study was quantitative in nature with a closed structured questionnaire with pre-coded
responses. The questions were in a Likert scale with responses 1=strongly disagree;
2=disagree; 3=undecided; 4=agree; 5=strongly agree. In the analysis certain questions were
grouped into the following categories: self-awareness, self-regulatory, self-motivation,
empathy, and social skills. “When using Likert-type scales it is imperative to calculate and
report Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for internal consistency reliability for any scales or
subscales one may be using” (Gliem & Gliem, 2003, p. 88).
Data was analysed in the Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) version 22, with
tables provided. The justification for the use of SPSS is that it is self-weighting and easy to
use through its drop down menu. As per normal practice in any social sciences, data was
analysed at 95% Confidence Interval (Norušis, 2012) where descriptive statistics and
multivariate analysis were run. Various pre-coded responses were thematically grouped into
five sub-constructs where reliability was also tested.
To test for reliability, Cronbach's alpha (Gliem & Gliem, 2003) is a measure of internal
consistency, with regards to how closely related a set of items are as a group. Cronbach’s
alpha reliability coefficient can range from between 0 and 1. There is, however, no actual
lower limit to the coefficient. The internal consistency of the items in the scale is greater if the
Cronbach’s alpha coefficient is close to 1.0 (Gliem & Gliem, 2003).
Analysis was in three parts, namely univariate (descriptive), bivariate (correlations) and
multivariate (factor analysis). Descriptive statistics provides trends of the demographics as
well as all the Likert scale questions. Mean scores are used to determine the factors with
greater influence in job satisfaction. Following descriptive statistics is bivariate statistics,
where two or more factors are correlated in order to establish if they are associated, and in
what direction they are associated. Thirdly, multivariate analysis is conducted to establish
which factors have the greatest influence on job performance in the call centre.
Significant levels denoted by p-values (0.05) and (0.1) are used in correlations and
multivariate analysis. Tobias (2000) noted that in statistics, the p-value is the probability of
obtaining the observed sample results (or a more extreme result) when the null hypothesis is
actually true. It should be noted that the results of this study may not be inferred to the general
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population due to the fact that it was done internally within the call centre and also that the
sample size is one cluster (n=30).
Figure 3: Conceptual Model
Self Awareness Productivity
Self-regulation Quality Assessment
Social skills Present and Absence
Empathy
Motivation
Emotional Intelligence Job Performance
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Research Findings, Analysis, and Discussion
This research aim is to understand whether there is a correlation between the job performance
of a call centre agent and their self-assessed level of emotional intelligence. The results of this
study are very reliable as reflected by the overall high Cronbach alpha (0.8), and that of the
individual groups which ranges from 0.5 to 0.8. This means that the results are valid (Gliem
& Gliem, 2003) hence these results will allow explaining of whether there is a correlation
between the job performance of a call centre agent and their self-assessed level of emotional
intelligence.
The following sections provide the results of the demographical questionnaire, followed by a
summary of descriptive results indicating mean scores and standard deviations.
Multivariate analysis in form of Principal Component analysis was conducted to assess
information as this method allows for detailed investigation for Likert scale questions.
Descriptive Results
Figure 4: Respondents by Age group
Figure 4 indicates that more (56%) respondents were aged between 25-30 years as compared
to those who were aged 20-25 years (44%) and less than 20% who were aged above 30 years.
The mean age was 28 years, with a maximum of 46 years and a minimum of 21 years.
The following figure indicates their gender distribution.
20-25 years36%
25-30 years47%
>30 years17%
Age group
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Figure 5: Gender of the respondents
Figure 5 shows an uneven distribution of respondents, with more females (73%) interviewed
and fewer males (27%).
The following figure indicates the ethnicity of the respondents.
Figure 6: Ethnicity of respondents
The respondents were asked to identify their ethnic group, and Figure 6 indicated that the
majority of respondents were classified Black (84%), 13% Coloured and one person was
Indian (3%). There were no other races types recorded.
Male27%
Female73%
Gender of respondents
Black83%
Coloured14%
Indian3%
Ethnicity
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Figure 7: Education Attainment
Education is important human capital, and the survey sought to determine the levels of
education of the respondents. Figure 7 indicates that half of the respondents had attained a
Matric level only (50%), followed by those who had attained some College or equivalent
certificate (30%). 10% had attained university degree or equivalent, and less than 10% was
accredited to those who had attained a technikon diploma, equivalent or other.
Table 3: More social & employment characteristics
Table 3 indicates that the majority of respondents at the call centre were on contract (73.3%),
followed by those who were permanently employed (23.3%) and one which had a standby
contract (3.3%). In terms of the period of time they had worked at the call centre for, at least
half had been employed for up to 12 months (53%), followed by those who had worked for 1-
50.0
30.0
6.710.0
3.3
0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
Matric Certificate CollegeCertificate or
equivalent
TechnikonDiploma orequivalent
UniversityDegree orequivalent
Other
Education attainment
Variable Category Frequency Percent
Contract 22 73.3
Permanent 7 23.3
Stand by 1 3.3
up to 12 months 16 53.3
13-24 months 7 23.3
25 and above 7 23.3
0 7 23.3
1 17 56.7
2 4 13.3
3 2 6.7
Employment
Months of work
Dependants
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2 years (23.3%) and those who had worked for more than two years (23.3%). It also noted
that more than half the call centre agents had dependants (53.3%).
Details of Emotional Intelligence Testing
The Emotional Intelligence test had five distinct sub-constructs, constructed by grouping
questions thematically namely: self-awareness, self-regulation, self-motivation, empathy,
social skills as well as the overall score. The scores were graded according to a Likert scale
ranging from 1, “strongly disagree” to 5, “strongly agree” with the high number indicating a
greater level of emotional intelligence. The higher the percentage of those who agreed with
particular questions in the survey, the greater their emotional intelligence score was. The
following section presents the results of the five sub-constructs respectively as well as an
indication of the reliability of the results.
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Self-Awareness - Knowing Oneself
Table 4 provides the results on aspects of self-awareness and Figure 8 is a summary of mean
scores for the various items (attributes) within the self-awareness sub-construct.
Table 4: Self-Awareness – Knowing Oneself
Figure 8: Mean scores - Self-Awareness
The results indicated that the majority of respondents generally agreed that they found change
easy and were able to both adapt and initiate change without discomfort (93.3%), had a clear
understanding of their thinking style and regularly balanced intuition with analytical thinking
(86.7%) and were able to work with disagreement and conflict in a positive manner (86.7%).
