Empathy & Employee Experience
Empathy is the capacity to understand or feel what another person is experiencing from within their frame of reference, that is, the capacity to place oneself in another's position. While in the workplace, empathy can show a deep respect for co-workers and show that you care, as opposed to just going by rules and regulations.
Managers and organizations have a larger role to play when it comes to showing basic empathy. I firmly believe - Empathy is the skill differentiator between humans and machines.
While more and more organizations are focusing on Employee Experience and Impact, it's a must that they include Empathy when coaching managers, leaders, and larger workforce.
Being empathic and cognizant of "human feelings" will lead to successful manager-employee conversations, easier for HR and company leadership to deploy programs, and also, lead to a happier workforce.
Empathy should be infused to every design thinking workshop!
An empathic workplace will have the following: -
- Higher dedication and commitment from employees
- More compassionate workplace and employees
- Workplace more suited for millennials
How to practice empathy? The answer is basic yet so difficult for many.
Know your people :- If only we could talk! Just talking can help solve most of the organizational problems.
Observe :- Managers, leaders should always be on the lookout for signs of stress, discomfort, and depression in their team members. Not all are bold to talk to their managers about problems.
Making people self aware :- Managers, leaders should spend time coaching team members to be more self aware. It's not easy but being self aware is the key to success.
Listen :- Being a good listener is the start to being empathic. Employees will experience empathy if managers, and larger organizations would just listen. And of course respond with empathy.
Realize they are humans :- I can't say this enough. Employees humans with feelings and come from diverse backgrounds. We always know less about a person at work than what we do know. Empathy starts from not assuming a persons state of mind.
Empathy at workplace will lead to the best ever employee and in turn client experience.
Happy to connect to hear your perspective!
Regards, Laksh
Executive Director - HR (People and Culture) @ Collabera LLC | Building Progressive People Strategies
5 年Very well articulated Laksh. Leaders also learn not to be opinionated and biased. At the same time it is also important for the organizations to start including compassionate as one of the competencies for leader at hiring stage irrespective of the industries (not only to medical, healthcare etc industry).