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Southwest Airlines Community

Food, FUN, and Getting to Know Your Vice Presidents One on One

lstone
Employee
Employee

At many companies, it can be hard for a new Employee to get involved and really feel a part of that company.  Luckily, Southwest is not like most other companies.  We do things a little differently here…like, hosting luncheons that are designed to help our new Employees feel engaged in our amazing Culture.  These luncheons, that we have appropriately named LUV at First Bite, are filled with food, games, prizes, and a unique surprise for a few of our new folks.  Click here for a fun video of one of our recent luncheons.

Now, I’ve been involved with these luncheons over the last four years, and I can honestly say that the energy at these events is almost impossible to beat.  The New Hires are so excited to get to meet and share stories with other New Hires and our Leaders.  At the same time, our Leaders are reminded of how excited they were when they first joined the Company and feel re-energized.  Although the entertainment and games are great, one of the more memorable parts to the luncheon is when the Leaders read the New Hire Spotlights.  I’m sure you know how it feels for someone to recognize you for doing something great … just imagine hearing it from one of your Company’s Senior Leaders!  The look on the Employee’s face when a story is read about them is priceless!  And, finally, what better way to end such a FUN event than to hear from one of our incredible Leaders such as Ginger Hardage – Senior Vice President Culture and Communications, Colleen Barrett – President Emeritus, or Gary Kelly – Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer.  Their stories and advice give our new Employees confidence and confirmation that they have joined the right Company!

All in all, the luncheons have been a huge success since their inception in 2006.  Our new Employees leave the luncheons feeling a part of something great and, hopefully, head back to their respective locations feeling energized and ready to provide that legendary Customer Service that Southwest offers to all our Customers.  And, I come back to Dallas knowing that our Company is in good hands with these outstanding new Employees working hard to ensure our Company’s success.

4 Comments
Meghan1
Explorer C
LUV at First Bite Luncheons make my heart happy!! As a Recruiter in the People Department, it is so exciting to see the excitement of our New-Hires as they really engage and get to know our Leaders. GREAT job to our OnBoarding Team for putting on this successful event! This video clip really shows how much fun these luncheons are. We are fortunate to work for a Company that takes the time to get to know each of us!
luvtoflyswa
Explorer A
I wish I could have been a part of this, but I was never picked for training after my one-on-one interviews! 😞 😞 Can I still come since I've served snacks on some of my flights & I have three close friends who work for the Company? :) Fact for the day: Seveny-seven percent of your sodium comes from processed foods! 😞 SWA LUV! 🙂
Gina_and_Lisa
Explorer C
Hi! We are working on a case study presentation about Southwest Airlines for one of our classes at University of Missouri - Kansas City. We were interested by the subject of this post and were hoping to get some feedback about what other types of employee events you enjoy and how they further promote the employee culture at SWA. Thank you for the great description of "LUV at First Bite"!
lstone
Employee
Employee
Our Team also hosts a couple other events to help our New Hires get engaged into our Culture. One event, called FLY Nights, is a little party that we host about every other month for our New Hires after they have attended their orientation class in Dallas. We provide food, drinks, prizes, and even have the New Hires compete in a karaoke contest --- which definitely turns into some exciting entertainment. These events are really designed to allow our new Employees the opportunity to enjoy that Fun-LUVing Attitude at Southwest. Our Duck Derby is another fun event that ALL Southwest Employees and their families and friends can attend. It is an annual duck race -- instead of a raffle -- that is held at SeaWorld San Antonio. Employees can purchase "duck numbers" in the race and 5000 of our specially designed Canyon Blue racing ducks are dumped into the lazy river at SeaWorld to race (which you can't even imagine how beautiful it is to see these ducks floating down the river) and the top 25 ducks will win some amazing prizes. The event raises money for all our OnBoarding initiatives, our SWA Catastrophic Fund, and SeaWorld's Conservation Fund. This was just a small sampling of all that goes on here at Southwest that promotes our Culture. We have so many more other opportunites for Employees to really get involved and feel a part of such a wonderful Company!