Why WestJet's culture guru chooses to fly under the radar
BRENT JANG
TRANSPORTATION REPORTER
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/
LAC.20070122.RWESTJET22/TPStory/Business
WestJet Airlines Ltd. co-founder Donald Bell quietly walks through Calgary's airport and enters the cockpit of a Boeing 737 for a reality check on the front lines.
Unbeknownst to WestJet passengers, the unassuming captain happens to be the wealthiest commercial pilot in Canada. Mr. Bell, WestJet's executive vice-president of corporate culture, owns nearly one million WestJet shares worth $14.5-million. "It's only on paper," he said in a phone interview, confirming his WestJet stake. His WestJet shares are in his own name, a family trust and a numbered Alberta company.
Mr. Bell, 51, tries to pilot a round-trip WestJet flight whenever he can, on average once a week. In doing so, he gains first-hand feedback from staff. "It's mostly to stay current and get a chance to be out on the line, watching what's going on."
WestJet chief executive officer and co-founder Clive Beddoe has been the brains behind the carrier's business plans since its launch in 1996. He has developed a high public profile after overseeing Calgary-based WestJet's expansion strategy, including aircraft orders and new routes.
By contrast, Mr. Bell has been low key over the years, and is able to walk in public unrecognized by passengers, even at WestJet's home base of Calgary International Airport. But internally, he is widely considered WestJet's spiritual leader, the "culture guru" who champions teamwork while emphasizing an upbeat mood.
He said WestJet's challenge is to maintain its reputation for peppy staff, even as the carrier plans to hire another 1,500 workers over the next three years, adding to the existing roster of 6,000 employees.
WestJet has a fleet of 63 Boeing planes, and expects to introduce another 20 aircraft by the end of 2009, Mr. Bell said.
In WestJet's lingo, employees are called "people" or "WestJetters," while passengers are known as "guests" -- words that pop up in daily conversations among airline management and staff.
"Clive has the business sense, and I focus on the people and the guest experience. It has been a good mixture of capabilities," said Mr. Bell, who also serves as chairman of the Air Transport Association of Canada.
He said WestJet has survived and prospered, despite four notable setbacks over the past 11 years: Grounding planes for 17 days during a dispute with Transport Canada in 1996, the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States in 2001, the SARS outbreak in 2003, and a two-year court fight against Air Canada that ended in 2006.
The two airlines reached an out-of-court settlement last May, as WestJet apologized for spying on Air Canada's password-protected employee website for booking flights. "That was an unfortunate chapter in our history," Mr. Bell said.
He doesn't want to dwell on the past, saying WestJet's recovery from the court fight can be seen in its strong financial showing. WestJet's gross profit-sharing payments issued in November averaged $2,500 an employee. And 85 per cent of workers own WestJet shares.
"The more successful the company is, the more successful our people are," Mr. Bell said.
He said there are skeptics who liken WestJet's nurturing of its culture to throwing "pixie dust" at people to make them think happy thoughts. WestJetters aren't "drinking the Kool-Aid" to join some cult-like following of the carrier's feel-good attitude, but are true converts to management's mantra that friendly service translates into a profitable airline, he said.
Travel industry consultant Debra Ward said WestJet workers are "empowered" to respond to customer complaints, noting that the carrier doesn't carry the historical baggage of Air Canada, where union leaders have repeatedly clashed with management after a series of layoffs and wage cuts. She said Mr. Bell recognizes the importance of nourishing WestJet's non-union culture amid turnover in the executive suite.
There are four WestJet co-founders: Mr. Bell and Mr. Beddoe are the two remaining, in the wake of the departures of Mark Hill in 2004 and Thomas (Tim) Morgan in 2005. Mr. Beddoe, a former real estate developer who holds a private pilot's licence, controls 6.2 million WestJet shares worth almost $90-million.
A former co-owner of a software business, Mr. Bell invested seed capital in WestJet at pennies a share when it was still a private company in 1995. He also received stock in lieu of working long hours at low pay, preparing for WestJet's launch in February, 1996. The carrier's initial public offering in 1999 was priced at $2.96 a share, adjusted for three stock splits since then.
Mr. Bell's WestJet stake was once as much as 1.2 million shares, but he gradually sold down his holdings in recent years, including 123,000 shares in 2006, according to filings with securities regulators.
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