Description
This case analysis provides the opportunity to apply concepts, theories, and frameworks from the content on culture and climate. Culture can be viewed and examined at several levels and from different perspectives. We’ve discussed national, organizational, unit/workplace, and occupational cultures. We’ve also read articles on leadership, motivation, and decision-making that have touched on the role of culture in those areas. The overarching objective is to use the Westjet case as a context for applying and discussing the role of culture (again, defined very expansively and in many forms) in an organization.
Here are the specific parameters of the assignment:
1.Cases: Use the “Westjet” case as material for this thought exercise.
2.Articles and Slides: You should focus on the five articles we have read on culture, using those as the main source of material to apply in your analysis. However, given that culture and climate have been mentioned in many other of our readings – particularly the five included in the first topic of “Strategic Leadership”, feel free to draw on that content as well. Also, note the slides on Climate and Culture, which provide some additional/complementary background material.
3.Objective: Discuss the role that culture and climate have played in Westjet’s formation, growth, success, and reputation. Note: although there are other aspects we could discuss, particularly their strategy and business model, please focus your analysis on the elements of climate and culture.
4.Specifics: Address the following questions specifically, using each as a section heading to structure your discussion.
a.The Role of Culture in Westjet’s Success: begin by discussing in general the role of culture and climate. To what degree are these central to the firm’s competitive advantage? Explain – how and why?
b.Specific Culture/Climate Elements: Identify and discuss several specific elements of the firm’s culture and climate that are particularly significant. These can be specific practices, routines, value/norms, etc. Discuss/explain how/why these things are vehicles for establishing, reinforcing, and maintaining the firm’s culture.
c.Structure and Culture/Climate: Then discuss how culture and structure interact and serve to complement and reinforce one another. Note how particular aspects of the firm’s structure and design are extensions of its culture and values.
d.Leadership and Culture/Climate: What role have the firm’s founders/leaders played in all this? How central are they to the firm’s culture? To what degree can/should a firm’s culture be tied to its leadership?
e.Culture/Climate Challenges: Now consider some of the challenges the firm faces as it grows. What are some of the pressures on its culture and climate? To what degree can or should they try to maintain their culture? Are some practices more expendable than others? What can change and what cannot if they want to continue their success?
f.The Dark Side of Culture: Finally, reflect and comment on the potential dark side of culture. In what ways might Westjet’s cultural norms and practices be a liability? Are there specific elements that concern you and why?
5.Format: Your discussion should be 2 single-spaced pages in length. Each of the questions should be discussed in a single paragraph, and each paragraph should have a heading (to demarcate it). No additional spacing (between sections/paragraphs) is needed. Note: I realize that I’ve given you five different issues to discuss – feel free to emphasize some topics over others (i.e., some paragraphs may be much longer or shorter than others)
https://hbr.org/2014/05/navigating-the-cultural-mi…
https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/building-the-civilized-workplace
I have attached the case and the power point for culture and climate in the post. Please refer to the power point when answering the question. You may also use anything you think that works. I also attached 2 articles that relates to the question if possible do integrate them into the answer
Unformatted Attachment Preview
For the exclusive use of s. reddiyar, 2023.
S
w
909C12
WESTJET: BUILDING A HIGH-ENGAGEMENT CULTURE
Ken Mark wrote this case under the supervision of Professor Gerard Seijts solely to provide material for class discussion. The
authors do not intend to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of a managerial situation. The authors may have disguised
certain names and other identifying information to protect confidentiality.
Ivey Management Services prohibits any form of reproduction, storage or transmittal without its written permission. Reproduction of
this material is not covered under authorization by any reproduction rights organization. To order copies or request permission to
reproduce materials, contact Ivey Publishing, Ivey Management Services, c/o Richard Ivey School of Business, The University of
Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada, N6A 3K7; phone (519) 661-3208; fax (519) 661-3882; e-mail cases@ivey.uwo.ca.
