Empathy and Understanding

About the Program

Category: Criminal Justice and Public Safety (Best in Category)

Year: 2014

As an agency, the Maricopa County Adult Probation Department (MCAPD) strives to create a more positive and productive work environment by building relationships within the organization and by improving management’s empathy and understanding of the problems faced by staff. Empathy and understanding directly impact staff morale and motivation, improving staff’s willingness to approach their duties with enthusiasm and to perform at higher levels. This translates into better relationships with probationers, treatment providers, and other stakeholders. In turn, all of these factors influence the ability of probationers to positively change behavior, which increases the safety of our community. Given the impact of all these factors, we have invested two years in seeking to understand what MCAPD would look like “in a perfect world” by providing over 1,000 employees the opportunity to participate in Appreciative Inquiry (AI) sessions to answer the question, “In a perfect world, what would it look like if management was empathetic and understanding of staff’s needs?” Ideas suggested by employees have been implemented across our department, improving and upgrading the working conditions for all staff as well as improving customer service.