Some respondents demonstrated clear recognition of their emotional feelings (76.7%) while
Strongly
disagreeDisagree Undecided Agree
Strongly
Agree
I have a sound conscious knowledge of my values and
limitation and demonstrate them in my day to day actions13.3 16.7 43.3 26.7
I have an accurate self-assessment of my strengths and
weaknesses3.3 20 23.3 36.7 16.7
I demonstrate clear recognition of my emotional feeling 13.3 10 66.7 10
I am able to and am comfortable to express my feelings
appropriately in all situations20 10 40 30
I have a clear understanding of my thinking style and regularly
balance intuition with analytical thinking13.3 60 26.7
I am able to work with disagreement and conflict in a positive
manner6.7 6.7 53.3 33.3
I find change easy and am able to both adapt and initiate
change without discomfort6.7 53.3 40
Self Awareness - Kowing Oneself
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others had a sound conscious knowledge of their values and limitation and demonstrated them
in their day to day actions (70%) and were able to express their feelings appropriately in all
situations. Only 53.3% of respondents had an accurate self-assessment of their strengths and
weaknesses.
The high levels of agreement on most of the attributes that pertain to self-awareness meant
that Emotional Intelligence was high. The implication of the result to the call centre is that we
would see a positive correlation between this aspect and their job performance because of the
call centre agents’ requirement and ability to adapt and change without discomfort. Their
strong ability to handle disagreements in a positive manner should also lead to a positive
correlation with job performance due to the fact that have to resolve calls in a positive manner
when dealing with a customer. This should increase the quality assurance measures results.
The fact that the respondents reported less agreement on issues of their accuracy in self-
assessment could imply that agents will not readily accept training in the work environment
as they are unable to accurately assess strengths and weakness and hence the need for
improvement in certain areas.
Table 5 shows the internal consistency of the seven questions that comprise this sub-construct
is 0.578, indicating reliability of the results.
Table 5: Reliability - Self regulation
Cronbach's AlphaCronbach's Alpha Based on
Standardized ItemsN of Items
0.535 0.578 7
Reliability Statistics
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Self-Regulation - Managing Oneself
Table 6 provides the results on aspects of self-regulation and Figure 9 is a summary of mean
scores for the various items (attributes) within the self-regulation sub-construct.
Table 6: Self-regulation – Managing Oneself
Figure 9: Mean scores - Self-Regulation
The vast majority of respondents felt positive that they managed and recovered from
emotional lows in a reasonable time (96.7%) and many were very aware of their ‘hot’ buttons
and understood what drives their emotions (93.3%). Call Centre agents were equally able and
Strongly
disagreeDisagree Undecided Agree
Strongly
Agree
I manage and recover from emotional lows in a reasonable time 3.3 13.3 3.3 60 20
I am able to be patient and delay immediate results/success in
order to achieve longer term goals10 10 63.3 16.7
I manage my own life style and ensure balance between the
demands of work and personal commitments3.3 56.7 40
I am flexible in my behaviour and go with the flow comfortably 10 50 40
I am very aware of my 'hot' buttons and know what drives my
emotions3.3 3.3 43.3 50
I am able and comfortable to take responsibility and be
accountable for all my actions6.7 40 53.3
I recognise and comfortably deal with 'power relations' 3.3 20 10 53.3 13.3
I listen well without judgement and am able to express myself
with clarity10 46.7 43.3
I recognise and value different points of view without pushing
my own point3.3 13.3 6.7 43.3 33.3
Self-Regulation - Managing Oneself
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comfortable to take responsibility and be accountable for all their actions (93.3%), were
flexible in their behaviours and able to go with the flow comfortably (90%) and listened well
without judgement and were able to express themselves with clarity (90%). A large number of
respondents felt that they were able to be patient and delay immediate results/success in order
to achieve longer term goals (80%) and were able to manage and recover from emotional
lows in a reasonable time (80%). The majority generally agreed that they recognised and
valued different points of view without pushing their own point (76.7%) and recognised and
comfortably dealt with 'power relations' (66.7%). These results indicate that the majority of
the respondents generally were positive about their self-regulation. The negligible proportions
of those who disagree indicate few would have low Emotional Intelligence scores in this sub-
construct (self-regulatory).
These results imply that the call centre staff at Thebe Ya Bophelo Healthcare Administrators
should be able to regulate their emotions in a socially acceptable manner as well as balance
the demands of a stressful call centre environment. This should show a positive correlation
with job performance and all its sub sections as due to reduced levels of emotional
dissonance.
Table 7 shows the internal consistency of the nine questions that comprise this subscale is
0.654, indicating the reliability of the results.
Table 7: Reliability - Self regulation
Cronbach's AlphaCronbach's Alpha Based on
Standardized ItemsN of Items
0.611 0.654 9
Reliability Statistics
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Self-Motivation
The following table provides the results on aspects of self-motivation and the figure is a
summary of mean scores for the various items (attributes) within the self-motivation sub-
construct.
Table 8: Self-motivation - Determining One's Future
Figure 10: Mean scores - Self-Motivation
Surprisingly all respondents (100%) felt that they had set personal standards of excellence and
were able to motivate themselves to achieve their goals. Being optimistic in everything that
they do and seeing life as a journey with a destination was rated second highest (83.3%)
alongside having clear purpose to pursue like goals (83.3%). This is directly related to the
ability to control/manage all emotions in all situations, which was also rated second (83.3%).
Having a clear plan with development outcomes identified in order to meet my life goals
Strongly
disagreeDisagree Undecided Agree
Strongly
Agree
I have set personal standards of excellence and am able to
motivate myself to achieve56.7 43.3
I am optimistic in everything that I do and see life as a journey
with a destination6.7 10 43.3 40
I have a clear plan with development outcomes identified in
order to meet my life goals3.3 20 56.7 20
I have a clear purpose to pursue life goals 3.3 13.3 60 23.3
I am able to control/manage all my emotions in all situations 3.3 3.3 10 36.7 46.7
I have a strong sense of my own self-worth and am confident
demonstrating my capabilities3.3 20 40 36.7
Self-Motivation - Determining One's Future
4.43
4.17
3.93
4.03
4.20
4.10
3.60 3.70 3.80 3.90 4.00 4.10 4.20 4.30 4.40 4.50
I have set personal standards of…
I am optimistic in everything that I do…
I have a clear plan with development…
I have a clear purpose to pursue life…
I am able to control/manage all my…
I have a strong sense of my own self-…
Mean scores - Self Motivation
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(76.7%) and having a strong sense of own self-worth and confidently demonstrating
capabilities (76.7%) were rated third respectively.