Copyright © 2009, Ivey Management Services
Version: (A) 2009-08-11
INTRODUCTION
In late April, 2009, a senior manager at WestJet Airlines (WestJet) came across two news articles — one in
Maclean’s, a Canadian news magazine, and the other in the Globe and Mail, Canada’s national newspaper
— that hinted at a dilemma faced by WestJet: How to continue to build its high-engagement culture as it
experienced high rates of growth?1
WestJet stood out from other Canadian airlines in many ways. For example, despite a difficult year in
2008, WestJet was one of only a few airlines worldwide that were profitable that year. Whereas other
airlines had cut their available seats, WestJet had continued to expand its reach. The company was able to
not only survive but to thrive in a depressed environment because of its combination of low operating
costs, a non-union environment and, most importantly, a unique corporate culture that, among other things,
encouraged employees to share suggestions for improvements openly. WestJet press releases were
typically full of good news about how the company was continuing to succeed, whereas other airlines —
especially WestJet’s chief rival, Air Canada — were stumbling.
The article in Maclean’s suggested that WestJet, in an attempt to capitalize on an impending bankruptcy
filing by Air Canada, was doubling its efforts to achieve market dominance in Canada by 2013. The article
also mentioned a set of customer service standards — known as the WestJet Care-antee — that the
company would publish, thus clearly setting itself apart from any rival, which would have little or no hope
of matching its offer (see Exhibit 1).
On the other hand, the Globe and Mail article suggested that all was not well inside WestJet. Negotiations
between WestJet and its pilots had stalled two weeks before their three-year agreement was set to expire on
April 30, 2009. Further, the article reprinted part of a memo that WestJet’s chief executive officer (CEO),
Sean Durfy, had written to pilots, urging them to reconsider the proposal for the purpose of “…
maintaining our wonderful corporate culture and competitive advantage.” Negotiations had started in June
1
http://www2.macleans.ca/2009/04/30/westjet%e2%80%99s-plan-to-crush-air-canada/print/ accessed June 2, 2009 and
http://www.globeadvisor.com/servlet/ArticleNews/story/gam/20090417/RTICKER17ART1937-9 accessed June 2, 2009.
This document is authorized for use only by sri aakash reddiyar in MQM 484 – Building High Performance Orgs 2023 taught by PETER FOREMAN, Illinois State University from Aug 2023 to
Feb 2024.
For the exclusive use of s. reddiyar, 2023.
Page 2
9B09C012
2008. Both the pilots and the senior leadership team had agreed on the introduction of interest based
bargaining; and both parties had attended a training program together.
The senior manager was aware of WestJet’s ambitious goals to become the dominant airline in Canada by
2013 and one of the five most successful international airlines in the world by 2016. Achieving these goals
would mean continued expansion in the WestJet organization. Growth was seen as positive because it
would provide new and exciting opportunities for the employees.
The senior manager wondered, however, whether the rapid growth at WestJet — which already employed
6,187 full-time equivalent staff (including approximately 950 pilots and 2,000 flight attendants), as of the
end of December 2008 — would come at the cost of building and maintaining a high-engagement culture.
This point was important because, as the founders and senior executives of the company continued to
reiterate at every opportunity, culture was everything at WestJet. It would be unfortunate if WestJet
developed into a big and bureaucratic organization that was unable to sustain its unorthodox culture
because of its success in the marketplace.
THE HISTORY OF WESTJET AIRLINES2
In 1994, Clive Beddoe, an entrepreneur active in the real estate sector, purchased an aircraft for his weekly
business travel between Calgary and Vancouver. Beddoe made the aircraft available for charter to other
cost-conscious business people through Morgan Air, which was owned and operated by Tim Morgan. The
response to this venture caused Morgan, along with Calgary businessmen Donald Bell and Mark Hill, to
realize an opportunity to satisfy the need for affordable air travel in Western Canada by starting an airline.
