Empathy sometimes proves elusive in crisis response; it shouldn’t
During a crisis, empathy matters.
Showing empathy can make a bad situation more bearable for employees and customers, create understanding of the problem and buy-in for the solutions, prevent reputational harm and build lasting trust.
Yet, many companies and organizations struggle with clearly, genuinely and promptly acknowledging the personal impact of the situation.
Leaders might instead be laser focused on explaining the technical nature of what went wrong or what is being done to solve the problem. They could be distracted by safety issues. They might be concerned about admitting fault and opening the company to litigation. All are important considerations, to be sure, but empathy must be a prominent part of the response.
Southwest Airlines grappled with this during its holiday flight meltdown. Empathy seemed lacking early on. Brand messaging, while important, felt cold on its own, and words like “inconvenience” trivialized what customers were feeling.
As the trouble cascaded, sincere-sounding apologies and words of empathy did emerge. Statements on the airline’s website, video messages and a high-profile media interview show the progression.
(These don’t reflect actions Southwest took, such as refunds, credits and reimbursements. Obviously, those are important.)
Excerpts:
Dec. 21 statement:
The Safety of Employees and Customers is Southwest’s top priority...
We apologize for inconveniences...
Dec. 22 statement:
...have resulted in disruptions...
Dec. 23 statement:
We appreciate our Customers’ patience and apologize for inconveniences...
Dec. 24 statement:
...we are grateful for the support of our Employees...
Dec. 26 statement:
... continuing challenges are impacting our Customers and Employees in a significant way that is unacceptable.
And our heartfelt apologies are just beginning.
Our Employees and Crews scheduled to work this holiday season are showing up in every single way. We are beyond grateful for that.
...we’ll work to make things right for those we’ve let down...
We recognize falling short and sincerely apologize.
Dec. 27 video from CEO:
... And please also hear that I’m truly sorry.
I’m apologizing to (employees) daily.
... customers who are dealing with costly detours and reroutes...
We have some real work to do in making this right.
Dec. 28 video from CCO:
... to every single person disrupted by our challenges ... my personal apology on behalf of myself and everyone at Southwest Airlines
We’re continuing to work to make this up to you...
My personal apology is the first step of making things right after many plans changed and experiences fell short of your expectations of us.
Dec. 29 statement:
We know even our deepest apologies — to our Customers, to our Employees, and to all affected through this disruption — only go so far.
Dec. 30 interview with CEO on ABC’s Good Morning America:
This has impacted so many people, so many customers over the holidays, it’s impacted our employees, and I’m extremely sorry for that. There’s just no way almost to apologize enough because we love our customers, we love our people and we really impacted their plans.
Jan. 5 video from CEO:
We disrupted holiday travel for millions...
I’ve said it before, but I can't say it enough how sorry I am for the impact these challenges have had on our employees and our customers.
...our heartfelt apologies...
The turbulence is not over for Southwest. Customers and investors are suing, Congress is likely to hold hearings and the company’s pilots association is sounding the alarm about aging technology. There is also still the matter of refunds and reimbursements.
So, the true cost of the crisis and Southwest’s response will come in time.
For now, more opportunities to show empathy lie ahead.