KEEP CLIMBING DELTA:  AN ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE SUCCESS STORY

The Yankee Chapter of PRSA (Public Relations Society of America) invited Delta Air Lines communicators Kristin Seay, Managing Director of Operations Communications and Laura Smyth, General Manager of Employer Brand Communications to share their wisdom on how Delta has built a strong, people-centered culture, at their July 31^st virtual lunch & learn.

Founded in 1925, Delta celebrates its centennial anniversary this year.  The airline remains focused on their mission of “connecting the world better than any other airline.”

According to Seay and Smyth, “it’s the people of Delta that make it all happen”.  Supporting them are:

• A staff of 100 communicators (serving a workforce of 100,000) – though Seay admits, “even 500 would not be enough!”
• A CEO and leadership team that fully support the investment in communication, employee engagement and appreciation

Size of budget and staff aside, here are words of wisdom from Delta Air Lines that we can all apply to our organizations:

1. Give your employees a boost when they need it most.  Summer is an extra-busy, extra-challenging time for the airline industry – there are customers flying off to vacation, weather challenges etc.  Their “summer boost” campaign consists of everything from movie ticket giveaways to a “mid-summer cool down” with employee toolkits to an end of summer celebration featuring  food, fun and the presence of senior leaders.
2. Target communication with personalized messages for different stakeholder groups. The communications team leans heavily on email, but they streamline it, and send personalized weekly messages to their internal stakeholders: Airport Customer Service; Flight Operations; In-Flight Service; Operations & Customer Center  (aka the “nerve center”); Reservation & Customer Care and Tech Operations.   “We keep the weekly communication focused on what’s most important to each group.”

In addition to email and Thursday updates, Delta offers:

• DeltaNet (intranet) as its “communication of record”
• SkyHub, an internal FB platform that offers employees an opportunity to share feedback, personal photos etc.
• Life@Delta, a new platform used to showcase “a day in the life of a Delta employee” Side benefit: it’s a great talent acquisition tool!
• Delta Vision, 800 strategically-placed digital billboards with attention-grabbing headlines
• Delta News Hub, primarily used for press releases and other external announcements

3. Share profits with employees. Delta’s “work together, win together” program means that when the company does well, so do the employees.  Profit-sharing is announced on Valentine’s Day and is reported to be “the happiest day of the year for Delta employees.”
4. Offer feedback mechanisms for employees. Don’t just listen — act on their ideas.  Delta offers a variety of in-person and on-line opportunities to both celebrate employees and listen to them, including:

• “Velvet” conferences (up to 20 per year); Two-day meetings that offer in-person updates from executive leaders for frontline employees –wildly popular!
• Town Hall meetings – Virtual, 45-min updates, as needed (note: during COVID, these meetings happened up to 3X a week!). Done at both the corporate and divisional levels.
• Base and station visits: An authentic way for senior leaders to meet Delta team members in their workplaces to get to know them.
• Email the CEO: CEO Ed Bastian invites any member of the Delta team to email him directly with feedback or ideas. Some recommendations are implemented quickly; others take more time.  “We had a flight attendant who pointed out that pizza was being served on a morning flight and within a week, Delta made the change to a more breakfast-sensible inflight meal”.  Other examples include changes in family leave policy and establishment of the emergency savings fund.  “Some of the best ideas come from our frontline employees.”
• Employee engagement surveys: These annual surveys demonstrate how the communication team “moves the needle” on engagement each year.

5. Engage in storytelling that highlights employees. Smyth shared a heartwarming video of Delta team members who were supported by their teams during cancer treatments, highlighted for acts of heroism at the “Chairman’s Conference” and engaged in acts of extreme kindness (e.g. one Delta employee donated a kidney to a regular customer she befriended over the years).
6. Create activities that foster teamwork. From the annual leadership conference to the “Jet Drag” competition that raises money for the American Cancer Society to the Boulevard Bash that celebrates employees, retirees and their families – Delta knows the importance of fostering collaboration and team spirit.
7. Measure your success. Delta’s leadership team sees the impact of making their people the center of all that they do, through metrics on employee engagement and behavioral results. In addition to measuring click-through rates and engagement in activities, the annual engagement survey includes questions like, “Are you proud to work at Delta?” and “Do you have the tools you need to do your job?”.  Third-party advocates also recognize Delta’s success (Delta is #15 on Fortune 100 list of “Best Places To Work”): https://news.delta.com/delta-earns-no-15-spot-fortune-100-best-companies-work-forr-list

Robin Schell, APR, Fellow PRSA is Senior Counsel and Partner at Jackson Jackson & Wagner, a behavioral public relations and management consulting firm based in the Seacoast of NH.  rschell@jjwpr.com.