Can empathy be scripted or can it only come naturally?

Tim and Bill make great points. I do believe empathy can be taught. Certainly it is best if it a natural skill. However if training is done well, an employee can experience situations and start to understand how and when to use empathy. Empathy is the "bridge" to moving the customer to the resolution stage. It must be done with sincerity and respect or the customer will feel it is scripted and will resist the effort.
In my experience, empathy saves time and does not extend the time with the customer. The manager must be clear about this so employees feel it is ok to use empathy. My bias is empathy is not needed in all situations only when the customer goes through "their story/ordeal" and it must be acknowledged.
I wrote a recent blog on the problem with scripting - http://lisaford.blogspot.com/2011/05/use-common-sense-and-customer-service.html

Having real empathy is better. Customers can often tell if the empathy is not genuine and it hurts the trust relationship, which is extremely important in support, if the customer believes the empathy is not what the support engineer is actually feeling. Some people are much better at empathy than others. As Bill says above, it is important for the manager to bring out the best in our staff. I keep my staff focused on the perspective of the customers. If they can put themselves in the customer's shoes, and treat the customer as they would like to be treated, that provides a framework that encourages empathy.

I do not believe empathy can be scripted as it comes from the heart. In my opinion, when a person is empathetic it’s because they’re putting the other person first and truly care to understand their issue, offer solutions and resolve the issue to the customer’s satisfaction.

To be able to put the other person first employees must be engaged in their jobs and the vision of their employer. Like Bill and Tim, I believe leadership’s ability to engage their employees, gain their buy-in to the company’s vision, and model how customers (employees, stakeholders, business partners, vendors, etc.) are to be treated is critical to how employees behave on the job. Leaderships’ actions must be congruent with their words.

It’s incumbent on the company’s leadership to create a culture that encourages employees to put customers first. When employees are empowered in their roles, entrusted to act in the customers’ best interest, and confident they matter to the success of the company they will at least have an environment that fosters the security to be empathic to customers. It’s in this environment that employees, who do have the capacity to be empathic, will be able to be empathic. I too do not believe everyone has a natural capacity to be empathic, but I do believe a large majority of people do.

Being empathic and being empowered to act in the customers’ best interest must co-exist. Yes we as customers want customer service representatives to care about our issue and be empathetic to our cause, but if they cannot address our needs or resolve our issues to our satisfaction in a timely manner then anything gained to strengthen customer relationships by empathizing with them is lost.

It must be a positive customer experience (end-to-end), which fulfills the customers’ objective. Possibly not in the exact manner the customer hoped their issue would be resolved, but in a manner that they’ve agreed is fair (for example if they’re unhappy and make excessive, unfair requests; the service representative must be skilled at negotiating a fair resolution for all parties and gaining the customers buy-in to a fair resolution). Ultimately it takes every facet of a company to retain customers; it’s much greater than one’s ability to be empathic or not.

Great question, Guy, since empathy can play a HUGE role in delivering a great customer experience.

To show some empathy for knowledge management practices, I'll provide my answer by referencing some existing content on 'empathy' ;)

1. Another Focus discussion on "Compassion" - Compassion is a great manifestation of Empathy.
http://bit.ly/q7ozo7

2. A recent blog post "Why Empathy is More Important than Policy"
http://bit.ly/dcl4ze

3. Another post: "Three Skills a Dog Can Teach Us about Customer Relationships"
http://bit.ly/k7s15k

Thanks for posing this one, Guy.

Jim Watson
JL Watson Consulting

Lots of great points made in prior answers.

Some additional food for thought.
1. I believe you can provide tools (in the way of scripts) to help a customer service rep better understand the customer's situation, such as:
a. Repeating the customer's request or concern in their own words
b. Asking what the impact is on the customer.
c. Using active listening skills

2. The other aspect of engaging the empathy in customer service reps is to empower them to be able to act on behalf of the customer. Not ever request will be able to be handled this way but many can be.

