We’re thrilled to share with you our latest and greatest project – the e-Factor® initiative! As emotional intelligence experts, we and you know first-hand the importance of EQ in every aspect of life, from personal relationships to professional success.
I, along with the team, have been working to develop the world’s first comprehensive, generic, ability-based Emotional Intelligence Assessment tool that factors in ability, self-report, and 360 ratings. It focuses on testing a person’s perceived and actual EI abilities – as well as their ability to navigate real-life situations with situational awareness judgments. We’ve created a tool that leaves no stone unturned and breaks through the current plethora of trait and mixed tools that hasn’t really changed in 20 years (Ref https://e-space.mmu.ac.uk/627419/ accessed March 2023).
Have you got the e-Factor®?
Self-report
The Self-Report Tool enables an individual to assess their own judgment of their emotional intelligence abilities across the 12 EQ competencies.
360-report
The EIA 360-Report Tool is designed to identify blind spots and discrepancies between an individual's self-report and others' perceptions.
Objective assessment
Objective Assessment Tool is a state-of-the-art product that determines an individual's actual knowledge, skills, and capabilities across the emotional intelligence spectrum.
Following completion of the assessments, an algorithm then integrates these three profiles into the “e-Factor®” – effectively an ‘IQ’ equivalent for Emotional Intelligence. This is done to produce a measure that isn’t merely based on self or peer perception, nor a test that a ‘well-read’ person might know the ‘right answers’ to whilst being unable to apply the knowledge across a range of contexts. We want organisations and individual users to trust the output and know what a high e-Factor® score means.
You will know from what’s out there that e-Factor® is unique. We believe this will be a game-changer in the world of EQ measurement and be a real breakthrough for HR, recruitment, coaching, leadership/team/personal development, and wider talent management applications.
Gone are the days when EQ tests could be passed by those who simply knew the right answer. With the e-Factor®, we're ushering in a new era of Emotional Intelligence assessment that will change the way we can approach personal and professional development.
Why are EIA doing this?
We recognize that many users of the toolset will need support to interpret their results and convert the data into priorities and plans. Whilst basic interpretation guidelines are built into the three individual profiles, we are keen to establish an international network of EIA Certified e-Factor® Facilitators (CeFFs) to whom we can signpost individual and corporate e-Factor® users and clients. We particularly welcome trainers and coaches who already offer EI-related support and development (well-being, leadership, teams, etc.) who might want to use the toolset to diagnose individual abilities prior to development and again post-development to allow themselves and clients to measure and evaluate improvements made.
Whilst EIA has a comprehensive range of online and virtual-live EI modules and resources that CeFFs can broker to clients if they wish to, we actively encourage CeFFs to provide and/or source their own bespoke development routes for clients. This means you don’t have to be a professional trainer to get involved, but if you are, it means you can design and offer more options yourself to your clients. EIA can offer help in that design, but we will not interfere in the delivery or the financial/certification aspects – that would be your business. This means our friends and colleagues working in the EI-related field can use the toolset and e-Factor® facilitation to enhance their existing businesses (e.g. those accredited via, or working with NLP, ICF, ICC, AC, BIG-5, DISC, INSIGHTS, PAUL EKMAN ASSOCIATES, CIPD, ATD, SHRM, and other EI associated professional services/products).
Our goal is to establish a high-quality global network of CeFFs where EIA will not provide e-Factor® Facilitation services to toolset users; we will, instead, signpost toolset clients to those we have Certified. For the first two years, we will be operating in the English language, though during that time, we will be highlighting partners who can help us translate the tools into multiple languages.
What is involved in becoming a CeFF?
You are half-way there as we know you. We are looking to recruit 24 of you from across the globe for the inaugural CeFF programme. Once accepted and registered in the CeFF process, you will need to attend our three-day virtual training course on Wednesday, 24 May 2023, to Friday, 26 May 2023. Three 90-minute ‘Zoom’ sessions will run from 10am to 4pm each day (London time). You MUST attend these live to participate. We apologise for the UK time zone – but we want to cater for the Americas, Europe, Middle East, and ASEAN regions.
