As corporate trainers, we promote the pursuit of knowledge and believe empathy is a superpower: ‘The Good Doctors’ of Abbey Research

Dr. Kristen Donnelly and Dr. Erin Hinson, also known as ‘The Good Doctors’, are the founders and directors of Abbey Research. They have lived and studied all over the world (including the US), which exposed them to a range of identities, experiences, and worldviews. Although they have only been operating as a business since 2016, ‘The Good Doctors’ have spent their whole adult lives acting as unofficial champions for understanding.

They have a history of being obnoxiously curious, which means they have always been fascinated by how and why others act the way they do. ‘The Good Doctors’ have presented to and worked with a wide variety of clients, ranging from daycare workers to chemical manufacturers and international non-profits. No matter the industry, or culture, if you employ humans, you need ‘The Good Doctors’ to help you. Dr. Donnelly and Dr. Hinson have PhDs in social science.

Abbey Research is a consultancy that offers training on business management and keynote presentations to organizations and universities. The company offers interactive training packages, customized to meet its clients’ needs, as well as keynote presentations to suit any corporate event. It serves clients in the United States.

Abbey Research is a member of Abbey Companies, a family-owned network of businesses serving a variety of industries worldwide, whose mission is to “impact lives and generate holistic wealth.”

Abbey Research is based in Philadelphia.

CIO Bulletin reached out to Dr. Kristen Donnelly and here’s what she had to say.

Interview Highlights

Q. How is the industry you serve currently evolving? And where does Abbey Research stand at the moment?

In a post-Covid-19 world, employers and employees are facing new challenges, asking different questions, and shifting their priorities when it comes to workplace culture. Companies are left wondering how to keep good employees and if their policies and approaches are fostering a pleasant, healthy work environment. At Abbey Research, we’ve been asking questions like: “do hybrid workplaces impact productivity?” and “are Zoom meetings as effective as in-person?” since we offer our clients the answers to how we change their workplaces to keep up with a changing world.

Tell us more about your products and services.

We are corporate trainers who focus on employee engagement and retention with approaches and insights that get to the root of discontent, poor morale, and miscommunication. Through our years of experience, we’ve identified these as the key factors in employee turnover. Workplaces are multifaceted and constantly evolving, especially as we all grapple with the long-term impacts of the pandemic. The average corporate training model only addresses the symptoms of the problems you’re facing - interpersonal conflict, high turnover, disengaged employees - and not the root causes, which is why they don’t work. Our training model provides the tools for a multipronged root cause analysis of your culture because we know the solution to all your ‘people’ problems is to create a workplace culture of understanding, support, and productive communication.

We leverage our research, education, training, and experience to help our clients address the core problems causing the greatest dysfunction in their workplace and help them create a culture that no one wants to leave.

Q. A frequent buzzword in business right now is “burnout,” and you have a unique view of it. Can you tell us more?

That’s an excellent question, and we’re so glad you asked! A lot of the current conversation around burnout focuses on what individuals can do to fix it once they’re in it. It’s like we assume everyone will be burned out as some sort of inevitability and then go from there. We’ve examined the cultural foundations of burnout - which trace back to the Puritans setting in Massachusetts - and contend that it doesn’t have to be something everyone experiences.

Because of the cultural foundation laid by the Puritans, Americans believe that hard work makes you a good person; hard work means doing it all alone; and rest is for after you’re dead. None of that is true, really, and we love to help people unpack those assumptions and create new frameworks to live their lives in.

Q. What is something CIO readers should know about multigenerational workspaces?

That they’re everywhere! The average workspace right now has four generations, and many will soon shift to five as retirement ages keep getting pushed back and younger folks enter the workforce. Every generation has lessons to pass on to future generations as well as lessons to pick up. Again, we advocate for asking questions and seeking understanding. Are you frustrated that your Gen-Z employees are lazy? We’d contend that’s not necessarily true and ask you to consider that they haven’t had any practical office experience and may simply not know how to operate. You can mitigate this by having clear communication and not treating them like children.

Q. How skilled is the Abbey Research team of experts? What value do they bring to the company?

We call ourselves ‘The Good Doctors’ because both Dr. Erin Hinson and I hold social science PhDs, which means we’re uniquely qualified to research and analyze groups of people. This knowledge serves our clients through our ability to notice patterns of behavior and outcomes that aren’t apparent to those without our expertise.

Additionally, I am part of a second-generation ownership team of a family business (Abbey Research’s parent company), and Dr. Erin brings experience in direct management and mentoring.

Q. What’s the one thing you want Abbey Research to be known for?

We’re hoping to change the current understanding of empathy away from something tied to emotions to something tied to cognitive understanding. Empathy, by our definition, is the consistent, intentional practice of choosing to ask more questions and make fewer assumptions about yourself and other people. We believe this is the baseline for every improvement needed in the business and non-business worlds, and if we can shift that narrative, we’d be honored.

Q. Tell us what’s next for Abbey Research?

We’re in the process of writing our first book, which is tentatively titled The Culture of Burnout, where we explore the whys of burnout. In the meantime, we’ll continue to work with clients to serve their individual needs around their people problems.

About | Dr. Kristen Donnelly

Dr. Kristen Donnelly (MSW, M.Div., PhD) is an award-winning, four-time TEDx speaker, international empathy educator, and researcher with two decades of experience educating others about the value of diversity and inclusiveness. She is one of ‘The Good Doctors’ of Abbey Research, COO of Abbey Companies, co-founder of the Community Research Institute, and an unapologetic nerd for stories of change. Kristen is a regular contributor to Forbes, Medium, and Thrive Global. She lives outside of Philadelphia with her husband, where they are surrounded by piles of books and several video game consoles.

“We leverage our research, education, training, and experience to help our clients address the core problems causing the greatest dysfunction in their workplace and help them create a culture that no one wants to leave.”