top of page

Trust-based scheduling

Southwest Airlines builds autonomy and trust by giving employees more control over their schedules (e.g. shift swaps, flexibility within clear guidelines), empowering frontline staff to make decisions in the moment, and reinforcing this with simple principles—hire great people, give them clear expectations, then trust them to use their judgement.

Inspired by:

Southwest Airlines

Growth Culture Element: 

Empowerment

Growth Culture Subcomponents:

Decision Ownership, Trust & Autonomy

Why it matters:

Boosts ownership and engagement.

Who can implement:

Leaders, Managers, Teams, Individuals

How to get started:

Start by identifying a team to trial giving more autonomy over managing their time, working patterns, schedules. Capture what works and what's challenging to help inform broader roll-out decisions.

Explore more:

bottom of page