Here are the rules........seesm fair to me but I am reasonable.
****************************************************
Every quarter we hold our Above and Beyond (A&B) drawing
and award more than $262,000 to employees who have
submitted A&B coupons. The process tends to raise some
questions, so here’s how it all works.
How Do We Select the Winners? The process we use to
determine the 360 winners is a bit lengthy but straightforward.
We receive on average more than 10,000 coupons per quarter.
When we receive a coupon we enter it into the A&B database
and each entry is designated to a selected “bucket†based on
the nominated employee’s workgroup (i.e. ACS bucket, Fleet
bucket, InFlight bucket, Maintenance bucket, etc.). For the
2009 program, there are nine buckets in total. Each bucket
receives a predetermined number of winners. We do this to
ensure that all workgroups are represented and every entry has
the same opportunity to win.
There are 360 possible prizes, 10 - $10,000; 100 - $1,000; and
250 - $250.
The 360 winners are broken down in the following manner
and we expect to use this formula for all of 2009. The number
of winners assigned to each bucket was determined by the HR
Programs team based on an analysis of the average number
of coupons received per bucket and the population of that
respective workgroup using the historical data available since
the program’s inception. Again, we do this to ensure that
coupon recipients from every workgroup (even smaller ones)
have a fair shot at winning.
The winners for each workgroup bucket are selected using a
computer program that randomly selects the winners from the
total entries received. All coupons are included in the computer
selection process, so the more coupons you submit the better
your chances are of making it into your workgroup’s bucket of
winners. However, at no time can a person be selected more
than once. The final 360 winning coupons are then printed,
going into the random drawing that CEO Doug Parker does
for the $10K winners at the State of the Airline address. The
remaining winning amounts are determined randomly by the
HR Programs staff (by drawing the remaining coupons out of
the drum), also at the State of the Airline address monitored by
Managing Director, HR Operations, Alison Smith.
Why were there so many winners from PHX? Out of the
12,000 coupons we received for Q109, about 30 percent were
from PHX-based employees representing various workgroups
— which is about normal. In other words, coupons were
received from more than 3,000 employees in the PHX area
that were then assigned to the numerous buckets that represent
their respective workgroups. In reviewing the data, PHX-based
employees won about 30 percent of the prizes proportionately.
Ultimately it comes down to the luck of the draw for the higher
dollar amounts and this quarter, PHX did well.
As you can see the process is random. First with the computergenerated
selection of the 360 winners, then by Doug and
the HR Programs team pulling coupons out of the drum to
determine the actual dollar amounts each of the 360 winners
will receive.
This process still sounds unfair because PHX managers are
submitting coupons for their folks and shouldn’t this really
be about the customers recognizing employees rather than
managers doing it?
The majority of coupons we receive come from customers. In
fact, in our Q1 drawing last week, more than 75 percent of the
coupons came from customers. At the end of the day it really
does come down to the luck of the draw, but our intent is to
make the process as fair as possible for all of our employees
that go above and beyond the call of duty – whether they
directly interact with customers or help us run a great airline
from behind the scenes. Finally, it is important to note that
every manager in the company has access to and is encouraged
to use A&B recognition coupons – not just PHX managers.
Workgroup Buckets Number of Winners
Airport Customer Service 84
InFlight 84
Reservations 70
Fleet Service 35
Maintenance 35
Flight Operations 18
Piedmont/PSA 18
Corporate/Misc. 12
International 4
Grand Total 360
2009 Quarterly A&B Breakdown
Number of winners per workgroup each quarter
A&B Selection Process
****************************************************
Every quarter we hold our Above and Beyond (A&B) drawing
and award more than $262,000 to employees who have
submitted A&B coupons. The process tends to raise some
questions, so here’s how it all works.
How Do We Select the Winners? The process we use to
determine the 360 winners is a bit lengthy but straightforward.
We receive on average more than 10,000 coupons per quarter.
When we receive a coupon we enter it into the A&B database
and each entry is designated to a selected “bucket†based on
the nominated employee’s workgroup (i.e. ACS bucket, Fleet
bucket, InFlight bucket, Maintenance bucket, etc.). For the
2009 program, there are nine buckets in total. Each bucket
receives a predetermined number of winners. We do this to
ensure that all workgroups are represented and every entry has
the same opportunity to win.
There are 360 possible prizes, 10 - $10,000; 100 - $1,000; and
250 - $250.
The 360 winners are broken down in the following manner
and we expect to use this formula for all of 2009. The number
of winners assigned to each bucket was determined by the HR
Programs team based on an analysis of the average number
of coupons received per bucket and the population of that
respective workgroup using the historical data available since
the program’s inception. Again, we do this to ensure that
coupon recipients from every workgroup (even smaller ones)
have a fair shot at winning.
The winners for each workgroup bucket are selected using a
computer program that randomly selects the winners from the
total entries received. All coupons are included in the computer
selection process, so the more coupons you submit the better
your chances are of making it into your workgroup’s bucket of
winners. However, at no time can a person be selected more
than once. The final 360 winning coupons are then printed,
going into the random drawing that CEO Doug Parker does
for the $10K winners at the State of the Airline address. The
remaining winning amounts are determined randomly by the
HR Programs staff (by drawing the remaining coupons out of
the drum), also at the State of the Airline address monitored by
Managing Director, HR Operations, Alison Smith.
Why were there so many winners from PHX? Out of the
12,000 coupons we received for Q109, about 30 percent were
from PHX-based employees representing various workgroups
— which is about normal. In other words, coupons were
received from more than 3,000 employees in the PHX area
that were then assigned to the numerous buckets that represent
their respective workgroups. In reviewing the data, PHX-based
employees won about 30 percent of the prizes proportionately.
Ultimately it comes down to the luck of the draw for the higher
dollar amounts and this quarter, PHX did well.
As you can see the process is random. First with the computergenerated
selection of the 360 winners, then by Doug and
the HR Programs team pulling coupons out of the drum to
determine the actual dollar amounts each of the 360 winners
will receive.
This process still sounds unfair because PHX managers are
submitting coupons for their folks and shouldn’t this really
be about the customers recognizing employees rather than
managers doing it?
The majority of coupons we receive come from customers. In
fact, in our Q1 drawing last week, more than 75 percent of the
coupons came from customers. At the end of the day it really
does come down to the luck of the draw, but our intent is to
make the process as fair as possible for all of our employees
that go above and beyond the call of duty – whether they
directly interact with customers or help us run a great airline
from behind the scenes. Finally, it is important to note that
every manager in the company has access to and is encouraged
to use A&B recognition coupons – not just PHX managers.
Workgroup Buckets Number of Winners
Airport Customer Service 84
InFlight 84
Reservations 70
Fleet Service 35
Maintenance 35
Flight Operations 18
Piedmont/PSA 18
Corporate/Misc. 12
International 4
Grand Total 360
2009 Quarterly A&B Breakdown
Number of winners per workgroup each quarter
A&B Selection Process