There is a book I can recommend called Wired to Care: How Companies Prosper When They Create Widespread Empathy by Dev Patnaik which talks about how we are all 'wired to be empathetic and connect with people.

In Wired to Care, the author discusses how special cells in our brains called mirror neurons allow us to experience what other people are feeling — not just in an imagined way, either. Repeated tests have shown that both people performing an activity and people observing an activity experience identical brain activity.

Another interesting point is that it isn't just the reps in service that need to develop empathy for the customers. It is marketing and development and all of management too.

Dev has a short video you can watch at http://bcove.me/dxj1ah1n

The Challenge companies have is
a. How not to stifle this natural ability
b. How to bring it out in all areas of the business.

Sorry, my response appears twice so I edited this one to eliminate duplications. Sorry for that.

First off, I am not sure that social media is anything special in terms of enhancing "empathy" When people spend time together, they can build some sort of relationship assuming no one is triggered by the other person. So the natural human bond comes out.

Secondly my chops: this subject is one of my passions in life NOT just in call centers. I taught customer service for years in call centers and my communication skills training always rated high.

Empathy is a human trait. It comes as humans observe each other and see themselves in the other. That is how it happens earliest in our lives. It is how I taught it to my kids.

So the earlier answer about leaders modeling empathy and empowering reps to take appropriate action are SPOT ON.

The other key is impart reps with a key tool: the understanding that if you carry your preconceptions into a call, you marginalize your ability to have empathy. In the first 30 seconds of a call, an experienced rep subconsciously develops a "profile" of the caller. they think to themselves, "Oh, he's one of those callers."
Or "She is just like that caller I had an hour a go."
Empathy comes from treating each person as an individual. When you do, you can really listen and provide service.
You can only teach this when you have mastered the skill. Can you still your own mind? Can you recognize and temporarily set aside your own mind noise? THEN you can teach empathy to others.

Speaking from a Contact Center perspective - if your employees already have the right mix of ‘Soft Skill’ (Personality/Job-Fit) traits & Communications Skills to begin with - and specific amounts of those traits – then Empathy Skills Training will prove valuable as a way to ‘polish’ the affinity these employees already have to display empathy - and to form emotional relationships with callers in a Customer Service Call Center context.

But taking someone who's lacking in the ‘Soft Skill’ (Personality/Job-Fit) traits & Communications Skills - and investing in Empathy Skills Training for them - in an attempt to make them into a more empathetic Customer Service Representative (CSR) - is just investing dollars chasing dimes – and not a wise long-term business or customer care strategy. You can deliver the world’s best Empathy Skills Training Program to the wrong trainees and still wind up with a Contact Center with poor Customer Satisfaction Ratings.

A 2005 Harvard Study of 5,000 CSRs - who were all new hires – and who had all received the same introductory ‘Customer Service Training’ – including a training segment on building empathy & rapport - found that after 6 months on the job the bottom 10% of CSRs produced four negative customer encounters for every three positive ones. In other words – according to customers – 60% of the time encounters with CSRs who were “Bad Fits” for the job resulted in a negative caller experience – and that’s after the employer had invested in the same initial training for all new hires – including training on building empathy & rapport.

If you think that “everyone can be taught empathy” – then you will be hiring people strictly on the basis of who interviews well - and who seems to have the appropriate skill levels & background. And if this is all you do to screen your Job Candidates - you will find that too many of your new hires are not actually “Good Fits” for your Contact Center. These “Bad Fits” will display less-than-desirable work attitudes; resulting in poor performance, poor customer satisfaction ratings, and a lot of ‘just out of training’ turnover - whether that be your choice or theirs. This is a recipe for higher recruiting/hiring/training costs – higher turnover - lowered productivity - and a decrease in Service Levels, Customer Satisfaction and Brand Reputation.