The odds appeared stacked against Beddoe and his colleagues because the airline industry was a tough
business. Beddoe was aware of the dozens of failed airlines in Canada; in the recent past, these failures
included Greyhound Air, Roots Air, Vistajet, Royal Airlines and Canada 3000. Historical data showed that
almost 97 per cent of start-up airlines failed within their first seven years of operations. Competition was
tough, and many travelers had their misgivings against airlines because of delays, lost luggage, cranky
flight attendants, inflexible schedules, onerous rules, uncomfortable seats and a host of other servicerelated problems. Thus, the founders realized they needed to approach the task of building a successful
airline in an unconventional manner. Said Richard Bartrem, vice-president of Culture and
Communications: “… to not behave differently from the other airlines would lead us to fail.”3
Beddoe and his colleagues researched the market and focused on low-cost (not discount) carriers, including
Southwest Airlines and Morris Air, both of which operated in the United States. David Neeleman,
president of Morris Air, was contacted for assistance in developing a business plan. Neeleman, along with
Morgan, Bell, Hill and Beddoe, became the founding team of the concept that would become WestJet
Airlines.
The potent differentiator that the team agreed on was straightforward: People working at WestJet must
demonstrate a caring attitude toward their colleagues and the passengers (or guests). A culture of care was
regarded as necessary for providing good customer service. The founders developed a strong belief: If we
as a corporation take care of our people, then our people will take care of our guests, and our guests will
2
This section is based in part on information presented in the case: WestJet Airlines: The culture that breeds a passion to
succeed.
3
Personal communication, May 14, 2009.
This document is authorized for use only by sri aakash reddiyar in MQM 484 – Building High Performance Orgs 2023 taught by PETER FOREMAN, Illinois State University from Aug 2023 to
Feb 2024.
For the exclusive use of s. reddiyar, 2023.
Page 3
9B09C012
take care of our profits. A simple, one-line mission statement was developed: To enrich the lives of
everyone in WestJet’s world by providing safe, friendly and affordable air travel.
WestJet commenced operations on February 29, 1996, flying to Vancouver, Kelowna, Calgary, Edmonton
and Winnipeg. The company started with approximately 200 employees. Rather than fighting for market
share with larger carriers, WestJet’s initial strategy was to use low prices and unrestricted tickets to lure
people who would otherwise drive, take the bus or train, or stay home. WestJet was started in an ideal
environment — Western Canada — where the main competitor was the financially troubled Canadian
Airlines. Although Canadian Airlines initially tried to match WestJet’s rock-bottom fares, it could not
compete against the upstart’s low-cost structure. For example, WestJet offered no paper tickets, in-flight
meals or frequent flier programs, and passengers were offered only one class of seating. These choices
allowed WestJet to keep its fares competitive with travel by car or train. An initial public offering in July
1999 offered 2.5 million common voting shares to investors.
In late 1999, taking advantage of turmoil in the Canadian airline industry, WestJet expanded its service
across Canada, including flights to Thunder Bay, Ontario. On April 17, 2000, WestJet’s equity market
capitalization surpassed that of Air Canada, the country’s leading airline. Later that year, the company
returned to the capital markets for a second round of funds, raising $52.1 million to finance the purchase of
new aircraft and a new headquarters building. WestJet continued its expansion despite slowdowns in the
industry in 2001, due to a downturn in the economy as a result of the dot-com bust and the terrorist attacks
of September 11, 2001, which dampened enthusiasm for air travel. Service was started to Eastern Canadian
cities, including Hamilton, Moncton and Ottawa.
WestJet was receiving 3,000 to 4,000 résumés each week. Most of the new hires were new to the airline
industry. “We prefer it that way,” stated Beddoe. “This is a new culture, a new vision. It’s better to start
with a clean slate.”4 In 2002, WestJet was named one of Canada’s Top 100 Employers (see
http://www.canadastop100.com/index.html).
