2014 Goals

Hi all!!
So, I hope you had some time to rest and recover after our meeting last week. What a blast!! I have attached the photos of our flip charts so we can keep all of this information fresh in our minds. :-) For now, let's focus on delivering on our 2013 goals and then in February or March we will meet to re-evaluate and refocus. Also, plan on our next conference call December 3 @ 1500cst and December 6 @ 1000cst. (Are those good times?)

One main action item:

We need to appoint liasons to 3 different areas: Base Leadership, Union, and local Culture Committees. Respond to this post with how you want to staff this.

Examples:
A-One per Base for each.
B-One for the Union as a whole. One Culture liason per Base. One Base Leadership liason per base.
C- One liason per base for all three.
Etc...

Also, email me the email address that you prefer I use to contact you. Thanks so much!!

Great F.A.S.T. Employee Development Meeting

Hi Employee Development F.A.S.T. Team!

Last Friday, we had an awesome meeting. Our solutions meeting was the pinnacle of our year so far. It is what we have worked so hard for ... real, tangible solutions. Let us take a moment to remember all we have accomplished this year.

- We have identified three of the lowest rated 2012 Employee Survey Questions.
- We interviewed and surveyed our Coworkers, Leaders, and our own Teammembers, and gathered raw data.
- We took the data gathered and determined the root causes concerning why these specific survey questions were rated towards the lower end of the scale.
- This brings us to where we are today ... the fix! Our solutions will help us to alter the course of our amazing workforce in a positive manner and ensure that the Southwest SPIRIT is flowing throughout our Department! Here is how we plan to do this:

1. Family Reunions at each Base
Team Leader - Bill Ehlers
Teammembers - Tahlia Martinez, Anne Zachritz Bryan, Amy Neeper

2. Inflight Video Series
Team Leader - Topher Adams
Teammembers - Tahlia Martinez, Anne Zachritz Bryan, Andrea Hansen

3. "Catch me at my best" campaign
Team Leader - Mary Pesce
Teammembers - Debbie McDermott, Nancy Cherrie, Chad Walker-Martin

4. Recognizing Flight Attendant extenuating circumstances
Team Leader - Kurt Beggs
Teammembers - Cary Leonidas, Sharon Wallis, Valarie Daniel


We also had some FUN at our meeting! Here are some pictures and a couple videos so we can remember all we accomplished.

Surprise!!! Your Flight Attendants Are All Strangers

It was great seeing everyone today,  and kudos to Beverly and Steve for facilitating such a informationally packed meeting. Some amazing ideas were floating around the table today and I look forward to the our continued work. Below is the link about the article I mentioned today. It is a quick read, but it makes you think about how quickly we make bounds with our crew members and how well we work together. Have a great weekend.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lisa-wade/surprise-your-flight-atte_b_3861623.html

FAST Employee Survey Team

Kudos' to all of those who attended today's strategy session.  I think we made some great headway and I'm particularly excited about my team!

Our video educational series team is going to kick some major SWA Tail (of course in a very  positive  way) and I'm excited to see the outcome of our finished product.  Thanks everyone for displaying such a Servant's Heart and Warrior Spirit!

Much LUV!
Topher

The F.A.S.T. Golden Rule by Anne Zachritz Bryan

T aking ideas from our bases
H elping reach our goals
E xciting changes in action

G oing where we need to go
O utstanding service
L uving our fellow flight attendants
D eveloping relationships
E xplaining decisions- why,when & how
N eeding to find solutions

R enewing our commitment
U nderstanding the misunderstood
L istening with open hearts
E ncouraging others

Changes to F.A.S.T. Teams

Hey EE Survey FAST Team! Our Leader, Steve Murtoff, sent the following communication today, (Tuesday, Sep. 24) via Company e-mail. In case you missed it ... here it is! (Note: If you did not respond to Steve's e-mail with a Team preference, you may have been reassigned to another Team. Those that gave a preference were given top priority depending on their listed preference.)



FAST Members,

Thank you to everyone who has responded with their areas of interest, as well as for sharing your continued and renewed commitment to the Team. It was truly refreshing and energizing to feel your passion and hunger to make a difference within and for our workgroup.

Attached you’ll find our most current roster, with everyone placed on one of three Teams. I really did my best to align you with the areas that fit your passion, keeping in mind many of you are currently involved in EE Survey work or Galley Refresh. In order to maintain the integrity of that work, there was only a limited number I was able to add to Onboard Experience and Employee Development. That said, as the need arises to grow this Team we’ll continue to calibrate the numbers necessary for each of the business areas, allowing movement. Also, you may notice three new, possibly familiar names to our Team (Chad Martin, Davide Stennett, and Theresa Bedoy). These outstanding People are current Inflight Supervisors. My vision for this Team is to create a diverse group of backgrounds, thoughts, and vision points. As a front-line Leader, I believe they’ll offer tremendous insight and resources to successfully complete the mission. Also, they’ll work as change agents for preparing the rest of our Base Leaders as we move forward with projects and initiatives. To be clear, they have not been asked to Lead the Teams, strictly participate alongside you.

