Breaking Out of the Box:
Building Key Skills for Creative Customer Solutions

When a major European insurance group committed to improve client loyalty, they leveraged emotional intelligence to unlock creativity, increase empathy, and create best-in-class customer service.

Overview

Situation: Relyens is a European insurance company. Having identified 4 key focus areas critical to improving its organizational culture, SHAM partnered with Six Seconds Italy and Otherwise, S.p.A.,  to create a customized emotional intelligence training program to unlock its potential.

Solution: Through a combination of emotional intelligence assessments, training workshops and 1-to-1 coaching, the key stakeholders worked together to improve these key drivers of performance.

Results: Participants reported across the board increases in both  self-awareness and their ability to implement practical emotional intelligence strategies with clients and colleagues.

“This training improved our team climate, helping to avoid conflicts and maintain a relaxed atmosphere. Even now, months later, we use these tools during tense situations to find solutions that weren’t even thought of before.”

– Silvia Fontana, Manager

“This course has provided useful tools for improving the quality of my relationships with both clients and colleagues. I can often now see what I previously could not.”

– Diego Ammirabile, Head of Claims, Relyens Group

“I learned that asking for help is not a sign of weakness but a sign of strength. I have renewed confidence resolving problems without conflict, and feel more at ease at work.”

– Manila Colombo, Administrative Support

“After experiencing the power of emotional intelligence to elevate people’s wellbeing and the company’s culture, I want to expand this project throughout the organization.”

Roberta Atzeni

HR Manager, Relyens Italia

Situation

Relyens is an insurance company,  a European mutual group providing insurance and risk management services for healthcare professionals and local authorities. Relyens had a stated desire to grow as a self-learning company and not just a company of rules to be implemented and protocols followed. This shift required the ability to listen, empathize and exercise optimism in order find unique solutions to meet client needs. Previous research identified four focus areas for the organization:

– Curiosity and active listening

– Communication

– Creative problem solving

– Stress management

This emotional intelligence project aimed to increase capacity in these areas both internally and externally.

 

Solution

To support growth in these areas, Relyens partnered with Six Seconds Italy to create a customized emotional intelligence training program called Claims Journey Soft Skills. Together they customized a 9-month learning project combining assessments, group workshops and 1-on-1 coaching. The first phase consisted of team members completing the SEI, the world’s leading emotional intelligence assessment, with a 1-on-1 debrief with an EQ certified coach. The second phase, led by Six Seconds Preferred Partner Otherwise, consisted of eLearning and in-person workshops tailored to the organization’s focus areas: curiosity and active listening, communication, creative problem solving and stress management. In these workshops, participants gained insights on their typical patterns – using Six Seconds’ Brain Brief Profile and other tools – practiced seeing new possibilities, and learned practical emotional intelligence techniques to put these insights into action. The final phase focused on providing emotional intelligence tools for team management, including a 1-on-1 debrief of each leader’s SEI Leadership Report, an in-depth analysis of their emotional intelligence and how it impacts their leadership effectiveness.

Results

Following the intervention, a vast majority of participants reported increases in self-awareness and the ability to utilize emotional intelligence. Further research is needed to determine the change in specific emotional intelligence competencies measured by the SEI pre-assessment, but initial results are promising.

&

SELF-AWARENESS

Participants who reported a greater sense of self-awareness after the training.

%

&

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

Participants who reported implementing EQ with clients and coworkers.

%

&

ACTIVE LISTENING

Participants who reported more capability with active listening and curiosity.

%

Products & Services Delivered

EQ Skills


SEI – Six Seconds’ Emotional Intelligence Assessment is a validated psychometric tool for measuring emotional intelligence, used with over 250k people worldwide.

Read more about SEI.

Custom Development


To address the organization’s specific needs using Six Seconds’ methodology, a custom program was developed, tested, and implemented.

Read more about Six Seconds’ Methodology in Business

Brain Profiles


The Brain Profiles distill the power of an advanced emotional intelligence assessment tool into one page of quick, meaningful insight. This case used the Brain Brief and Brain Talent Profiles.

Read more about Brain Profiles.

See More Cases

Creating a Culture of Safety at Specialty Chemical Plant

Creating a Culture of Safety at Specialty Chemical Plant

A multi-year intervention in an American chemical manufacturing plant led to a 91% improvement in employee engagement, which was correlated with a 167% increase in production quality and an 83% decrease in reportable safety incidents.

Taking Social Emotional Learning Outdoor with Dragonfly

Taking Social Emotional Learning Outdoor with Dragonfly

They trek the Himalaya, study mangroves in Malaysia, and build schools in Bali. They are students at Dragonfly’s outdoor education program and they are doing more than having adventures; they are learning social and emotional skills that will last a lifetime.