Influx

It’s rare to find a good corporate blog, but Southwest, who’ve been running a blog since April of last year, are doing a pretty good job.

Its strength lies in it’s the diversity of its writers who represent a number of different sides of Southwest’s business; from pilots and attendants, to schedule planners.

The blog is used it to make announcements and give readers a glimpse inside the company and is just an example of one of the many channels that Southwest uses to communicate.

Given the importance of people to its business, Southwest understands just how vital good communication is.

There’s even post on the blog that highlights this.

“You’ve probably caught on by now that Southwest Airlines leaders are strong believers in open communication. Our Leaders share information with Employees in a variety of ways, including: a monthly Employee magazine (LUVLines); our CEO, Gary Kelly’s weekly phone newsline update; and our daily online newsletter (Today@SWA). In addition, the Company hosts its own annual version of the “State of the Union” address-our event is called Message to the Field. Herb delivered the very first Message in October of 1985, and we’ve had them every year since. These days, the Message to the Field events take place at the beginning of each year in several cities across the country.

The past couple of years, we’ve held Messages in Chicago, Baltimore, Orlando, Phoenix, Oakland, and Dallas. Depending on the city, attendance ranges from 500 – 3,000 people (with PHX and DAL being the largest). Cities are strategically chosen with the hope that Southwest Employees across the nation will be able to easily travel a short distance to a Message near the city in which they live and work. We secure group rates at local hotels for Employees who travel from other locations and need to stay overnight; we negotiate discounted rates for rental cars for Employees who prefer to drive; and we also provide free shuttle service between the airport and the Message venue before and after each event”