Empathy Map

My chosen person lets call him Bob, is a 60-year-old male who works as a Hospital Administrator helping then improve failing areas within the hospital with an affinity for sailing.

      What does he or she think and feel?

Bob is a man who cares for his family and friends deeply and will do what ever it take to help them in their time of need. He is a supportive husband who will sacrifice his drive to find a new job so his wife can go back to school and have her own business.

He loves his job but is becoming tired of the long hours working at the hospital.  Bob is worried about supporting his family for the long term but he is looking to retire soon.  Retirement is a dream for him and a long way off, his retirement planning was hit hard in 2008 when the markets collapsed and now he is looking a lot more years of working than he had originally planned on.

Bob has two grown children who he does not financially support anymore but is still very involved in their lives. His son is married and he is always thinking and hoping that his sons marriage is going well and will be successful in his job. His daughter is more into traveling the world than relationships; he worries about her safety when she is in developing nations.

      What does he or she see?

Bob wakes up everyday early on his boat with his wife.  He is getting up at 4 or 5am so he can lead his first team meeting with the night shift for the day. Driving to work over the bridge so early in the morning bridge allows him the privilege of watching the sunrise while listening to morning radio news. Since not many coffee places or restaurants are open this early in the morning he stops at McDonalds for a soda and some breakfast, its quick and easy but not as healthy as it good be. This leads to some of his health issues. Walking into work he sees many doctors and nurses completing their jobs as best as they can with the cut resources and lack of sleep.

      What does he or she say and do?

Every morning Bob checks the lines on his boat to make sure everything is secure then checks his email on his iPad.  This device is great for his life it is small enough he can carry it with him but large enough he can see it without using his glasses all the time. The ability to check his email on the boat on a lightweight device that he can see is a huge improvement in his ability to communicate; using his android cell phone to check emails was straining his eyes.  At work he is being forced to cut more to save costs. His hospital is one of very few making a profit and because of that he has to cut costs, it does not make much sense to him but he has to do it because that is what the board is telling him to.  Making theses decisions are hard, they affect the lives of his employees and the care they are able to give their patients. Cutting costs when you are making only pennies on the dollar or in many cases losing money on the dollar makes it hard to keep morale up at times.  Bob leads at least two team meetings a day (one for the night shift and one for the day shift), this keeps him at the hospital for longer hours than he would like.

Bob has a positive attitude, in most situations but he has a solid head on his shoulders.  Most people go to him for advice either in life or far career decisions. Most organizations he is a member of at some point or another will ask him to be on the board. He is 60 now, he has been on the board of many organizations throughout his years.

When Bob is not working he is focusing on helping his family and fixing his boat.

      What does he or she hear?

Bob hears the same thing most people hear at work, “we need to save and cut costs.” He has been hearing this for years but this time is more than normal.  He has already cut all the expenses he can and he has cut hours of employees.  His final step is to start cutting staff.  While he is reducing the costs of doing business per dollar spent he is asked to increase the patient service with less money and less staff, an impossible task but some how he and his team does it.

Outside of work he is hearing that he needs to save more for retirement and family vacation and maybe a new bigger boat.  His friends are always inviting him and his wife out for drinks or over for dinner. They have more plans than a normal 20 something. His family is worried about his health and tries to nudge him to eat better and drink less soda but he feels he needs it and does not stop.

What are his or her pain points?

Bob is worried that he is cutting to much at work and literally cutting the feet off his organization but he has to do what he is told to survive, they will not receive more money than they did last year and they will probably receive a lot less.

Retirement is a sensitive topic, Bob would like to retire soon but the 2008 crisis really hurt his savings and now he is just working to survive and saving as much as he can. Hopefully his wife will be able to use her education to find some new clients and land big deal that could help them out.

      What does he or she hope to gain?

Bob is successful when he is able to save a significant amount of money into his retirement fund.  That means he is one step closer to retirement. He would like to buy a new boat and take some more family vacations. He is looking to complete the goals that are set for him at work but sometimes feels he is set up for failure. He wishes the best for his children and their significant others. Bob wants his wife to be happy and enjoy her job, she has worked so hard for.