The figure above indicates that all 6 attributes of self-motivation within the respondents
scored highly (mean score=0.4), with the highest score for personal standards of excellence.
The higher percentage of optimism and self-motivation by the respondents could imply higher
levels of emotional intelligence when linked to this sub-construct. In terms of the level of job
performance, this should improve it as call centre agents are more driven and goal orientated
which means they will strive to meet performance targets. This is apparent in their
productivity scores where only three call centre agents scored less than 38% out of a total of
40% for the objective productivity scores.
The aforementioned results are reliable as shown by the internal consistency (0.678) of the six
attributes (items) of self-motivation.
Table 9: Reliability - Self Motivation
Cronbach's AlphaCronbach's Alpha Based on
Standardized ItemsN of Items
0.654 0.678 6
Reliability Statistics
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Empathy
Table 10 provides the results on aspects of empathy and Figure 11 is a summary of mean
scores for the various items (attributes) within the empathy sub-construct.
Table 10: Empathy – Understanding Others
Figure 11: Mean scores - Empathy
The vast majority of respondents felt that they were comfortable to maintain standards of
honesty and integrity in their behaviour (90%), believed everyone can develop and regularly
coach and encourage others (83.3%), and could sense and recognise others' feelings, emotions
and perceptions (80%). Two thirds (66.7%) of respondents believed reading and recognising
group dynamics was important and similarly (66.7%) believed that they were continuously
Strongly
disagreeDisagree Undecided Agree
Strongly
Agree
I accurately read and recognise group dynamics 6.7 26.7 60 6.7
I believe everyone can develop and regularly coach and
encourage others6.7 10 40 43.3
I sense and recognise others feelings, emotions and perceptions 6.7 13.3 50 30
I recognise and comfortably deal with 'power relations' 10 30 50 10
I continuously work on developing my limitations 13.3 20 40 26.7
I am comfortable to maintain standards of honesty and integrity
in my behaviour3.3 6.7 63.3 26.7
Empathy - Understanding Others
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working on developing their limitations. The least rated factor was recognition and
comfortably dealing with 'power relations' (60%).
The results showed that most respondents had positive feelings about being empathetic at a
call centre. This could be considered a counterproductive factor in the productivity aspect of
job performance due to call durations being extended as call centre agents empathise with the
client. However, the quality assurance measurement relies on a certain level of empathy to
ensure the customer is dealt with according to their mood at the time of the call as well as a
level of empathy being required to interact with other employees within the call centre who
are required for call resolution in order to engage with them appropriately.
The above results are reliable as shown by the internal consistency (0.673) of the six
attributes (items) of empathy.
Table 11: Reliability - Empathy
Cronbach's AlphaCronbach's Alpha Based on
Standardized ItemsN of Items
0.67 0.673 6
Reliability Statistics
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Social skills
Table 12 provides the results on aspects of social skills and Figure 13 is a summary of mean
scores for the various items (attributes) within the social skill sub-construct.
Table 12: Social skills - Interacting with Others
Figure 12: Mean scores - Social Skills
The attributes pertaining to social skills that were rated highly were: (i) being able to
collaborate and work with all other people in the pursuit of common goals (96.7%), and (ii)
leading through respect, inspiration and guidance (90%). The second highest rated attribute
was being comfortable in delegating and empowering others with authority and responsibility
(83.35) and regularly recognising and responding to opportunities (80.0%). Third, were the
factors of believing in others to achieve unity in diversity whilst dealing with stereotype
Strongly
disagreeDisagree Undecided Agree
Strongly
Agree
I am able to collaborate and work with all other people in the
pursuit of common goals3.3 36.7 60
I lead through: respect, inspiration and guidance 6.7 3.3 53.3 36.7
I am comfortable delegating and empowering others with
authority and responsibility3.3 13.3 50 33.3
I regularly recognise and respond to opportunities 3.3 3.3 13.3 50 30
My belief in others is to achieve unity in diversity whilst dealing
with stereotype behaviours3.3 13.3 6.7 26.7 50
I am comfortable in handling emotions in relationships without
being drawn in13.3 13.3 46.7 26.7
I am able to persuade and influence others with conviction that
they follow my direction23.3 13.3 46.7 16.7
Social skills - Interacting with Others
- 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0
I am comfortable delegating and…
I am able to collaborate and work with all…
I am able to persuade and influence others…
I lead through: respect, inspiration and…
I am comfortable in handling emotions in…
I regularly recognise and respond to…
My belief in others is to achieve unity in…
Mean scores - Social Skills
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behaviours (76.7%) and being comfortable in handling emotions in relationships without
being drawn in (73.3%). Least rated was the factor of being able to persuade and influence
others with conviction that they follow your direction (63.3%). These results have far
reaching implications in terms of social skills, especially that the respondents valued
collaboration and working for a common goal most, which is a catalyst for better job
performance.
The mean scores indicate that most of the attributes of social skills are regarded highly (a sign
of high emotional intelligence? - mean score 4.0) and the lowest score (3.60 which is the
lowest rated. Being able to collaborate and work with other people in pursuit of common
goals is rated highest (mean score=4.5). The ability to persuade and influence others to follow
one’s direction is the lowest rated and should not be surprising in an environment that seems
to rate job performance highly. The implication of the results on social skills of the
respondents in relation to job performance is that being influential in a social setting will
improve job performance as people will be more collaborative and helpful in the work setting.
The Cronbach's Alpha coefficient indicates that the above results are reliable and that the
seven questions (items) have internal consistency (were asked in a consistent way).
Table 13: Reliability – Social Skills
Summary
In summary, the results are reliable and all point to positive attitude of respondents in all the
five sub-constructs. They seem (coincidentally) tend to generally agree on all issues of
Emotional Intelligence, results which cannot be disputed since they are reliable. Different sub
dimensions have one aspect that the respondents valued highly, being able and comfortable to
take responsibility and be accountable for all actions (self-regulation), finding changes easy
and being able to both adapt and initiate change without discomfort (self-awareness), having
set personal standards of excellence and being able to motivate oneself to achieve common
goals (self-motivation), the value and belief that everyone can develop and regularly coach
and encourage others (empathy) and being able to collaborate and work with all other people
in pursuit of common goals is rated highest (social skills).
Cronbach's AlphaCronbach's Alpha Based on
Standardized ItemsN of Items
.724 .729 7
Reliability Statistics
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Correlations
Correlations are conducted to establish if there are associations or relationships between
certain variables. The following section seeks to examine if there is any correlation between
emotional intelligence and its sub constructs with job performance and the three categories of
job performance namely, productivity, quality assurance measurement and presence and
absence.
