What do credit unions have in common with low airfares and free checked baggage? According to one executive, it’s more than just pricing.
Southwest Airlines may have started as an idea on the back of a cocktail napkin, but to hear Ginger Hardage tell it, the two industries share a common emphasis on service and culture – and there’s a lot that CUs can learn from the airline.
Hardage, the recently retired SVP of culture and communications for Southwest, spoke during the California and Nevada Credit Union Leagues’ annual conference in Hollywood last week, and she offered CUs tips on how to better infuse culture into an organization and make it stick.
It starts, she said with putting people first.
“All of our employees act like owners,” she said of Southwest. “They have a vested interest in the future of the company.”
All culture starts with hiring, she continued, saying the airline’s philosophy is hire tough so you can manage easy.
“We really spend the time on the front end. Every year Southwest gets 370,000 applications. In an average year, only 6,000 are hired, so about 2 percent.”
The payoff of having the right people in the organization is low voluntary turnover, Hardage noted. Southwest does not waste a lot of time training newbies because it only has 2 percent voluntary turnover.
“Our people are doing more than a job, they are part of a cause,” she said. “Southwest actively involves current employees as part of the hiring process. Our pilots help screen pilot applicants because we want the best of the best. If someone does not fit our culture, we promote them to customer.”
As the room slowly got the joke, Hardage slyly added, “Can you think of a few of your employees you’d like to promote to customer?”
Infuse purpose into your culture
Another principle Southwest Airlines lives by, noted Hardage, is the way a company behaves on the inside will show on the outside eventually. She said the company’s purpose statement is: “To connect people to what is important in their lives through friendly, reliable and low-cost air travel.”
“We knew some of our competitors could be reliable, but we knew no one could beat all three elements,” she declared. “Make sure your purpose is specific to your organization and differentiates you from you competitors.”
Hardage offered an example from the accounting world: KPMG created a program called the 10,000 Stories project. The firm launched an app that allowed its employees to create posters demonstrating how their jobs create an impact in the real world. One said, “I help farms grow,” because that person assists farmers. Another said, “I fight terrorism,” because she works with financial institutions to combat money laundering.
When Southwest Airlines hires, two of the traits it is looking for in prospective employees is a “warrior spirit” and a “servant’s heart,” she continued. “We want them to work hard and persevere. But we also want a servant’s heart, because even though we fly airplanes we are in the customer service business. Third, we want a fun-loving attitude. That will not work for everyone, but we want people who don’t take themselves too seriously.”
Making culture stick
Lots of companies spend time developing culture, and perhaps they talk about it a few times, but then they think that step is “done” and they can check a box, Hardage said, adding, “As credit unions know, it does not stop there.”
When employees feel appreciated, they take better care of customers, Hardage said. She gave the example of a customer who landed late on a Sunday night, but his luggage did not land with him. He had sales meeting the next morning, but it was too late for him to go to the local mall to get presentable clothing. The woman managing the luggage office that night obtained a suit from another Southwest employee who was about the same size.
“The customer was not happy about his lost luggage, but he was wowed by the lengths Southwest employees went to help him.”
For a culture to stick, she continued, leadership must also be visible.
“Southwest knows how important it is to spend time with employees,” she said. “Our executives calendar time to spend with employees. This shows employees that leaders from all levels of the organization care about their success.”
The third step? Putting storytelling front and center. Thanks to technology, there are many ways for people to tell stories today, Hardage noted, including utilizing the likes of Instagram and Twitter. “Don’t be too formulaic in the way you let your employees solve problems. Our employees live our purpose.”
To keep tabs on what others are tweeting and posting about Southwest, the carrier has developed a “listening center,” in which a team of employees monitor what people are saying about the airline.
“This really helps capture customer issues. Some customers are using social media to reach out with complaints,” she said. “As all of you know, the longer it takes to solve a problem, the more difficult it is to solve and the more expensive it is. The listening center team typically responds to a tweet within six minutes.”
The retired executive noted that while front-line staff are often some of the hardest working at any organization, they aren’t always recognized.
“Employees are our voice,” she said. “They represent our purpose and our values.”