In 2003, WestJet captured 25 per cent of the domestic Canadian market despite a reduction in skiing
tourism due to low snowfall in the West, two outbreaks of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), the
North American appearance of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, or more commonly known as
“mad cow disease”) and higher fuel prices. WestJet added new destinations including Montreal, Windsor,
Halifax and St. John’s. In 2004, WestJet began to offer trans-border flights from Canada to several U.S.
cities, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Tampa and Orlando.
Sean Durfy joined WestJet in December 2004 as executive vice-president, Marketing and Sales, and was
responsible for the development of marketing strategies. Durfy had previously spent 10 years in the
Alberta energy industry, where he had been president and CEO of ENMAX Corporation, an energy supply,
distribution and service company.
As a result of rapidly rising fuel prices, WestJet stepped up the retirement of its older 737-200 aircraft in
2005, replacing them with the Boeing Next Generation 737s. In 2006, WestJet added its first international
service to Nassau, Bahamas; and other international destinations soon followed: Maui, Honolulu, Montego
Bay, Mazatlan, St. Lucia, among others. That same year, Beddoe moved to become the chairman of
WestJet’s board of directors, and Durfy was promoted to president.
4
Peter Verburg, “Prepare for Take-off,” Canadian Business, 2000, p. 96.
This document is authorized for use only by sri aakash reddiyar in MQM 484 – Building High Performance Orgs 2023 taught by PETER FOREMAN, Illinois State University from Aug 2023 to
Feb 2024.
For the exclusive use of s. reddiyar, 2023.
Page 4
9B09C012
WestJet had a record-breaking year in 2007, when revenues exceeded $2 billion and earnings were $193
million. When Beddoe stepped down as CEO on September 4, 2007, the company promoted Durfy in his
place.
At the end of 2008, WestJet had approximately 128 million shares outstanding. Beddoe and Durfy owned,
respectively, 4,416,049 and 28,266 common voting shares in their company.
Revenues grew an additional 20 per cent in 2008 to $2.5 billion, and, despite tough economic conditions,
WestJet earned $178 million in net income. WestJet flew to 55 destinations in Canada, the United States,
Mexico and the Caribbean (see Exhibit 2). WestJet employed seven times more people in 2008 than it did
in 1998. The days were long gone when Beddoe could fit all WestJetters (as the employees were called)
into one room for a fire-side chat to explain how and where the business was going. WestJet management
knew that the tremendous growth at WestJet would put pressures on its unique and vibrant culture. The
leaders across the organization (e.g. front-line leaders, directors and vice-presidents) would be under
pressure to communicate and to sustain the culture. This challenge led to the inevitable question: What
skills and competencies would be required by those leaders who were now expected to drive the culture?
WESTJET’S PERFORMANCE
Since its beginnings, WestJet was consistently ranked among the most profitable airlines in the world. The
company had grown revenues at an average annual rate of 37.4 per cent over 11 years. During the same
period, net profit grew at an average annual rate of 35.8 per cent. By the end of 2008, WestJet had captured
36 per cent of the domestic market for air travel. For perspective, consider that Air Canada had 57 per cent
of the domestic market.
WestJet took pride in the customer service it provided to its guests. Since the Air Travel Complaints
Commission began tracking passenger complaints in 2000, WestJet had far fewer complaints than its main
competitor, Air Canada (see Table 1). Thus, the airline had appeared to have executed well against the
differentiator that the founding team had envisioned: a caring attitude. In 2008, for the third year in a row,
WestJet was awarded the title of Canada’s Most Admired Corporate Culture by Waterstone Human
Capital, an executive search firm (see http://www.waterstonehc.com/).
Table 1
COMPLAINTS INVESTIGATED ABOUT CANADIAN AIR CARRIERS, 2005–2008
Air Canada (including Jazz)
Air Transat
Zoom Airlines
Skyservice
WestJet
Sunwing
CanJet
Other
Total
2005–2006
385
40
20
33
15
0
3
10
506
2006–2007
334
26
17
22
10
7
9
7
432
2007–2008
310
38
18
14
8
17
2
5
412
Source: 2007–2008 Annual Report, Canadian Transportation Agency, Minister of Public Works and Government Services
Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, 2008. (See http://www.cta-otc.gc.ca/doc.php?sid=2004&lang=eng).