There is a Return on Investment (ROI) to be had when investing in Empathy Skills Training for employees who have “The Right Stuff” to begin with – those who are “Good Fits” for working in your Call Center. It is a huge mistake to assume that everyone who is given Empathy Skills Training will benefit from it - that is simply not the case. Out of every 100 people in the general population – not all have the ‘Soft Skill’ (Personality/Job-Fit) traits required to deliver a positive Customer Service experience over the telephone. A job in a Call Center is not for everyone – and not everyone can (or should) be given Empathy Skills Training. The key to great Customer Service in the Contact Center is hiring the right people to begin with. Empathy Skills Training is just money down the drain when delivered to “Bad Fits” for the job.

Top performing Contact Centers drive their Revenue & Performance through superior hiring tactics. We help employers gain better insight & more accurate predictions as to which applicants from a pool of Candidates would perform up to, or beyond their established standards. You can find out about a Free Trial of SPAS Call Center Agent Pre-Employment Screening Software at http://www.telesoftsystems.ca/64201.html

The ‘Soft Skill’ (Personality/Job-Fit) traits & human voice of the Customer Service Representative (CSR) provides your Brand’s human face – and delivers value when it comes to the kind of service your callers expect.

While most everyone can use a telephone - not everyone is cut out to work as a CSR in a Call Center – and hiring the wrong CSR to begin with is the Root Cause of most Call Center performance issues.

Call Center work is generally acknowledged to be tedious & repetitive. CSRs are required to combine reliability with flexibility - and mix adherence to a schedule & procedure with adaptability in order to meet customers’ needs. CSRs are rewarded for metrics such as customer satisfaction, volume of calls taken & product knowledge - to name just a few. CSRs have to manage interactions constantly – in an environment driven by targets – while their job is constantly monitored electronically.

Candidates for the position of CSR must have a unique mix of ‘Soft Skill’ traits - including Empathy - and specific amounts of those traits - in order to successfully complete the job requirements.

For example - Assertiveness is an important characteristic of a CSR. Too little Assertiveness characterizes individuals who play a passive role on the telephone – who would rather listen than talk - who lack self-confidence – and as a result have issues related to Low Volume of Calls Handled/Above Average Call Handle Time. On the other hand - too much Assertiveness can be detrimental to customers as well as the workplace.

The same is true of Creativity & Problem Solving. Too little Creativity & Problem Solving characterizes individuals who typically dislike working on difficult or complicated problems – don’t care particularly about acquiring new knowledge - and are weak in thinking of new ways to solve problems. On the other hand – ‘really smart’/’overqualified’ people typically have issues related to handling the repetitive nature of Call Center work – and this can lead to Absenteeism and very expensive “Quick Quit”/”Fast Fire” (less than 6 month's employment) turnover.

You’ll typically find 3 grades of CSRs at work in a Call Center: (Above Average), (Average), and (Below Average).

(Above Average) CSRs seem to have “The Right Stuff” that pushes them to succeed & a natural compatibility with the duties of the position. They work hard - exceed expectations - do more than asked - achieve high-quality consistent results - can always be counted upon - need little direction - and work extremely well with everyone.

(Average) CSRs perform their duties adequately enough “to get by” - but no better. They are the partially competent. Generally they’re strong from a Skills standpoint - but missing a key ingredient or two from a ‘Soft Skill’ standpoint.

(Below Average) CSRs are the people who just don’t fit somehow. Sometimes they’re good people in the wrong jobs. They need extra coaching & supervision just to achieve below-average results. Often they cause unnecessary conflict. (Below Average) CSRs have the high Levels of Absenteeism, low Levels of Productivity, poor Performance & Customer Satisfaction Ratings, and they generally have a Negative Impact on Team Morale. (Below Average) CSRs represent the real problems in a Call Center workforce. While (Average) & (Below Average) CSRs may seem fully qualified at the Interview Stage – they’re a poor Job Fit – and the cost of hiring them is enormous – with little value add to the organization.

Top performing Contact Centers drive their Revenue & Performance through superior hiring tactics. We help employers gain better insight & more accurate predictions as to which applicants from a pool of Candidates would perform up to, or beyond their established standards. You can find out about a Free Trial of SPAS Call Center Agent Pre-Employment Screening Software at http://www.telesoftsystems.ca/64201.html