Southwest Airlines is a North American low cost airline, 38 consecutive years of profitabil-ity backing Southwest experience. The fewest number of complaints from consumers since 1987 and the largest number of passengers carried all over the country (more than 100 million per year).

The airline has been developing the last three years an only company’s annual report (performance, people and planet) following the Global Reporting Initiative’s (GRI) standards. The key indicator to measure the performance of the company comes from the results of the Net Promoter Score (NPS), index to measure the willingness of customers to recommend a company and classified them into three groups: promoters, passive and detractors.

It is fitting to point out the fact that the company strategy does not focus on managing the quality and the good customer service, but start of managing

the employees’ satisfaction. This radical change of approach has given good results from its inception to the present time; So much so, that even within the fusions that the company has suffered, the main idea has been always to think first about the employees. This positioning defines a solid corporate culture through its history.

In the sector services there is a principle widespread that “the customer is King”, and with good reason. But many times, the obsession of the customer satisfaction, can make we forget the stakeholders, very important and closer at home, employees. In a company’s products and services customers become timeless brand ambassadors, but must be borne in mind that employees are the true storytellers both the company and its brand. In fact, according to Global Reptrak Pulse of Reputation Institute, on the reputation of a company the perception of the product weighs less (40%) than the perception of corporate brand (60%).

In a business where the key to success is based on passengers’ turnover, Southwest has found a competitive advantage involving its employees with Southwest brand.

Southwest: The quality management and a good customer service focused on the employees

Reputation

Strategy DocumentsC01 / 2011

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Document prepared for Corporate Excellence - Centre for Reputation Leadership quoting, among other sources, the interventions of Southwest Airlines in the fifteenth International Conference on corporate reputation, brand, identity and competitiveness held in New Orleans, May 2011.

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Southwest: The quality management and a good customer service focused on the employees

Corporate culture historyIn 1967, Rolling King and Herb Kelleher initiated a new aviation business for the market of Texas taking its services to the three main cities of the State : Dallas, Houston and San Antonio. Thus, on June 8, 1971, the first Southwest plane took off from Love Field in Dallas to Houston.

During the 1970s, Southwest operations marked the direction of the company in the future, since by 1974 they reached the record of 1.1 million passengers. Southwest’s low costs let that the price of their tickets was highly more competitive than the rest of companies in the sector and made Southwest, a small regional airline, from becoming one of the most valued lines in the world.

The birth of the company culture is due to the strong relationship between management, workers and trade unions. The founder and CEO to 2008, Herb Kelleher, who took upon himself to lay down the basis of Southwest’s famous culture, characterized for humor, the loyalty and the relaxed style. Kelleher was in charge of traveling all around the country working together with the employees. As a result of this and his concern to ensure the cultural compatibility in recruitment, Southwest has become the prototype of a company where they work hard but they enjoy themselves at the same time.

The construction of this culture begins with a concrete process of selection of people who possess the values of the company, as well as technical expertise. Southwest has a philosophy of selection of people with a profile of a servant’s heart, good sense of humor and an attitude of not taking life too seriously. The company was born with this philosophy, which is also used to train staff putting them up to be always in a good mood face to face with the customer. Southwest Airlines bears in mind the premise employees are the first ambassadors of the brand.

The key to success: EmployeesOne of the keys to have good financial results in the aviation sector is the speed with which you do the change of passengers.

Southwest understands it that way and base its business model on low-cost operations to such a point the company is pioneer in rotation services between a flight’s arrival and the boarding the following one, keeping its airplanes ashore no more than twenty minutes. But this requires a high involvement of its employees in order to act effective and efficiently, key issues to maximize the company benefits.

This circumstance demonstrates to what extreme the company depends on the good acting of its staff and why is essential to take care of the main capital of the airline: its employees. In its strategy, Southwest puts employees first for that reason Southwest is the first company in the United States on Fortune Most Admired Companies.

The harmony between the brand and employees is based on if you take care of your employees, they will treat well your customers and your customers will keep the company afloat. This is also demonstrated through a program of points and actions towards employees where, from the beginning, the company offered secure jobs. Even though that policy has been affected by the cyclical changes, the company has known how to dodge the economic onslaught in EE.UU in order that these do not impact negatively on its staff.

“If you treat your employees well, they will treat your customers well and your customers will keep the company afloat”

Another example of harmony between the company and its employees resulted in the actions taken against the terrible consequences for the airline industry caused by the attacks of September 11. Due to the vertiginous descent in the use of the airplanes as means of transportation after the attacks, the company chose to cut out its cash reserves before touching the staff. The employees took the company measures in a very positive way and helped the brand inclusively renouncing part of their salary in order the company did not lose competitiveness or even failed.

Their culture is based on stories in which the employees are the “heart heroes”. To achieve the deployment of attention to its workforce, the company has a small group within the internal communication area called the “Internal Client King”, which is a small Department of six people involved in taking care of the rest of the employees. Their activities include, for example, congratulate them on their birthday, giving them the sympathy from any tragedy, etc.

Brand management through its employees

Source: Southwest Airlines, 2011.

Southwest: Employeesshareholders customers

Suppliers

managers

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Southwest: The quality management and a good customer service focused on the employees

This Department is dedicated full time to serve to the rest of the employees as customers. Product of this action, they are organized, for example, costume parties in Halloween, even inside the plane the staff is dress up as witches, or, for Valentine’s day, the flight attendants are disguised as hearts. All of this arises the idea of making fun of them and perform many activities to surprise their employees and customers.

“The satisfaction of your employees is the best way to cultivate a strong corporate culture”

Harmony between brand and employeesThe company has created its brand from the pride of belonging of its employees who considers the main pillar on which holds all their business, to such an extent that we find the own employees in the Mission of Southwest Airlines, that it is as follows: Dedication to the highest quality of customer service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride, and company spirit. We are committed to provide our employees a stable work environment with equal opportunity for learning and personal growth. Creativity and innovation are encouraged for improving the effectiveness of Southwest Airlines. Above all, Employees will be provided the same concern, respect, and caring attitude within the organization that they are expected to share externally with every Southwest customer.

Southwest Airlines strongly believes the satisfaction of their employees is the best way to cultivate a corporate culture. In order to know the degree of satisfaction and pride of membership, the company realizes quarterly a satisfaction survey to all the employees.

Another example of the strong corporate culture focused on employees is found in the “One Love” programme that has been set up as a result of the merger of Southwest Airlines with Airtrain Airways. Furthermore in this sense, the company works in the construction of network communities and in activities of social responsibility where differentiates two clear lines of action:

1. Facilitating transportation and advising to the employees’ relatives in case of disease, disasters, etc.

2. Accomplishing a single company report which integrates financial information and non financial information.

ConclusionsSouthwest Airlines is a good example of corporate brand management focused on employees, their main Stakeholders. The belief that employees are the main ambassadors of the brand and the conception that this Stakeholder is the priority customer, has turn Southwest Airlines into the biggest U.S. airline by number of passengers transported per year .

With good management unifying corporate culture and brand - manifested through its staff - the company has achieved to have, rather than employees, fans that constantly increase the value of the brand: day to day and in every flight.

-Quick service-Good customer service

-Good connection between the brand and customers

Brand route

customers

Brand management through the service

Source: Southwest Airlines, 2011.

-To involve in the brand-Internal Client King

-Development of the sense of belonging

-The employee is the first thing

employeesCompany

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