During a time when our country is experiencing a national health emergency, economic decline, and civil unrest, consumers and employees are feeling anxious and uncertain. Empathy is a word that we hear more often in terms of creating value for an organization’s culture.

“Empathy is ultimately about stepping into somebody’s else’s shoes and understanding their emotions,” says Jayne Hitman, national program manager for Creating Member Loyalty (CML), a development strategy program from CUNA focused on increasing employee engagement and the member experience.

With that understanding, organizations are better able to propose solutions, engage employees, and capture members’ loyalty, according to Paul Robert, CEO of FI Strategies, a strategic partner of CML.

As Robert says, empathy is nothing short of a differentiator for organizations in today’s marketplace. It’s a way to attract and retain top talent and enhance the member experience.

You can listen and subscribe to the CUNA News Podcast in Apple’s iTunes Store, Spotify, Google Play, and Stitcher Radio.

In this episode:

1:54: Defining empathy

3:26: What can be done to support the member journey

5:52: How empathy impacts the member experience

10:50: How empathy plays into coaching employees

13:28: How empathy affects teamwork

16:44: Empathy as a differentiator

20:08: Why empathy is important for our entire culture at the current time