Leaning into your employer brandĪnother reason for the 2022 recruitment success was Southwest decision to get “proactive” around reaching out to candidates and sharing the Southwest story, including specifics about job roles, responsibilities and benefits.

This means Southwest has more employees than pre-COVID-19 the airline has no plans to slow down with a 7,000 hiring target for 2023 and a focus of growing to 100,000 employees in five years (it currently has around 70,000). Ultimately, this fun culture explains why Southwest managed to hire a staggering 18,000 people in 2022 – this was the highest annual recruitment figure in the company’s 50-year history. There’s a lot of interaction with leadership” – for Eichinger, this is a real attractor. “We’re really transparent with our communication. Kelleher isn’t the only CEO who was focused on fun, but the current CEO Bob Jordan also leads the way on celebrating employees and their fun-loving dedication to their jobs. And that is something that does attract employees Southwest”, she notes. “You feel like you’re joining a place that is fun you can see the playfulness of the brand you can see the employees having a good time…. A little wilder” – and for Eichinger that has really helped Southwest to standout and continue to attract talent in this challenging market. “We are a little different than all the other airlines. Of course, airlines come with lots of rules and regulations, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t fun. Kelleher served as CEO for most of the ensuing 30 years, and Eichinger notes that he was “very, very serious about having a good time” at work.

The airline was co-founded in 1971 by Herb Kelleher and Rollin King. In an exclusive UNLEASH interview, Eichinger shares that being people-first is part of Southwest’s DNA – and having fun is central to that.

Southwest airlines customer service job