This document is authorized for use only by sri aakash reddiyar in MQM 484 – Building High Performance Orgs 2023 taught by PETER FOREMAN, Illinois State University from Aug 2023 to
Feb 2024.
For the exclusive use of s. reddiyar, 2023.
Page 5
9B09C012
Beddoe, who encouraged employees to address him as Clive, insisted that WestJet’s corporate culture was
the primary reason for the airline’s superb performance. “The entire environment is conducive to bringing
out the best in people,” explained Beddoe.5 “It’s the culture that creates the passion to succeed.” Durfy
echoed a similar sentiment: “For us, that’s the key driver to our success.”6
Prior to launching WestJet, Beddoe and his colleagues had no experience running a scheduled airline. As
they learned more about the airline industry, the founders realized that one of the industry’s biggest
problems was dealing with a largely absentee workforce spread all over the country, working at airports, in
hangars or in the air. Communication proved to be a challenge. Beddoe stated, “What occurred to me … is
we had to overcome the inherent difficulty of trying to manage people and to hone the process into one
where people wanted to manage themselves.”7
NURTURING THE WESTJET CULTURE
WestJet’s work environment could be described as friendly, caring, fun and youthful. The average age of
the workforce at the end of 2008 was 34; the average age of the leadership team (people at the rank of
director and up) was 38 to 40.
Creativity and innovation were both encouraged and rewarded. In addition, WestJetters were expected to
take the initiative and resolve issues on their own. Decision-making responsibility was pushed as far down
to the front line as possible. The company’s core values were expected to guide the decision-making
process. WestJetters were encouraged to ask themselves a straightforward question: Do these actions live
the values of the company or contravene them?
The following values were defined by WestJet defined as core:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Commitment to safety
Positive and passionate in everything we do
Appreciative of our people and guests
Fun, friendly and caring
Align the interests of WestJetters with the interests of the company
Honest, open and keep our commitments
Building and maintaining the processes that nurtured the WestJet culture was a task that management and
staff took very seriously. To management, culture was defined by the actions of the executives. Some
focused on empowerment and trust, whereas others focused on profit sharing. The combined actions of
executives contributed to and formed part of the WestJet brand. When executives were seen taking actions
that were not aligned with WestJet’s values, those activities, too, had an effect on the WestJet culture.
Every two weeks, Durfy and Ken McKenzie, executive vice-president of Operations, held informal
meetings with a group of staff members. “What most airlines are missing is the people component,”
McKenzie stated. “It’s not just numbers — on-time performance, getting the aircraft away on time — it’s
the relationships.” Leadership teams at most airlines were “populated by incredibly smart people who
know how to run a business,” said McKenzie, but he added that most seemed to miss the significance of
5
Peter Verburg, “Prepare for Take-off,” Canadian Business, 2000, p. 96.
http://www.financialpost.com/story.html?id=1200493, accessed June 2, 2009.
7
Peter Verburg, “Prepare for Take-off,” Canadian Business, 2000, p. 96.
6
This document is authorized for use only by sri aakash reddiyar in MQM 484 – Building High Performance Orgs 2023 taught by PETER FOREMAN, Illinois State University from Aug 2023 to
Feb 2024.
For the exclusive use of s. reddiyar, 2023.
