Empathy is essential for many top managers and business leaders for a positive corporate culture. Empathy can help with teamwork and a sense of communal spirit that drive productivity and move a business world by valuing every individual on a marketing team or other business team.
Understanding empathy in business means taking a people-centered look at what goes on day to day and long-term: it means considering the feelings of everyone who contributes to making an enterprise what it is.
In addition to a corporate culture that is often built from the top-down, empathy training can be part of the equation for a better environment and corporate culture at a particular business. But many aspects of developing empathy are organic and start with a willingness and a determination to foster the right ethos within a department or office.
What is Empathy?
Empathy, in general, is the idea of understanding other people's feelings and situations. The empathy process can be described using the old saying, put yourself in someone else's shoes.
In a business context, empathy helps people cooperate and feel confident that they can trust those around them in seeking the same business objectives. Empathy can power a business as it grows, and it is a best practice for both HR and management.
Why is Empathy Important?
Experienced managers would tell you that many people intuitively understand the importance of empathy. However, they can also point to solid benefits of developing empathy in an office. There is less turnover, in general, because people feel more valued. Things like performance reviews are easier because people have a baseline of trust. All this contributes to why empathy is such a popular part of corporate culture across many types of business environments.
Contribution to Company Culture
When people feel valued, it drives a sense of purpose and positivity.
Building a better corporate culture enhances the reputation of your business. But it also improves what team members can expect from each other as they work cooperatively toward objectives.
Ways to Attain Empathy in the Workplace
Some of the most powerful ways to build empathy in the workplace are pretty general and simple to understand.
One foundational concept is using meetings and personal interactions to develop that empathy naturally. Listening to people talk about their situations in the job and beyond helps to build empathy, as it is done appropriately.
Businesses can also engage in training strategies that help people develop a better sense of shared goals and respect for one another. For example, role-playing activities help to show a variety of personal viewpoints and situations. This will help your team relate to others.
In other ways, empathy often starts at the top, where a manager or supervisor can set the tone by being empathetic and demonstrating empathy to a team. An open-door policy helps. So does routine interaction with staff, beyond the minimum of what is required for workflow processes.
Think about these aspects of encouraging empathy at your business. Contact us to learn more about opportunities at Fifth & Cor.