Posted on Jun 2, 2014

How Does Compassion Fit Into A Business?

Compassion is not a value one expects to find very often in business. The phrase often heard is: “It’s a dog-eat-dog world out there.”

Yet, there are a few companies that do indeed include compassion is a core value.

Compassion – a deep awareness of and sympathy for another’s suffering.

In the field of healthcare this makes sense.

Individuals who are suffering from an affliction are seeking help. They expect doctors, nurses, and other healthcare staff to show some compassion for their plight – and without judgment.

But how easy is it to explain compassion for every employee to understand?

Consider three different companies involved in healthcare and how they define the value of compassion: HCA, Walgreens, and UnitedHealth.

HCA – Hospital Corporation of America

HCA is the leading provider of healthcare services in America. With 165 hospitals and 115 surgery centers, nearly 5% of all inpatient care is delivered by HCA facilities.

Interestingly, HCA’s values are not listed on their website. But a set of 4 value statements can be found in their Code of Conduct document. It includes this statement:

We treat all those we serve with compassion and kindness.

This appears simple and straightforward enough. Compassion and kindness is what is expected by patients. So the company promises it.

Hopefully their 200,000+ employees understand exactly what this means. The challenge will be in the interpretation.

Is a kind smile good enough as you walk past a someone clearly waiting to be seen?
Do you put the needle in slowly, explaining it’s going to hurt, or do it fast and get it over with quickly?
How do you nicely tell the grumpy patient to quiet down when they’re clearly bothering the patient next to them?

In other words, HCA’s definition is likely too vague.

Walgreens

Walgreens combines compassion with two other values within a single statement:

Caring, compassionate, and driven to delivering a great customer and patient experience through outstanding service and a desire for healthy outcomes.

At Walgreens, it’s clearly more about providing great service than showing sympathy. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with this definition as long as all employees understand the focus is on service.

Not surprisingly, this likely maps well with customer expectations. Customers don’t visit Walgreens looking for sympathy. What they need is great service and solid advice to find the right product or solution that works specifically for them.

UnitedHealth Group

UnitedHealth Group has a terrific statement that accompanies the value of compassion:

Walk in the shoes of people we serve and those with whom we work.

They go even further by explaining why they value compassion:

We celebrate our role in serving people and society in an area so vitally human as their health. We must be truly compassionate and genuinely understand, feel and identify with their needs.

Lastly, UnitedHealth define how employees are expected to behave:

We will actively listen to fully understand and genuinely empathize with people’s realities. We will then respond in service and advocacy for each individual, each group or community, and for society as a whole.

This is a superb way to articulate a core value:

–> Clearly define why it’s important.

–> Clearly state the behavior expected.

–> Create a statement that is memorable and easy to share
(“Walk in the shoes of those we serve….”).