Page 6
9B09C012
building an almost cult-like following among passengers and employees alike.8 WestJetters took notice of
extra steps that management took to recognize their efforts, as indicated by this post by a WestJetter on an
online forum:
I just had a hellish night last week and the Director of Flight Operations just sent out an email to the crew and myself, thanking us for our efforts and showing a bunch of data on
how it helped the customers and company recover. It’s the little stuff like a boss taking the
time to do such a thing in the busiest time of the year, or the fact that the crew actually had
a good time doing it because the night was just so bad we had to laugh it off. Somehow
that little gesture from above rubs off and reciprocates. The culture is the people, and the
people having 100% accountability with 0 excuses.9
Recognizing employees for their hard work was a task that management took seriously. For example,
Durfy and his team were known to show up at the Calgary Airport to distribute buttercream cupcakes to
WestJet employees. Traveling through the entire airport with the cupcakes stacked on luggage carts,
Durfy ensured that every employee received a cupcake, from the ticket counters to the baggage-handling
operations.10
The commitment to nurture a culture about caring extended beyond thanking flight and crew members for
a job well done. WestJet had a group called CARE, or Creating A Remarkable Experience, whose purpose
was to propagate the culture throughout WestJet’s operations. CARE helped WestJetters produce videos
and plays that entertained staff. It planned more than 250 events a year, including the profit-sharing events,
the twice-annual events at which WestJetters received their profit-sharing cheques face-to-face from a
WestJet executive as a personal thank you.11
According to Don Bell, one of the founders of WestJet, one of the keys to reinforcing an “intelligent”
culture was to re-label tasks and responsibilities. WestJetters were passionate about using the “right”
language in treating their guests and working with their colleagues. For example, the call center was
dubbed the “Super Sales Centre”; accounting was referred to as “Beanland”; executives were called “Big
Shots”; passengers were “Guests”; employees were “People”; and policies were “Promises.” WestJet had
no supervisors; instead, the label “Team Leaders” was used. Supervision implied that someone was
watching employees to make sure that they didn’t mess up. Leadership had a more positive connotation: at
WestJet, leaders were expected to help people to do their jobs better. Team-leaders were, to a great extent,
coaches. However, their role as coaches did not mean that poor performance or using the wrong language
went unnoticed. For high performance to result, empowerment needed to be coupled with accountability.
Therefore, team-leaders were expected to engage in difficult conversations with their people when
required.
Bell added:
Attitude is everything and attitude is what you do when you’re not being watched. We
emphasize four things: smile, make eye contact, listen and remember names. We also have
a customer service recovery plan so if we lose your luggage, we send you a real apology
and a credit for $100.
8
Derek Sankey, “Corporate Culture’s Competitive Edge: People-focused WestJet Flying High in Industry,” Calgary Herald,
August 20, 2008, p. E5.
9
http://www.avcanada.ca/forums2/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=38128, accessed April 25, 2009.
10
Gina Teel, “WestJet Banks on its Brand,” Calgary Herald, December 28, 2007, p. E1.
11
http://www.thewesternstar.com/index.cfm?sid=29989&sc=26, accessed June 2, 2009.
This document is authorized for use only by sri aakash reddiyar in MQM 484 – Building High Performance Orgs 2023 taught by PETER FOREMAN, Illinois State University from Aug 2023 to
Feb 2024.
For the exclusive use of s. reddiyar, 2023.
Page 7
9B09C012
In another example of policies that were aligned with WestJet’s culture, in the Sales Super Centre,
WestJetters answered the telephone instead of letting callers go through a series of voice-mail prompts.
Bell explained:
Making customers go through (the voice-mail prompts) means they will end up with an
agent and be mad, thus setting up the agent for failure and the customer too. So we answer
the phones.
Executives routinely helped out the representatives in the Sales Super Centre when call volumes were high.
“There’s peer pressure among the employees,” stated Sandy Campbell, WestJet’s CFO (who retired in
2007). “They recognize who buys into this program and who doesn’t, and peer pressure is an amazing
thing.”12
Sales Super Centre representatives had the authority to override fares, to decide not to charge fees for
cancellations and bookings, and to waive fees for unaccompanied minors. The representatives were trusted
to look out for the interests of the company, customers and shareholders. To ensure that checks and
balances were in place, employees were trained to understand the ramifications of the decisions they made.
Overrides were tracked and monitored each month. Additional training and one-on-one coaching were
provided if patterns emerged (e.g. a particular employee consistently waiving extra baggage fees).
