Employee satisfaction dips in 2007

By Don Conrard

The percentage of employees who believe Alaska Airlines is a great place to work dipped slightly in 2007, according to the annual employee opinion survey conducted by the Great Place to Work Institute.

The institute defines a great place to work as one where “employees trust the people they work for, have pride in what they do and enjoy the people they work with.” The number of survey participants who agreed with those criteria during 2007 in comparing their work experience at Alaska Airlines was 59 percent, down four points from the 2006 survey. Twenty-one percent believe Alaska is a great place to work “sometimes” while 20 percent selected the category “almost never.”

Employees with a positive perception of the airline varied by work group, with most in the 60 percent to 80 percent range. Pilots reported the lowest positive (13 percent) and highest negative (73 percent) rating in the company.

There also are considerable differences in perceptions of the work environment by location, gender and length of service. Employees who have been with Alaska Airlines for more than six years, for example, average 27 to 28 points below recent hires across all dimensions measured.

"While the results are disappointing, we have work under way to address many of the concerns,” CEO Bill Ayer said. “It’s also important to understand the context — a very difficult industry creating uncertainty and continued change at our company. Achieving our goals will naturally lead to improved employee satisfaction.”

The survey included 57 statements designed to measure Alaska Airlines against the five dimensions of a great workplace: credibility, respect, fairness, pride and camaraderie. Another 17 statements were specific to the airline.  

“The high response rate is indicative of how much employees care about Alaska Airlines and our ultimate success,” said Kelley Dobbs, vice president of human resources, strategy, culture and inclusion.

Other key findings

• Alaska employees continue to respond positively to pride and camaraderie (54 percent each). Many employees (64 percent) are proud to tell others they work at Alaska Airlines, believe the organization has a welcoming environment (66 percent) and say they want to work for Alaska for a long time (63 percent). The majority of comments also suggest the people at Alaska Airlines are what make it a great place to work.

• Survey results show mistrust in the airline’s leadership. A declining number of employees believe senior leaders deliver on promises or display actions that match their words (38 percent each), down 4 to 5 points since 2006 for both measures. Less than half of employees (39 percent) feel they can ask senior leaders a question and get a straight answer.

• The lowest dimension continues to be respect (46 percent), followed by credibility (47 percent) and fairness (50 percent). Less than one-third of employees (30 percent) say they’re paid fairly for the work they do. About the same number (33 percent) feel as though leaders include them in decisions that affect their job or work environment or seek out their suggestions and ideas (36 percent). Slightly more (38 percent) believe their leaders have a sincere interest in them as a person.

• Employees remain more positive about the work environment created by their immediate supervisor than top leaders. Responses averaged 7 percentage points higher when employees were asked to rate their day-to-day work environment (compared with a 4-point difference in 2006). Areas where supervisors are particularly adept at creating a more positive environment include accessibility, availability of resources, respect for employees as people, creating a meaningful work experience, and the degree of caring and friendliness among employees.

Overall themes that run throughout employee comments include frustration with a perceived decline in Alaska Airlines’ culture, lack of two-way communication with senior leaders and opportunity for employees to provide input into running the business, managers not “backing up” their employees and providing recognition when deserved, lack of communication across departments and better pay.  

Employees expressed concern that leaders fail to address poor performance or provide adequate staffing to do the job. They also raised concerns about individual recognition, with only 41 percent saying they are shown appreciation for good work and extra effort.  

Listening to employees

“In many cases, the written comments were laden with a great deal of emotion, particularly when responding to ways in which Alaska Airlines could be a better place to work,” said Dobbs. “We’re grateful employees took the time to share their views with us. While we can’t respond to every concern, we have been working hard to address many of the big issues over the past few years.”  

For example, employees said they want more access to the airline’s senior leadership team. The company has been holding after-work receptions in Seattle and other locations around the system during the past few years and plans more site visits by Ayer and other leaders this year.

When employees asked for more two-way communications, the Corporate Communications Department created the “Water Cooler,” which provides a forum for anonymous questions or comments and written responses by management. The airline has received more than 6,700 Water Cooler questions since the feature began in August 2005, an average of about seven a day.  

“The Water Cooler is by far the most popular feature of alaskasworld.com, averaging more than 25,000 views each month,” said Caroline Boren, managing director of strategic and corporate communications.  

