176

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SELECTION AND ASSESSMENT

PROFESSIONAL FORUM

Emotional Intelligence in the Collection

of Debt
John Bachman, Steven Stein*, K. Campbell and Gill Sitarenios
Two studies are reported which compare more and less successful account officers (debt
collectors) in terms of their emotional intelligence, measured using the BarOn Emotional
Quotient Inventory. The findings support the view that higher levels of emotional
intelligence lead to enhanced job performance. Implications for selection are considered in
the conclusion.

* Address for correspondence:

Steven Stein, Multi-Health
Systems, 3770 Victoria Park
Avenue, Toronto, Ontario
M2H 3M6.

Volume 8 Number 3

In the collections business, the best strategy for

avoiding destructive encounters with customers is
to prevent them. An old martial arts adage states
that a battle avoided is a battle not lost. A new
work-place adage states that emotional intelligence yields success. A synthesis of the wisdom
distilled from these sources suggests that two
groupings of emotional competencies (Bar-On
1997; Goleman 1998) can prevent such deal
destruction. The first grouping, consisting of selfawareness (i.e., recognizing one's own feelings)
and empathy (i.e., knowing others' feelings),
permits the account officer to know which
feelings indicate the potential for an `emotional
hijack' of negotiations and the consequent
outcome of ruined deals. The other grouping,
consisting of self-control (i.e., containing disruptive emotions) and adaptability (i.e., managing
conflict flexibly), allows an account officer to
negotiate with less concern of falling victim to a
destructive emotional encounter evoked by a
customer's helpless, rude or lewd comments.
The classic hijack encountered by account
officers is `over-identification' with the customer.
When the customer appears to be helpless and
the situation hopeless, the overly empathic
account officer can blur the psychological
boundaries and identify with the customer as a
victim. This occurs when an empathic response
dissolves into a sympathetic response, leaving
the account officer in a state of `empathy distress'
(Goleman 1998). If the officer lacks the emotional
self-management skills needed to regulate or
calm this distress, then the situation can lead to
the negotiation of a more lenient deal that is less
than optimal for the collection agency (CFS in
this case). Another common emotional hijack is
`identification with the aggressor'. Here, the
account officer with little self-control again blurs
the boundaries and identifies with the belligerent,

September 2000

abusive customer. The interaction deteriorates

into a destructive shouting match and ruins any
possibility of a deal. A third kind of hijack occurs
when there is `identification with the seducer'.
Again, the vulnerable account officer may be
seduced by a sweet-talking and persuasive, sometimes overtly sexual, customer into negotiating a
deal that is best only for the customer. It was
speculated that skills associated with emotional
intelligence would enable account officers to be
more successful in their collections, in part, by
enabling them to bypass potential emotional
hijacks.
CFS conducted a `Best Practices' study of
successful account officers in order to identify the
attributes that contribute to their consistently
superior collections. A synthesis of results
obtained from that study revealed that these
attributes include (a) attitude; (b) skills; (c)
leadership; and (d) emotional intelligence. Even
though emotional intelligence has been identified
as a distinct category, the other attributes also are
undoubtedly rooted in prerequisite underlying
emotional competencies. This article presents the
findings specifically related to the investigation
of emotional intelligence as a separate attribute.
The role played by underlying emotional
competencies in the other attributes (i.e., attitude,
skills, and leadership) will be reviewed briefly in
the Summary.
It is hypothesized that working with emotional intelligence enables account officers to achieve
greater success in collections. Two studies were
conducted in order to test this hypothesis. In
Study 1, results from the administration of an
emotional intelligence measure were compared
between `best practices' (i.e., most successful) and
`less successful' account officers. In Study 2,
scores on emotional intelligence and success at
collections (defined as the average percentage of
Blackwell Publishers Ltd 2000, 108 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 1JF, UK and
350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA.

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN THE COLLECTION OF DEBT

cash goal attained over a specified time period)

were compared between the `best' and `less
successful' practices groups.

