Cultivating Empathy Among Your Customer Support Reps

Faith Ocampo Published on January 26, 2017

One would think that empathy would come naturally for everyone, as it’s one of the main building blocks of effective communication.

customer support rep holding red heart in call center

But in our modern world, fixation on technology and the continuously shrinking attention span are crippling our ability to understand how others feel.

This is bad news for companies—especially call centers—whose success depends on the quality of their customer relationships. That’s why countless business leaders cite empathy and great communication skills as some of the best aptitudes their staff can ever possess.

Empathic employees—those who can understand and relate to others’ feelings and experiences—are deemed to be emotionally intelligent. In customer support interactions, this trait allows agents to build rapport with clients and establish trust. It’s the most important quality that makes customers feel that a brand truly cares about them.

Embedding empathy into your organizational culture can thus help you build a customer-centric company. This is the key to building a brand that customers will remember. Here are five ways to cultivate this trait among your call center reps.

  1. Emphasize the Importance of Listening

    customer support rep responding to caller on phone

    Empathy starts with listening.

    When agents listen to customers, they give them priceless gifts—time and full attention. These are the only two things you need to make customers feel valued. Letting them freely explain their concerns shows that you want to hear their insights and understand their exact needs

    In addition, listening actively during a conversation lets support reps recommend solutions that are tailored to the customers’ unique situation. Aside from enhancing the customer experience, this also speeds up problem resolution. Overall, this results to a more efficient customer service delivery.

  2. Build Diverse Teams

    diverse customer support team in call center assisting consumers

    The idea here is to expose your employees to people who are different from them, be it in terms of culture, personality, age, or beliefs. Putting together a diverse team would compel agents to meet new people. In the process, therefore, they’ll encounter new ideas, stories, and ways of thinking. All these can encourage your staff to be more open-minded. They’ll also learn to be more sensitive to others’ needs or emotions in the long run.

  3. Make it Part of Your Customer Service Training

    diverse customer support team in meeting training

    Including emotional intelligence training as one of your training modules is another great way to instill empathy among your call center reps. You can use a variety of classroom activities to allow them to practice this skill. For instance, role-playing activities let agents emulate customer support scenarios that they might encounter. This prepares them for difficult issues or situations they’d need to solve.

    Another topic to include in your discussions is phone and email etiquette. This is particularly crucial for multilingual companies that deal with a diverse set of clients. Be sure to provide culture-specific guidelines for your agents to help them avoid misunderstandings during customer interactions.

    Lastly, train your agents on core communication skills, including:

    • speaking and writing clearly
    • listening actively
    • clarifying ideas
    • organizing messages
    • using the right tone of voice
  4. Avoid Using Scripts

    customer support rep reading script in call center

    Some call centers require their agents to follow a script so they can easily maneuver a customer conversation toward the desired direction. However, sticking to a script can hinder them from conveying empathy. Instead, agents may end up sounding robotic and monotonous, which can immediately dampen the customer experience.

    On the other hand, spontaneous conversations sound more natural. Here, agents are at liberty to choose the best phrases or statements that are most appropriate for the situation. This lets them personalize conversations and address a customer’s specific needs.

  5. Promote a Customer-First Culture

    customer support centricity depiction businessman standing on stars

    The best way to build an organizational culture that prizes your customers above anything else is to communicate your vision to your employees. Let your people know that they play a critical role in making customers happy. And of course, empower them with the tools and information they need to perform their tasks efficiently.

Open Access BPO’s stringent hiring and recruitment practices ensure that we build the right teams for our partners operations. This means finding the right people with the skills and attitude needed for the job, and then further training them to deliver the best output possible. Contact us today and let’s build a dream team of skilled talents to take your business to the next level.
 

Read More

Faith is a digital media enthusiast aiming to become an active part of the tech world by sharing her insights. She likes to blog about everything digimarketing, technology, and social media.
Join us on facebook
Open Access BPO 0 hour ago
#𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱.
It offers multiple opportunities to make a great impression and build lasting loyalty.

