HR Practices at SouthWest Airlines
?
3 likes?12,917 views
Southwest Airlines has a unique culture focused on investing in front-line leaders and hiring for attitude over skills. They train supervisors who work alongside employees to coach rather than discipline. New employees go through ongoing training and a trial period. Job descriptions are flexible and employees help in different roles. Conflicts are used to build relationships through communication between parties. Broad performance metrics are used rather than focusing on accountability. Unions are treated as partners rather than adversaries. The culture emphasizes fun, importance of work, and that people are important.
HR Practices at SouthWest Airlines
- 1. SOUTHWEST Airlines -Air Travel’s Greatest Show on Earth dcasd Presented by: Group 12 (Akshay, Joel and Sejal)
- 2. “Professionals” Need Not Apply Hire For Attitude, Train For Skills ?At SA, leadership is a distributed process ?One supervisor for every 10 to 12 frontline people ?The supervisors act as “player coaches” ?Since the supervisors work alongside the employees, they have a high degree of credibility and influence ?Most coaching takes the form of problem solving and providing advice rather than disciplining mistakes ?Supervisors are provided with leadership training so they know how to go about their responsibilities. They start out as supervisors-in-training, next become functioning supervisors and then continue to receive ongoing and regular in-service training sessions. Invest in Front-line Leaders ?Preference when hiring is given to new people who will be able to integrate smoothly with other members on a team ?Allows a trial employment period before a long-term commitment is made ?Involves ongoing training ?Focuses on the overall work process ?Incorporates regular job exchanges ?Stresses internal promotion as the preferred way to fill management positions Hire and Train for Relationship Excellence
- 3. “Our turnaround time isn’t the result of tricks, but the result of our dedicated employees who have the willpower and pride to do whatever it takes” ? The parties themselves are encouraged to use every means available to resolve the conflict themselves first. If that’s not possible, managers are expected to take an active role in developing a solution which will be suitable ? An information gathering meeting is held, at which both sides of the conflict put forward their perspectives on the issues involved. Many times, conflicts sort themselves out at this stage mainly because better communication is achieved ? If the conflict is still unresolved, the managers hold what is called unofficially a “Come to Jesus” meeting. This is a face-to- face meeting which takes an entire day. By the end of this meeting, most problems have been able to be resolved because of the dialogue that takes place between the parties and the managers. Use Conflicts to build relationships ? At Southwest everyone’s job description is clear and specific but there is an added requirement that each employee is expected to “do whatever is needed to enhance the overall operation – even if that means helping out with a different type of job as required” ? Herb Kelleher was an excellent role model in this regard as well since he often pitched in to help ground staff when visiting different ground stations ? Boundary Spanning helps in building a holistic perspective, building relations across boundaries and more agility to the workforce. Highly Flexible Job Descriptions
- 4. “It’s the way you treat people on a daily basis that impacts the degree of success when you officially sit down to work out a contract” ? .Some firms spend more time analysing which department is at fault when problems occur than they do on trying to fix the problem itself. Southwest avoids this by measuring performance broadly. ? Delays are recorded as “team delays”. By being less precise about the cause of the delay and measuring performance by the metrics which matter to customers, Southwest puts more emphasis on learning how to avoid a repeat in the future than on accountability. ? There is a good deal of two-way communication occurring, which allows the lessons learned in one station to be communicated to other stations. Use Broad Performance Metrics ? Southwest is actually the most highly unionized U.S. airline. Southwest treats its unions as partners rather than adversaries. ? Southwest accepts the unions as legitimate representatives of employees and as valued partners in the organization. And doing this removes the traditional anti-union bias. ? Southwest employees have chosen to belong to six different unions, there is anticipation the other unions will help ensure none of their members make excessive demands. ? Southwest supplies each union with accurate information so negotiations can move forward without confusion and mistrust Partner with the Unions
- 5. ? On-time performance ? Creating satisfied customers Shared Goals ? Understand the links between each other’s works ? Enhances the coordination and emergence of innovative ideas Shared Knowledge ? Each employee treats others with respect ? Value the contribution of everyone Mutual Respect Recruiting Because of the company’s outstanding reputation, it does not need to rely on headhunters or employment agencies. Training The emphasis is on doing things better, faster and cheaper and not worry about other competitors. Labor Relations Non-hierarchical and personal culture of trust that has been created over time. Pay Culture Collective compensation, relatively low executive pay and consistent treatment Value System Unique CultureBusiness Environment The People System THE SOUTHWEST SYSTEM “Often Imitated But Never Duplicated” ? Company culture that keeps employees motivated and happy. ? Set goals and targets for the company as a whole. ? Empowered to make decisions on the spot Work should be fun; it can be play, enjoy it Work is important, don’t spoil it with seriousness People are important, each one makes a difference
- 6. Questions??