Method: Study 1
Participants
Participants were 36 account officers employed at
CFS who participated in the `Best Practices' study
conducted in September and October 1998. Two
groups were selected on the basis of their
performance in conducting collections negotiations. The `Best Practices' group consisted of
24 account officers who were identified as having
been consistently high producers. The `Less
Successful' group consisted of 12 account officers
who were identified as having had consistently
low production in the period that preceded
commencement of the study.
Measure
The instrument employed in this study was the
BarOn Emotional Quotient Inventory (Bar-On
1997). The Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i)
is designed to measure emotional intelligence in
individuals 16 years of age and older. Emotional
intelligence pertains to the emotional, personal,
social, and survival dimensions of intelligence,
rather than the strictly cognitive skills related to
learning, memory recall, thinking, and reasoning.
An emotional intelligence score helps to predict
`success' in life. It also reflects one's current
coping skills, ability to deal with daily environmental demands, degree of `common sense', and
ultimately, overall mental health.
The EQ-i consists of 133 items that yield, in
addition to the emotional intelligence scores, validity checks in the form of positive and negative
impression scores and a response inconsistency
score. Also, the EQ-i produces scores for 5 composite factors and 15 sub-scales of emotional
intelligence. The Intrapersonal composite consists
of five sub-scales: Emotional Self-Awareness,
Assertiveness, Self-Regard, Self-Actualization,
and Independence. The Interpersonal composite
consists of three sub-scales: Empathy, Interpersonal Relationship, and Social Responsibility.
The Adaptability composite includes three subscales: Problem Solving, Reality Testing, and
Flexibility. The Stress Management scale is
comprised of two sub-scales: Stress Tolerance
and Impulse Control. The General Mood
composite includes two sub-scales: Happiness
and Optimism.
EQ-i raw scores for these composite factors
and sub-scales are converted into standard scores
that have a mean of 100 and a Standard
Deviation of 15. This is done to make comparisons within and between individuals and

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177

groups easier to comprehend. In this way,

reporting of the EQ-i results resembles that of
the traditional IQ scores.
The EQ-i sub-scales have been shown to have
very good internal consistency with average
Cronbach alpha coefficients ranging from .69
(Social Responsibility) to .86 (Self-Regard). The
overall average internal consistency coefficient of
the EQ-i is .76. Extensive research has been
conducted to assess nine types of validity:
content, face, factor, construct, convergent,
divergent, criterion-group, discriminant, and
predictive. EQ-i validity studies are reported in
the EQ-i Technical Manual (Bar-On 1997).
Overall, the EQ-i is a scientifically reliable and
valid way to assess emotional intelligence.
Procedure
The EQ-i was administered to all participants in
the `Best Practices' and `Less Successful' groups.
The reported results are the average responses of
each group.

Results
Emotional Intelligence in the `Best Practices' Account
Officers
The `Best Practices' officers, as a group, were
found to possess a level of emotional intelligence
that is significantly higher than that of the North
American population at large, as indicated by
their Total EQ score (see Table 1).1
This group's overall Intrapersonal EQ is also
significantly higher than the population average
with substantial elevations in the areas of
Independence, Emotional Self-Awareness, SelfActualization, and Assertiveness. Four of the
eight highest sub-scale scores for these account
officers are within this Intrapersonal domain.
The `Best Practices' officers also demonstrate
strength in their Interpersonal Relationship and
Social Responsibility skills, both sub-scales of the
Interpersonal EQ composite scale. Surprisingly,
their skills in the area of Empathy are not
exceptionally well developed. This group's
overall strength in the area of Adaptability is
largely due to its expertise in Reality Testing
skills.
Within the Stress Management composite, the
two sub-scales, Stress Tolerance and Impulse
Control, represent the second highest and the
lowest scores for this group profile, respectively.
The `Best Practices' officers' tolerance for stress is
very high, while concurrently, their impulse
control is not. This apparently contradictory
finding will be explored further in the Discussion
section.
Finally, the total General Mood EQ mean
score is considerably above average, with both of

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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SELECTION AND ASSESSMENT

Table 1: Comparison of mean EQ-i scores between best practices and less successful account officers
EQ-i Scale
Total EQ
Intrapersonal EQ
Emotional Self-Awareness
Assertiveness
Self-Regard
Self-Actualization
Independence
Interpersonal EQ
Interpersonal Relationship
Social Responsibility
Empathy
Adaptability EQ
Problem Solving
Reality Testing
Flexibility
Stress Management EQ
Stress Tolerance
Impulse Control
General Mood EQ
Happiness
Optimism