But even a single customer service blunder can quickly turn a positive #CustomerExperience sour.

There are more support failures that can may customers abandon your brand and check out your competition.

What you do to prevent them from happening is critical.
Start with a powerful #CustomerSupport strategy: https://buff.ly/xr3yMqT

----------
Let's give your consumers the #CustomerExperience they'll be talking about for years: https://buff.ly/3yaDcXW

#WeSpeakYourLanguage
Open Access BPO 23 hours ago
Expanding your #startup internationally can unlock a world of opportunities.
From market research to talent acquisition, #outsourcing can be a powerful tool to streamline your global expansion.

But how can you tell if your startup is truly ready to take on the world?
Before you take the leap, check out these essential signs of international expansion readiness: https://buff.ly/aEtrOFi

——————————
Ready to take the leap and expand your startup internationally?

Let Open Access BPO help you navigate the complexities of global expansion through our #BPO solutions: https://buff.ly/3yaDcXW

#WeSpeakYourLanguage
#OutsourcingCX #CustomerSupport
Open Access BPO 3 days ago
Staying competitive often means finding smarter ways to operate and deliver great results.

For many global brands, that involves partnering with #outsourcing experts, and the Philippines is a go-to destination.

What's makes these outsourcing collaborations so impactful for a company's growth?

Learn why so many companies trust Philippine outsourcing companies to help them flourish and expand: https://buff.ly/UKynqaI

——————————
Just like many of the world's top brands, you can count on Open Access BPO to deliver excellent #CustomerExperience through our outsourcing services.

Ready to see how we can help your customer service shine? Get in touch: https://buff.ly/3yaDcXW

#WeSpeakYourLanguage
#CustomerSupport #CSat
#OutsourcingCustomerService #CX
#CallCenterOutsourcing #CustomerExperience
Open Access BPO 3 days ago
The global market demands more than language fluency—it requires secure multilingual #outsourcing for seamless, protected customer interactions.

But with stricter regulations and evolving cyber threats, businesses must rethink how they approach multilingual #CallCenter outsourcing.

Check out our latest blog to learn why security must never be an afterthought in global expansion: https://buff.ly/llPMlW1

——————————
Multilingual capabilities and #DataSecurity are two of Open Access BPO's best assets.

Our seamless operational processes and professional teams of experts fuse together #MultilingualSupport for over 30 languages with #DataProtection practices.

Learn more about what we can do for brands: https://buff.ly/mjNQZ9U

#WeSpeakYourLanguage
#MultilingualCallCenter#CustomerExperience
#MultilingualOutsourcing #CustomerService
#DataProtection
Open Access BPO 6 days ago
Leadership in #CallCenters is more than just setting targets and reviewing metrics.
It's about creating an environment where agents thrive, customers feel heard, and operations flow smoothly.

Curious about the techniques that make this possible?
Our blog digs into what makes an effective call center leader: https://buff.ly/xWGNZfa

——————————
Your business deserves world-class, industry-leading solutions, like the ones Open Access BPO provides: https://buff.ly/gHlxyNi

#WeSpeakYourLanguage
Open Access BPO 13 days ago
𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 #𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀.
But it's not just about the money. Pushing customers away can deliver a crushing blow to your business.

Ready to stop the bleed and start retaining customers like a pro?
Dive into the insights here: https://buff.ly/yd1gmoE

----------
Elevate your #CustomerRetention game now!
Contact us today to outsource to a #CustomerSupport expert: https://buff.ly/pmLrIys

Learn more:
[𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐲] 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐀𝐭𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫: 𝐀𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐬: https://buff.ly/xeIJboo

#WeSpeakYourLanguage
#CustomerSupport #CSat
#OutsourcingCustomerService #CX
#CallCenterOutsourcing #CustomerExperience