Correlation between Job Performance and Emotional Intelligence
The Table 14 shows the correlations between job performance and emotional intelligence and
its five sub-constructs.
Table 14 Job performance and Emotional Intelligence
Table 14 indicates that there are positive weak correlations between job performance and
Emotional Intelligence, and the five sub-constructs. Social skills have the most association
(0.226) however, the associations are not significant (p<0.1) at 5% and 10% levels; this
means the relationship is not reliable and cannot be used to make predictions. The results are
useful in informing the direction of the relationship, and to determine which factors correlate
highly and which are important in terms of improving on weak areas pertaining to Emotional
Intelligence and job performance. The Pearson correlation coefficient for the job performance
and Emotional Intelligence is also weak, implying weak association. These results however,
imply that as emotional intelligence and the 5 sub constructs increases in the workplace, the
job performance as measured by its three categories also improves.
Correlation between Productivity and Emotional Intelligence
The following table shows relationships between Productivity in the call centre and
Emotional Intelligence.
Self-
Awareness
(Q5)
Self-
Regulation
(Q6)
Self-
Motivation
(Q7)
Empathy
(Q8)
Social Skills
(Q9)
Emotional
Intelligence
(Q1)
Pearson
Correlation0.206 0.109 0.165 0.216 0.226 0.235
Sig. (2-tailed) 0.276 0.565 0.384 0.251 0.23 0.211
Job Performance
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Table 15: Productivity and Emotional Intelligence
Table 15 indicates that overall Emotional Intelligence has very weak association with
Productivity at the call centre, results which are not statistically significant at either 10%
(p<0.1) and 5% (p<0.05) levels. The results are useful in providing the direction of
association: social skills have the most positive association (0.15) with Productivity, implying
that social skills have the potential to increase Productivity. Empathy has a negative
association with Productivity (-0.14), results which can be expected since empathy may lead
to longer call durations, and hence affect productivity negatively as it is predominantly a time
based measure.
Correlation between the Quality Assurance Measurement (QA) and Emotional
Intelligence
The following table shows relationships between the quality assurance measurement and in
the call centre and Emotional Intelligence and its five sub-constructs.
Table 16: Quality Assurance Measurement (QA) and Emotional Intelligence
Table 16 indicates that all factors of Emotional Intelligence are positively correlated with the
quality assurance measurement, but with no significant association at 10% (p<0.1) and 5%
(p<0.05) respectively. This means that the results are not reliable and may not be interpreted,
and hence it can be concluded that Emotional Intelligence dimensions has little to do with the
quality assurance measurement however, the results give a direction of the possible
associations which are important in interventions. While Emotional Intelligence is the weakly
associated with the quality assurance measurement; the data supports the correlation that as
emotional intelligence scores increase, so does the quality assurance measurement, with
Self-
Awareness
(Q10)
Self-
Regulation
(Q11)
Self-
Motivation
(Q12)
Empathy
(Q13)
Social Skills
(Q14)
Emotional
Intelligence
(Q2)
Pearson
Correlation0.045 0.019 0.012 -0.138 0.157 0.029
Sig. (2-tailed) 0.812 0.92 0.948 0.466 0.407 0.88
Productivity
Self-
Awareness
(Q15)
Self-
Regulation
(Q16)
Self-
Motivation
(Q17)
Empathy
(Q18)
Social Skills
(Q19)
Emotional
Intelligence
(Q3)
Pearson
Correlation0.054 0.072 0.069 0.297 0.054 0.14
Sig. (2-tailed) 0.775 0.706 0.717 0.111 0.776 0.462
QA
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empathy having the highest correlation coefficient meaning that as empathy increases among
the call centre agents, quality assurance measurement also increases, a result that can be
explained by how the call centre agents are scored subjectively with regards to how they
make use of the appropriate probing questions and display active listening skills which are all
akin to those who demonstrate good empathy skills.
Correlation between Presence and Absence measurement and Emotional Intelligence
The following table shows relationships between the presence and absence measurement in
the call centre and Emotional Intelligence and its five sub-constructs.
Table 17: Presence and Absence (P&A) and total Emotional Intelligence
Table 17 indicates that there is a positive correlation with P&A throughout all the five
dimensions of Emotional Intelligence. The highest positive correlation, though weak is
between average P&A and empathy (0.335), meaning that as empathy increases P&A
attributes also increase. A similar trend is visible for self-awareness (0.206) and self-
motivation (0.267).
These results could be explained by the fact that presence and absence relates to people being
available for a call which then spreads the work load and the ability to make required target of
the team which is a responsibility of all the call centre staff as no bonus payments will be paid
without this initial target being reached. Because this requires a group effort, call centre
agents empathise with each other as being part of the struggle and the self-awareness required
to know that you are part of this team and are required to do your part forms part of the self-
motivation aspect.
Self-regulation and social skills have the weakest associations with average P&A meaning
that a slight positive change in self-regulation aspects of the respondents will likely result in a
in any significant positive change in P&A.
It is worth mentioning that only empathy aspect is statistically significant at 10% level in
associating with P&A (p<0.1), and the rest are not. The implication of these results is that as
empathy skills increase we will see a greater improvement in the presence and absence
measurement of the call centre.
Self-
Awareness
(Q20)
Self-
Regulation
(Q21)
Self-
Motivation
(Q22)
Empathy
(Q23)
Social Skills
(Q24)
Emotional
Intelligence
(Q4)
Pearson
Correlation0.206 0.005 0.267 0.335 0.109 0.222
Sig. (2-tailed) 0.274 0.979 0.153 0.071 0.566 0.239
P&A
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The overall Emotional Intelligence is positively associated with average P&A, indicating that
as total Emotional Intelligence increases, P&A also does the same, implying that increase the
emotional intelligence of staff in the call centre will result in lower levels of absenteeism and
late coming.
Summary of Correlations between Emotional Intelligence and job performance
categories
The following table provides a summary of the associations of various categories of job
performance and Emotional Intelligence
Table 18: Summary of correlations
The summary of results in Table 18, indicate that there are generally positive associations
between Emotional Intelligence and QA, P&A, Productivity and job performance. The
positive associations, though weak and not statistically significant at both 10% (p<0.1) and
5% (p<0.05), inform that as Emotional Intelligence increases, there is also an improvement in
job performance (0.235), and Productivity, P&A as well as QA which supports earlier studies
done on this subject matter.
