If you’ve ever flown on Southwest Airlines, you can tell something is different just from the first interaction with their employees. From the flight attendants, to the pilot’s announcements, and even to their customer service representatives, they have a cheerful disposition, and contrary to popular belief, this isn’t an act.

In 2017, Southwest Airlines announced that it would be sharing their $586 million in profits with its 54,000 employees, given them a bonus of approximately 13.2 percent on average. This doesn’t account for the extra $351 million that they contributed to the employee’s 401(k) plans either. This is just one of the many ways that Southwest has given back to their employees in a day and age when minimum wage for even qualified candidates seems like a fight.

Southwest CEO Gary Kelly reflects that “Our people-first approach, which has guided our company since it was founded, means our company does well, our people do really, really well. Our people work incredibly hard and deserve to share in Southwest’s success.” With this attitude, it is no wonder the employees on and off your flight are showing their satisfaction in their everyday attitudes. The year 2017 was the 43rd year that Southwest shared its profits with their people. While compensation ranks among one of the most attributed traits of a company to help with employee satisfaction, it goes much deeper than that to keep motivation high.

At Southwest, they rank employees first and customers second. They create a culture of fun and inclusive core values that help to give their employees a sense of community and belonging. When their employees are motivated and take pride in what they do, they are able to give their best to their customers every day, which accounts for their highly ranked customer satisfaction results on surveys each year.

Questions:

1. Oftentimes it is hard to stay at the top. What considerations should Southwest take to maintain their employee satisfaction and keep improving?

2. Not all companies can share profits. What would you suggest to a new company that is just starting off to help gain high employee satisfaction?