Two weeks in advance of attendance, you will be sent links to complete the three tests that make up the e-Factor® score. The e-Factor® triad of tools isn’t being launched to the public until we have CEFs identified. A threshold e-Factor® (‘EQ’) score of 140 (from a 200 ‘genius’ maximum) must be achieved before you are Certified, though you will be allowed to enter the CeFF process whilst you top-up your EI abilities in parallel if you don’t hit this target the first time.
Reaching that e-Factor® score is essential to Certification as our CeFFs must be able to ‘walk-the-talk’ before we let you loose with the EIA toolset on your clients. It’s a credibility and brand issue for you and us.
On the three days, the EIA team will take you through the interpretation protocols and templates with extensive practice using and building your skills with others on the course. To be Certified, you need to pass a post-course online Assignment (70%+), EIA Tutor assessment, and have achieved the required e-Factor® score. Candidates are subject to a further viva-voce virtual interview prior to Certification if deemed necessary by EIA as a condition of Certification. We also reserve the right to conduct annual viva-voce sessions or assignments as necessary or randomly for quality assurance purposes. Certified status can be removed in exceptional circumstances by EIA if deemed necessary.
Those who don’t meet the required standard first time can agree a PDP with the EIA team designed to help you achieve the Certification. We will provide and lead a free forum for candidates for your continued professional development and we will support you following the three days. There will be two or three 1/2 day tutor-facilitated (virtual) network events per year that will be compulsory for CeFFs to enable sharing of best practices and share the building validation dataset ourcomes.
Whilst there are no exclusive territories or guaranteed work from EIA, we plan to develop a global network that will be validated by an EIA digital Badge and Certificate (Certify validated) that you can use in your business, resumes, and social media profiles.
What is the Investment?
Certified e-Factor®️ Facilitator programme: £12,000, which includes:
- 3-day live virtual training
- e-Factor facilitator assessment
- 1x e-Factor assessment – Personal use
- 12x FREE e-Factor assessments for clients (Value £1200)
Annual Renewal – £3000 Includes:
- 12x e-Factor assessments for clients (Value £1680)
All additional assessments can be purchased at the RRP of £100 per assessment.
Special Offer:
Anyone who signs up for two years before March 31st 2023, will receive their second year at half price. This means a total of £5600 for year one and year two, plus 24 e-Factor® assessments.
Bulk Buy Discount:
CeFFs who bulk-buy an additional 50 of the e-Factor® assessments for their clients will receive a 50% discount on the RRP rate on the EIA site at the time of order. Retests on the e-Factor® tool are purchased as if they are initial tests, and the same discounts apply.
These prices are subject to increase once the two-year validation process is completed, but the 24 early adopters’ prices and discounts will be locked in for 3 years. CeFF early adopters will also be given access to the validation reports on an ongoing basis.
What Do I Do Now?
A. Make sure you can make the dates… Wednesday, 24 May 2023, to Friday 26 May 2023. Three 90-minute ‘Zoom’ sessions will run from 10am to 4pm each day (London time).
B. Follow the link below to apply for the very first CeFF programme.
FAQ's
The Emotional Intelligence Academy aims to establish itself as the benchmark for Emotional Intelligence (EI) by providing a comprehensive framework for researchers and organisations worldwide to develop and evaluate EI. Our goal is to create an EI IQ equivalent that will serve as a gold standard for measuring and improving emotional intelligence skills. By doing so, we aim to facilitate the development of individuals and organisations who seek to enhance their emotional intelligence capabilities.
You will have the opportunity to be the first person in the world to experience the emotional intelligence tools in early May. However, before that, we will carry out some final SME (Subject Matter Expert) validation in April to ensure the tools’ accuracy and reliability.
No, it is not. Unlike other EI tools that may have a specific target audience, our emotional intelligence test is a generic tool that takes into account both work and personal life contexts. This approach enables the test to provide a comprehensive understanding of the test-taker’s emotional intelligence in various aspects of their life.
Moreover, it’s essential to note that we acknowledge that individuals with high emotional intelligence may not necessarily prioritize “well-being” or “pro-social” goals in their lives. For instance, athletes or individuals in competitive industries may prioritize other values, such as competitiveness or winning. Therefore, we decided not to tailor the tool towards any particular profession or values to avoid introducing cultural bias.