For information purposes, further inter item correlations below indicate that there is a
negative correlation between QA and Productivity (-0.269), however, the results are not
statistically significant at 10% (p<0.01) and 5% (p<0.05) levels respectively. The negative
association means that Productivity in the call centre may be negatively affected by a positive
change in QA.
This result could be explained by the study done by a study done by Robinson & Morley
(2006) which noted this trade-off and how, depending on the requirements of the company
and the subsequent remuneration structure, employees will forgo the one performance
measure for the other. It is very seldom that companies are able to achieve both levels of
performance for sustained periods.
QA P&A ProductivityJob
Performance
Pearson
Correlation0.14 0.222 0.029 0.235
Sig. (2-tailed) 0.462 0.239 0.88 0.211
N 30 30 30 30
Emotional
Intelligence
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Further results indicate that there is a positive correlation between QA and P&A (0.341),
meaning that a positive change QA may lead to some positive change in P&A, facts that can
be explained by possibly by how the performance remuneration is structured however it is not
clear at this point why there is a positive correlation.
Table 19: QA vs. Productivity and P&A
Summary
Most of the results in this section are not statistically significant at both 10% (p<0.1) and 5%
(p<0.05). However, they do tell a story with regards to the direction of association, which is
important in terms of workplace improvement.
The insignificance may be due to the small sample size (n=30). Furthermore, insignificance
could be due to the fact that Emotional Intelligence dimensions are computations of several
aspects (attributes) which could individually associate with QA, P&A, Productivity, and job
performance. To further test these relationships and to establish if a relationship exists
between the sub-sections of Emotional Intelligence (self-awareness, self-regulation etc.) with
other aspects tested in correlations, the following section employs more robust inferential
(multivariate) tests.
Multivariate analysis
This dissertations aim is to understand to understanding whether there is a correlation
between the job performance of a call centre agent and their self-assessed level of emotional
intelligence. Confirmatory factor analysis was applied in order to determine the relationship
between the sub sections of the respondents’ Emotional Intelligence (self-awareness, self-
regulation etc.) with their job performance overall to discover if there are particular factors
within the five sub-constructs which have a stronger influence on job performance than
others. This method is justified for this purpose since it reduces the many variables to a more
manageable number, in this case the analysis revealed the presence of components with
eigenvalues exceeding 1. All the tables in this section show factor loadings, percentage of
Production P&A
Pearson
Correlation-0.269 0.341
Sig. (2-tailed) 0.15 0.065
Correlations
QA
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variance, and valid eigenvalues (those with eigenvalues which were less than 1 were
discarded).
Self-awareness and overall job performance
Table 20 is a representation of the association between the factors of self-awareness and job
performance which have the highest eigenvalues along with their percentage variance,
cumulative percentage and factor loadings.
Table 20: Self-awareness and overall job performance
These results indicate that that there are 3 out of 7 factors of self-awareness that influence job
performance (eigenvalues greater than 1). They explain 68.6% of the variation in job
performance. Finding change easy and being able to both adapt and initiate change without
discomfort accounts for most of the variation (35.3%) in job performance. This is followed by
the ability to work with disagreement and conflict in a positive manner (18.55) and lastly
having an accurate self-assessment of my strengths and weaknesses (14.75). The two highest
acknowledge the findings of the literature review in that the call centre agents take a varying
degree of calls from irate to happy customers and therefore their ability to switch and adapt to
the different calls should see an improvement in their job performance as well as the ability to
deal with conflict from the irate callers.
The implication of these results is that we should improve self-awareness training by
concentrating on these aspects to have the greatest impact on job performance in the call
centre environment in this specific context. This is another avenue for future research.
Total% of
Variance
Cumulative
%
I find change easy and am able to both
adapt and initiate change without
discomfort
2.474 35.338 35.338 0.858
I am able to work with disagreement
and conflict in a positive manner1.294 18.485 53.822 0.849
I have an accurate self-assessment of
my strengths and weaknesses1.032 14.74 68.562 0.704
Factor
loadings
Total Variance Explained
Initial EigenvaluesSelf-awareness and overall
job performance
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Self-regulation and job satisfaction
Table 21 is a representation of the association between the factors of self-regulation and job
performance which have the highest eigenvalues along with their percentage variance,
cumulative percentage and factor loadings.
Table 21: Self-regulation and job satisfaction
These results indicate that that there are 3 out of 9 factors of self-regulation that influence job
performance (eigenvalues greater than 1). They explain 62.1% of the total variation in job
performance. Managing one’s own lifestyle and ensuring balance between the demands of
work and personal commitments has the highest factor loadings (0.751), meaning it is the
most crucial factor of job performance in this dimension of self-regulation. This is followed
by awareness of one’s 'hot' buttons and knowing what drives their emotions (0.7), and being
able to manage and recover from emotional lows in a reasonable time (0.66).
With regards to overall job performance, these results imply that that managing one’s life
style is key to improved performance as it is with any job. Being aware of one’s “ hot”
buttons is also key with regards to regulating yourself while on a phone call with a customer
as it helps you to maintain a level of calm despite the customer being irate and upset.
Recovering from emotional lows is also crucial to call centre work where call centre agents
need to recover quickly from difficult calls to take the next waiting call.
Total% of
Variance
Cumulative
%
I manage my own life style and ensure
balance between the demands of work
and personal commitments
2.639 29.323 29.323 0.751
I am very aware of my 'hot' buttons
and know what drives my emotions1.541 17.119 46.442 0.7
I manage and recover from emotional
lows in a reasonable time1.408 15.646 62.088 0.656
Self-regulation and job
performacne
Total Variance Explained
Initial Eigenvalues Factor
loadings
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Self-motivation and overall job performance
Table 22 is a representation of the association between the factors of self-motivation and job
performance which have the highest eigenvalues along with their percentage variance,
cumulative percentage and factor loadings.
Table 22: Self-motivation and overall job performance
These results indicate that that there are 3 out of 7 factors of motivation that influence job
performance (eigenvalues greater than 1). They explain 69.9% of the total variation in overall
job performance. Having a clear plan with development outcomes identified in order to meet
own life goals has twice the impact on job performance (37.9% of total variance explained),
as the other two factors. Having a clear purpose to pursue life goals (16.8%) and having a
strong sense of own self-worth and confidence in demonstrating capabilities (15.2%) have
almost similar influence in respondents overall in job performance.
These results imply that for call centre agents to remain motivated they need to have clear and
distinct career paths for them to strive towards as this will give them a sense of purpose.
