Communications as Ikor

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자, 오늘은 아주 재미난 회사 하나를 소개해드릴까 합니다.

호스트 이 종혁님께서도 전에 재미나게 언급하여 주셨지만, 정말로 미국의 Southwest Airlines는 재미있다 못해, 황당한 회사입니다.

 

최근에 가장 첨단(?)의 PR기법으로 각광 받는 기업문화(Corporate Culture)를 이용한 성공적 PR사례 중의 하나입니다. 미국에서는 최근 기업문화(최초로 언급된것은 경영학에서 80년대 초반이었슴)를 이용하여 여러가지 기업 경영적 문제들을 치료 교정 발전 시키려는 노력이 일고 있는데, PR분야도 예외일수는 없습니다. 전통적으로 전설적인 기업 문화를 자랑하는 우리가 익히아는 몇몇 기업 말고도 이렇게 Southwest(항공사)나 Ben & Jerry (아이스크림 회사), Body Shop(여성 목욕용품 및 향신료 회사)과 같은 성공적 기업문화를 구축한 신흥 기업들이 많이 있습니다. 특별히 제 전공 논문이 기업문화였기 때문에 이에 대하여 좀더 깊은 자료나 정보가 필요하신분은 이 사이트를 통하여 질문주십시요.

 

Southwest의 CEO Herb는 참 괴상한 인물입니다. 나이키 CEO도 그렇고 좀 이런 요상한 종류의 사람들이 미국 탑 경영층에는 많습니다.(물론 PR팀의 어느정도 작품이긴 하지만..) 오십이 훨씬 넘을듯 보이는 이 중년 신사는 큰 시가(Cigar) 담배를 꼬나물고 회사 내 레슬링 시합에 선수로 출전하여 돼지 같이 덩치 큰 사원 하나를 집어 던지고, 목 졸림을 당하고 재미있게 시합을 벌입니다. 사원들은 팦콘과 콜라컵을 던지며 응원을 하고, 흡사 WWF같은 회사 경기 분위기 입니다. 또 그는 종종 회사내 팔씨름 대회 심판을 보다가 시원 찮은 사원을 밀쳐내고 직접 문신이 그려진 팔뚝을 걷어 부치고 거인 같은 상대방이란 팔씨름으로 실랑이를 벌입니다. 그들의 비행기는 어떻구요, 비행기 표를 예약받지 않고 직접 그자리에서 번호를 꽝꽝 찍어 팝니다. 꼭 우리 시골 버스 정류장 같이요. 그대신 비행기 값은 엄청 쌉니다. 승무원들도 거의 유니폼을 입지 않구요, 자연스럽게 지나다닙니다.(아줌마들..) 가끔 기내가 무대 분위기가 되면 멋지게 엉덩이를 흔들며 노래도 부르구요.

 

포츈 잡지는 이 기업의 기업 문화를 “놀이 문화(Play Culture)라고 부릅니다. 미국에는 현재 이런 기업 문화가 많습니다. 일할때 일하고 놀때는 팍팍하는 것이지요. 기업 문화의 전통적 분류는 4가지가 있는데 그 중의 하나가 이런 문화 입니다. 많은 기업들이 입사 면접에서 이사람이 얼마나 유머러스 한가를 측정하고 있습니다. Serious한 사람은 별 환영을 받지 못하는 부류가 되어갑니다. “유머가 있는 사람은 창조적이다”라는걸 알기 때문일까요.

 

하여간 Southwest는 유명하고 시끄러운 회사입니다. 여기에는 Southwest의 PR을 총담당하는 Linda와의 인터뷰기사를 실어 봅니다. 좀더 Internal한 시각을 엿 보실수 있습니다. 정말 멋진 회사입니다.

 

(Corporate Culture에 대해서는 다음 기회에 날을 잡아서 Full-Cover하도록 하겠습니다. 많은 관심 부탁드립니다.)   

 

그럼 먼저 (홍보!)

 

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Nothing But Blue Skies (And Jeans) At Southwest Airlines

 

When Linda Burke Rutheford was a reporter for the now-defunct Dallas Times Herald, she covered Southwest Airlines. Today, she’s manager, public relations, responsible for the Dallas-based airline’s relationships with the national and trade media. And she’s had plenty to discuss with reporters of late: Southwest, long hailed for its exemplary employee relations, was recently named the best company to work for in America by Fortune magazine. Here, she talks with Editor-in-Chief John Elsasser about leveraging the honor with the media, establishing a corporate culture, and wearing blue jeans at work.

 

When you were named to the top spot by Fortune, you sent out a simple press release. Did you try to leverage the honor any other way with the media?

 

This is one of those wonderful opportunities that you want to take advantage of. However, you can’t cross the line where positive public relations turns into tooting your own horn. We definitely wanted to get the news out, but we didn’t want to rub it in people’s faces to the point where they get annoyed by it. We are a company that’s almost cursed by our good fortune at times. In today’s media age, travesty and destruction seem to take the headlines over shiny, happy people. That’s a blessing and a burden from a PR standpoint at Southwest because we always have good news to tell. We have to work a little harder to get attention for it.

 

Some corporations, despite its best efforts, remain lightning rods for criticism based on past crises. Seems as if you have a lot of goodwill built up in the media. How does that impact your role?

