August 4, 2025 • 20 mins
What happens when you combine cutting-edge technology with a more human approach to airline service? Jeff Weber, Chief People Officer at Breeze Airways, reveals the fascinating intersection of high-tech innovation and high-touch customer experience in this engaging conversation about the future of work in the aviation industry.
Jeff, who joined Breeze after successful HR leadership roles at forward-thinking organizations like Ancestry.com, explains why CEO David Neeleman specifically sought someone outside the airline industry to build Breeze's unique culture. "He said 'I don't really want someone who has been in the airline industry before. I want someone that's going to bring a culture like you had at the software companies you built,'" Weber shares, highlighting Breeze's distinctive positioning as a "tech company that flies."
Rather than replacing human workers with technology, says Jeff, Breeze focuses on augmentation – using AI-enabled tools like "Harper," their virtual HR generalist, to provide immediate support for team members on the go while maintaining the irreplaceable human element of their service. "We're not seeing roles getting replaced," Weber emphasizes. "We're seeing more of being augmented by technology. Pilots and flight attendants will be needed in the future, but how do we make their job easier?"
Perhaps most impressively, Jeff spent his first month at Breeze working frontline positions – cleaning planes, packing bags, assisting ground crew – to truly understand operational challenges. This hands-on approach exemplifies his leadership philosophy of aligning talent strategy with business objectives through three key pillars: acquisition, engagement, and development.
For HR professionals looking to future-proof their careers, Jeff offers clear guidance: "We should no longer be the police or compliance department. We should be the 'how do we help you deliver on your business plan' department." By staying current with emerging technologies while maintaining a focus on human connection, HR leaders can position themselves as essential strategic partners in any organization's success.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to the HR Chat Show, one of the world's
most downloaded and sharedpodcasts designed for HR pros,
talent execs, tech enthusiastsand business leaders.
For hundreds more episodes andwhat's new in the world of work,
subscribe to the show, followus on social media and visit
hrgazettecom and visithrgazettecom.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Welcome to another episode of the HR Chat Show.
Hello listeners, this is yourhost today, bill Battam, and in
this episode we're going toexplore the big ideas impacting
the world of work, leadershipand innovation in HR, and I'm
joined to help me on thatjourney today by Jeff Weber,
chief People Officer over atBreeze Airways, a premium
leisure carrier that'sredefining affordable, non-stop
(00:50):
services across the US.
Jeff's career has spanned someof the most forward-thinking
organizations, includingAncestrycom.
Jeff's not only driveninnovative talent strategies,
but he's also held leadershiproles in HR communities and
advocacy organizations like theWomen's Leadership Institute and
the Utah SHRM Chapter.
(01:12):
Jeff, how are you doing today?
Welcome to the show.
Speaker 3 (01:15):
I'm great.
Thank you, Bill.
Appreciate you having me on theshow.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
So let's get straight into it and, as we like to do
on this show, why don't youstart by adding to what I just
said?
Why don't you take a minute ortwo and tell our listeners a bit
more about yourself, yourcareer, background and also what
gets you up in the morning,jeff?
Speaker 3 (01:33):
Yeah, absolutely, bill.
I appreciate you asking thatquestion.
For me, it's all about how dowe leverage the talent in an
organization to best accomplishwhatever the business mission or
strategy is of the business.
And that relates to both how weengage the hearts and minds of
people who work for that companyin this case, team members at
Breeze and how do we get themreally excited about what we're
delivering every day as far asthe guest experience for our
(01:54):
experience, for our customers.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
I'm interested to know what first interested you
in terms of joining Breeze andwhat made that opportunity stand
out for you.
Speaker 3 (02:04):
So what initially interested me in Breeze?
David Nilman, the CEO, reachedout to me and asked me if I'd be
interested in taking on thechief people officer role here
at Breeze and my first responsewas David, I don't know anything
about airlines so maybe I'm notthe right person for this role.
And he kept calling me despitethat and he's pretty persistent,
as you may discover in hishistory of founding five
(02:29):
different airlines.
So he kept calling me.
We talked more about it.
He said I don't really wantsomeone who has been in the
airline industry before for thisrole.
I really want someone that'sgoing to bring a culture like
you had at the softwarecompanies you built and
utilizing technology to buildthat kind of culture.
