Empathy: A New Kind Of Leadership

Alorica's CMO, bringing large-scale transformation to brands and creating a personalized CX via digital/traditional channels for 20+ years.   The year 2020 has been filled with unexpected firsts and life-altering changes for many. Not only have we seen a massive economic shift within our communities, but also a social revolution — all amid one of the most attention-grabbing elections of our time.   While news headlines and social media posts may be difficult to digest these days, we’ve never been more digitally connected with our customers, employees and communities. With access to all this information, now is the right time for us to lean into our emotional intelligence and express empathy in everything that we do — not just for personal development, but also for business growth.   With the challenges this year has presented, many employers have come to learn that soft skills can make or break employee morale and even a deal. As marketing communications professionals, we know the golden rule is to know our audience. Understanding the sentiment and emotional health of our audiences will not only expand our views on a personal level, but it also provides a competitive advantage both internally and externally.   Here are four ways cultivating a more empathetic work environment can benefit your business in the long term:   Increase Employee Engagement No one was prepared for navigating a pandemic compounded with civil unrest. This perfect storm has served as a catalyst for change in workplace culture. The events of 2020 humanized every level of an organization as we encountered challenges together. With this has come a newfound need for compassion at work.   Recognizing signs your employees display when things may not be going well is important. When our teams believe we are seeking to understand their personal and professional hardships, we’re able to foster a new level of mutual trust and respect, which can ultimately yield more committed, focused and happy team members.   Encourage an open-door policy, and have managers check in with their employees regularly. Start meetings and conversations with team members by asking how they’re doing. Many successful businesses also harness the power of technology to monitor the sentiment of teams through companywide mentorship programs, surveys and other communications tools. Analyze this data, and then follow through with engagement, demonstrating that you value their feedback and that you’re committed to supporting their development.   Elevate The Customer Experience When you champion a welcoming environment with acceptance for differing perspectives, backgrounds and cultures, your associates are able to be inherently more empathetic and pay it forward when interacting with customers. In fact, a 2019 survey on workplace culture found that 74% of employees agree that workplace culture directly impacts their ability to best serve customers.   Implementing diversity, equity and inclusion programs is one way to ensure your staff has a well-rounded perspective and can adequately connect to a variety of consumers with kindness, fairness and patience, leading to a better customer experience (CX). For those on the front lines of customer service, prompt them to take close inventory of the tone and expressions customers exhibit. These subtle cues can be picked up on when navigating difficult interactions and will help your service representatives pivot the conversation when needed.   Stimulate Creativity Studies have shown there is a direct correlation between empathy and creativity. Why? Again, it’s all about perspective. Empathetic teams have the ability to understand and internalize the frame of reference of others, which can broaden outlooks and break barriers in the workplace. This emotional intelligence allows you to think and see things differently. It can lead to increased collaboration, innovation, the ability to identify solutions, a mutual understanding among peers and overall amplified productivity.   Consider incorporating empathy training for managers to foster productive dialogue with team members so that everyone feels respected and encouraged to voice their thoughts. This can spark creative collaboration among people who may not typically connect otherwise.   Get Ahead Of Customer Needs Every consumer group has a distinct set of simple human truths they can all identify with — they want to be respected, treated fairly, heard and understood. When employees tap into that mindset, they are better able to anticipate and address customer needs before they even arise.   Implore your teams to reframe their way of thinking through a lens of empathy, which can allow them to anticipate customer pain points and, in turn, help them deliver more impactful CX solutions upfront. Consider applying empathy to your customer journey process in order to achieve deeper engagement with your customer segments.   Demonstrating a commitment to compassion within our leadership strategies will move us forward in new and exciting ways. As we all look to a new year with endless possibilities — and some uncertainties — empathy is part of the foundation for building strong teams and a culture that enables organizations to adapt, service and sell, no matter what 2021 may bring.   The article was originally published on Forbes.com at https://bit.ly/3ocmkWG