Best Practices

Less Successful

110
112
110
109
104
110
114
108
108
109
104
108
105
109
104
105
111
98
108
106
110

102
102
101
99
101
101
104
107
107
106
106
99
94
104
99
103
106
99
97
94
101

its sub-scales, Optimism and Happiness, indicating well-developed skills in this group.
These results are summarized in Table 1.
Overall, they support the hypothesis that consistently successful account officers work with
substantially higher than average emotional
intelligence.
Emotional Intelligence in the `Less Successful'
Account Officers
The overall Total EQ mean score for the `Less
Successful' group did not prove to be
significantly different from the mean of the
population at large.2 However, this group did
demonstrate well-developed Interpersonal skills
as assessed by the Interpersonal Relationship,
Social Responsibility, and Empathy sub-scales.
This group also was found to possess a relatively
high tolerance for stress, (i.e., Stress Tolerance
sub-scale of the Stress Management composite).
Comparison of `Best Practices' Versus `Less
Successful' Groups
Overall, the `Best Practices' group demonstrated
a substantially higher level of emotional
intelligence than did the `Less Successful' group.
Within the Intrapersonal dimension, the greatest
differences were found between the two groups,
with the `Best Practices' group scoring substantially higher on the following sub-scales:
Emotional Self-Awareness, Assertiveness, SelfActualization, and Independence (see Table 1).

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September 2000

t-value
1.848
2.677
1.726
2.281
0.692
2.237
2.977
0.241
0.179
0.628
0.443
1.733
1.862
1.242
0.998
0.514
1.382
0.249
2.696
2.172
2.305

p-value

Significant?

0.037
0.006
0.047
0.014
0.247
0.016
0.003
0.405
0.430
0.267
0.330
0.046
0.036
0.111
0.163
0.305
0.088
0.403
0.005
0.018
0.014

Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
No
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
No
No
Yes
Yes
Yes

In terms of Adaptability, the `Best Practices'

group performed better than did the `Less
Successful' group. The difference between groups
was most apparent in the area of ProblemSolving skills.
The mean score on General Mood was significantly different between the groups with `Best
Practices' reporting substantially higher levels on
the sub-scales of Optimism and Happiness.
Overall, the `Less Successful' account officers
scored lower than did the `Best Practices' group
on every EQ-i measure of emotional intelligence,
with the exception of Empathy and Impulse
Control (see Table 1).

Discussion: Study 1
Results of Study 1 support the hypothesis that
the `Best Practices' group possesses a higher level
of overall emotional intelligence than the `Less
Successful' group. This group's performance
suggests that it is comprised of people with
well-developed emotional intelligence who are
generally leading successful and happy lives.
The Intrapersonal emotional intelligence of the
`Best Practices' group is very well-developed and
these individuals can be described as
independent, aware of feelings, and able to
express those feelings and ideas to others with
comfort and confidence. Results suggest that
these individuals are usually willing and capable
of thinking, working, and making decisions
independently. They are likely to value their

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EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN THE COLLECTION OF DEBT

