In aged care, technical qualifications often dominate the hiring process. Years of experience, certifications, and procedural knowledge are heavily weighted, and rightly so. But what is often underappreciated is the emotional labour that comes with the role.
Aged care workers are not just performing tasks; they’re building trust, managing delicate emotions, and preserving the dignity of those in their care. Yet emotional intelligence, or EI – the ability to understand and manage one’s own emotions and those of others – remains an afterthought in most recruitment processes.
The emotional intelligence gap in aged care hiring
Most aged care providers hire with compliance in mind. They check boxes related to health and safety protocols, medication handling, and physical mobility training. But this approach overlooks a key truth: the most challenging moments in aged care often aren’t clinical, they’re emotional.
Whether it’s supporting a resident with dementia who becomes aggressive or gently encouraging someone who refuses personal care, these are moments that require empathy, self-regulation, and tact. Without emotional intelligence, even the most technically skilled caregiver may falter.
What the research tells us
A 2021 study titled Emotional Intelligence: Predictor of Employees’ Wellbeing, Quality of Patient Care, and Psychological Empowerment conducted in a Victorian aged care facility, found that employees with higher emotional intelligence not only reported greater psychological wellbeing and empowerment, but also delivered significantly better quality of patient care.
The research highlighted that emotionally intelligent staff were more empathetic, resilient, and effective in responding to older adults’ emotional and physical needs – traits essential in aged care settings. This suggests that hiring for emotional intelligence isn’t just a nice-to-have, but rather it directly impacts the wellbeing of both staff and residents.
Real-world proof: My Companionship’s EI screening results
My Companionship put this idea into practice by embedding emotional intelligence screening into our hiring process. Rather than asking only about qualifications and procedures, we introduced situational questions like:
- How would you respond if a family member disagrees with the care plan?
- What would you do if a client who has dementia doesn’t recognise you and becomes fearful or suspicious?
For more details, we’ve compiled a sample of our EI screening subjective and objective questions.
Since making emotional intelligence a cornerstone of our recruitment and training, we’ve observed a transformative shift in how care is delivered and experienced. Clients consistently describe our team’s presence as uplifting, a source of comfort that goes beyond physical assistance to provide meaningful emotional support during challenging times. What makes this possible is our intentional focus on these EI competencies:
- caregivers who intuitively understand unspoken emotional needs
- staff who maintain patience and compassion even in stressful situations
- teams that create an atmosphere of genuine warmth and security.
The results speak through repeated patterns in client feedback, such as:
- families note marked improvements in their loved ones’ emotional wellbeing
- clients report feeling truly heard and valued in their care journey
- difficult moments are navigated with grace and understanding.
This isn’t accidental excellence, it’s the direct outcome of prioritising emotional intelligence at every level. By systematically identifying and nurturing these qualities in our team, we’ve elevated care from competent to transformative. The consistent theme in client experiences confirms that when caregivers are selected and trained for emotional intelligence, the quality of human connection reaches new heights.
Aligning with industry standards: EI and the Aged Care Quality Standards
This approach isn’t just innovative, it aligns with the Aged Care Quality Standards, particularly:
- Standard 1: Consumer Dignity and Choice, which requires services to respect and respond to emotional needs
- Standard 3: Personal and Clinical Care, which emphasises psychosocial wellbeing alongside physical health.
Similarly the approach aligns with the strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards, which commence on 1 November.
The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety further underscores the importance of person-centred care. EI supports exactly that – empathy-driven interactions, tailored responses, and the ability to treat clients as individuals, not tasks.
How providers can embed EI into their hiring process
Are you ready to build emotional intelligence into your hiring strategy? Here’s how:
- situational interviewing: ask candidates how they’d handle emotionally complex scenarios
- standardised EI tests: tools like the MSCEIT or EQ-i 2.0 can assess key competencies
- onboarding and development: train existing staff in empathy, communication, and emotional regulation
- ongoing feedback: create mechanisms for clients and families to report on caregiver demeanour and empathy.
By embedding EI at every stage of recruitment and development, providers can build more resilient, responsive teams.
From competent to compassionate
In aged care, technical competence gets the job done, but emotional intelligence gets it done with humanity. EI is not a soft skill. It’s a strategic investment in the wellbeing of both staff and clients. It’s what transforms a checklist into a conversation, and a service into a relationship.
Perhaps policymakers could consider making emotional intelligence a mandatory component in the hiring criteria for aged care staff. This could help ensure that caregivers possess not only the necessary technical skills but also the emotional insights required to provide truly person-centred care. After all, if we are to deliver high-quality care, it starts with hiring the right people and measuring what truly matters.
Joshua Dean is a nurse turned entrepreneur and co-founder of My Companionship, which provides home care services in Western Australia
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