Possible guidelines regarding the testing of abilities should be developed for them to prove
their abilities and grow in confidence. This will help improve their sense of self-worth as they
able demonstrate their capabilities and proficiencies to their peers.
Total% of
Variance
Cumulative
%
I have a clear plan with development
outcomes identified in order to meet my
life goals
2.654 37.917 37.917 0.799
I have a clear purpose to pursue life
goals1.18 16.857 54.774 0.796
I have a strong sense of my own self-
worth and am confident demonstrating
my capabilities
1.064 15.201 69.975 0.63
Total Variance Explained
Initial Eigenvalues Factor
loadings
Self motivation and overall
job performance
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Empathy and overall job performance
Table 23 is a representation of the association between the factors of empathy and job
performance which have the highest eigenvalues along with their percentage variance,
cumulative percentage and factor loadings.
Table 23: Empathy and overall job performance
These results indicate that that there are 2 out of 6 factors of empathy that influence job
performance (eigenvalues greater than 1). They explain 60.1% of the total variation in overall
job performance. Continuously work on developing their own limitations has the higher
loading (0,790) and explains 38.7% of the variation in job performance. Accurately reading
and recognising group dynamics explains 21.3% of the total variation and has a lower factor
loading (0.736).
This implies that in terms of job performance, being able to constantly develop your
limitations would improve job performance which does indeed seem logical. The ability to
read and recognise group dynamics can be closely linked to the interaction between other
departments and the call centre and how recognising group dynamics and hence address the
situation appropriately would see an increase in job performance as the other departments
begin to improve their working relationships with their call centre colleagues.
Total% of
Variance
Cumulative
%
I continuously work on developing my
limitations2.323 38.722 38.722 0.79
I accurately read and recognise group
dynamics1.28 21.335 60.057 0.736
Total Variance Explained
Initial Eigenvalues Factor
loadings
Empathy and overall job
performance
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Social skills and overall job performance
Table 24 is a representation of the association between the factors of social skills and job
performance which have the highest eigenvalues along with their percentage variance,
cumulative percentage and factor loadings.
Table 24: Social skills and overall job performance
These results indicate that that there are 3 out of 7 factors of social skills that influence job
performance (eigenvalues greater than 1). They explain 71.8% of the total variation in overall
job performance. Being comfortable in delegating and empowering others with authority and
responsibility has the highest influence on job performance in the social skills dimension.
This personal attribute explains most (40.6%) of the variation and has the highest factor
loadings (0.812). Regularly recognising and responding to opportunities and being able to
collaborate and work with all other people in the pursuit of common goals both account for
31% of the variation in overall job performance.
These results imply that improving team work and team work skills will improve the job
performance of the call centre employees as it will help with those who feel comfortable with
delegating and empowering others as well as foster an environment of collaboration.
Total% of
Variance
Cumulative
%
I am comfortable delegating and
empowering others with authority and
responsibility
2.847 40.677 40.677 0.812
I regularly recognise and respond to
opportunities1.169 16.693 57.37 0.789
I am able to collaborate and work with
all other people in the pursuit of
common goals
1.01 14.432 71.802 0.717
Initial Eigenvalues Factor
loadings
Social skills and overall job
performance
Total Variance Explained
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Demographic and Social factors and overall job performance
Demographic and social factors may play a crucial role in influencing overall job
performance. Table 25 indicates these results.
Table 25: Demographics and Job Performance
These results indicate that that there are 3 out of 6 demographic factors that influence job
performance (eigenvalues greater than 1). They explain 65.9 % of the total variation in overall
job performance. The age of the respondents has the greatest influence on job performance
(29% of total variation explained) than education (22%) and ethnicity (15%).
Having more matured personnel at the call centre (64% are greater than 25 years old) could
imply that they are able to relate better with the clientele of this particular medical aid scheme
administrator.
The influence of ethnicity could also have a bearing on performance as it helps make the
interaction between the call centre agent and the customer easier because of common cultural
aspects and similar dialects.
Having some education up to matric has a positive impact on job performance, a fact possibly
explained by the presence of matric among all employees, and that this type of work at the
call centre in a health care system requires a minimum of matric. The presence of a Matric is
also evidence of a predisposition to learning which is required as the knowledge content of
work is quite difficult.
Total% of
Variance
Cumulative
%
Age 2.293 28.665 28.665 0.819
Education 1.748 21.85 50.515 0.795
Ethnicity 1.233 15.417 65.932 0.79
Total Variance Explained
Initial EigenvaluesComponent
Factor
loadings
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Summary
Descriptive results are reliable and all point to positive attitude of respondents in all the five
sub-constructs of emotional intelligence. They seem (coincidentally) to generally agree on all
issues of Emotional Intelligence, results which cannot be disputed since they are reliable.
Different sub-constructs have one aspect that the respondents valued highly, being able and
comfortable to take responsibility and be accountable for all actions (self-regulation), finding
changes easy and being able to both adapt and initiate change without discomfort (self-
awareness), having set personal standards of excellence and being able to motivate oneself
to achieve common goals (self-motivation), the value and belief that everyone can develop
and regularly coach and encourage others (empathy) and being able to collaborate and work
with all other people in pursuit of common goals is rated highest (social skills).
Multivariate analyses through the Principal Component Analysis results indicate the relative
importance of the different factors of Emotional Intelligence in relation to overall job
performance, P&A, Productivity as well as QA. The Cronbach's Alpha coefficient indicates
that the above results are reliable and that the questions (items) have internal consistency
(were asked in a consistent way). The following are the results from the multivariate analysis.
Social skills seem to be the most important aspect of job performance, followed by self-
awareness followed by self-regulation, followed by self-motivation and lastly empathy. This
order of importance means that social skills play the biggest role/contribute most to what
happens at the call centre in terms of job performance. In terms of policy, these results imply
that more resources should be allocated to develop more social skills at the call centre in order
to enhance productivity.
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When we do the factor analysis we find that the following table represent the questions in the
questionnaire with the highest eigenvalues:
Table 26: Top Eigenvalue scores
Two of these factors speak to planning and how development and is key to job performance
while the others speak to self-leadership and mastery which speaks to self-motivation and
self-regulation. This somewhat contradicts the findings that Social Skills could have the
biggest influence on job performance. Additional research is required as to why this is the
case and will be added to the further research section.
Lastly, empathy seems to have the least impact on job performance, and the only dimension
which is negative with regards to productivity which brings to the fore the literature review
and the difficulty manages faces when chasing targets which are opposing measures.
Additional research is required as to how to develop a job performance metric which
mitigates this opposing ideals and will be added to the further research section.
