Another non-technical blog post, I’m on a roll!

I recently watched a documentary, which explored the differences between the minds of Men and Women and it got me thinking how this translates in an IT Support department.
The documentary in question is a 2005 three part BBC series called Secrets of the Sexes, the three parts of which are broken down into the following: Brainsex, Attraction and Love.
It is the first episode – “Brainsex”, which got me thinking, and it is this episode I shall be making reference to in this article.

This isn’t just an article to answer the question of whether Empathy exists, but that of the relationships between Customers and IT Support Teams/Departments. However it is how I shall kick this off…

So first off lets clarify the definition of what ‘Empathy’ is, so to quote the Oxford English Dictionary:

Empathy (noun): The ability to understand and share the feelings of another.

Lets also clarify what a typical IT Support department or team looks like.
I think it would be fair to say that IT Support is a largely male dominated profession, built with varying degrees of experience ranging from young Juniors starting out their IT Career paths to those more mature and experienced Seniors.
Also if you were to ask most people that work within an IT Support role the reasons for doing so, the typical primary answer will be to gain hands on experience with new and existing technology which feeds their interests and hobbies.

Now that we’ve established the definition of ‘Empathy’ and a somewhat sweeping statement of your typical IT Support department, I bring you to my first documentary reference.

It is established early on in the episode through tests and experiments that Women are typically more Caring, Sensitive and more Empathetic, where as Men tend to show far lower levels of these traits.
At this point it is worth pointing out that these are just average results and that some Men will show higher levels of emotion and also that some Women will show lower levels.

So by applying the average levels of Empathy of Men to your average and typical IT Support department, Does Empathy Exist in IT Support?
Well at this stage it would be a fair assumption to say No, or more accurately, very little.

Right at the start of “Brainsex” the sample group are put through an experiment. This consists of taking each individual on the same Taxi journey and exposing each to the same conversations.
When later questioned about their journeys typically Women remembered more of the conversational details where as Men remembered more about objects and things, such as the colour of the car, the make of the car, the trim and the places travelled through.

Now we have your typical male dominated IT Support department dealing with objects and things – usually overcoming issues with them. This is good as this is what on average they are good at focusing on.
They receive a task, get on with it and finally complete it with very little emotional attachment.

So what benefits could increased levels of emotion or empathy have?
In my opinion the answer is better levels of Customer Service and Customer Relationships.
Everyone likes to have someone that understands them and cares for them.

IT Support teams are typically always on the back foot with customers, as generally most interactions are as a result of a problem that needs correcting.

So how can levels of empathy be increased and great Customer Relationships be built?

In the past I have built great Customer Relationships and I have also gone through some horrific and painful technical issues  yet still manage to come out the other end with those relationships intact.

In ALL of these situations this worked by getting to know those Customers very early on. Finding out about the business of the Customer and its goals. The type of people I’ll be dealing with, and importantly BEFORE issues start to inevitably occur.

Now as I established earlier on, typically your average SysAdmin is not there for the Customer Service aspect, but primarily for exposure to technology.
However it is my opinion that it is highly beneficial to expose these folk to Customer interaction very early on and start building these relationships. It’s benefits would include:

• The IT Support Team – Better customer service provided, and thus better feedback received
• The Customer – Will feel understood and cared for
• The Individuals – Will grow in business relationships, will care more for the customers they know. Likewise the individuals that make up the customer will likely better value the advice and opinions shared by their IT Support.

The other thing to mention is your typical Sales and Account Management teams will be highly adept at building good strong Customer Relationships, it’s highly important in those roles.

It is here that I make my last reference to “Brainsex”. Towards the end of the episode the Men and Women are set the task to change the nappy of a number of babies.
Both groups complete the task, however in all cases the Women pick up the baby afterwards and continue to talk. In contrast once the Men complete the task they then step away – job done!
The comparison I’m making here is your Sales and AM team are more like the Women and your Support teams are more like the Men.
However, there is one Man in the group that does pick up the baby, and it is suggested that this has been learnt over a period of time

Therefore my conclusion is that Customer Relationship building is something that should be actively encouraged and unified throughout a business. IT Support teams are a very common contact point to customers so why would you not encourage relationship building?

So Does Empathy Exist in IT Support?
It will no doubt exist to an extent, and there will always be individuals that display this more than others. However this is something that can be learnt and should be encouraged.

If you’re interested in viewing the Documentary “Brainsex” here’s a link to a copy I found on YouTube: https://youtu.be/3dMvJY3FPkc