inner emotional life and are able to recognize the

origin and importance of their feelings. The high
Self-Actualization score suggests that members
of this group feel pride in their work and the
ongoing process of achieving their goals in life.
They can effectively assert themselves by
expressing their feelings, beliefs, and needs with
confidence and are able to defend their positions
in nondestructive ways.
While both `Best Practices' and `Less
Successful' groups possess significantly higher
than average Interpersonal emotional intelligence, the groups do not differ significantly in
this area. Overall, members of both groups
possess social adeptness as seen in their ability to
understand and interact with others effectively.
Of particular interest is the finding that the
`Best Practices' group failed to differ from the
population at large only in their empathic skills.
The `Less Successful' group performed
significantly better than did the population at
large on Empathy. One possible explanation for
this result is that too high an Empathy score
could lead to a sympathetic over-identification
with the customer (i.e., as the victim or the
aggressor) and hence leave the account officer
vulnerable to an emotional hijack. A lower level
of performance for the `Best Practices' group
might render them less vulnerable to such an
experience and hence, more effective at
collections. Nevertheless, the `Best Practices'
group functions within the average range of
empathic ability and most of the time, these
individuals
have
a
good
awareness,
understanding, and appreciation of the feelings
of others.
The `Best Practices' group performed very well
on the Adaptability composite scale, which
indicates that these people are skilled in their
responses to changing circumstances and situations. Their high performance on the Reality
Testing sub-scale denotes an ability to distinguish accurately between what they experience subjectively and what exists objectively.
They are able to focus and concentrate on the
immediate situation with clarity and are proactive
in their responses to it. Members of this group
possess a greater aptitude for identifying and
defining problems, as well as generating and
implementing more effective solutions to them.
Both the `Best Practices' and the `Less
Successful' groups tolerate stressful situations
and circumstances well. The lowest score
obtained by the `Best Practices' group was on
Impulse Control, a sub-scale of Stress Management. This result indicates that the group's ability
to resist or delay impulsive action is adequate,
however some individuals could have problems
overreacting or losing emotional control.
A sharp contrast is observed between the
performance of both `Best Practices' and `Less

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179

Successful' groups on the sub-scales of this Stress

Management composite. In the area of Stress
Tolerance, both groups perform significantly
better than the population at large yet in the
area of Impulse Control, neither group performs
any better. It is speculated that this contrast
between well-developed stress tolerance skills
and average, yet adequate, impulse control skills,
constitutes the dynamic seen in the best account
officers as they successfully thrive on perpetually
changing challenges while simultaneously
conveying a sense of real urgency to the
customer.
The General Mood of the `Best Practices'
group is significantly better than that of the `Less
Successful' group and suggests that they are
generally more satisfied with their lives and jobs,
enjoy the company of others, and derive pleasure
and fun from life. These account officers are able
to maintain a positive attitude in the face of
adversity and they have a hopeful outlook
regarding their futures.
Emotional Intelligence Profile of `Best Practices'
Account Officers
Overall, these results indicate that the `Best
Practices' account officers possess significantly
higher levels of overall emotional intelligence
and serve to reveal a profile of CFS' successful
account officers that consists of a unique blend of
the following competencies:
1. Assertive Independence combines an
inner-directed, self-reliant preference to work
autonomously and an ability to express
needs, thoughts, and feelings in a confident,
non-aggressive manner that results in
effective interpersonal communications.
2. Self-Actualized Problem Solving refers to
a well-developed, inner knowledge of one's
own goals and expectations in conjunction
with a finely tuned set of skills that promote
attainment and fulfillment of one's aspirations. These problem-solving skills consist
of time management, information processing,
communication, and negotiation capabilities.
3. Optimistic Happiness describes a pervasive, stable mood that prevails despite stress,
rejection, and disappointment. It protects the
individual's self-confidence and capacity to
carry-on regardless of adversity.
4. Emotional Self-Awareness and Empathy
enough empathy allows the successful
account officer to negotiate humanely with
a reduced risk of an overly sympathetic or
aggressive identification with the customer.
The officer also has highly developed skills
in emotional self-awareness and is able to
self-regulate stronger feelings or `empathy
distress'. It is speculated that this combi-

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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SELECTION AND ASSESSMENT

nation of skills, in part, prevents the problem

of over-identification with the customer and
the subsequent blurring of boundaries that
can result in the `emotional hijack'.
An important question concerns the relevance of
the emotional intelligence findings from Study 1
to the actual collection of debt by collection
agency officers. In the collections business,
differences in emotional intelligence between
account officers become meaningful only if they
predict increased cash collections. Study 2
investigates this dynamic and the hypothesis
tested is that higher levels of emotional
intelligence in account officers will lead to
increased levels of cash goal attainment.

