I would like to start a discussion about the Redefining Excellence Team that is going to all stations and currently in LAS. I am having a hard time understanding their role. The claim they claim they are going to make your station more effecient. In my opinion everything they have done in LAS has been detrimental to our customers. What are all your thoughts???
Ramper, as I understand it, they have several roundtables and sessions where people can voice their concerns over what is and isn't working. Or you can actually go talk to the Redefining Excellence Team yourself about what you're seeing as a challenge. My question is, instead of making this a matter for a public message board, why don't you get involved or talk to the people who can really do something about your concerns?
Moaning on this board won't fix anything. And from all your previous posts that I've read, I know you're a smart enough guy to figure that out for yourself. It sounds like you have legitimate questions and concerns, so get involved! Be a professional, seek to understand, and raise your issues in a civil manner. It's your Station, too, so be part of the solution.
Also, it might do well to check your facts: the majority of the Redefining Excellence Team in LAS are not consultants. They are Southwest Employees who have worked in the field just like yourself. In fact, since I think I remember (based on your previous posts) when you joined Southwest, you should know that most of those people on the Redefining Excellence Team have served Southwest many more years than yourself. Some are even people from your own Station. The consultants are only there to train them on the basics of process and performance improvement.
And as far as insulting Southwest leadership for hiring these consultants and trying to improve efficiency, let's all be completely realistic here:
Other airlines are cutting their costs through bankruptsy, layoffs, and pay cuts. Southwest's position as the low cost leader is in real danger, since other airlines are now getting their CASM down. That's not corporate rhetoric. It's fact. Go look at the numbers. And if Southwest can't be the low price leader, then we've lost our competitive advantage. People will go fly other airlines for their better amenities (jetBlue, AirTran, etc.).
It would be completely irresponsible if Gary Kelly did nothing in the face of this increasing competition. The last thing Southwest wants to ask of any employee is to take a pay cut, or worse, a furlough. So we have to continue to find ways to get more efficient. That doesn't mean working employees until they bleed, but it does mean looking at our processes and seeing how we can be more efficient.
If we do nothing, we may well be looking at pay cuts or furloughs in a few years. And if you read the other boards, you'll see airline employees blaming their leadership for not being visionary and proactive in saving their airline.
Well, Gary Kelly IS being visionary and proactive. He's trying to get us more efficient, in order to keep our jobs and paychecks! So what's it going to be? Change hurts, but a pay cut hurts a lot worse. And your department isn't the only one going through change - almost all departments at SWA are going through a similar effort, trying to figure out where to be more efficient, including mine.
I apologize for the long post, but I don't think most SWA employees truly realize what's at risk here. Ramper, I encourage you to seek to get involved in a constructive manner, rather than making it an issue on this board. Best of luck to you, and thanks for all that you do. From all that I've read of your posts, you sound like an outstanding person and employee.
