Organizational Alignment and Southwest Airlines

Organizational alignment means no mixed messages

Yes, organizational alignment is a beautiful thing. When the image that a company projects to consumers is consistent with both the customer experience and the values of the company, you have alignment. No mixed messages.

Think about your company:

• What are your company values?
• How do employees behave with each other?
• How do employees behave with customers, suppliers/vendors, and business partners?
• What is your company’s image?

Are they consistent? Are they aligned?

For example, if you’re a hotel that projects an image of great service, and customers rave about your service, that’s alignment. Or, if you’re a hospital that touts an image of safety, and patients observe and experience superior safety practices while staying at your hospital, you have alignment. Yes, alignment is a good thing.

So is there organizational alignment at Southwest? The company has a reputation for delivering great service and having a fun-loving attitude, but Southwest also has a reputation for low fares. Yet, according to a Wall Street Journal article, the average ticket price for a Southwest flight has been climbing and in some markets, a Southwest flight is higher than its competitors. Southwest price increases have been due to fuel prices (no more fuel hedges), longer flights and new ways for pricing tickets.

Southwest currently does not charge fees for checking baggage or for changing tickets. If you compute those benefits, it might explain why a higher ticket is not really higher when you add up all the charges. But for the customer who either does not check baggage or have to pay for checked baggage (due to frequent flyer status or the credit card used) and for the person who rarely changes their flight plans, this explanation does not justify a higher ticket price.

Southwest Airlines must rethink who they are as an airline. Are they like the big airlines? Do they only differentiate themselves by their fun-loving attitude and service? Is that good enough?

Southwest has much to consider as they merge with AirTran, but reflecting on their organizational identity might be something at the top of the list. The organization’s identity must be clear. When you change the essence of who you are as an organization, it has an impact on your customers and your employees.

So, organizational alignment is important. Know who you are and consistently be it. Otherwise, you will have a confused identity that can negatively impact employee engagement, customer satisfaction and your reputation.