Method: Study 2
Participants
Participants were 34 account officers employed at
CFS who participated in the `Best Practices' Study
conducted in September and October 1998.3
Measure
A measure of cash collections, based on
information maintained in the CFS data base, is
the percentage of cash goal attained per month
by each account officer. Table 2 shows these data
averaged for the two groups of account officers
under study.
Participants completed the Bar-On Emotional
Quotient Inventory prior to engaging in this
study (see Study 1).
Procedure
In order to determine any differences in percentage of cash goal attained between the `Best
Practices' and the `Less Successful' groups over
the preceding three and six months, t-tests were
conducted. If significant differences were found
between the groups, the study would then
proceed.
Participants, for whom three full months of
collection data were available in August,
September and October 1998, were ranked and
then divided into two groups of High versus
Low Cash Collectors, each group consisting of 17
people. Next, t-tests were conducted on

emotional intelligence scores obtained by the

High and Low Cash Collectors groups. An
additional t-test analysis provided the basis for
a comparison of the High and Low collectors
groups on their percentage of cash goal
attainment.

Results
Preliminary Analysis of Percentage of Cash Goal
Attained by Group
The `Best Practices' group clearly outperformed
the `Less Successful' group in terms of cash goal
attainment for the preceding six and three
months. Results of this analysis were highly
significant statistically (see Table 2).
Comparison of High and Low Cash Collectors on
Emotional Intelligence
Analyses were conducted in order to compare
the High and Low Cash Collectors groups on
their EQ-i scores (see Table 3). Overall, the High
Cash Collectors group performed better than did
the Low Cash Collectors group on all sub-scales
with the exception of Empathy and Impulse
Control. They performed notably better on three
of the EQ-i sub-scales: Independence, SelfActualization, and Optimism. The Low
Collectors group performed significantly better
than the High Cash Collectors group on the
Interpersonal sub-scale of Empathy. This
particular finding reflects the trend seen in Study
1 where the `Less Successful' group scored higher
on the Empathy sub-scale. Again, as in Study 1,
Low Cash Collectors performed better than did
High Cash Collectors on the sub-scale Impulse
Control, however the difference was not
statistically significant.
Comparison of High and Low Cash Collectors on
Percentage of Cash Goal Attained
An additional t-test was conducted in order to
compare the High and Low Cash Collectors on
their average (corrected)4 percentage of cash goal
attained. Results of this analysis are highly
statistically significant with the High Cash
Collectors clearly outperforming the Low Cash
Collectors (see Table 4).

Table 2: Average percentage of cash goal attained over the past 6 and 3 months by the best practices and less
successful account officers

MayOctober 1998
AugustOctober 1998

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September 2000

Best Practices
(n = 22)

Less Successful
(n = 12)

p-values

Significant?

100%
88

47%
42

p < 0.01
p < 0.01

Yes
Yes

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EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN THE COLLECTION OF DEBT

181

Table 3: Averages of emotional intelligence profile scores for high and low cash collectors
EQ-i Scale

High cash collectors

(n = 17)

Low cash collectors

(n = 17)

p-valueb

Significant?

109
112
114

103
103
107

0.13
0.01
0.02

No
Yes
Yes

101

110

0.01

Yes

107

101

0.16

No

96

104

0.07

No

106
111

99
104

0.10
0.03

No
Yes

Intrapersonal EQ
Assertiveness
Self-Actualization
Independence
Interpersonal EQ
Empathya
Adaptability EQ
Problem Solving
Stress Management EQ
Impulse Controla
General Mood EQ
Happiness
Optimism
Notes:
a
Note the inverse relationship.
b
All p-values are based on t-tests.

Table 4: Average percentage of cash goal attained over the past 3 months by the high and low cash collectors

% Goal attainment

High collectors
(n = 17)

Low collectors
(n = 17)

p-value

163

80

< .0001

Discussion: Study 2
Results of these analyses strongly suggest that
higher levels of emotional intelligence in account
officers lead to increased cash goal attainment.
Overall, high cash collectors have particularly
well-developed skills in the areas of independence, self-actualization, and optimism. Interestingly, low cash collectors perform significantly
better in the area of empathy (an interpersonal
skill) and relatively better in the area of impulse
control (a stress management skill).
It is suggested that a good empathic skill in
combination with an adequate, or good enough
ability to control one's impulses, results in a
winning set of skills. This skill set provides the
account officer with enough understanding of the
customer's feelings and needs to build a good
rapport while maintaining the emotional
intensity needed to communicate a sense of
urgency a skill considered as being necessary in
successful collections.
Given that the two groups in Study 2 did
differ on Empathy, with the Low Cash Collectors
performing significantly better than the High
Cash Collectors, the greater success of the `Best
Practices' group can be attributed to its welldeveloped skills in other areas. Specifically, better
developed skills in the Intrapersonal area, such as
Self-Actualization and Independence, and in the