Ultimately, our emotional intelligence test aims to provide a fair and unbiased assessment of an individual’s emotional intelligence, much like IQ tests.
As a CeFF, you will be equipped with a range of resources to support your work with clients. You will receive an “e-Factor® Guidebook” that can be shared freely with e-Factor® clients. In addition, we will provide you with various templates and guidance notes that will help you guide users in transforming the data from their profiles into practical and actionable Personal Development Plans (PDPs). The “e-Factor® Guidebook” contains detailed research on the model and e-Factor®. Moreover, we will supplement it with validation reports on a regular basis to keep you and your clients informed about its impact. We will also provide you with a curriculum outline matrix that outlines the knowledge, understanding, and skills underlying each of the 12 competencies so that you can support users in building their Emotional Intelligence capabilities. These resources will enable you to work more effectively with clients, providing them with the tools they need to enhance their Emotional Intelligence skills.
The goal is to facilitate individuals in identifying their developmental priorities and creating Personal Development Plans (PDPs) accordingly. While we provide an “e-Factor® Guidebook,” as well as continuously developing online and live/virtual modules that you can direct clients to, we strongly encourage our Certified Emotional Intelligence Facilitators (CeFFs) to develop their own solutions for their clients. As a CeFF, you are free to use, develop, or source development options that work best for your clients. We are here to support you in this endeavour, as retesting clients is not only an indicator of the learning achieved by the client but it also measures the effectiveness of the development solutions you or we offer. Our aim is to help you create a tailored, effective, and sustainable development plan for your clients, resulting in meaningful and long-lasting Emotional Intelligence growth.
We leave the pricing decision to our CeFFs, and we do not request or expect any commissions or percentages of their income. We believe that each CeFF should set their pricing options based on their experience, qualifications, and market demand. As a CeFF, you are free to determine the value of your services and set your rates accordingly. We are here to support you in any way possible to ensure that you can provide the highest quality Emotional Intelligence services to your clients while building a successful business.
EIA does not plan to validate or accredit training and development solutions offered by CeFFs. While we provide support, guidance, and resources to our CeFFs, we leave it to the discretion of each CeFF to develop their training and development solutions for their clients. We encourage all CeFFs to adhere to best practices and ethical standards while developing their solutions.
The use of the EIA main logo is not authorised for external use. However, as a Certified e-Factor Facilitator, you are entitled to use the CeFF digital badge and certificate that are awarded to all CeFFs. The digital badge and certificate provide recognition and accreditation of your certification, and you may use them in your marketing materials, email signatures, and social media accounts to showcase your affiliation. These digital assets ensure that your clients and partners recognise the quality and standards of your Emotional Intelligence services.
We hope that our early adopters will actively promote the e-Factor® model globally, providing Emotional Intelligence coaching and support to meet the demand for their services. We are committed to maintaining a high standard of Emotional Intelligence facilitation by only scaling up our provision if we identify a demand-supply strain. In the meantime, we will continue to provide our existing CeFFs with ongoing support, resources, and training opportunities to help them improve their Emotional Intelligence capabilities and ensure they deliver the highest quality of services to their clients. We believe that building a community of skilled and dedicated CeFFs will enable us to achieve our goal of enhancing Emotional Intelligence worldwide, and we remain committed to supporting our CeFFs as they grow and develop their businesses.
We value the professionalism and ethical conduct of our CeFFs, and we expect all of our registered facilitators to adhere to the high standards of our Code of Practice. We will only remove a CeFF status in exceptional circumstances where we identify malpractice, serious complaints, or a breach of our Code of Practice. Our Code of Practice outlines the standards of conduct and ethical behaviour we expect from our CeFFs, and we provide support and guidance to ensure they meet these standards. However, in cases where a CeFF fails to meet our standards, we may remove their certification to ensure that our clients receive the highest quality Emotional Intelligence services from our network of qualified professionals. We are committed to maintaining the integrity of our certification process and ensuring that our CeFFs provide the highest quality services to their clients.
