Abstract
This study contributes to a deeper understanding of emotional intelligence as a critical success factor in the selling of funeral insurance policies. Insights are drawn from a quantitative study that adopted a convenience sampling approach. The study tested the extent to which emotional competencies are related to job performance of funeral policy sales agents. Thirty Eight (38) agents from an insurance firm in the Midlands province of Zimbabwe participated in this study. A Schutte emotional intelligence test was used to test their overall emotional intelligence as well as their four competencies of emotional intelligence. Agents also responded to questions that tested their ability to handle client rejection and supplied other relevant data, such as age and work experience. The data was analysed using SPSS, and the output revealed that there was a positive relationship between emotional intelligence and performance. The results also revealed that some of the competences on emotional intelligence were insignificantly related to sales agents’ performance while others, such as appraisal of emotion and social skills, were significant. The results confirm that emotional intelligence is an important critical success factor in the insurance industry and management should utilise it in planning. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n20p381
Highlights
Contemporary and globalised business environments demand that management be abreast with the critical enabling elements that create sustainable business growth and ensure competitive advantage over rivals (Sambamurthy, Baharadwaj and Grover 2003, Ferrier, Smith and Grimm, 1999)
The results from the emotional intelligence test were computed in IBM SPSS Version 21 and reflected in tables: 6.1 Emotional intelligence relationship to performance output
This study was carried out to uncover the relationship between emotional intelligence and performance in the funeral insurance policy industry
Summary
Contemporary and globalised business environments demand that management be abreast with the critical enabling elements that create sustainable business growth and ensure competitive advantage over rivals (Sambamurthy, Baharadwaj and Grover 2003, Ferrier, Smith and Grimm, 1999). Empirical evidence was collected to measure emotional intelligence and to determine whether it is one of the critical elements of success in the funeral policy insurance industry. Pilossof (2009) points out that, during 2009, the insurance industry was recovering and that government raised minimum capital requirements to protect policy holders. Given this background, the objective of this study was to understand the critical success factors in the funeral policy insurance industry, with specific reference to the role of emotional intelligence as an element that should be nurtured by management for optimal performance of sales agents
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