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

Steve Murtoff joins F.A.S.T. as Director!

Hi F.A.S.T. Team,

In case you missed this e-mail ... here's an e-mail from Steve Murtoff sent on Wednesday, September 11, 2013.

- Beverly

FAST Members,

Mike mentioned in his memo yesterday to all of you that I was “excited” to support FAST. Well, that might be an understatement. Truth is, I haven’t been this excited in quite some time. From my days working at the Phoenix Base, I have always believed that change MUST start from the ground up. Leaders must be imaginative and decisive. But those decisions must be the product of thoughtful analysis, which includes the insights of the individuals who carry out the mission each day – YOU. While I can’t take credit for the idea of the FAST, I can sincerely say that I’m honored to be a part of such a program. I believe WE can make this not only legendary, but trend setting for the industry as well. I hope that you share my enthusiasm. If you don’t yet, I hope you can leave yourself open to believe. Believe in yourself, and what we can do together as a Team.

These past few weeks, I’ve been doing some studying of FAST “current state”. I understand that some of you are currently working on projects such as “Employee Survey”, and “Galley Refresh”. I also understand that some of you are not. I believe we have opportunities within the framework and structure of the program. Rather than assigning you to a specific project Team with a begin/end date in mind, I’d prefer to assign everyone to a broader mission. From there, you’ll be asked to take part in a variety of projects, assignments, research/validation groups, and/or being an ambassador for change and implementation. Sound fun? I hope so.

Onboard Experience – This includes the experience for both our external and internal Customers. Researching and providing recommendations on everything from the product we carry, to where we place it in our galleys. The current Galley Refresh would most certainly be an example of an initiative this Team will support. Other examples could be providing feedback directly to Marketing regarding onboard products, continuous improvement on the -800 and so forth.

Safety and Regulatory – This Team will support and assist with various safety initiatives. They will help us study any potential gaps in procedure/common practice, perform necessary research, and provide recommendations to our Inflight Safety Team. In addition, they may be asked to assist in enhancing our Flight Attendant Manual and partnering with our Regulatory Team on the drafting of regulated procedures.

Employee Development – This Team will focus on the ultimate experience – working for Southwest Airlines. We MUST be cutting edge with everything we do, including how we Lead and support our People. The current Employee Survey Team will be wrapped up under this Team. I’ve already read their recommendations, led by Beverly Behrens. Wow. A great start! This Team will carry on with not just the work of enhancing our Employee Survey, but continually thinking outside the box. What does our Base of the Future look like? How must we evolve to get there?

So, what happens now? I’d like to hear from each of you. I’d like to build these Teams. Please let me know by Friday September 20th where your passion lies, which of the three Teams you feel you can contribute the most value. Email me at steven.murtoff@wnco.com your ranking of the 3. Please keep in mind that there is no seniority list amongst the FAST ;). I’ll do my best to honor everyone’s choices, however each Team will need a varying number of People so I can offer no promises. I can promise to do everything I can to make your experience fulfilling, regardless of where you are placed.

Looking forward,

Steve

Let's get this going .... F.A.S.T.

GALLEY REFRESH LEADERS WILL BE AT YOUR BASE THIS MONTH


We have a lot going on this week! Frank Porter, Galley Refresh Team Lead, and David Pistorious, from our Corporate Planning Department, are in the field this month to answer questions and obtain feedback about the not-yet-determined wet good Galley Refresh project from both Flight Attendants and Provisioning Agents. Here's a list of the dates in which they will be in the Inflight Bases:

August 13—OAK
August 14—LAS
August 15—PHX
August 20—DEN
August 21—MDW
August 22—BWI
August 27—MCO
August 28—HOU
August 29—DAL


If you missed the first Galley Refresh Rollout, specifically dry goods, on Sunday, July 28, here is a list of the following items that were removed from the galley back stock:

- Remove black HHD hard cases from all aircraft
- Remove 1 sleeve of hot cups from all aircraft
- Remove 1 bag of creamers from all aircraft
- Remove 4 rolls of back stock receipt paper from all aircraft
- Remove the 2 empty kits (metal shells) in Galley 3 from -700 aircraft
- Special provisions will be made for charters)
- Remove 2 soaps from back stock from -3/5/7 aircraft; remove 3 soaps from back stock from -800
- Remove 2 Drink Order Pads from -3/5/7 aircraft; remove 3 Drink Order Pads from -800
- Remove 1 box of Kleenex from the aft galley of -3/5/7 aircraft; remove 2 boxes in G4 from -800


FILL OUT THE GALLEY REFRESH BEVERAGE USE FORMS AND EARN KICKTAILS


Thank you so much to all volunteers who have been filling out and faxing in the Galley Refresh Beverage Use forms. Because of your diligence, we are right at half of our goal! We do still need about 500 more to meet our goal of 1,000 ... but, I know you all will make that happen. As an incentive, any Flight Attendant who fills out at least ten (10) Galley Refresh Beverage Use forms per week, will be issued a Kicktail for each week of qualification starting this week. Also make sure you put your name on them so we know who to reward! For those of you that are our Galley Refresh Beverage Use forms rockstars ... you will each get an additional Kicktail for the work you have already done. Here's a list of our rockstars and the number of forms they have already filled out:

Jaycee Barrus = 84
April Linscott = 51
Ashley McDonald = 50
Anne Bryan = 46
Christopher Adams = 43
Debbie McDermott = 26
John Williams = 24
Lisa Happer = 20
Lauren Wheat = 18
Jayme Camilleri = 16
Gayla Power = 13
Jeffrey Frey = 12
Steve O'Brian = 9
Michael Massoni = 8
Mary Riding = 8
Debe Throckmorton = 8
Amy Neeper = 7
Shelley Starns = 6
Rebecca Hickey = 5
Unknown = 5 (Let Beverly know who you are to earn your Kicktail!)
George Carrillo = 5
Tom Tompkins = 5
Nancy Cherrie = 4
Stacey Leslie = 4
Christopher Williams = 1


EMPLOYEE SURVEY IS MAKING WAVES OF POSITIVE CHANGE


You have spoken and our Leaders are listening! It is with utter excitement that it is shared that Mike Hafner was pleased with the opportunities that were brought forth by the F.A.S.T. Employee Survey Team. 11 out of the 12 opportunities are now being created into project plans by Team Lead, Beverly Behrens, and will be presented to the Inflight Base Director Team later this month.

As a reminder, the goal of the F.A.S.T. Employee Survey Team is to ensure that a better work environment is established by focusing on improving three of the 2012 Employee Survey questions including:

- Working in my department is like being part of a family.
- There is effective communication between my department and the other departments with which we work.
- When I do a good job, my performance is recognized.

The F.A.S.T. Employee Survey Team will know that they have been successful if these three questions are more positively answered within the 2014 survey. We know that we can do this and this blog is one way to get our message out there.


LET THE BLOG BE KNOWN!


Please share by texting or e-mailing the link to this blog with every Flight Attendant you come into contact with. We want our Flight Attendants to know that our F.A.S.T. Teams are here for each and every one of them and the betterment of our collective Department. In fact, do you know why the F.A.S.T. Team was created? Inflight Leadership continued to hear during Round Tables, Town Halls, and submissions to I&I, that our Employees wanted to be involved in decisions that affected their job. To ensure that Flight Attendants were given the opportunity to actively work on changes that impacted their jobs, the F.A.S.T. Team was created. Our Leaders have invested a lot of time and money into the F.A.S.T. Team, so let us do our part and let our fellow Flight Attendants know what we are doing on their behalf! If you have any questions or comments on this blog, please e-mail them to beverly.behrens@wnco.com. If you have an suggestons, comments, or ideas pertaining to processes, procedures, and/or products, please continue to submit these by using the Ideas & Inquiries tool on SWALife >Inflight >Ideas & Inquiries.