 

It’s a combination of working for a company that has many good things going for it, but it’s also the efforts of the 13 members of our PR department. If we were not responsive or proactive, I don’t think it would matter how great we were. [Southwest Chairman of the Board, President and CEO] Herb Kelleher understands the importance of corporate imaging. Our job isn’t to sell tickets. It is to create that long-term goodwill, so that when someone does consider traveling, they’ll say: “I saw a story on Southwest and their singing flight attendants. That sounds like fun. Let’s give them a call.” Our whole approach to public relations is to be proactive, whether it’s good or bad news. Herb says we’re like a big family: we have our arguments and stumbling blocks, but it’s how you handle those crises, too. You’re only as good as how you handled your last crisis.

 

 

The messages on your PR department’s voice mail were some of the friendliest I’ve ever heard. It made me want to call back.

 

Some people in corporate America view media as a necessary evil. We like to view them as our partner. Whether we’re talking about Fortune naming us the best company to work for or dealing with a crisis, we believe in being as forthright as we possibly can. We continue to put what we call deposits in our goodwill bank. So when we do need to make a withdraw, there is some credibility there and people will know they’re going to get as much help from us whether it’s good or bad news.

 

 

Your boss, Herb Kelleher, understands the power of public relations. How much difference does that make to the PR department?

 

That’s a product of our corporate culture. Herb would say “to define our corporate culture is to destroy it.” He sees our culture as this ethereal thing that has evolved over 26 years, that is the one thing that sets us apart. Now it’s fun for us in public relations because we can sell it as the one thing that sets us apart. Here is how we are unique. Then someone says: “That’s great what does it mean?”

 

That’s great. What does it mean?

 

You need to come here and live it for awhile to understand what the culture is. There are a number of extroverts here. Management definitely encourages you to let your personality blossom. It’s that freedom to be yourself that sets up an atmosphere in which people aren’t so intense about the impression they’re making and concentrate on getting the job done. Herb always says to take your competition seriously, but don’t take yourself too seriously

 

 

What will happen to Southwest’s culture the day Kelleher decides to step down?

 

Southwest will always be Southwest. Colleen Barrett, who’s our executive vice president for customers, says this is one of her favorite questions. When we had 500 employees, she says everyone asked what would happen when we had 1,000. Same thing happened at 5,000 and 10,000. We’re now at 25,000-plus and that culture is still there. We have more than 100 employees working on The Culture Committee. They are charged with keeping the spirit alive.

 

 

You started at Southwest in 1992. Did you immediately notice that there was something unique happening there?

 

Funny enough, when I was a reporter for the Dallas Times Herald, I covered Southwest. So I had a good working knowledge of the company. It was, in fact, difficult as a reporter to remain objective about the company. You can get really involved with the culture just by walking through the door. I knew that this would be an interesting place to work.

 

 

Did you ever think that you’d want to work at Southwest while you were a reporter?

 

I did. I remember when someone there once said to me: “If you ever want to come work for Southwest, let us know.” After the Times Herald closed, I called and told them I’d be interested if something came up. Luckily for me, something did five months later.

 

 

What’s your advice for a company trying to turn around its corporate culture?

 

It must be sincere. If it appears forced or manufactured, it’s going to be transparent to whoever you’re trying to sell it to. There should be people who take time to get involved with the corporation and find out what the culture is. Are there positive aspects to draw out? For example, you might have a company with a reputation for being a hard-nosed competitor and having a starched-shirt atmosphere. Then you find out there are pockets of philanthropy maybe one department does something such as hold a car wash on Saturdays to raise money for whatever cause. Many of those types of actions go unnoticed. If you work in public relations for a company, the first thing you have to do is try to get deeply involved with the corporate culture that exists and decide what you like and dislike about it. There are some things that are easy to change. There are some things that you can never change you just have to figure out how to manage it.

 

 

What’s an example of something that would be easy to change?

 

We have casual dress here at Southwest. Depending on your business, that’s something easy to implement. You’d be surprised the impact it has on people’s attitudes as they come to work every day. I’m in blue jeans right now. It’s something you could do to enhance your corporate culture. However, you can’t force something that isn’t in the company’s soul.

 

 

Besides allowing employees to wear jeans, Southwest has many avenues via your internal publications that recognize and give workers a chance to speak out. How much does this impact the culture?

 

Southwest has the University for the People, our employee learning and development arm. We hold a corporate culture day four times a year. We invite companies from around the world to hear about Southwest Airlines. The amazing thing is that these participants all come looking for some complex secret about how to turn their company around or how to take what works for Southwest and make it fit for them. That’s just not going to work for some companies.

 

We emphasize hiring and maintaining the workforce. We spend an inordinate amount of time interviewing to make sure we hire the right person, even if we have to interview 100 people. And then the corporate culture takes over to keep you interested in your job. Also, the majority of promotions are internal. It is rare that a high-level position goes to an external applicant.

 

Herb Kelleher has said that the most important customer here is the employee. If the employee is happy and challenged, that person is going to provide a service that sets us apart with our customers. Happy employees mean happy customers. Happy customers mean a lot of profit. Lots of profit means happy shareholders. It’s that simple.

 

P.S.)) 맞습니다. 마지막 문장들과 같은 사고방식을 가진 Herb는 정말 멋진 경영자입니다. 성공적인 기업 문화 생성의 원동력은 강력한 지도력을 가진 경영자에 의해 창조되는 경우가 굉장히 많습니다. Cool ~ 입니다.