Slide 3: Launching the plan

If top management is not convinced there is a logical reason for the change, other priorities may put the
initiative on the back burner. The Southwest change agent must be persistent in his efforts to influence
the stakeholders on his position as to why the change is necessary. Through the gathering of data,
interviews, and documented observations the change agent will present his analysis and inference to
the top executives and committee boards who will ultimately refuse or accept the change. He must be
convincing and demonstrate how the change will affect and align with company objectives, goals,
mission, and vision. The change agents characteristics will come into play as he needs to exhibit strong
communication skills, charisma, and intelligence on the matter to be discussed.
Slide 4: The need for change
The change agent must plan to communicate why the company is implementing changes that directly
impacts the Southwest representatives. The companys transparency, honesty, and open
communication will help customer representatives reduce their anxiety and understand the reasoning
behind the companys decision (Spector, 2013). Leadership and management must explain the
problems, and articulate why the change is necessary for the company. Leaders/Change Agents will
communicate a message that differs in content from management, such as a message that will help
representatives understand the state or health of the company. Management will send a message of
how representatives performance will contribute to company goals. Messages must be powerful to
nullify the rumors and gossip being spread by disgruntled workers. Leaders must create a sense of
urgency, and disrupt the status quo with benchmark data; showing concern about competitors who are
gaining momentum by implementing new customer service programs and training. The manager will
communicate how Southwest Airlines customer service ratings are losing rank when compared to
industry standards. The Southwest change agent will address what the new vision is and how it will
affect employee positions, organization culture, and discuss what the future entails (Spector, 2013).
Management and leadership will explain each objective that must be reached to achieve the
overarching plan. The organizations plans for the future must be clearly expressed such as the training,
replacement, and termination of representatives during the transition. Southwest is honed in on the
need be transparent, actively listen, and provide direct feedback to employees to facilitate the LUV and
respect the airline has for their representatives.
Slide five: Midstream Change
The middle phase is a crucial time to stop the misconceptions and rumors that have been infused with
all the other information that representatives must process (Spector, 2013). The change agent should
understand the phenomena, and confront the misconceptions and negativity circulating through
departments. To get a more precise understanding of what is happening the change agent (be
inquisitive) should elicit feedback from workers. The feedback will provide the needed information that
will be analyzed to depict the attitudes, impact, and acceptance of the changes that have been taking
place in the organization. There will be face-to-face interventions across the board to increase feedback
and reduce misguided information (Spector, 2013). Negative responses will be dealt with by establishing
a realistic timeframe for the change, providing rewards and incentives, and visually showing the steps to
reach goals.

At this phase, the representatives are beginning to understand their new roles, responsibilities, and
processes that were implemented during the change process. Management has defined the limits of
acceptable behavior and established new standards. The employee understands he will be measured
based on the new standards of performance. The employee understands he will be held accountable for
less than standard behavior. To keep representatives driven and energized managers will reward them
with incentives when they achieve outstanding performance (Spector, 2013). Leaders should
communicate just in time messages that are clear and concise to keep morale up, address the impact of
change, and prevent uncertainty from pervading across the board. For employees to retain information,
messages should be repeated numerous times using multiple media. Multiple channels of
communication will be utilized to match the message with the appropriate communication channel
(Spector, 2013). A training program has been implemented to assess gaps and make revisions.
Slide 6: Channels of Communication
Facebook
Twitter
Social Media
Emails
Change websites
Electronic bulletin boards
Personalized letters
Face-to-Face communication-effective two-way conversation
Teleconferencing/face-to-face weekly meetings
Phone call room to address questions and issues
Bi-weekly announcement by management and leadership
Slide 7: Confirming the Change Phase
The communication plan has enlightened Southwest Representatives on the need for change, how the
change will affect them personally, and what impact it will have on their performance (Spector, 2013).
The employees have been included in the diagnoses of the problems and provided numerous platforms
for discourse to share perspectives openly, and additional channels to speak privately about their
concerns. The airline is cognizant of the need to keep the change fresh in the minds of each employee;
this can be accomplished by celebrating all milestones and wins (Spector, 2013). Success should also be
recognized and celebrated at the conclusion of the change process. At the end of the final phase, the
change experience should be discussed and documented so it can be used as a guide for future
transformations (Spector, 2013). However the change is not over, just the customer service phase is, so
Southwest must position itself for the next disruption. Because the company must always be aware of
environmental shifts, they must be a change-ready organization that can quickly respond to the
complexities of the internal and external elements.