How companies can capitalise on empathy

In a world full of chaos and self-obsessed noise, right words with correct timing play a vital role. Over the years, there have been many experiments linking profits directly to empathy or the way human sensitivity works. Case and point here, 59% of human error caused customer grievances, losses, and preventable damage to various industries, according to Boots Research. From telecom to pharmaceuticals, each of these sectors have lost revenue on casual and unassuming choice of words highlighting an attitude of “care a damn” which influenced people to move away. The corporates lose 34% revenue to human errors alone made in any form.

Highest would be lack of empathy.

Taking a reference of a research done in 1999 by Institute of Medicine, “To err is human” in the healthcare industry of United States, it says that as many as 98000 Americans die because of medical errors done in hospitals, which otherwise could have been prevented. Most hospitals geared up much better once the silence-breaking and ground-shaking research came to light.

Twenty-three percent of people die at workplace due to wrong medication advised by non-medico people globally. An unempathetic attitude of doctors and pharmacy both lead people to self-medication. Surprisingly, expensive medical care is lesser hindrance versus the fear of not being understood. So, empathy plays a bigger role other than altruism. It gets your cash registers ringing.

So how do we connect behavioural economics with better people management?

Many organisations outsource the delicate business of customer handling to call centres. At times, to third parties who keep a standard checklist. From standard greetings to saying sorry to keeping people on hold, everything is ticked on the checklist. With a consistency which is artificially induced and mechanical in nature, Institute of Bucharest says that 64% of business moves on to competition. It is rotation may be, yet a penny out is a penny out forever. Retaining an old loyal customer is always cheaper than acquiring a new one.

A much talked about incident of roughly moving a passenger by Indigo Airlines employee not only cost them 4% dip instantly in share price, it also bruised the company on the wrong side. But a call made to their call centre recently made me realised the tone of representative has changed. From the usual monotonous drag of “Sorry, we can’t do this” or “talk to the ground staff,” the rep made an attempt to hear and spoke--“Sure, I understand" and "I can walk you through the steps of IVR.” The language has taken a transition from “this is how you do it” to “let me help you do this; I am here” for those who link cash registers directly to customer loyalty.

This word positioning is not new. To understand a perspective and to be able to frame the conversations, product features and benefits is a game most salespeople learn without any formal education. Now the challenges of learning and implementation are wide open and beyond traditional soft skills. 

The writer is strategic advisor and premium educator with Harvard business publishing.