Creating the cause

“The workforce is dedicated to the company. They’re moonies basically.”— Edward J. Starkman, Airline Analyst, PaineWebber (now UBS) on Southwest Airlines

It’s the Queen Mother of all business clichés: Our employees are our greatest asset. Not many companies mean it, of course. Too many companies toss the line like a bone to appease their rank and file, while wearing blinders to every issue but cutting costs. But like all clichés, there is truth in its absurdity.

In most industries there is little difference between products; service has become the last great battleground for differentiation. The problem (or opportunity) is that there is little distinction in service. People (or their managers) just don’t seem to care. What more companies need is a way to convert their people from a commodity into crusaders for the brand.

Unfortunately, too many see the cost of investing in their people as an unnecessary expense. But every time a customer or prospect comes in contact with your company is a moment of truth. When you invest in your marketing to control the perception people have of your product, you also create expectations in the minds of the people you want to sell. When they call customer service or meet with a rep or try your product, then you either live up to the expectations you’ve created or disappoint your customer and tarnish your brand. And it’s your employees who deliver that experience. You can see then how having truly passionate people deliver the experience can become a sustainable advantage. And why indifferent employees cost you money in far more ways than one.

To Bill Hamer, EVP for human resources at insurance giant Protective Life, loyalty is far from dead. But companies must earn it. “Respect and dignity translate into loyalty. You have to treat people with respect and dignity if you expect commitment.”

Hamer points out, however, that without consistency, efforts to align employees with the company’s larger mission are doomed. “We have to engage our employees from the day they start to keep our culture alive.”

The Luv airline

Perhaps the clearest, most profitable example of the employee apostle is Southwest Airlines. Southwest began service in 1971 with three planes and a handful of flights between Dallas, Houston and San Antonio. One of their competitors, Continental, used every regulatory and legislative trick to sink the fledgling airline.

The results were not what Continental expected. Instead of folding, Southwest got mad. In the words of CEO Herb Kelleher, “You know, anger can be a powerful motivator. For me this was a cause. I was a crusader freeing Jerusalem from the Saracens.”

The employees took up the cause, seeing their survival as an us-against-the-world fight. They were willing to work in ways that no other airline ever had. They worked longer hours. And for less money. They cooperated when their competitors where paralyzed by labor disputes. At most airlines, mechanics and pilots get along about as well as Yankees and Red Sox fans. But it’s not unprecedented for Southwest pilots to hold a barbeque for the company’s mechanics at 3 o’clock in the morning.

The same dedication to service extends to the company’s customers. Southwest figured out that serving customers doesn’t have to cost more. It’s all about attitude. They hire people with a sense of humor and plenty of common sense. They figure they can teach people how to run an airline; they can’t teach the kind of personality that will sing to passengers as the plane approaches the runway.

This passion for service is not a financial burden. In almost every respect, Southwest is the most efficient airline. Whether you measure cost-per-seat mile, hours in the air per plane, turnaround time at the gate—Southwest is clearly the winner. They fly more flights using fewer people. They offer passengers few amenities (who else refers to a bag of peanuts as frills?) but they figured out people care more about being treated well, arriving on time and lower prices.

On Southwest’s website is a message from the company’s president, Colleen Barrett, discussing the difficulties the industry has faced since 9/11. In one reference she acknowledges their advantage:

Some observers have said that “Southwest is the kind of airline that the others must become to survive.” That may well be true, but the other airlines lack two key ingredients, one of which is our Employees. Their Warrior Spirit, hard work, and determination make Southwest the industry’s “role model.”

Holding your own revival

Creating a crusade isn’t easy. And for some companies, it would be impossible or unnecessary. But if you live in an intensely competitive segment, creating crusaders for your brand translates directly into greater profitability. So what does it take?

A crusade is not an event. This is where most companies fail when trying to emulate the success of Southwest. Rolling out an employee event and then sliding back into your old comfortable culture breeds the cynicism that a true crusade stamps out. It is far more dangerous than sticking with the status quo.

Begin with a fanatic at the top. The exploits of Herb Kelleher are legend. A Fortune article from the 90s quoted a veteran airline analyst, “I think Herb is brilliant, charming, cunning and tough. He is the sort of manager who will stay out with a mechanic in some bar until four o’clock in the morning to find out what is going on. And then he will fix whatever is wrong.” Crusades are a top down endeavor.

Every crusader needs cause. It could be the industry or a competitor. For Southwest it was Continental. For maverick billionaire Richard Branson it is a kind of faceless “doubt” that something can be done. But you absolutely must have a bad guy to target.

Create a sense of identity. Call it an internal brand or a rallying point. As a company, when you know who you are, it’s far easier to hire and keep the right kind of people.

Foster respect. Quit talking about points of contact and start talking about people. Kelleher once said, “the bigger we get, the smaller I want our people to think and act.” He’s also given his people the respect and the blessing to serve customers in ways other airlines won’t. And as one pilot said, “it’s not Mary-Kay atmosphere here where we are all starry-eyed. It’s about mutual respect.”

Build trust by sharing information. One way to motivate people is to show how their jobs affect overall results. Show them often the results of their labors. Like every aspect of building apostles, this takes constant effort. But how many management studies have proven that people care more about having a sense of purpose than making more money. Give them a sense of purpose and belonging.

Crusades feed on passion. Maybe this story has touched on a particular passion of yours. If so, send us an email and tell us what you think.