To become a CeFF, candidates must pass a short post-course assessment by scoring 70% or more. The assessment aims to verify that candidates fully understand the e-Factor® assessment tool triad, including its protocols, practices, and processes, required to help users create meaningful Personal Development Plans (PDPs). In addition to the post-course assessment, candidates must undergo self/peer/tutor assessment during the course and achieve an e-Factor® score of at least 140 out of 200. These rigorous requirements ensure that our CeFFs possess the knowledge and skills necessary to provide high-quality Emotional Intelligence services to their clients. We are committed to maintaining the highest standards of professional conduct and ethical behaviour among our CeFFs and ensuring that our clients receive the best possible support in developing their Emotional Intelligence.
The e-Factor® assessment tool comprises three parts, representing an objective assessment of a person’s Emotional Intelligence capabilities, their self-awareness of their abilities, and perspectives from others who experience their EI in life and work. At EIA, we use an algorithm that heavily weighs the objective assessment while relying on the reliability that triangulated data sources provide. Therefore, it is not permissible to use only one part of the e-Factor® assessment tool. The triangulation of these three data sources provides a comprehensive and accurate assessment of an individual’s Emotional Intelligence capabilities, enabling us to create meaningful Personal Development Plans (PDPs) that support growth in Emotional Intelligence.
We are committed to developing and delivering a high-quality e-Factor® assessment tool that provides an accurate assessment of an individual’s Emotional Intelligence capabilities. Currently, the tool has not been fully validated across the global population. However, we are dedicating the two-year period to building a diverse dataset across multiple demographics to ensure there is no bias in the instrument. While we have taken significant steps to prevent bias during the development phase, we recognise the importance of objective validation to ensure that our assessment tool is fair and accurate for everyone. To facilitate this process, everyone who takes the test is asked to complete a demographics declaration, which will assist us in analysing the data and identifying any potential biases. Our commitment to accuracy and fairness underpins everything we do, and we will continue to work diligently to ensure that our e-Factor® assessment tool meets the highest standards of quality and excellence.
We recognise the importance of making our e-Factor® assessment tool accessible to people from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds. Therefore, we plan to translate our assessment tool into other languages after the two-year validation period. To ensure that the standard is maintained in territories where English isn’t the first language, we will partner with professionals who can provide high-quality translations. We believe that Emotional Intelligence is a fundamental human skill that everyone should have the opportunity to develop, and we will continue to work diligently to achieve this goal.
The objective test of the e-Factor® assessment tool consists of 168 items. Completing the objective test usually takes a maximum of around 45 minutes. This test measures the individual’s Emotional Intelligence capabilities across 12 competencies, providing a comprehensive and accurate assessment of their EI skills. We are committed to ensuring that our e-Factor® assessment tool meets the highest standards of quality and accuracy, and the inclusion of 168 items in the objective test enables us to achieve this goal.
In May, the objective SJT/knowledge element of the e-Factor® assessment tool will have time limits on each question. This approach is based on research that reminds us that some tests can be subject to manipulation, which can make them unreliable. Human interactions, especially high-stake ones, rely on spontaneous responses, and it is not always practical or feasible to research the answer during difficult conversations, conflict situations, or relationship interactions. Therefore, we have built-in sufficient time for users to understand the questions and options to make an informed response but not enough time for users to conduct in-depth research. We time-limit each question to ensure that users who struggle to choose the appropriate responses do not get stuck on one question and end up missing the last chunk of questions. We have catered to slower reading in the timing and remind users to use accessibility aids (e.g., ‘hear the question’) if they prefer to hear the content rather than read it. Our goal is to create a sensible balance between standardisation and open access, though we will do everything possible during the validation period to enhance access. We will respond to any specific request to make the instrument accessible to as many people as possible.
