Luxury Institute Launches Relationship Mastery Index™: Breakthrough Assessment Tool for Hiring, Developing & Retaining

New Neuroscientist-validated assessment anticipates performance, reduces turnover, and protects trusted luxury brand relationships

NEW YORK CITY, NY, UNITED STATES, February 17, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Luxury Institute Launches the Relationship Mastery Index™ (RMI): A Breakthrough Assessment Tool Transforming How Luxury Brands Hire, Develop, and Retain Client-Facing Talent

New Neuroscientist-validated assessment anticipates performance, reduces turnover, and protects trusted luxury brand relationships

Luxury Institute, the leading authority on luxury and premium brand consumer research and education, announced today the official launch of the Relationship Mastery Index™ (RMI) – the first scientifically validated assessment tool designed specifically to measure and predict the relationship-building behaviors of the 5 Pillars of Relationship Mastery required for success in luxury client-facing roles.

For decades, luxury brands have struggled with a costly and persistent challenge: low frontline productivity, high employee turnover, and disruption of high-value client relationships. Despite significant investment in recruiting and training, many brands continue to hire individuals who lack the core behavioral skills required to build trusted, long-term relationships with affluent, HNW, and UHNW clients, resulting in millions of dollars lost annually through attrition, retraining, and missed sales opportunities.

The Industry Problem: Hiring for Experience Alone Instead of Relationship Mastery
Luxury Institute’s research shows that traditional hiring methods emphasize resumes, product knowledge, or personality traits – while overlooking the relational intelligence that wealthy clients demand. The result is poor “luxury fit,” inconsistent performance, and broken client trust when turnover occurs at the frontline level.

The Breakthrough: What Clients Require and Top Performers Deliver
Luxury Institute conducted extensive multi-decade empirical research with affluent/HNW/UHNW consumers and top-performing luxury professionals to identify the behaviors that consistently create trusted client relationships. Both groups converged on the same five core dimensions, now legally copyrighted by Luxury Institute as the 5 Pillars of Relationship Mastery™:
• Trustworthiness
• Expertise
• Kindness
• Empathy
• Creativity

At the request of leading luxury brands, Luxury Institute partnered with top Neuroscientists to reverse-engineer, design, field-test and validate the first ever, revolutionary Luxury Industry assessment tool that measures Relationship Mastery skills for candidates and employees. The result is the Relationship Mastery Index™, a first-of-its-kind tool that evaluates a candidate’s or employee’s propensity to succeed in high-trust client roles – regardless of personality type.

The Revolutionary Solution: The Relationship Mastery Index™ (RMI)
The RMI is a relational intelligence assessment that quantifies how effectively individuals can build and sustain trusted client relationships. Scientifically tested and validated, the RMI:
• Measures performance across all five Pillars of Relationship Mastery
• Assists in predicting success in client-facing luxury roles
• Correlates statistically with individual and total brand KPIs
• Aligns with EEOC and UGESP requirements demonstrating no bias
• Provides clear, actionable insights for hiring, development, and coaching

The VP of one of the stores at a Neuroscientist-tested brand describes the RMI as “an MRI for trusted client relationship skills.” This enables brands to hire for true luxury fit, reduce costly turnover, and accelerate performance with precision.

Proven Impact with Leading Luxury Brands
The Relationship Mastery framework has already driven measurable business results across global luxury brands, doubling sales growth in some cases, and significant gains in revenue, retention, and average order value. RMI now allows brands to anticipate these outcomes before hiring decisions are made.

A New Standard for Luxury Talent Performance
“The Relationship Mastery Index gives luxury brands the first scientifically validated way to measure what truly drives trusted client relationships,” said Milton Pedraza, CEO of Luxury Institute. “RMI empowers organizations to protect their reputation, develop top performers, and build HIGH-TRUST/HIGH-PERFORMANCE cultures with confidence.”

If you would like to learn more about The Relationship Mastery Index™ (RMI), please contact Milton Pedraza and Jessica to Lafferty to learn how Luxury Institute can assist you and your team in embarking on the journey that will set you apart with luxury clientele by embracing the 5 Pillars of Relationship Mastery.
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About Luxury Institute
Luxury Institute is the world’s leading luxury, premium, and affluent research, consulting, and executive education organization. For over 23 years, Luxury Institute has served more than 1,100 global brands, providing proprietary research, insights, and training systems that measurably increase sales, loyalty, and client trust.

Media & Inquiries:
Milton Pedraza, CEO
mpedraza@luxuryinstitute.com
Jessica Lafferty, Consultant
jlafferty@luxuryinstitute.com

Milton Pedraza and Jessica Lafferty
Luxury Institute
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