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November26,201512:18am

Socialmediaiscapitalismwithahumanface
RhymerRigby

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In2012,theblogGizmodoacqxuiredacopyofApplesGeniustrainingmanual.Therewasa
sectiononteachingcustomerfacingstaffhowtobemoreempathetic.

Naturally,therewereafairfewjokesaboutthis,withGizmodonotingthatmuchofthe
adviceseemedtobealongthelinesofsayingImsorryyoufeelthatwayafterafightwith
yourgirlfriend.

However,althougheasytomock,corporateempathyhasbeen
risinguptheagendaoverthepastfewyears.Thesedaysitis
nolongerjustaboutmakingstaffinfrontlinerolesplaynice
withthosetheyserve.

Thetopdailypickof Rather,itisaboutbeingacompanythatrelatesinahuman
FTbusinessstories waytoallitsstakeholders.Itisabouthavingemotional
forMBAstudents intelligenceonacorporatescale.
andprofessors.

Signupnow Inthepastyoucouldjustdelivergoodsandservicesand
empathywaseasytoignore,saysBelindaParmar,chief
executiveofLadyGeek,aconsultancy.Butcustomersnow
demandhumanityandauthenticity.Itsafundamentalchangeinthewaybusinessisdone.
Today,LadyGeekpublishesitssecondEmpathyIndex.

Thefirstindex,whichwasreleasedinJanuary,scored100oftheworldsbestknownbrands
onhowtheyrelatedtocustomersandemployeesandhowtheycommunicatedonsocial
media.

Thesecondtakes160businessesandusesadditionalcriteriasuchasthenumberofwomen
onboardsandsharepricevolatility.

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Socialmediahasplayedabigpartintheriseoftheempatheticorganisation.Insome(but
notall)waysitisattheheartofcorporateemotionalintelligencebecauseitallowscustomers
tointeractwithcompaniesinthewaytheywouldwithotherpeople.

Thisrangesfromsimplecomplaintstothekindoflightheartedtoandfrohumourthat
brandssuchasTacoBelldosowellonTwitter.

JulienSmith,chiefexecutiveofBreather,theroombookingwebsite,andauthorofThe
ImpactEquation,saysthetricktoempathyonsocialmediaistocomeacrossashuman.

Yougototheplacesyourcustomerscongregateandyouemploypeoplewhocanusethese
mediumsnativelyandtalktocustomersasiftheywererightinfrontofthem.

Itmayseemobviousthatempatheticcompaniesdobetterwithcustomers.However,they
alsodobetterwiththeirstaff,especiallyyoungerstaff.Ifyoulookatmillennials,theyare
muchmoreinterestedinworkingintechfirmsthaninbanks,saysMsParmar.

LinkedInwasthefirstindexs
numberone(andisnownumber
17).Some70percentofourstaff
aremillennials,saysWendy
Murphy,LinkedInssenior
directorofhumanresourcesfor
Europe,MiddleEastandAsia.
Theywantpurposeintheirlives
andmeaningfulemployment.

LinkedInscoresstronglyonsocial
mediaandthisisnot
surprisingasitsemployeesare
alsoitsusers.

However,MsMurphysaysitputs
agreatdealofeffortintothenon
techaspectsofitsculture,with
initiativessuchastimetopursue
personaldevelopmentinthevery
broadestsense(youcantakean
hourofftoreadabook)and
alumninetworksforformerstaff.

Sheadds:Workinginsocial
mediaalsomeansthat,rather
thandoinganemployeeannual
satisfactionsurvey,our
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employeeshaveavoiceallthe
time.Wehaveaveryhigh
feedbackculture.

Thisyearsnumberoneis
Microsoft,whichmaybemoreof
asurprise.Butthecompanyhas
highstaffretentionratesand
employeesratesenior
managementhighlyitdoeswell
despitepublicperceptions.

Indeed,ontheslightly
unexpectedfront,therearealsoa
numberofbanksinrelatively
highpositions.Butcorporate
empathyisacomplexand
changingthing:HSBCsdrug
moneyscandalisnowbeing
forgottenandthebankisan
adeptuserofsocialmedia.

EvenGoldmanSachsenjoysa
relativelyhighposition,which
suggeststhatthevampiresquids
[ofWallStreet]label,froma
2009USmagazinearticle,arenot
forever.

Therearealsostarkexamplesofbusinessesthathavedestroyedtheirhardwonempathy.

