This article originally appeared in the January 2021 issue of Security Business magazine. When sharing, don’t forget to mention @SecBusinessMag on Twitter and Security Business magazine on LinkedIn.
Happy New Year! It is finally 2021 and a chance to disinfect the goal slate and start with a fresh outlook on the immediate future.
As I begin to take inventory of short-term goals for this New Year, I turn again to emotional intelligence. While our security industry is dynamic and continues to rapidly change and evolve from a technical standpoint, the one constant that always remains is that we are in the relationship business. People buy from those they trust; people deal with those they feel most comfortable with; people heed the advice of those they admire and believe are thought leaders in their space.
Everything about business relationships and relationship selling circles back to emotional intelligence; thus, my number-one short-term goal for this year is to sharpen my empathy skills.
Why empathy? What makes that skill so important?
How Empathy Can Improve the Work-from-Home Environment
With many customers still working from home and trying their best to focus on work, having an empathetic person on a phone call or video call to help them solve work questions or issues is paramount. Ask yourself this question: would you rather talk to someone who has an earnest desire in solving your question or talk to someone who seems aloof and disinterested?
With many of our customer-facing, frontline employees still in a “work at home” environment, the emotional IQ we display on daily calls and interaction with our employees will continue to play a critical role in our success as managers and leaders. They look to us to provide the emotional support and understanding they need to get through their workday.
Sometimes, employees just need someone to talk to and listen to them – someone to show a little empathy at what they deal with, like home life, work life, school life, and all worlds colliding. It can be very overwhelming even for the best among us. A little empathy can go a long way in this current work/home equation.
Create Positive Interaction with Customers and Employees
According to the latest research from customer service training and software firm Comm100 (www.comm100.com), 84% of customers say their last customer service interaction via call center did not exceed their expectations.
Using empathetic statements will help customers and employees feel that you really do care. It will diffuse frustration and can quickly turn a negative interaction into a positive one. Make every interaction with your customers and employees count – after all, it is easy to forget the good experiences, but the bad tend to stick around.
Use empathetic statements in business conversation. Here are a few examples – try them on, see if they fit and then use them in real-life work situations. Use these statements for customer interactions:
- How can I make this process easier for you?
- Your business means a lot to us.
- If I were in your position, I am sure I would have the same concerns.
- I want to thank you for taking the time to speak with me today.
- What would be the best-case scenario for you?
Empathetic statements for employees would include:
- If I were in your position, I would feel the same way.
- Your viewpoint on this is really important to me.
- Would you be willing to consider X?
- How can I help you with this?
Be Authentic
While it may seem like common sense, expressing empathy can be hard for leaders, even when they truly feel that way. Do you really know anyone that comes to work to make customers and employees feel unwanted or unneeded and miserable? I am sure the answer is no, but this doesn’t mean sharing emotion comes easily.
Sharing this authenticity will help deepen connections with all who you work with – go ahead, give it a try.
Ric McCullough is President of PSA Security Network. Request more info about PSA at www.securityinfowatch.com/10214742.
