Consider which company uses these words:
• Blue Buddy (a mentor)
• Blue Juice (energy/motivation)
• Blue Views (staff meetings)
• True Blue Points (customer loyalty program number)
Receiving a guided tour of the Jet Blue University in Orlando, Florida ranked as the highlight of a recent conference where I spoke. During the tour of this world class facility (including flight simulators), I was constantly reminded how a culture is created and sustained: “Jet Blue isn’t simply a place to come to work, whether as a call center employee or as a member of the flight crew, we like to blend operational excellence with some fun.”
Even better is their call center Mission Statement: Personal, Helpful, Simple. Direct and memorable. Certainly, words alone don’t create the culture of an organization, but they can serve as windows through which one can peer to get a glimpse inside.
To set the tone of teamwork and unity, every one of their 2,000+ call center employees participate in the new hire orientation program at Jet Blue University … vital, since most work from home.
Best part of the tour? Seeing a training room replete with airline seats! Nothing like setting the tone for a behavior-based training session. Jet Blue University’s one weak point? They don’t conduct training for the afore-mentioned call center employees in the room with the cool seats. When I mentioned this lost opportunity of brand connection to their University representative, he smiled, turned to his co-trainer and said, “this is a great idea, let’s look into it!”
Yes, I could tell their Blue Juice was already flowing.