InJanuarysIndex,Volkswagencameaveryrespectable27thof Customersnow
100.Now,inthewakeoftheemissionsscandal,ithasfallento95
demandhumanityand
of160.Itisnothardtoseewhy.VWwas,untilrecently,a
authenticity:itsa
companythatdidempathyprettywell.
fundamentalchangein
thewaybusinessis
IfyoudroveaGolf,especiallyadiesel,youweredoingsomething
done
decentandworthyandtryingtodoyourbitfortheenvironment
thecompanywasamodelofGermanicprobity. BelindaParmar

Theseperceptionshavebeenshattered.Thepublicreactionwas Tweetthisquote

interesting.Somecustomerswereangry,butmanyofthemfelt
hurt,betrayedanddisappointed.Theyhadtrustedthisdependable,empatheticGerman
companyandithadletthemdown.

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Whatismore,theyfeltfarmoreletdownthantheymightiftheyhadboughtacarfroma
businessthatdidnotpurporttohavethesevalues.

However,youcanalsobouncebackfromempatheticignominy.Starbucksrankinginthis
index(42of160)isamarkedimprovementonthelastindex(92of100).Thecompanys
publicimageplummetedwhenitstaxarrangementswererevealedanditcompoundedthese
withalessthanapologeticresponse.Manypeopleweredisgustedbutthisiswearingoff.
Perhapsthereissomethingtobesaidforwritingcustomersnamesoncupsafterall.

TheexperienceofVWandStarbucksandeventhebanksstandsinsharpcontrastto
companiesthatseemfirmlyrootedinthebottomquartileoftheempathyindex.LikeVW,
TalkTalkhasalsoexperiencedaveryrecentscandal.Howeveritfellonlyfrom72of100to
156of160.Peopledidnotlikeitmuchinthefirstplace,soitdidnothavefartofall.

Indeed,thereisawholeraftofcompaniessuchasRyanairandAbercrombie&Fitchthatsit
atthebottomoftheempathybarrel.Starbucksmayhavereboundedfairlyquicklybecauseit
hasconsiderableexperienceofempathy,butothershaveneverhaditinthefirstplace.

RyanairsMichaelOLearyhasrecentlystartedtakingalessabrasivestancewithhis
customers,butitcouldbealongroad.

RatherthanrebuildingRyanairsempathy,hewillhavetobuilditfromscratch.

ForaQ&Aontheapproachtotherankingclickhere

TheLadyGeekEmpathyIndex(fulllist):

1.Microsoft(Technology)

2.Facebook(Technology)

3.TeslaMotors(Automotive)

4.Alphabet[Google](Technology)

5.Procter&Gamble(ConsumerGoods)

6.Apple(Technology)

7.Johnson&Johnson(Biotech&Pharma)

8.WaltDisney(Media)

9.PrudentialFinancial(Finance)

10.Audi(Automotive)
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11.CiscoSystems(Communication)

12.BritishAmericanTobacco(Tobacco)

13.LVMH(Retail)

14.Alibaba(Technology)

15.Unilever(ConsumerGoods)

16.ArmHoldings(Semiconductors)

17.LinkedIn(Technology)

18.Novartis(Biotech&Pharma)

19.HSBC(Finance)

20.WellsFargo(Finance)

21.SABMiller(ConsumerGoods)

22.Netflix(OnlineRetail)

23.GoldmanSachs(Finance)

24.ExxonMobil(Oil&Gas)

25.RoyalBankofScotland(Finance)

26.AstraZeneca(Biotech&Pharma)

27.BG(Oil&Gas)

28.EasyJet(Travel&Tourism)

29.Burberry(Retail)

30.WholeFoodsMarket(Retail)

31.InterContinentalHotels(Travel&Tourism)

32.Nike(Retail)

33.MarriottInternational(Travel&Tourism)

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34.SAPSE(Technology)

35.Pfizer(Biotech&Pharma)

36.JPMorganChase(Finance)

37.Diageo(ConsumerGoods)

38.GeneralElectric(Industrialconglomerate)

39.Chevron(Oil&Gas)

40.DeutscheBank(Finance)

41.Twitter(Technology)

42.Starbucks(Restaurant)

43.RoyalDutchShell(Oil&Gas)

44.BlackRock(Finance)

45.Intel(Technology)

46.Citigroup(Finance)

47.WalMartStores(Retail)

48.HomeDepot(ConsumerGoods)

49.Yahoo!(Technology)

50.MorganStanley(Finance)

