Introducing a New Series! Hiring the Empathetic Employee

Introduction:

In 2010, I began my journey in hiring. I was thrown into it with no professional experience in building teams or finding talent, but as a student studying contemplative psychology, I felt I was given the golden opportunity to be paid to do what I innately loved. Hiring in a college town comes with continual change, so I had the opportunity to build teams over and over, sometimes hiring a few staff monthly. Over the last decade, I have hired hundreds of employees. In reflecting on why I had success in attracting and securing exceptional customer service employees, I was excited (but not shocked) to find that empathy played a major role in this equation. As someone who is deeply empathic, I wondered how that also impacted this conversation. We are in a time where the element of empathy is vital, and this four part series on hiring the empathetic employee will explore just that. Thank you for reading! 

Part One:

In a time where applicants are plentiful and time is limited, finding the most aligned hire is top of mind for many. As a business owner or hiring manager, it can be enticing to cut corners to save time. But, our communities are calling for more from the customer service they receive, and it is your responsibility to adapt to those needs. How you hire will impact who you hire, and who you hire will define the loyalty you receive. This is a tall order for anyone in customer service. It is my hope that this blog will help you navigate how to hire in a way that will ensure you attract a team that is capable of meeting your customers where they are at.

The Tall Order                                            

I will never forget when I first became a barista in my late teens. I had never been a barista before, though I had held customer service gigs. Most coffee houses were not hiring baristas without experience because turnover is high in a college town, so managers often looked for what was seamless. In the interview, I was asked, “If you were a customer, how would you want to be treated?” My answer was simple, “I would want to be treated with kindness and empathy. Like I was somebody’s precious grandmother.” I believe this response is why I got the position and why he took a chance on me. He felt confident I would extend the same care to their customers. Present day, emotions are high, change is frequent, and there is no such thing as a normal day for anyone. This merely enhances the fact that exceptional customer service is cardinal.  

In an article from the Harvard Business Review on customer service; a service leader of a large retailer stated, “Our people are woefully ill-equipped to handle today’s customers and their issues. We’re not running a contact center here. It’s more like a factory of sadness.” Efforts around automating interactions and allowing self-service options have received a great deal of attention and progress over the years; meanwhile, human engagement and customer service has slowly been declined. This is largely due to a lack of focused effort and attention on hiring and empowering staff to tend to this tall order, as well as the increased demands and expectations from customers. I call this a recipe for disaster. 

Some popular definitions of customer service include that it is “... about creating a relationship of trust and loyalty beyond the immediate interaction,” or that it is “...what a company does to meet and exceed customer expectations.” David Gaines of La Terza Coffee and my co-host on The Third Place podcast would simply refer to it as The Golden Rule. I like to distill it down even a bit more to say that customer service is simply about being authentically human. So what does it mean to be authentically human and what are the traits that should guide you in finding a hire that can bring their authenticity to the table so that you can determine whether or not they are capable of meeting the tall order?

Traits of an Empathetic Employee

In a global study done by the Harvard Business Review of 1,440 reps from across many industries, it was found that there are 7 different customer service profiles and the most favored one by leadership was dubbed the “Empathizer.” The empathizer was described by managers as being “service-oriented,” “a good listener and communicator,” and someone who “likes helping others.” It was also found that the Empathizer, despite being preferred by leadership, was not always the top performing customer service rep as it lacked a trait of “taking control,” or what I would describe as guiding the customer. I believe this to be a result of good listening and sympathizing, which empowers the rep to guide the engagement in a productive way. 

Coupling these findings with my hiring experience, I believe the empathetic employee who is capable of handling the tall order called on them, is someone who is self aware, a conscious listener, innately compassionate, has a positive attitude, and is confident. 
How do we attract an empathetic employee with these traits? And most of all, how do we select the right one? Stay tuned for part two!

In Summary:

• The way of customer service has become more demanding on the customer service rep. This is a tall order. 

• Customers and managers are craving empathetic customer service representatives and exchanges. 

• The empathetic employee possesses the following traits:

  • Self awareness

  • Conscious listening

  • Compassion

  • Positive Attitude

  • Confidence