Julie Bateman's sunny smile and outgoing personality were hits at her job interview for customer service agent.
Jay Slezak brought model airplanes and a sense of humor to his interview for a ramp agent opening. He also recalled how he had done something out of the ordinary to help a customer at a previous job.Both Bateman and Slezak were hired by Southwest Airlines in June, a happy situation for them and good news as well for the maverick airline that has an employee screening and interview process as unique as its wacky-but-successful CEO Herb Kelleher.
"The core of it really comes from Herb," said Beth Harbin, Southwest spokesperson. "Our philosophy is that we hire the personality and teach them the skills."
Not every interview is an exercise in the unusual, but it's not uncommon for people to be asked something a bit different. Harbin said Southwest is looking for individuals who work hard but who also are people-oriented, have a sense of humor and, above all, are flexible, so they can cope with the demands of airline work.
A memorable example: Several pilot applicants who held captain status and had outstanding track records were called in to the airline's Dallas headquarters for a group interview.
"They had all come in in their suits, very businesslike, and the interviewer said, `It's beach day at Southwest Airlines! We're going to get crazy boxer shorts and put them on for your interview!' How flexible is that person going to be?," Harbin said.
"Some walked away. It's not everybody's bag, and we accept that. We look for that special person. Some said, `Great, let's go!' They picked the wackiest pair of boxer shorts and walked around the building and had a good time."
Not everyone needs to be a comedian at Southwest, but "someone who colors outside the lines" might do well with this airline, Harbin said.
"You don't have to do backflips to get a job," Harbin said. "You just have to have that desire to care for people and make their travel easier."
Southwest uses an extensive and multi-faceted approach to finding its people. The airline doesn't use personality tests nor does it necessarily require previous airline experience.
Instead, its hiring approach is based primarily on a "Targeted Selection" process developed by the Pennsylvania-based Development Dimensions International Inc. (DDI).
Among other things, the process emphasizes using past behavior to predict future behavior, zeroing in on the most important qualities for a particular job, using effective interviewing skills with a team of interviewers and observing behavior.
Interviewers might ask an applicant such things as how he or she dealt with irate customer in the past, or how the person resolved a conflict with another employee, or an example of how the individual did something that was above the call of duty.
Southwest also includes employees on the interviewing team for such positions as pilot and flight attendant. The airline has even asked frequent flier customers to take part.This "peer interviewing" process will be introduced next month into the airline's ground crew operations, according to Louis De Rango, the regional employment manager based in Salt Lake.
The idea has been discussed for a couple of years, but until recently there wasn't a way to adapt it to the ground crews, which are so big and whose tasks are so wide ranging. De Rango said Southwest found a solution by asking its own employees in each job category what the most important factors were that a worker should bring to a particular job.
DDI helped reduce the information to specific qualities that would get a job done and also fit nicely with Southwest's corporate culture.
After all, De Rango said, who would know better what it takes to do a particular job? And people already employed at Southwest have a vested interest in getting the ideal candidate.
"It helps ensure our diversity and accuracy," said De Rango. "We want long-term employees."
Turnover is low at Southwest, and the company has never had any layoffs in its 24-year history - a remarkable feat in a tough, competitive industry where other carriers often have laid off hundreds of workers.
"We have a no-layoff policy," De Rango said. "Herb is adamant about the fact that we are going to continue to be profitable and grow smartly and correctly so we don't ever have to be faced with that."
Although he admits interviewing job candidates is not an exact science, De Rango said the care taken during the hiring process provides some level of assurance that a new employee and the job will be a good match.
Southwest is known for its unorthodox advertising and zany work atmosphere, but the airline doesn't hire just anybody.
Since January of 1995, the Salt Lake office has received 1,850 applications, interviewed 766 people and hired 124. Systemwide, Southwest received 106,856 applications, interviewed 24,506 people and hired 20,319.
Finalists get thorough background checks, including a review of their work histories back five years. Once hired, they're tested for drugs and begin training, which includes on-the-job instruction as well as a period of intense study at the Dallas headquarters.
Employees are encouraged to have fun on the job - just look at the Halloween decorations at the Salt Lake Airport. But the work itself is important.
"We take our work seriously, but not ourselves," said Bill Beerman, Salt Lake's station manager. "For three years in a row, we've been first in on-time performance, fewest customer complaints and fewest baggage prob-lems," according to Department of Transportation statistics.
Customer service agent Bate-man admits the job turned out to be harder that she expected, but she loves it. She tries her best to please people, and they really like her. But she feels secure knowing that if she should ever run into a truly nasty customer, this airline would back her up.
CEO Kelleher has been widely quoted about giving supervisors the green light to "fire" customers who get ugly with employees. "We don't carry those type sorts of customers," Kelleher has said. "We write them and say, `Fly somebody else. Don't abuse our people.' "
The CEO probably would have approved of some spirited impromptu football tossing by Slezak and other ramp agents while waiting for a plane to arrive a few weeks ago.
"It's not like we're a bunch of goofballs," Slezak said. "But if you're going to work hard, you might as well enjoy it."