Other efforts to recognize and re-engage employees stemming from past surveys include positive-space tickets, holiday thank-you gifts, increased emphasis on talent development, more frontline leader training, and greater focus on diversity and inclusion.

“We also recognize that achieving a negotiated settlement with the Air Line Pilots Association, which we are working hard to do, will go a long way toward improving morale,” Dobbs said.

Formal communications media, such as Alaska ’s World and alaskasworld.com, received high marks with a 68-percent approval rating. However, only about half of Alaska Airlines employees say they feel informed about important issues and changes.

Click here to view the complete corporate-level results of the survey. Division leaders have been asked to review the work group results of the survey with their employees.

Speaking out

Selected written comments
from the 2007 employee 
opinion survey

“We lost hundreds of years of culture starting with the fleet service and maintenance lockouts and then the voluntary management layoffs and then the ramp lockout and, finally, the voluntary IAM and AFA layoffs. You have lost your identity with these people out the door and there is no sense that you want 35- to 40-year career people at this job again. It shows.”

“Alaska Airlines is a one of the best places to work. I cannot find another ‘family’ like we have here at Alaska. This company has the best employees and has tried very hard to get the best people. I believe you can't ask for better fellow co-workers. Management is fine and dandy, but it is the employees who make Alaska Airlines what it is each and every day!”

“Management is not readily available. Sometimes, it feels like I’m being set up for failure and during critical times it is nearly impossible to get a quick answer or response. Management needs to be more accessible to the employees and more open when dealing with them.”

“We in management need to do a better job of asking employees for their opinions and then acting upon them. Too often, we form a plan, then ask for feedback hoping to have agreement rather than input.”

“The people and the benefits make this a great place to work. It is like a big family and being able to travel is wonderful.
 It is the most entertaining job 
I have ever had!”

“We need better pay, more in line with cost-of-living expenses and locations. Job performance is also a contributor. It seems many folks don't put nearly the effort or time into their jobs as some others. We also need to be more of a team and not have a departmental attitude. We are all on the same team — we all just need to start working that way.”

“Management should do a better job 
of dismissing the poor performers, the people who aren't proud to be here and really don't want to be here. They tend to be hard to work with and hold up processes. We need to make sure everyone is passionate about the 
success of a project and the company. Things will get done quicker with 
less challenges and be much 
more successful.”

“This is by far the best place I have worked when it comes to the quality of 
the employees. Most of my co-workers 
and others I have met throughout our company truly embody the Alaska Spirit.”

“We need more protection from irate customers. You’d think people would know better than to swear and yell at the employees, but they do and most often get away with it. Half the time, a supervisor gives in to the customer's demands and doesn't back up the agent. It's so frustrating. And then the customer looks 
at us like we were wrong for advising that we aren't going to help them, with them acting in that behavior.”

“I would like to be appreciated by station management or corporate for the hard work and efforts that are done 
on a daily basis.”

“Alaska Airlines is far from a great place to work. It’s a poor place to work if you are a pilot. I feel undervalued and unappreciated. I understand the airline is in business to make a profit, but it also holds a responsibility to its employees. All we ever hear from management is that labor is too expensive. We make too much money. Health costs are more expensive. The company needs more productivity, etc., etc., etc. I'm certainly willing to go the extra mile to ensure the long-term success of this company. But Alaska Airlines doesn't care that I can hardly afford to sustain my family in 
the Seattle area.”

“For an organization to be a great place to work, it takes leadership. Our leadership at Alaska Airlines is pathetic, inbred and loathed. This organization is still living off the community’s goodwill that was generated by our performance decades ago. But that goodwill is wearing thin. Front-line employees have seen their ranks thinned by the mass departure of experienced workers, constant turnover and ever-increasing demands to do more with fewer people. Our ‘product’ stinks. The planes are frequently late, often broken and dirty. The employees are 
rude, withdrawn and unengaged.”

“Getting our operational issues resolved (would help make Alaska Airlines a great place to work). Lost baggage is deplorable and dependability is a major problem. For being ninth in size of the majors, we should be tops in on-time and lost baggage as we have fewer opportunities to mess up. This is a major issue across the company. Getting planes out on time and baggage delivered needs 
to be fixed ASAP.”

“I have the feeling of belonging to a family rather than a company. Senior management is trying to do its best to make this a profitable company and a pleasant place to work. There is nowhere else I'd rather be working.”