Blackwell Publishers Ltd 2000

area of General Mood, such as Optimism, appear

to contribute to the successful expression of
Empathy, and the prevention of `emotional
hijacking' or over-identification with the
customer. These skills are related to the two
groupings of emotional competencies suggested
as being essential in successful collections
officers: (a) self-awareness and empathy (skills
related to Intrapersonal and Interpersonal subscales); and (b) self-control and adaptability (skills
related to Adaptability and Stress Management
sub-scales). Results of this study strongly suggest
therefore, that well-developed emotional
intelligence plays a vital role in successful
collections.

Summary
Findings reported on the basis of these studies
strongly suggest that an overall higher level of
emotional intelligence in account officers
contributes to more successful collections. Two
groupings of emotional competencies, thought to
be essential in successful negotiations, were
outlined. Self-awareness and empathy constituted
the first grouping, while self-control and
adaptability comprised the second. Skills in these
areas were hypothesized as being essential in the
prevention of an `emotional hijack' or problem of

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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SELECTION AND ASSESSMENT

over-identification with the customer and

subsequent failure to successfully negotiate
collection. Various components of the EQ-i
measure of emotional intelligence were tied in
with these two groupings of skills. Subsequent
analyses between groups of more and less
successful account officers demonstrated more
highly developed skills among the former group
and hence, less vulnerability to emotional
hijacking.
Other attributes that distinguished successful
account officers from those who were less
successful, were identified by the CFS `Best
Practices' study and include (a) attitude; (b) skills;
and (c) leadership. It has been suggested that
competence in each of these areas depends on
underlying emotional competencies. For example,
a success-oriented attitude could be derived from
well-developed skills in five underlying areas of
emotional
intelligence:
self-regard,
selfactualization, optimism, achievement drive, and
initiative. The latter two categories could be
measured indirectly by EQ-i sub-scales of
Assertiveness and Independence. Skills in the
areas of time management, information
processing, communications, and negotiations,
could be nourished by the underlying emotional
competencies
of
emotional
self-control,
assertiveness, independence, problem solving,
reality testing, flexibility, and empathy.
Leadership skills required by managers of
successful account officers could also find their
basis in underlying emotional competencies.
These skills include the ability to develop a
collaborative/cooperative working style with
their staff and to allow them the independence
they require. Future research in this area holds
promise.
Implications of these findings are quite
exciting for Human Resources, Training, and
Continuing Education. If higher levels of
emotional intelligence lead to enhanced job
performance among account officers, then it
may be hypothesized that emotional intelligence

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September 2000

plays an important role in the overall success of

individuals in the workplace. The assessment of
current levels of emotional intelligence could be
conducted using the BarOn EQ-i. This type of
assessment could fulfil a vital role especially in
the areas of personnel selection and
development. Results of such an assessment
would clearly indicate areas in which further
improvement is needed and recommendations for
developing essential `emotional' skills, whether
through individual coaching or specialized EQ
training, could be implemented.

Notes
1. All skills reported within this section, as
strengths of the Best Practices group, are
based on t-tests which achieved statistical
significance at the probability level of .05.
2. All skills reported within this section, as
strengths of the Less Successful group, are
based on t-tests which achieved statistical
significance at the probability level of .05.
3. Two Best Practices account officers began
section leader training during the August
October period and hence did not contribute
data to the analyses in Study 2.
4. Each account officer's monthly percentage of
goal attained was divided by the average
percentage of goal attained for that
individual's functional area. This ensures
comparability between account officers
working different assets.

References
Bar-On, R. (1997) Bar-On Emotional Quotient
Inventory: A Measure of Emotional Intelligence
(Technical Manual). Toronto, ON, Multi-Health
Systems Inc.
Goleman, D. (1998) Working with Emotional
Intelligence. New York, Bantam Books.

Blackwell Publishers Ltd 2000