We have invested ten years of research and development into creating the e-Factor® assessment tool, and we have worked diligently to ensure that it meets the highest standards of quality and accuracy. Once the final Subject Matter Expert (SME) validation is completed in April 2023, we will keep the instrument stable to avoid introducing any intrinsic variables. During the two-year global validation period, we will collect feedback and data from users worldwide to identify any necessary refinements or improvements to the assessment tool. As professional researchers, we will respond to the uses, feedback, and applications of the e-Factor® assessment tool and make any necessary changes before the full-scale release and translations in 2025. Our commitment to excellence, rigour, and transparency will ensure the e-Factor® assessment tool remains at the forefront of the field of Emotional Intelligence
Yes. As we approach the end of the global validation period, we are confident that we will have the validation data to support our goal, and we will need to scale the provision and support significantly by then. Nevertheless, we value the support of our early adopters, and as a thank you for joining us on this journey, we will offer a three-year price cap and bulk-buy discounts on the tool.
Unfortunately, we do not offer refunds for failing the e-Factor® assessment tool. However, we have carefully selected you for this initiative, and we do not expect our clients to fail.
The annual registration fee for the e-Factor® assessment tool commences on 1st June 2023, after you have completed the triad of tools and the three-day workshop has ended.
We are confident we can get you through from your baseline knowledge and skill. If, for any reason, you do not meet the required standards for the CeFF, we will work with you to generate a Personal Development Plan (PDP) that addresses any gaps in your knowledge or skills.
We require a commitment from our clients at the registration stage to secure their place on the programme. Therefore, we ask for payment in full at the time of registration. You have been invited as we know you, so you are pre-accepted into the programme.
We must keep expectations clear. We do not guarantee referrals. We encourage CeFFs to develop their own marketing and outreach strategies to attract clients and build their business. Our goal is to support our CeFFs in their professional development and provide them with the tools, resources, and support they need to succeed.
We do not offer exclusive territories or regions to our CeFFs. However, we do not restrict your marketing efforts in any way. As a CeFF, you are free to promote your services and build your business in any way that you see fit. We encourage our CeFFs to be proactive in their marketing efforts and to develop their own strategies to attract clients and build their brand.
We have developed the e-Factor® assessment tool based on research with adults, and it would be irresponsible to apply it to children and adolescents. Therefore, we cannot support the use of the e-Factor® assessment tool with children. However, we are working on a children’s model and assessment methodology in parallel, and our ultimate goal is to make Emotional Intelligence accessible to the 4-9-year-old demographic. We believe that the prevention of emotional skill problems in children is much more humane and simpler than relying on prisons and increased mental health care demand.
CeFF Code of Conduct
Emotional Intelligence Academy is committed to upholding the highest standards of professionalism, integrity, and ethical conduct in all of our activities. We know you hold these same principles too, and we, therefore, expect all Certified e-Factor Facilitators (CeFFs) to uphold the following code of conduct:
- Professionalism: CeFFs should always act in a professional and courteous manner, treating their clients with respect and dignity. They should maintain the highest standards of competence, honesty, and integrity in all of their activities.
- Confidentiality: CeFFs should respect the privacy and confidentiality of their clients at all times. They should not disclose any personal or sensitive information about their clients without their express consent.
- Non-discrimination: CeFFs should not discriminate against any individual or group on the basis of race, gender, age, sexual orientation, religion, or any other characteristic.
- Ethical practice: CeFFs should always act in accordance with ethical principles and values, avoiding any behaviour that may be considered unethical or unprofessional.
- Continuous learning: CeFFs should engage in ongoing professional development to enhance their knowledge, skills, and abilities in the field of Emotional Intelligence.
- Compliance with laws and regulations: CeFFs should comply with all applicable laws, regulations, and professional standards in their work.
- Communication: CeFFs should communicate clearly and effectively with their clients, using appropriate language and avoiding jargon or technical terms that may be confusing.
- Accountability: CeFFs should take responsibility for their actions and be accountable for the outcomes of their work. They should be open to feedback and willing to make changes to improve their performance.
At EIA, we take our commitment to ethical conduct very seriously, and we expect our CeFFs to adhere to this code of conduct at all times. We believe that our CeFFs are among the best in the field of Emotional Intelligence, and we are committed to supporting them in their professional development and growth. By working together to uphold the highest standards of professionalism and ethical conduct, we can achieve our shared goal of enhancing Emotional Intelligence capabilities in individuals and organizations worldwide.
