Ginger Hardage
VP Public Relations and Corporate Communications
Southwest Airlines Co.
Dallas, Texas
214/792-4000
First Paying Job: Mowing cemeteries.
Early PR Jobs: Worked in the marcom department of Life Insurance Co. of the Southwest during and after college (Texas Tech University). Held PR positions with Dallas-
based Diamond Shamrock Corp. (later Maxus Energy Corp.) before joining Southwest in December 1990.
Current Responsibilities: Manages 27 staffers, including 12 in PR, 10 in employee communication, three in corporate information (including crisis planning) and two
administrative staffers. Reports to Colleen Barrett, executive VP, customers, who oversees PR, government affairs, marketing, people (HR) and customer relations.
Selling Southwest: "Southwest values communication at all levels, puts employees first and maintains a strong customer focus. We have a saying that we can't expect our
employees to treat the customer right if we're not treating each other right. Although we have 30,000 employees now, we still act and think like a small company, meaning we focus
on the individual."
Management Philosophy: "Get the heck out of the way. Something I've learned from watching [CEO] Herb Kelleher is servant leadership. My job is making sure my team has
the tools and support they need to do their jobs."
Management Training: "All of us do 'days in the field' where we go out and do other people's jobs [at Southwest] so we can understand them better. Herb Kelleher helps
load bags during busy seasons, like Thanksgiving. Here, our receptionist was recently promoted - and we all took turns filling in for three or four months until her position was
filled."
On Agency Selection: "Last year was the first time we hired a national PR agency. Porter Novelli took the time to understand our business, fly our airline and talk to
our customers. The worst pitches came from those who approached us in an elitist, rather than an inclusive sort of way - those who failed to recognize the value of each individual
on our staff and their own staff."
Internal Initiative: "We're developing 'Freedom Expos' where we'll show employees the 'freedoms' they get as Southwest employees, such as career development, profit-
sharing and 401K. Our company slogan is 'Southwest Airlines: a symbol of freedom.'"