Total% of
Variance
Cumulative
%
I manage my own life style and ensure
balance between the demands of work
and personal commitments
2.639 29.323 29.323 0.751
I find change easy and am able to both
adapt and initiate change without
discomfort
2.474 35.338 35.338 0.858
I have a clear plan with development
outcomes identified in order to meet my
life goals
2.654 37.917 37.917 0.799
I continuously work on developing my
limitations2.323 38.722 38.722 0.79
I am comfortable delegating and
empowering others with authority and
responsibility
2.847 40.677 40.677 0.812
I have a clear plan with development
outcomes identified in order to meet my
life goals
2.431 40.516 40.516 0.865
Emotional Intelligence and
Job Performance
Total Variance Explained
Initial Eigenvalues Factor
loadings
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In line with the objectives of this study, these results mean that the questions were answered
as per the table below:
Table 27: Questions and Answers summary
No.
Q1
A1
Q2
A2
Q3
A3
Q4
A4
Q5
A5
Q6
A6
Q7
A7
Q8
A8
Q9
A9
Q10
A10
Research Questions and Answers
Statistically the relationship is positive but weak and not significant
Statistically the relationship is positive but weak and not significant
Statistically the relationship is positive but weak and not significant
Statistically the relationship is positive but weak and not significant
Statistically the relationship is positive but weak and not significant
Statistically the relationship is positive but weak and not significant
Statistically the relationship is positive but weak and not significant
Statistically the relationship is positive but weak and not significant
What is the relationship between emotional intelligence and job performance in Thebe Ya
Bophelo Healthcare Administrators call centre staff in the given context?
What is the relationship between emotional intelligence and the productivity of call centre
staff in the given context?
What is the relationship between emotional intelligence and the presence and absence of call
centre staff in the given context?
What is the relationship between emotional intelligence and the quality assurance
measure of the call centre staff in the given context?
What is the relationship between self-awareness and the productivity of call centre staff in the
given context?
What is the relationship between social skills and the job performance of call centre staff in
the given context?
What is the relationship between empathy and the job performance of call centre staff in the
given context?
What is the relationship between self-motivation and the job performance of call centre staff
in the given context?
What is the relationship between self-regulation and the job performance of call centre staff
in the given context?
What is the relationship between self-awareness and the job performance of call centre staff
in the given context?
Statistically the relationship is positive but wek and not significant
Statistically the relationship is positive but very weak and not significant
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No.
Q11
A11
Q12
A12
Q13
A13
Q14
A14
Q15
A15
Q16
A16
Q17
A17
Q18
A18
Q19
A19
Q20
A20
Research Questions and Answers
Statistically the relationship is negative but weak and not significant
Statistically the relationship is positive but weak and not significant
Strongest positive association however
Statistically the relationship is positive but weak and not significant
Statistically the relationship is positive but weak and not significant
Statistically the relationship is positive but weak and not significant
Statistically the relationship is positive but weak and not significant
Statistically the relationship is positive but weak and not significant
What is the relationship between self-regulation and the quality assurance measurement of
call centre staff in the given context?
What is the relationship between self-awareness and the quality assurance measurement of
call centre staff in the given context?
Statistically the relationship is positive but weak and more significant
Statistically the relationship is positive but weak and not significant
Statistically the relationship is positive but weak and not significant
What is the relationship between self-awareness and the presence and absence of call centre
staff in the given context?
What is the relationship between social skills and the quality assurance measurement of call
centre staff in the given context?
What is the relationship between empathy and the quality assurance measurement of call
centre staff in the given context?
What is the relationship between self-motivation and the quality assurance measurement of
call centre staff in the given context?
What is the relationship between social skills and the productivity of call centre staff in the
given context?
What is the relationship between empathy and the productivity of call centre staff in the given
context?
What is the relationship between self-motivation and the productivity of call centre staff in the
given context?
What is the relationship between self-regulation and the productivity of call centre staff in the
given context?
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Limitations of Research
Due to the time limits and constraints, the researcher will be unable to apply the findings of
the research to more than one call centre. The group being tested may not be a good
representative sample of all the call centres in the medical aid scheme administration industry
in South Africa and hence the outcome of the study may not be true for all call centres in this
industry.
Other limitations arose due to the fact that the test is a self-assessment test of the call centre
agent’s own thoughts and opinion of themselves, therefore being subjective and not objective,
they could possibly, incorrectly, analyse their own competencies.
Another short coming is that the job performance appraisal of the call centre agent has a
subjective element to it which lowers the reliability of the measure. The metrics of job
performance is also specific to the company in question and therefore replication of this
research in other call centres could be difficult as their metrics could be either different or the
weights applied to the various elements could be different, possibly changing the outcome of
the performance ratings.
No.
Q21
A21
Q22
A22
Q23
A23
Q24
A24
Q25
A25
Research Questions and Answers
See text for further detail.
Which factors of the sub-constructs using Multivariate analysis to obtain which factors have
the greatest influence on the results?
What is the relationship between social skills and the presence and absence of call centre
staff in the given context?
What is the relationship between empathy and the presence and absence of call centre staff
in the given context?
What is the relationship between self-motivation and the presence and absence of call centre
staff in the given context?
What is the relationship between self-regulation and the presence and absence of call centre
staff in the given context?
Statistically the relationship is positive but weak and not significant
Statistically the relationship is positive but weak and not significant
Statistically the relationship is positive but weak and significant
Strongest positive association however
Statistically the relationship is positive but weak and not significant
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Conclusion
With the call centre industry experiencing continued growth (Wayde & Rogerson, 2014) there
has been continued pressure on existing call centres to stay relevant by improving
performance, reducing costs while still maintaining exceptional levels of customer service.
In line with this, the greatest expense and asset of any call centre is its people. The
performance of a call centre is reliant on the performance of the people who operate the
phones. Significant improvement of all three factors, cost, performance and customer service
can be achieved if the call centre agent is the focal point.
The research arose with the call centre agent in mind and how their performance could be
improved. Emotional intelligence was chosen as the starting point which in turn led to the
question of whether emotional intelligence has an influence on job performance. This was the
basis of this study and following the literature review it was noted that there were sufficient
areas which had not been addressed by previous research to make this research viable while
adding to the current body of knowledge regarding emotional intelligence, call centre
management and human resource management and human capital improvements.
Previous studies had proven a positive correlation between emotional intelligence and job
performance however none had addressed them in this particular detail before or in the
particular context of a medical aid scheme administrator in South Africa.
The study was quantitative and made use of a self-assessment ITISA questionnaire which was
based on the Goleman (1998) to measure the emotional intelligence of the call centre agents.
