Southwest Airlines is the fourth largest air carrier in USA. The name “Southwest” has become synonymous with quality service and a great employer. The company of Southwest Airlines has brought a lot of innovations to the air transportation industry, as many of the required attributes of modern low-cost airlines have been tested and implemented by Southwest Airlines. It was the first airline in the world that started using electronic ticket, booking seats via the Internet, using the aircraft of only one type and allowing passengers to take any seats in a plane to reduce the boarding time.
The main feature of the airline’s corporate culture is that it puts its employees on the first place, and then the passengers come. Herb Kelleher, the founder of the Southwest Airlines, says ““If the employees come first, then they’re happy. A motivated employee treats the customer well. The customer is happy so they keep coming back, which pleases the shareholders” (Mann, 2014). The company sends greeting cards to every employee for birthdays, anniversaries of working with the airlines and other holidays. There are different fun contests held, for example, for the best costume on Halloween, the best poem on Thanksgiving Day, and they even hold the annual festival of dishes with chili. Every person who works for Southwest airlines understands what he is working for, what is the main aim of the company. Employees feel constantly motivated, they get rewards and recognition for their work feeling that their part is very important and, thus, struggling to do what they can for the passengers.
Corporate culture of Southwest Airlines is build on love, not on law, and it makes the company one of the most stable on the market, a company, in which the average staff turnover is less than 10 percent. It is always easier to succeed if people who are hired are of those who consider their duty to be perfect services. In this case, staff and customers can feel a special close bond formed.
References
Mann, S. (2014). Satisfied Employees Lead To Satisfied Customers. Service Matters. Retrieved 15 March 2016, from http://servicematters.servicenow.com/satisfied-employees-satisfied-customers/