Employees had a sense of humor and often played practical jokes on one another. For example, in the early
years of the airline, founder Tim Morgan, also a pilot for WestJet, would send new WestJetters to “run and
get the keys for the airplane.” Of course, keys are not needed to start an airplane, but the attendant would
rush into the office, pick up the key with a huge tag that said “airplane” and rush back through the aisles to
loud applause from passengers. Aboard WestJet’s Boeing 737s, the flight attendants commonly cracked
jokes, held contests (e.g. singing contests or aisle-bowling games) with the passengers. The Elvis dress-up
parties to and from Las Vegas were a favorite topic of conversation. Most passengers did not seem to mind
the jokes and, in fact, most expected it.
WestJet was renowned in the travel industry for its April Fool’s Day pranks. In 2006, the company,
straight-faced, requested that their guests help the airline save energy during takeoff by stretching out
their arms and flapping. In 2008, the company presented a special air travel offer: For an extra $12, guests
would be accorded the “luxury” of fully flat sleeper cabins (see Exhibit 3). Where were these sleeper
cabins? The overhead bins, of course. A press release issued by WestJet even showed an accompanying
photo of just such a sleeper cabin, already in use. More than 800 people called the company and requested
such a cabin! Such goofy and off-the-wall ideas were often the brainchild of WestJet employees.
“Have fun or you’re fired,” was one of Beddoe’s lighthearted sayings. For many prospective WestJetters,
the first inside look at the WestJet culture came when they applied for a position at the company.
The most recent employee engagement survey indicated that the sense of satisfaction with, and loyalty to,
the organization was strong. For example, 97 per cent of those employees surveyed strongly agreed or
somewhat agreed with the statement “I work hard to continuously improve my productivity and quality,”
and 91 per cent strongly agreed or somewhat agreed with the statement “I would recommend WestJet to
friends and family as a great place to work.”
12
“Wacky WestJet’s Winning Ways: Passengers Respond to Stunts that Include Races to Determine Who Leaves the
Airplane First, Financial Post,” October 16, 2000, p. C01.
This document is authorized for use only by sri aakash reddiyar in MQM 484 – Building High Performance Orgs 2023 taught by PETER FOREMAN, Illinois State University from Aug 2023 to
Feb 2024.
For the exclusive use of s. reddiyar, 2023.
Page 8
9B09C012
TALENT SELECTION
Despite a sluggish economy, WestJet continued to hire staff regularly. In 2008, it received an average of
1,200 résumés per week, from which a handful were short-listed for screening interviews. Because
WestJet’s unique corporate culture was well-known, many potential candidates knew what to expect from
their potential future employer.
The company looked for two character traits in potential employees — enthusiasm and a sense of humor.
Janice Webster, vice-president of talent management and retention oversaw the hiring of flight attendants
at the airline. Webster was hired into WestJet in 2005 and offered this view:
I have never been in an organization where people are more passionate about the job they
do every day … They have always had that emphasis that the people were really important
… It was always … we are going to be different, we are going to be successful because we
believe our people are unique.13
Webster’s outsider status was necessary to recognize that, prior to her arrival, the company’s recruitment
strategy did not match its “great place to work” reality. A disconnect existed between WestJet the Recruiter
and WestJet the Employer. For example, the stern and impersonal interview approach did not allow the
candidates to display their personalities, one of WestJet’s key make-or-break criteria for flight staff and
other client-facing employees. Under Webster’s leadership, the airline changed the interview sessions to
better identify those inherently cheerful, outgoing people who were not afraid to inform and entertain a
large group of people, such as those seated together in an airplane. In place of the one-on-three panel
interviews, WestJet began to hold interviews with groups of 20 to 30 potential hires to identify those who
would thrive in the airline’s culture.
Front-line candidates engaged in games and in team and individual tasks and presentations in three-hour
long group interview sessions that were designed to reveal whether they would fit into WestJet’s culture.
