I have to travel often for work, so I am a frequent flier on a large carrier located here in Atlanta.  I am fairly comfortable with the service they offer.  I feel that the airplane is airworthy and relatively clean; the crew is well trained; the staff members are reasonably courteous.  Aside from the baggage fees  that I don’t use because I  carry on luggage only and the fares that continually inch upward, I don’t feel that I have too much to complain about.

The other day I was in Dallas and flew on Southwest airlines for the first time.  I wasn’t too crazy about the method of boarding, but was pleasantly surprised by how efficient the boarding process was. The gate agents were courteous and the flight service crew seemed comfortable and excited to be at work.  The over-riding theme of the day for me was “Happy”.  Everyone associated with that flight in a Southwest uniform projected happiness and a fun atmosphere shrouded in excellent professional etiquette.  The standard FAA required pre-flight briefing was fun and even, dare I say, entertaining.  I didn’t feel cheated because it wasn’t delivered in a dour monotone.  I didn’t feel less safe because the attendant made a few wisecracks in the middle of it.  In fact, for the first time in a long time, I actually listened to the briefing!

The culture at Southwest has been written about ad nauseum.  Staff are empowered, executives are humble and focused; flight crews are excited to be at work; customer service agents seem to actually like serving customers.  How did they do it?  How did they create this culture that can only breed self fulfilling prosperity?  What can we do at our own organizations to make life more tolerable for our employees who then project that image to our clients?

Culture change doesn’t happen over night.  It doesn’t happen in a month, either.  Culture modification is a profession in and of itself.  But in our construction organizations, I feel it doesn’t have to be.  As we continue to step through the worst economic downturn in decades, take a moment to analyze the culture of your firm.  Are the employees genuinely happy to be there?  Do they have a stake in the outcome of your organization aside from the proverbial pay check?  Are they empowered to offer ideas, point out problems and own the solution?  The first step to modifying culture is defining what you want your culture to be.  Too often we allow someone else to define who we are rather than defining our own companies.   Too often culture shifts from one crew to the next without displaying a focused message.  Too often we retain the rotten eggs with the understanding that all the eggs must be rotten, so let’s just stick with those  we currently  have.  Are your jobsites clean and well marked?  Do your superintendents own the project that they lead or simply act as a conduit to someone else?  Is every member of your staff asked to bring ideas and solutions to the table, or told to sit tight and watch the pros work?

Culture may be the one item that can’t be quantified in any legitimate manner, yet has an enormous impact on your company and client service.  Not all service companies can project fun in their marketplace like Southwest does.  But that doesn’t mean that we don’t define our culture and surround ourselves with staff and managers that support that effort.  A little bit of effort at making your company a rewarding place to work will pay off in spades in customer relations.  One short flight on an airline made all the difference in the world to me.  I will now actively pursue that company to pay my travel dollars to when the situation arises when I can use them.  Imagine that each interaction with a potential client does the same for your business. 

How do you want to be perceived?  As the company that is just going through the motions, however rote they may be, or the company that is focused like a laser on projecting the best customer experience possible from initial contact to signed punchlist?  As a customer, we may go back to the former out of necessity and convenience, but we patronize the latter out of choice.  The difference is subtle when written in words, monumental in scope.

Tags: culture, Management, Southwest

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 6th, 2010 at 3:13 pm and is filed under Michael Moore Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.