To ensure that you receive continued support, communication, and the tools to succeed, I’ve also enlisted the assistance of designated Team Leads for each of the three business areas. You will get to know these Leaders closely, as you will the other members of your Team. I’ve asked them essentially to ensure two things: They create opportunities, as well as ensure their Team is running effectively. By opportunities, I mean opportunities to produce change, growth, and continuous improvement. They’ll be working closely with our HDQ Leaders (including myself) to find ways to engage your insight and input. They’ll find ways for you to be involved and I’ll rely on them to synthesize and promote your recommendations. They are your advocate. By running an effective Team, they will hold their Teams accountable to maintaining engaged, positive, and looking forward. This will remain an elite Team of FAs, and Employees. We are all accountable to upholding the credibility of this Team.

So, here they are….

Beverly Behrens (Sr. Analyst Cabin Services Strategy) - Employee Development Team Lead
Jenny Manheimer (Inflight Manager Customer Experience) – Onboard Experience Team Lead
Kevin Clark – (Inflight Manager Customer Experience) - Safety and Regulatory Team Lead

You’ll be hearing from your respective Lead very soon, and they may want to get you together to get started on laying a foundation and gaining some momentum prior to our entire Team meeting in November.

I am VERY excited about the potential of this Team. I believe that this structure will enable progress and continuous forward momentum. I could not be more proud to support this cause!

Steve



Onboard Experience

A j Theiss MCO
Andy Sprinkle DAL
April Linscott MCO
Ashley Mcdonald HOU
Beatrice Collins Walker BWI
Davide Stennett MDW
Drew Shreeve DEN
George Carrillo LAS
George Nasr LAS
Jaycee Barrus PHX
Jeffrey Frey LAS
John R Williams DAL
Jon Beshara MCO
Justin Whittington MDW
Lisa Happer BWI
Louann Alexander PHX
Marc Saldana BWI
Mark Savage PHX
Michael Arnold BWI
Nayo Alston MDW
Rob Mcdowell BWI
Sandy Koch OAK
Shelley Starns MCO
Steve O’brien MDW
Tara Crabbe HOU
Wes Davis LAS


Safety and Regulatory

Adam Hahn MDW
Al Castaldo BWI
Audrey Stone BWI
Bob Noll BWI
Carol Gray MDW
Diana Williams LAS
Eileen Rodriguez MCO
Theresa Bedoy DAL
Jeff Quattrochi MDW
Justin Bellio OAK
Mary Beth Lewis OAK
Michael Massoni PHX
Paul Mallatt MDW
Rachel Martinez DEN
Rebecca Hickey DAL
RhondaGail Kretchmar PHX
Roger Proudfoot BWI
Tom Tompkins MDW


Employee Development

Amy Neeper DAL
Andrea Hansen DAL
Anne Zachritz Bryan HOU
Cary Leonidas MCO
Christopher Adams MDW
Debbie Mcdermott HOU
Gayla Power DAL
Jamie Dotson DAL
Kurtis Beggs HOU
Lauren Wheat DAL
Mary Pesce PHX
Mary Riding MCO
Nancy Cherrie HOU
Sharon Wallis DEN
Tahlia Martinez HOU
Chad Martin DAL
Valarie Daniel LAS
Bill Ehlers MDW

Mike Hafner announces a F.A.S.T. Leadership change and F.A.S.T. - end of the year meeting date

Hi F.A.S.T. Team,

Please see Mike Hafner's e-mail to the F.A.S.T. Team below that you will have received on your Company e-mail on Tuesday, September 10, 2013.

Thanks, Beverly

I would like to personally thank each of you for your contributions to Inflight through your involvement with the F.A.S.T. Team. As you know, it has been a year full of change including the continued integration of AirTran, closing three Provisioning cities, an incredibly busy summer travel season, and much more. I recognize that while some of you have been continually engaged with projects, others may be looking for their chance to get in the game. My desire going forward is to push the boundaries of this Team and fully unlock it’s potential. To that point, I have identified some opportunities to increase our impact within Inflight, while better utilizing the greatest resource we have—YOU!

We have had a change in the Leadership structure and Director of Base Operations Steve Murtoff will now lead the F.A.S.T. Team. Steve’s breadth of operational experience, strategic expertise, and Southwest SPIRIT will ensure the F.A.S.T. Team continues the positive momentum it has gained, while taking it to the next level. He has my full support and ample resources to ensure this program is as productive and rewarding as it can be. I know Steve is very excited to begin working with all of you, and he’ll be communicating his next steps and vision very soon.

Although I expect you’ll be in contact with Steve and his Team shortly, I would like to have the entire group in (HDQ) for a meeting on November 6 and 7. My aim for the meeting will be to reconnect the entire group, spend some time with you, as well as allow you some time to hear from a few of our executive Leaders. It is critically important that we continue to focus and align ourselves with our Company mission, and there is no better way to do so than to spend time directly with our Leaders. I am very excited for this!

Please do whatever you can to block your calendars for those two days, as I really hope you can make it in. As we get closer to those dates, we’ll send out details as to arrangements.

Mike Hafner