Digital Empathy: Squishy or Strategic?

Research (not to mention empirical evidence) suggests that our record on digital transformation is questionable.

A McKinsey study found that 70% of all transformation efforts do not succeed, and Ivalua reports that 51 percent of procurement and supplier management processes have yet to be digitized.

What are we missing? We want our processes to be digitized, and we want our systems to be intuitive. We are willing to invest to make both a reality. But initiatives struggle to succeed and processes remain manual. Could it be that the missing ingredient is digital empathy?

According to research from EY , “leaders who prioritize workforce emotions in their transformations are 2.6 times more likely to succeed.” Interesting.

To read more about digital empathy and the consumer experience, read Developing and Deploying Digital Empathy on Art of Procurement.

Emotional Transformation?

In their research, EY used predictive analytics and discovered six key drivers — lead, inspire, care, empower, build and collaborate — that increase the likelihood of successful transformation outcomes.?

If you think those drivers sound more like elementary school community values than the secret to corporate transformation, you’re not alone. Being 'huggy-fuzzy' is not going to fix real business problems. Each of those drivers has to be consciously practiced. Interestingly, the target of their research was COOs and CSCOs, not HR or Chief People Officers. EY concluded that investing in empathy can increase the chances of transformation success to as high as 73 percent.

And yet, a 73 percent success rate is nothing to crow about. Even that likelihood of success is not a sure thing. Transformation is hard, and even with empathy, 1 in 4 will still fail.?

Running a transformation project without digital empathy at the core doesn’t mean that the leadership team is uncaring. There is a lot of emotion to be faced in complex implementations that bring about substantial change. Handling emotion-laden feedback can be as uncomfortable as the change that causes it.

Think about an implementation or transformation project you’ve led. What was it like facing user feedback sessions? (Torches and pitchforks come to mind for me.) Project leaders have to collect enough user feedback to make a difference. That feedback has to be representative of the whole spectrum of users, and it often needs to be translated from frustrated utterances into something constructive and actionable.

It is understandable that transformation leaders might lean away from such sessions, but they hold the real key to success.

People Truly Do Make the Difference

An article originally from Manufacturing Today and syndicated on TrailerBridge , addressed how practical empathy plays out in business.

In most cases, it isn’t a system that makes the difference. It is a person who decides to get involved and help. As the author(s) wrote, “It is the knowledge and motivation of the person on the other end of that call for help that can dramatically change the outcome.”

As digital as we become, it isn’t a system full of data or an automated process that will make a difference. It is the person sitting at a keyboard that has empathy for someone who is stuck - by their own doing or not - and takes action to change the outcome for them.

We have to find a way to make data-driven business decisions that allow emotion to sit in the front seat. Data should absolutely have its hands on the wheel, but emotion should be allowed to control the radio. Success lies in the combination of the two.

Digital Has to Support the Way We Work

To my earlier comment about EY’s key drivers feeling a bit fluffy: I absolutely understand the skepticism that arises in response to the idea that digital empathy can make transformation projects succeed where Billions of dollars in budget could not.

But since transformation isn’t working without emotion and empathy, what do we have to lose?

Digital empathy isn’t just about systems implementation and adoption. Digital is how we work. Can we practice empathy through remote and hybrid working? What about a change between them? When your whole world is reduced to a screen, digital empathy may be the only kind of empathy you experience.

Last Saturday I posted about Amazon’s decision to call all employees back to the office full time. This is a topic people feel passionately about. While some people offered their personal experiences and discussed the finer points constructively in the comments, the trolls also came out to play.

I was accused of gaslighting, supporting policies that infantilize employees, and peddling the WSJ's "pro-corporate sh*t takes." My attitude on this - honestly? - every knock a boost. Those trolls put my post in front of their networks and vastly increased my reach.

I also have to observe that they weren’t very empathetic (or even polite). Most felt that employees should be allowed to work anywhere they want. “Down with the man!” you might say. It is fine to advocate for flexible work arrangements, but there are also people who genuinely suffer from the isolation of a home office, who crave in-person collaboration, either for the sake of performance or for mental health. They deserve empathy as well.

Here is some of the best advice I picked up for being empathic - and all of it can be applied during transformations and implementations if you’re going for full digital empathy:

• Be authentic , because people can tell the difference.
• If you say you’re going to do something, DO IT.
• Treat each person as an individual.
• Be self aware.
• Don’t assume you understand why someone wants something.
• Read the (digital) room, and allow for grace and benefit of the doubt in both directions.
• And my personal favorite: response time . Responding quickly suggests an appreciation for someone else’s situation.

‘Soft skills’ are actually the hard ones. When we think about what transformation means - a dramatic change - approaching business decisions with empathy holds a lot of potential.?

New technology is tough. Yes, there are lots of benefits, but realizing them isn’t a given. Change makes people uncomfortable - and it is hard not to be defensive.

If practicing digital empathy can slow us down, make us listen, and help us feel what others are going through, not only will we fix the symptoms of our current challenges, we will solve the core problems - by replacing frustration with real connections and relationships.?

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