So that became pretty apparentthat he was very interested in
that and it really intrigued myinterest in coming in and
learning a new industry andworking to build that culture
and dynamic as the companycontinues to grow fairly rapidly
(02:51):
right now.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
Thanks for listening to this episode of the HR Chat
Podcast.
If you enjoy the audio contentwe produce, you'll love our
articles on the HR Gazette.
Learn more at HRGgazettecom.
And now back to the show.
So my understanding is Breezeand I have to say I've never
taken a Breeze flight yet, butmaybe I'll have to do something
(03:15):
about that in the future.
But my understanding is Breezeisn't just an airline.
It brands itself as a techcompany that flies.
That's very interesting.
Speaker 3 (03:24):
How do you align the high tech with high touch to
create an employee experiencethat reflects both innovation so
really, for us it's aboutcreating what we call that
seriously nice guest experience,and that really stems from
creating a culture where we havea seriously nice experience for
our team members, and thatincludes technology around any
strategy or structure and thisis one of the competitive
(03:45):
differentiators for Breeze ishow do we provide technology and
a seamless experience for ourcustomers up until they get on
the aircraft and when they're onthe plane, what kind of
experience we provide with ourflight attendants and pilots who
actually come out of thecockpit and talk to people I
know shocking to say just overthe intercom.
And so we really create thatguest experience that has
resulted in a really high NPSscore for the airline of around
(04:06):
60, which is incredible in thiskind of industry right now, and
so our role is creating thetechnology that supports that.
You never want technology todrive the organization.
You want technology to supportthe strategy and the innovation
you want to build in theorganization and, in this case,
the culture and the dynamics.
So as we roll out new tools andprocesses, we really try to
remove barriers using technology.
(04:28):
I think it's really important.
Everyone's talking about how touse AI and AR in HR, but it's
not about just rolling out AIchatbots.
It's about any analysis you wantto do about what is the problem
we're trying to solve for thebusiness, what is our thesis on
how this is going to helpimprove both the employee
experience and or the guestexperience, and how do we
utilize that technology in a waythat interacts with all of our
(04:49):
other systems in a scalable way?
So we're rolling out a newproduct called Harper, which is
an AI-enabled HR generalistprovided by WISC, and the goal
there is to provide that levelone or level two tier support
for team members who may be onthe go.
We have flight attendantsrushing to catch a plane and
they may want a questionanswered immediately, but our
(05:10):
staff isn't always on 24 seven.
This tool enables them to getthe first response very quickly
that both summarizes theirquestion, gives them a curator
response based on Breeze'spolicies and practices, and then
gives them the source documentas well as who they go to next
if they need to escalate thatquestion.
So they get an immediateresponse.
It fits very well in ourculture of technology enabled
(05:31):
solutions and they know who totalk to if they want to take it
to the next level.
So we're using applicationslike that to really grow and
scale our business in a waythat's really user friendly and
what they're used to asconsumers getting immediate
answers to their questions.
We also need to provide thoseimmediate answers, and so that's
one of the tools we'reutilizing to provide solutions
for those types of situations.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
Okay, excellent.
So as part of your role, you'rethere to encourage your staff
members to embrace beingaugmented by AI.
Can you offer some otherexamples of programs,
initiatives that you're leadingaround that in the moment?
Speaker 3 (06:06):
Yeah, absolutely, ranging from anywhere from
talent acquisition all the waythrough talent development and
growth, and this kind of appliesto our talent strategy.
But how do we remove hurdlesanywhere?
We see them in the organization.
Instead of saying, oh no, youcan't do this, our job is to say
what is it you want toaccomplish and what tools can we
provide for you to get thatanswer or request or or
(06:26):
something faster.
For example, if a manager has anew requisition and they need
to post it, sometimes the hurdleis the manager has to write the
description or it takes them awhile.
We can provide an AI enabledtool that says here's the last
posting you did.
You wanna update this?
And here's how we help you postit.
Here's the recruiter you'll beworking with and, if we can able
that process so it removes thatbarrier to entry to every
(06:46):
process like that that's alreadyestablished in the company.
That helps us deliver on thismore efficient and engaging
experience, both for our leadersand for the team members.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
So I don't know a heck of a lot about the airline
industry, I have to admit, butI'm going to guess that no time
in the near future will you seeairline assistants being
replaced, and I certainly hopethat the captains and co-pilots
and whatnot are not going to bereplaced by robots in the near
future.