The job performance information was supplied by the company in question and these were
used in the statistical analysis.
The statistical analysis made use of correlations analysis and multivariate analysis to draw
correlations between the factors of the study. The significant relationships were then analysed
and discussed and made use of to answer the research questions and give insight into further
research directions.
The main findings highlighted relationships between emotional intelligence, the 5 sub-
constructs as well as their factors with job performance and its three categories. The
relationship between emotional intelligence and job performance was found to be positive
however, not statistically significant.
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Future Research Directions
The research was conducted at a particular call centre in the medical aid scheme industry
sector which is not a prominent industry in South Africa. The sample size was small and
hence findings were not generalizable. Further research is needed in the industry of more than
one call centre with a larger population size to make results generalizable.
This particular call centre used specific job performance requirements which are unique to it
so hence the categories and their weighting are unique as well which means the results are not
generalizable. Further research needs to be conducted on the job performance criteria of a call
centre in this particular industry so that a questionnaire can be created to allow job
performance levels of the call centre agents to be measured. These can then be used in a study
to measure the emotional intelligence and job performance of call centre agents for the
industry. This logic can then be applied to other industries which have call centres as well.
In addition to the above, the standard must look at reducing the inherent opposition between
the quality assurance measurement and the productivity measurement within the call centre
environment by possibly rating and scoring specific call different depending on whether
certain calls require additional time to calm and irate customer for instance. These calls
should possibly be factored differently and exclude the productivity element from them.
This research used a Goleman derived test for measuring the emotional intelligence of call
centre agents which other studies did not. All other studies noted in this study made use
different tests and factor analysis would yield different results in terms of the factors which
are relevant to improved job performance. Further research (meta-analysis) must be done on
all the findings of previous research to model which factors were found to be the largest
predictor of job performance improvement and make recommendations based on those
findings if at all possible.
Finally further studies can be done on the factors in this report with the highest eigenvalues in
terms of the effect they will have on the emotional intelligence and subsequent job
performance in a call centre environment is required as possibly the biggest gains are to be
had by improving them.
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Copyright UCT
71
Demographic Questionnaire
Thank you for completing the survey below. This questionnaire is for the sole purpose of research and
is in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Masters of Business Administration at the
University of Cape Town, Graduate School of Business.
You were specifically chosen for the research is regarding the emotional intelligence and job
performance of call centre staff, in particular the Thebe Ya Bophelo Healthcare Administrators
Inbound Call Centre.
This research has been approved by the University of Cape Town Commerce Faculty Ethics in
Research Committee. Your participation in this research is voluntary. You can choose to withdraw
from the research at any time.
The questionnaire will take approximately 20 minutes to complete. Your time to complete the survey
has been preapproved by your management team.
Due to the nature of the study you will need to provide the researchers with some form of identifiable
information however, all responses will be confidential and used for the purposes of this research only.
By completing the survey you give your consent that the information contained herein and in the
Emotional Intelligence questionnaire may be used for research purposes.
Should you have any questions regarding the research please feel free to contact the researcher:
Grant Jackson
0769 244 211
The questionnaire is outlined on the following page.
Copyright UCT
72
Please answer all questions and place an X in the appropriate box where applicable
Your Name:_________________________________
Age: What is your age?
Sex: Are you Male or Female
Male Female
Ethnicity: What racial group would you describe yourself as?
White Black Coloured Indian Other Prefer not to
Answer
Education: What level of education have you achieved?
*Choose only if you have completed that particular level of study.
Did not finish
School
Matric
Certificate
College
Certificate or
equivalent
Technikon
Diploma or
equivalent
University
Degree or
equivalent
Other
Marital Status: What is your marital status?
Single Married Widowed Divorced Separated
Number of dependants: How many children are you responsible for?
0 1 2 3 4 5>
Employment Type: Are you permanent or contract?
Permanent Contract
How long have you worked at the call centre?
Copyright UCT
74
Strongly
disagreeDisagree Undecided Agree
Strongly
Agree
I have a sound conscious knowledge of my values and
limitation and demonstrate them in my day to day actions
I have an accurate self-assessment of my strengths and
weaknesses
I demonstrate clear recognition of my emotional feeling
I am able to and am comfortable to express my feelings
appropriately in all situations
I have a clear understanding of my thinking style and regularly
balance intuition with analytical thinking
I am able to work with disagreement and conflict in a positive
manner
I find change easy and am able to both adapt and initiate
change without discomfort
Strongly
disagreeDisagree Undecided Agree
Strongly
Agree
I manage and recover from emotional lows in a reasonable time
I am able to be patient and delay immediate results/success in
order to achieve longer term goals
I manage my own life style and ensure balance between the
demands of work and personal commitments
I am flexible in my behaviour and go with the flow comfortably
I am very aware of my 'hot' buttons and know what drives my
emotions
I am able and comfortable to take responsibility and be
accountable for all my actions
I recognise and comfortably deal with 'power relations'
I listen well without judgement and am able to express myself
with clarity
I recognise and value different points of view without pushing
my own point
Strongly
disagreeDisagree Undecided Agree
Strongly
Agree
I have set personal standards of excellence and am able to
motivate myself to achieve
I am optimistic in everything that I do and see life as a journey
with a destination
I have a clear plan with development outcomes identified in
order to meet my life goals
I have a clear purpose to pursue life goals
I am able to control/manage all my emotions in all situations
I have a strong sense of my own self-worth and am confident
demonstrating my capabilities
Self Awareness - Kowing Oneself
Self-Regulation - Managing Oneself
Self-Motivation - Determining One's Future
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75
Strongly
disagreeDisagree Undecided Agree
Strongly
Agree
I accurately read and recognise group dynamics
I believe everyone can develop and regularly coach and
encourage others
I sense and recognise others feelings, emotions and perceptions
I recognise and comfortably deal with 'power relations'
I continuously work on developing my limitations
I am comfortable to maintain standards of honesty and integrity
in my behaviour
Strongly
disagreeDisagree Undecided Agree
Strongly
Agree
I am able to collaborate and work with all other people in the
pursuit of common goals
I lead through: respect, inspiration and guidance
I am comfortable delegating and empowering others with
authority and responsibility
I regularly recognise and respond to opportunities
My belief in others is to achieve unity in diversity whilst dealing
with stereotype behaviours
I am comfortable in handling emotions in relationships without
being drawn in
I am able to persuade and influence others with conviction that
they follow my direction
Empathy - Understanding Others
Social skills - Interacting with Others