EI and Motivation
Successful and reciprocal communication in the organizational setting is the key to building a robust environment for increased performance and employee engagement. For this reason, the notion of emotional intelligence (EI) has recently been introduced to the context of the corporate environment. The phenomenon of EI is believed to produce a direct influence on the efficacy of employees’ performance due to the increase in their motivation and engagement. In fact, the very structure of the EI as a tool used in communication between HR managers and staff members includes the item of motivation as one of its baseline notions (Joseph, Jin, Newman, & O’Boyle, 2015). Therefore, the correlation between the introduction of EI as the essential component of communication in the workplace and the levels of employee engagement is quite transparent, as seen in the example of Vivint Solar.
Increasing the extent of employee motivation with the help of EI-based strategies will become possible once the principles of reciprocity are firmly integrated into the corporate philosophy and HR politics. As soon as staff members at Vivint Solar see that their needs are met and that their voices are heard, they will start developing loyalty and trust toward their company. The described process is particularly important for the organization in question due to the recent increase in resistance to change caused by the need to update the existing quality standards (Joseph et al., 2015). By setting a communication channel through which employees will address managers and vice versa, one will foster the environment of reciprocity and transparency, thus leading to an increase in the rates of employee engagement and motivation. The described alterations in the corporate model for building relationships with stakeholders will require several adjustments, yet the expected outcomes will cause rapid progress.
EI and Social Skills and Decision-Making
Rational and effective decision-making constitutes one of the cornerstones of a company’s successful performance in the market of its choice. The energy market in which the Vivint Solar company operates represents a particularly large challenge for the firm to keep up the pace with the latest innovative solutions and the ever-increasing quality standards. Thus, the probability of making an error during the decision-making process at Vivint Solar must be minimized for the organization to retain high rates of competitiveness. The application of the EI principles, in turn, will allow overcoming the fear of making an error. By using EI as the tool for communicating organizational values and principles, Vivint Solar will convey the message of employer engagement and the readiness to use talent management to invest in its employees’ professional growth.
Facing risks, especially in the organizational context and as a professional, often lead to experiencing the phenomenon of incidental anxiety, which reduces an employees’ willingness to participate in decision-making (Altındağ & Kösedağı, 2015). Causing a stupendous drop in the levels of initiative among staff members, the problem of incidental anxiety has been quite prominent in the Vivint Solar sets. The problem is also linked to the effects of failing to deliver the required services, which is admittedly sizeable for Vivint Solar. Being the leading supplier of solar energy in its target market, the company has set very high-quality standards for its staff members. The integration of EI as a tool for communicating corporate values will let staff members know that the organization does not aim at putting them under pressure but, instead, focuses on improving their experience and serving as a catalyst for their professional growth.
Effective Teams
Appealing to individuals as the means is only one means of enhancing the quality of performance. In addition to catering to the needs and demands of the individual; employees, an HR manager at Vivint Solar will also need to focus on building a team in which staff members will cooperate on a cross-disciplinary level. The described approach toward problem-solving within an organization is particularly important since it gives its participants a broader perspective of the factors that have to be taken into account and the impact that their solutions may produce (Maqbool, Sudong, Manzoor, & Rashid, 2017). The integration of the EI principles will help to encourage collaboration within a multidisciplinary team by reducing the probability of disagreements that cause disruptions within a team’s functioning.
The core attributes of an effective team, which include reciprocal communication, acceptance of organizational values, contribution to the shared goal, leadership, support, and teamwork, allow shaping the team dynamics in the way that maximizes the utility of the staff’s efforts. In the environment of Vivint Solar, fostering the development of the core attributes within the selected team will need the support of a manager who is aware of the culture-specific needs of team members (Maqbool et al., 2017). Applying the equilibrium strategy aimed at promoting commitment within the team and ensuring that every participant receives a respective reward after the accomplishment of key goals will help to create an effective, goal-oriented team (Georgiadis & Tang, 2017). Moreover, it will be crucial to incentivize the change in the attitudes of staff members to ensure that employee motivation and engagement levels are high enough to pursue the required degree of service quality.
Reward Systems
To prompt initiative, engagement, and compliance with increased demands for quality, Vivint Solar will require a combined system of financial rewards and emotional support provided to its staff members. The described decision is supported by the principles of EI, which suggest that the emotional response in the form of active encouragement and recognition of employees’ contribution to the company’s development are equal to financial incentives in their importance (Altındağ & Kösedağı, 2015). Therefore, Vivint Solar will have to consider using not only financial prizes for the staff members that have excelled in their efforts at meeting the set objectives and addressing customers’ needs.
For the employees at Vivint Solar to remain engaged and focus on excelling in their performance, a combination of financial benefits and public recognition of staff members’ success will have to be used. The emotional support that the latter will provide will be especially effective when coupled with the financial rewards that staff members will receive for being especially enthusiastic in their performance. Moreover, Vivint Solar will need to introduce an innovative talent management framework that will allow employees to build additional competencies and increase the level of the ones that they currently possess. As a result, the firm will launch the platform for professional lifelong learning within the team. The specified learning process will be supported by the notion of knowledge sharing and interdisciplinary work, which will make staff members see that they are valued and appreciated by the organization.
To avoid unhealthy competition in the context of the newly adopted changes, Vivint Solar will have to focus on promoting corporate values rooted in collaboration and support. Thus, staff members will see financial incentives and public acknowledgment of their efforts in relation to their personal progress and not as a reason for aggressive rivalry (Georgiadis & Tang, 2017). Therefore, the current corporate values of Vivint Solar will be reexamined to implement the proposed change.
Executive Summary
To gain traction in the industry that has been saturated with businesses offering innovative solutions, an organization needs a competitive advantage rooted in the performance of its employees. Thus, EI as the basis for enhancing the existing HR strategy has to be incorporated into the setting of the Vivint Solar organization. Introducing innovative solutions to the selected market, the company needs a team of devoted and motivated staff members to ensure the high quality of its services and end products.
The introduction of the principles linked to EI will help to reorganize the corporate values and affect the team dynamics positively to ensure that employees are fully motivated and eager to participate. The use of EI allows creating a unique rapport with staff members and familiarize oneself with their goals, values, and philosophies. As a result, an HR manager can structure the dialogue with employees to promote corporate values to the target audience, at the same time creating the setting where they will feel entirely comfortable and encouraged to perform to the best of their abilities.
The change that will take place at Vivint Solar with the introduction of EI-based HR strategies will also affect the company’s policies for rewards and incentives in the workplace. Staff members will be offered a greater benefit package and given encouragement as they complete another milestone in their professional progress. As soon as Vivint Solar starts focusing on EI as the crucial item in its communication strategy, its performance in the selected market will improve.
References
Altındağ, E., & Kösedağı, Y. (2015). The relationship between emotional intelligence of managers, innovative corporate culture and employee performance. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 210, 270-282. Web.
Georgiadis, G., & Tang, C. S. (2017). Project contracting strategies for managing team dynamics. In Handbook of information exchange in supply chain management (pp. 89-105). New York, NY: Springer.
Joseph, D. L., Jin, J., Newman, D. A., & O’Boyle, E. H. (2015). Why does self-reported emotional intelligence predict job performance? A meta-analytic investigation of mixed EI. Journal of Applied Psychology, 100(2), 298-342. Web.
Maqbool, R., Sudong, Y., Manzoor, N., & Rashid, Y. (2017). The impact of emotional intelligence, project managers’ competencies, and transformational leadership on project success: An empirical perspective. Project Management Journal, 48(3), 58-75.