Iftheteamshadcooperatedtogethermoreclosely,thespeedandqualityofthetotalworkperformedmayhavebeenimprovedinsteadofhavingonegroupfinishearlyandwaitfortheotherstocatchup.
Lotsoftimeandeffortwillbesquanderedpointingthefingerandblamingotherunits.
Thereisnoincentivetoshareinformation.Therefore,theproblemdoesnotbecomealearningexerciseonwhattoavoidinthefuture.
Withthisinmind,Southwesttakesadifferentapproach.Delaysarerecordedas“teamdelays.”Bybeinglesspreciseaboutthecauseofthedelayandmeasuringperformancebythemetricsthatmattertocustomers,Southwestputsmoreemphasisonlearninghowtoavoidarepeatinthefuturethanonaccountability.
HaveHighlyFlexibleJobDescriptions
Well-definedjobdescriptionsaretoostaticforadynamicandevolvingeconomy.Instead,atSouthwesteveryone'sjobdescriptionisclearandspecific,butthereisanaddedrequirementthateachemployeeisexpectedto“dowhateverisneededtoenhancetheoveralloperation—evenifthatmeanshelpingoutwithadifferenttypeofjobasrequired.”
Southwestislegendaryforhavingpilotswhoarewillingtohelploadluggageifthat'swhatittakestoleaveontime.Thisisindicativeoftheflexiblejobboundariesthatexistthroughouttheentirecompany,whereanyoneiswillingtopitchinwhereverrequired.HerbKelleherwasanexcellentrolemodelinthisregardaswell,sinceheoftenpitchedintohelpgroundstaffwhenvisitingdifferentgroundstations.
Whyissuchexemplaryjobflexibilitysorarewhenitclearlyhasthepotentialtogeneratesignificantperformancebenefits?
Mostemployeestendtousetheirjobdescriptionsasadefensemechanismagainstworkoverload.
Someemployeeslikejobdescriptionsbecausetheypreventtheirmanagersfromassigningthemtasksarbitrarily.
Bylimitingareasofresponsibility,employeescanspecializeanddevelopexpertise.
Unionsusejobdescriptionstoprotectthepoolofavailablepositions.
Note,however,thatflexiblejobdescriptionscannotexistinisolation.IfthemanagementofacompanyweretoattempttointroducethispracticewithoutalltheotherpracticesSouthwestuses,employeeswouldmostlikelyresisttheinitiative.Forexample,ifperformanceismeasuredanddetailedbydepartmentratherthantheresultsoftheoverallprocess,thereislittleincentivefortheworkersinonebusinessunittohelpanother.
PartnerwiththeUnions
MostpeopleassumethatSouthwesthasnounionsbecauseofitsflexiblejobdescriptions.Infact,SouthwestisactuallythemosthighlyunionizedU.S.airline.ThedifferenceisthatSouthwesttreatsitsunionsaspartnersratherthanadversaries.Inessence,Southwestdoesthreekeythings:
Southwestacceptstheunionsaslegitimaterepresentativesofemployeesandasvaluedpartnersintheorganization.
Southwestexpectstheunionstohaveanintenseloyaltytothecompanyandafeelingofownership.
Southwesttreatstheunionsasfullpartners,notlikeanalbatrosshangingaroundtheirorganization'sneck.
Asaresult,Southwesthasexceptionallaborrelations.Therehasonlybeenonesixdaystrikeinthecompany'shistory.AsproofofthebenefitsoftheSouthwestapproachtolaborrelations,whenoneunionattemptedtomakeoutrageousdemands,theSouthwestmanagementdidnotneedtorespond.Instead,theotherunionswhopartnerwithSouthwestsentthemessagetheywerenotpreparedtostandbyandletoneunionruinwhattheyhadallworkedsohardtobuild.
BuildRelationshipswithSuppliers
Southwestdoesnotfollowindustrypracticeandformallianceswithotherairlines.Instead,thecompanyworkscloselywithitssuppliers—anaircraftmanufacturer,airportauthoritiesandairtrafficcontrol—toformpartnershipsthatdelivertangiblebenefitsforallparties.Plus,Southwestworksveryhardtokeepitssuppliersintheloop.
50Thetraditionalapproachtosupplierrelationsistoplayoneoffagainsttheothertotryandgetabetterdeal.Mostcompaniesalsotrytoavoidrelyingtoomuchonanyonesuppliersotheydon'thavetheupperhandwhennegotiating.SouthwestAirlinesturnsthisapproachonitsheadbyforminglongtermandcloseworkingrelationshipswithitsmainsuppliers.TheadvantagesofSouthwest'sapproachinthisareaare:
■Southwestanditssupplierscanfocusonwhattheydobest—meaningthepartnershipendsupgeneratingbetteroutcomesthanwouldhavebeenachievedbyworkingindependently.
■Southwestextendsitssphereofinfluence—beyonditsowncompanyboundariesandintoitsentirevaluechain.
■Problemscanbesolvedjointly—allowingSouthwesttobenefitfromtheexpertiseofitssuppliers.
■Newopportunitiescanberespondedtoquickly—usingtheassetsofnotonlySouthwestbutalsoitssuppliers.
■Newjointbusinessinitiativescanbedeveloped—whichharnessthevisionofmorethanasingleorganization.
ThekeytomakingthisworkisthequalityofSouthwest'sownorganizationalrelationships.IfSouthwestdidn'thavestronginternalrelationshipsinplaceandleaderswithahighdegreeofcredibility,itwouldbeverydifficulttoeffectivelyformpartnershipswithkeysuppliers.