Our history

Kandidata was founded in 1998 and is part of Christer Olsson Group. Over the last couple of years, we have had the privilege to help some of Sweden’s foremost companies and employers identify the best suited talents and build successful cultures. Our business is founded on the doctrine of Emotional Intelligence that originated in the United States.

Daniel Goleman published the popular book “Emotional Intelligence” in 1995. The book was somewhat of a catalyst for a psychological research focus on dynamic, improvable abilities instead of just measuring static personality traits. 

Today, there is extensive research around emotional intelligence in many parts of the world. One of the most distinguished researchers is Dr. Reuven Bar-On who is working with the University of Texas. Dr. Bar-On and his team identified fifteen different measurable abilities and after many years of research in seven different countries they developed the first scientifically based and measurable instrument of emotional intelligence. The Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i) was presented in collaboration with MHS, a large and renowned assessment developing institute in Canada. In 2014, the test was upgraded to version EQ-i 2.0, which is one of the tests that we at Kandidata use in our work on measuring and developing success. 

We have longstanding relations with both large and small companies and organizations in various industries. Those experiences have given us a good insight into which abilities are important in different types of organizations. Insights that we greatly benefit from when building success in your organization.