Hamilton and UK people development business The Effect and JCA have partnered to deliver British psychologist Jo Maddocks' take on Emotional Intelligence (EI) to New Zealand.

Mr Maddocks, who runs JCA in Cheltenham, UK, with psychologist Tim Sparrow, has signed a five-year agreement with The Effect owner/operator Annette Ryan, who will deliver EI products developed by the JCA team to clients from her Grey St office.

Mr Maddocks, who leaves New Zealand tomorrow after two weeks in Hamilton, said there had been a lot of interest in EI during the past decade with about 70 percent of UK businesses using the theory to train staff to manage their personalities to be personally and interpersonally effective in the workplace.

While the theory was well known in New Zealand Mr Maddocks doubted it was implemented on such a large scale here.

"They know about it," he said.

"There's such a big gap between knowing about it and doing something with it."

Mr Maddocks said the EI products he had helped develop, which The Effect has the Australasian rights to for five years, would help companies change the workplace.

A questionaire meaures staff in a wide range of areas, including flexibility and trust, rating them on a scale of one to 10.

Mr Maddocks found in the UK that those who took the test had, three months later, moved up the scale by at least one decile point and in some cases two, creating personal, departmental and institutional well-being.

"If you work at all three levels you find each affect the other," he said.

Ms Ryan, who researched EI and invited Mr Maddocks to New Zealand having  met him in Britain, said the questionnaire helped business become more people-focused.

"It's working with peoples attitudes and ways of thinking," she said.

By Chris Gardner
Business Editor
Waikato Times, Saturday July 28, 2007