Staff perception of leader emotional competency as a predictor of satisfaction with retention factors.

Abstract

This study explored whether staff members’ perceptions of leaders’ emotional competency (measured by the Emotional Competency Profiler) significantly and positively predict their satisfaction with a set of factors highlighted by the research literature as being important in the retention of staff (measured by the Retention Factors Scale). Data were collected from a non-probability purposive sample of staff (n = 158) in an asset management company. Multiple regression analysis was conducted to test the proposed research hypothesis. Our results show that staff perceptions of leaders’ emotional competency significantly influence their satisfaction with important retention factors. Organizations need to invest in interventions that enhance their managers’ emotional competency.