WestJet used the group approach not only to hire flight attendants but also to hire its Sales Super Centre,
counter and turnaround crew (known in other airlines as luggage handlers). Webster concluded:
People that are really attracted to WestJet usually have that crazy, fun personality … but
they also take the job seriously. If they have a phenomenal personality, we will train them
for the jobs they are interested in.14
WestJet was an attractive employer for pilots. Traditionally, pilots with seniority earned significantly more
than pilots with little seniority. For a first officer to work through to captain took years. Because of
WestJet’s growth, however, the opportunity was available for first officers to make captain fairly quickly.
At WestJet, pilots were considered to be “managers,” and were, thus, encouraged to think with the
executive team. For example, WestJet implemented a suggestion from pilots regarding fuel savings as a
result of taxiing with one engine instead of two. The pilots also greeted customers and packed bags on the
aircraft when necessary.
13
http://www.workopolis.com/work.aspx?action=Transfer&View=Content/Common/ArticlesDetailView&articleId=brent200711
28File1Article1&lang=EN&articleSource=Brent, accessed April 15, 2009.
14
http://www.workopolis.com/work.aspx?action=Transfer&View=Content/Common/ArticlesDetailView&articleId=brent200711
28File1Article1&lang=EN&articleSource=Brent, accessed April 15, 2009.
This document is authorized for use only by sri aakash reddiyar in MQM 484 – Building High Performance Orgs 2023 taught by PETER FOREMAN, Illinois State University from Aug 2023 to
Feb 2024.
For the exclusive use of s. reddiyar, 2023.
Page 9
9B09C012
But WestJetters at all levels were urged to think alongside management about how to reduce costs and
enhance guest satisfaction. For example, the ground crew raised an issue about the absence of external
sight gauges to read the water level of the potable water tank that supplies the aircraft with water. The crew
always filled the tank regardless of its destination. The extra water added costs. The installation of an
external sight gauge allowed the crew to determine how much potable water was used on a specific flight
or route. This procedure led to fuel savings and reduced fuel burn and emissions.
TALENT ORIENTATION AND TALENT MANAGEMENT
Once hired, the process of welcoming new WestJetters into the company began immediately. WestJetters
were assigned a sponsor who acted as a mentor by teaching them about the organization, helping them
work through any issues in their jobs and ensuring they made the right contacts within the organization.
For WestJetters who were identified as high-potential employees, a more formalized mentoring program
was designed so that they could gain additional skills and knowledge to be effective in their new roles and
beyond. WestJet considered building a pool of talent, a requirement for continued growth of the company.
Durfy commented:
Some people make it at WestJet and some people don’t, and usually they know it in the
first six months … Either you’re in, or you’re out … Some people say, “Oh my God, I’ve
got to drink the Kool Aid” and they call it the “teal Kool-Aid” … It’s because we have a
certain culture and a certain set of principles we guide our lives by … I’ve got to tell you
when I went there, it was like “wow, what’s this all about?” But you understand it and you
understand it’s what makes us so strong.15
WestJet’s founders had set out to create a company that was managed from the bottom-up. WestJet gave
employees a high degree of latitude to perform their jobs without too much interference from team leaders.
WestJet executives rarely directed. Beddoe stated: “We set some standards and expectations, but don’t
interfere in how our people do their jobs.”16 The flight attendants were asked to serve customers in a
caring, positive and cheerful manner; how they did that was left up to them. Resource books were provided
for them to refer to, and a team of people continually updated these books. A team of nine staff members
wrote the jokes that flight attendants were encouraged to use.
To reinforce the cost-cutting ethos, the company stressed teamwork. With no unions to insist on job
descriptions, all employees had wide discretion in their day-to-day duties. WestJet’s pilots often tidied the
cabin between flights, and they packed bags on the aircraft when necessary. Even the CEO —Beddoe,
during his tenure, and Durfy, after Beddoe’s departure — would help out when aboard a WestJet flight.
This practice was in sharp contrast to the industry-standard union arrangement in which jobs were very
clearly defined, and employees were forbidden to perform cross-funct
