Flying High 87 "We see what kind of themes are showing up in those communi- cations so we can pass those on to the frontline employees," McNeill said. "We address those questions with our employees so if they get asked those questions, they have the answers." Keeping Up with the Changes; Southwest Finds a Natural Fit with Already-Open Culture of Communication The changes in communication for organizations have been rapid and great over a short period of time--as talked about in Chapter 1, Mastering Digital Innovation. Many companies seem to be flounder- ing, but Southwest Airlines doesn't seem to miss a beat. The reason for this is culture. The employees are carefully chosen and extensive training gives each and every person--from top to bottom--the right attitude for the ultimate customer experience. "I think for Southwest it's more of a natural fit than maybe for some other companies," McNeill said. "We've always been a really offbeat, chatty, quirky company. This style of communication really works for us and works in our favor because this is how we commu- nicate with our customers and how we've communicated with them for 40 years now." But the means with which companies communicate that style and personality is evolving rapidly, as McNeill has seen in her four years with the company. "Even in my time, it's changed really drastically since the day I started," she said. "The amount of time we spend creating content to share online and in the traditional media is overwhelming." Lessons from Southwest First, Be Authentic People know when they're being manipulated. In the social channels on platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and others, the conversations must be genuine. "Be authentic," McNeill said. "Make sure that you know your company's core values and be sure you're communicating those. I think that even we get stuck in the trap sometimes of trying to craft a message that appears how we want it to appear, but I think in time we always stick to the core value of being ourselves and being authentic and speaking in that Southwest voice."