Empathy, the ability to understand another person’s feelings and perspective, can be difficult to convey in a banking setting. But certain behaviors and skills can be learned, practiced, and mastered to express the empathy that financial consumers are looking for in their banking relationships. At a time when many banks and credit unions are challenged to provide consistent customer service, an organizational commitment to conveying empathy can differentiate a financial institution from the competition.
Takeaways:
- Learning how to express empathy to customers can help financial institutions stand out because it is so hard to convey consistently and effectively in a banking environment.
- Trust-building skills, like active listening, that demonstrate empathy can be taught and made a habit of frontline teams.
- Effective frontline workers have the ability to both express empathy in response to frustration and then quickly and effectively resolve their customer’s underlying problem.
Maybe you’ve been in this situation: someone is telling you about a problem that is causing them frustration. You, with the best of intentions, begin offering advice on how to solve their problem. Then they respond, “I don’t want you to fix it, I just want you to LISTEN!”
You’re nodding. We’re off to a good start.
In a customer service setting, the customer’s demand is more likely to be, “I want you to listen, THEN I want you to fix it!”
These examples illustrate part of what makes empathy so complex: its situational nature. In a credit union environment, it can be the difference between having loyal members for life…or not.
Why is empathy such a STAND-OUT trait in financial services? Because it’s so difficult to do it right!
At its most basic, empathy is the ability to understand and relate to the feelings of another. It is the start of effective communication, getting as sound a reading as you can of what someone else is going through or concerned about. It’s not easy to slow down, listen, and think through the situation while demonstrating a genuine concern for the other person’s feelings. Isn’t it much easier to ignore the emotional aspect, jump to a conclusion, and toss out a quick-fix solution? Or to respond only to the emotions of the moment, instead of doing the work to identify and help with the member’s need?
Demanding Dynamics of the Banking Front Line
Empathy looks a lot different in a financial services setting than it does in other relationships (e.g., friends, co-workers). The sides rarely meet on a level playing field. The proliferation of digital channels and self-help options coming out of the pandemic tip the balance of power decidedly in favor of the customer, who can simply “cut and run” with greater ease to the next financial services provider. The customer/service provider dynamic adds another element: the customer expects more than just being listened to – they want their problem to be addressed, if not resolved.
Fortunately, there are behaviors that can be taught, skills that can be learned by your frontline teams, to convey empathy – even when they don’t come naturally. These skills include active listening, reflection, and mirroring of the customer’s concerns. The more these behaviors are practiced, the more they become ingrained, until they start to evoke the sense of connection that genuinely builds relationships and trust through resolving the situation.
Credit unions today are challenged to coach the skills to convey empathy along with all of the other skills new employees have to learn and master. The learning curve may also be steeper for a generation less adept at interactive skills due to reliance on social media. And continued turnover on the front line can make it seem like a never-ending process.
But where empathy skills are evident, you get the beginning of relational experiences that build trust: by taking the time to listen to another person’s problem, you give them the space to share their anxieties, worries and concerns – none of which seem to be in short supply these days.
The pandemic has only increased the importance of knowing the skills that convey empathy – not just sympathy. In a recent interview, one credit union CEO observed that, “It’s not about just being empathetic in a ‘golden rule’ kind of a way, where you treat others as you would like to be treated. It’s about being empathetic in a ‘platinum rule’ kind of way, where you treat others how they wish to be treated.” The trick, of course, is knowing how others actually wish to be treated.
Empathic Concern: Delivering What Customers Need
As I work with credit union leaders, I recognize that it’s not one-size-fits-all when it comes to empathy. As noted above, the appropriate type to use depends on the situation. A little research sheds some light on the nuances, as psychologist Daniel Goleman has identified three different kinds of empathy, distinguished by the type of ability they describe:
1. Cognitive Empathy: The ability to understand another person’s perspective
- People with this skill can explain themselves in meaningful ways – a skill essential to getting the best performance from your team members. It involves a conscious directing of attention toward others and what they feel. Leaders that have mastered it can think about feelings rather than feel them directly.
2. Emotional Empathy: The ability to feel what someone else feels
- This skill allows you to “feel fast” without thinking deeply, i.e., “I feel your pain.” It involves a focused attention on the other person’s face, voice, and other external signs of emotion. It can also be developed – even if you don’t particularly desire to be empathetic, you will start to feel more engaged if you perform the behaviors.
3. Empathic Concern: The ability to sense what another person needs from you
- People with this skill can counterbalance how other people feel with what they need from you. It requires managing your own personal distress about their situation without becoming numb to their pain. It effects a cognitive shift toward the other person’s well-being over and above your feelings around their situation.
If no single type of empathy is appropriate for every situation, which one best serves the scenarios that arise in a customer service setting? I would argue that these situations call for Empathic Concern. Frontline workers have to express empathy but then quickly and effectively solve the customer’s problem. They have to discover what they need to deliver to resolve the source of the frustration or uncertainty without rushing the customer and the experience. Consider:
- Do your frontline employees reflect in their words an understanding of a problem’s impact on the member, e.g., “I understand your situation and know that this is something very important to you”?
- Do they avoid taking ownership of a situation with a non-apology, e.g., “I’m sorry if you didn’t understand”?
- Does their language show that your goal is to resolve their concern and that you want them to understand what will happen next, e.g., “What I am going to do for you is…”?
- Do their final remarks close the conversation with empathy, e.g., “We are happy we could make this right for you”?
Herein lies the opportunity: At a time when financial consumers and institutions must deal with the frustrations of staffing issues and extended wait times, an empathetic service team can generate enormous brand trust and customer loyalty. But a commitment to empathy must permeate the entire organization, from the face to the core. Employees serving each other within the credit union should be no less empathetic than your frontline teams.
With this organizational commitment to conveying empathy, even in the most challenging situations, you will differentiate yourself as that rare thing in today’s uncertain and impatient market: a financial services provider that understands its members. The result? Your members stay with you, place more of their business with you, and sing your praises to their family and friends. That’s the empirical evidence that you are bridging the gap between what you hope you are giving your members…and what your teams are actually delivering.
Are you ready to learn and master the empathy-building skills that make you stand out as a credit union? We can get you started today!