51.DiscoveryCommunications(Media)

52.ColgatePalmolive(ConsumerGoods)

53.BAESystems(Aerospace)

54.Oracle(Technology)

55.Viacom(Media)

56.AmericanExpress(Finance)

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57.PepsiCo(ConsumerGoods)

58.UBS(Finance)

59.StandardLife(Insurance)

60.BarrattDevelopments(ConsumerGoods)

61.Amazon(OnlineRetail)

62.GeneralMotors(Automotive)

63.HiltonWorldwide(Travel&Tourism)

64.DeutscheTelekom(Telecommunications)

65.MasterCard(Finance)

66.Vodafone(Telecommunications)

67.ITV(Media)

68.Kingfisher(ConsumerGoods)

69.UnitedParcelService(DeliveryServices)

70.BancoSantander(Finance)

71.BMW(Automotive)

72.Accenture(Finance)

73.Sony(Technology)

74.CocaCola(ConsumerGoods)

75.RollsRoyce(Aerospace)

76.BankofAmerica(Finance)

77.Barclays(Finance)

78.MonsterBeverage(ConsumerGoods)

79.Nvidia(Technology)

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80.Ford(Automotive)

81.Total(Oil&Gas)

82.GlaxoSmithKline(Biotech&Pharma)

83.AT&T(Telecommunications)

84.Target(Retail)

85.ImperialTobacco(Tobacco)

86.Boeing(Aerospace)

87.Carnival(Travel&Tourism)

88.StandardChartered(Finance)

89.Sky(Media)

90.JSainsbury(Retail)

91.NationalGrid(Utilities)

92.Daimler(Automotive)

93.McDonalds(Restaurant)

94.Toyota(Automotive)

95.Volkswagen(Automotive)

96.CreditSuisse(Finance)

97.DirectLine(Insurance)

98.CVSCaremark(Retail)

99.Aviva(Insurance)

100.VerizonCommunications(Telecommunications)

101.LloydsBankingGroup(Finance)

102.Comcast(Media)

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103.Honeywell(Aerospace)

104.TimeWarner(Media)

105.VISA(Finance)

106.BP(Oil&Gas)

107.eBay(OnlineRetail)

108.Honda(Automotive)

109.AssociatedBritishFoods(ConsumerGoods)

110.Tesco(Retail)

111.TwentyFirstCenturyFox(Media)

112.ElectronicArts(Technology)

113.MarksandSpencer(Retail)

114.Next(Retail)

115.Samsung(Technology)

116.TravisPerkins(ConsumerGoods)

117.KraftHeinz(ConsumerGoods)

118.Schroders(Finance)

119.GileadSciences(Biotech&Pharma)

120.RoyalMail(DeliveryServices)

121.Mattel(ConsumerGoods)

122.Ocado(Retail)

123.Airbus(Aerospace)

124.Garmin(ConsumerGoods)

125.Whitbread(Restaurant)

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126.IAG(Travel&Tourism)

127.GeneralMills(ConsumerGoods)

128.RioTinto(Metals&Mining)

129.WalgreenBootsAlliance(Retail)

130.TripAdvisor(OnlineRetail)

131.AmericanInternational(Insurance)

132.Pearson(Media)

133.SportsDirect(Retail)

134.IBM(Finance)

135.SSE(Utilities)

136.VirginMoney(Finance)

137.CharterCommunications(Telecommunications)

138.WmMorrison(Retail)

139.BT(Telecommunications)

140.TSB(Finance)

141.Staples(Retail)

142.Telefonica(Telecommunications)

143.AmericanAirlines(Travel&Tourism)

144.Centrica(Utilities)

145.AngloAmerican(Metals&Mining)

146.DixonsCarphone(Retail)

147.Experian(Finance)

148.MondelzInternational(ConsumerGoods)

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149.BHPBilliton(Metals&Mining)

150.Halfords(Retail)

151.SevernTrent(Utilities)

152.LondonStockExchange(Finance)

153.Legal&General(Finance)

154.Merck&Co(Biotech&Pharma)

155.Ryanair(Travel&Tourism)

156.TalkTalkTelecom(Telecommunications)

157.KeurigGreenMountain(ConsumerGoods)

158.HargreavesLansdown(Finance)

159.Abercrombie&Fitch(Retail)

160.JDSports(Retail)

RELATEDTOPICS Volkswagen AG, Goldman Sachs Group Inc, HSBC Holdings PLC, Corporate governance,
Social Media

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