That would make me feel veryuneasy, um, but you know the the
(07:19):
place we're at now, and we'rerecording this in the middle of
2025, is we're seeing lots ofroles being not just augmented
by ai and machine learning, um,but actually being replaced.
Are you seeing that in yourorganization in different areas?
If so, what are some of thoseexamples of roles that perhaps
existed 12 months ago that don'treally exist on their own
anymore?
Perhaps they've been combinedwith other positions?
(07:40):
Can you give us some insightsaround that?
Speaker 3 (07:43):
Yes, we're not seeing roles getting replaced here
right now.
We're seeing more of what youindicate of being augmented by
technology.
Pilots and flight attendantswill be needed in the future.
So, but how do we make theirjob easier?
How do we make it easier forthem to schedule, to work out
their shift changes, to taketime off, to request sick leave
and then, when they're on theplane, how do we make it easier
for them to understand if theload balance is correct and
(08:05):
automate all of those processesso they don't have to spend a
lot of extra time chasing thosethings down?
So for us, we're usingaugmentation capabilities from
AI-enabled tools and software tomake their jobs easier and more
efficient in everything they do.
And that applies across theorganization Our guest
experiences team.
They all work from home andthey're all remote, but they
(08:25):
utilize AI-enabled technology tohelp our guests answer their
first level questions and thenthey take the escalated
questions.
That make it much moreefficient for our guests to get
immediate response, especiallywhen they're airport asking a
question and they need immediateanswers.
But then our team can also takethose escalation questions and
help them get responses in thoseas well.
So that's how we're usuallyusing technology right now not
(08:46):
just to replace anyone, but moreto augment what their current
roles are doing.
Speaker 2 (08:50):
Okay, very good.
So across your career, you'vebeen responsible for building
people functions, of course,from the ground up.
What practical steps can HRleaders take to effectively
define their vision andinfluence areas like technology,
talent development and thefuture of work?
We like to have practicaltakeaways on this show.
Go, yeah, okay.
Speaker 3 (09:11):
Well, that's a broad question for me.
I always come in and start withwhat is the business strategy
that needs to be delivered on,what is the mission, what is the
strategy, what are the keyinitiatives that need to be
focused on?
And then how do we build ourtalent strategy around that?
And usually I build that intothree functional areas, which
are pretty normal, I wouldimagine talent acquisition how
do we quickly access the type oftalent we need to grow the
(09:33):
business, assess them, bringthem on board and onboard them
in a way that fits the culturein the business?
And then the next phase of thatof the talent strategy is what
is the talent engagementstrategy and how do we build
that?
How do we get everyone to wantto be here delivering on that
mission every day, despite thechallenges of fast pace, fast
growth, operationally intensivebusiness?
And the third component of thetalent strategy is how do we
(09:55):
develop and grow our teammembers and our leaders?
What are the competencies wecare about as a business?
What are the values we espouse?
And then how do we actuallybuild the skills for our team
members in each of those areasthat are important for us to
deliver on that strategy and thebusiness plan.
And then how do we build andgrow our leaders?
Many of our managers are innewer roles because we're
(10:16):
growing so fast, and how do wemake sure they have the tools
and capabilities they need todeliver successfully on whatever
the challenges are in thebusiness every day?
So we're building adaptabilityand agility into the
organization because thingschange rapidly here in this
industry.
And then how do we use thoseskills to adapt and grow and
build new skills as they'rerequired of us as we use new
technologies or new applications?
Speaker 2 (10:37):
Okay, let's talk a bit more about leadership, if
you don't mind.
When managing a team, how doyou personally balance
delivering results with keepingengagement and morale at high
levels?
Speaker 3 (10:50):
Yeah, I think it's important for everyone on the
team to understand what is thebig picture, how do we deliver
in our team to support themission of the company and what
does every task we do contributeto that mission.
And so we have a clear outlineas what is the business strategy
, what are the key projects,what are our projects that link
into those and cascade thosedown, and then how do we as a
(11:12):
team contribute to those andhelp our business leaders become
successful in their variousteams, and then how do we
measure that success?
So it's very objective.
How do we know if our teammembers are engaged, that
they're having a good experienceon different teams, and how do
we support the organization inthat regard?
And when there are road bumpsor other issues, how do we
partner with the businessleaders in a way that helps them
accomplish those objectives?
(11:32):
And so for me and the team,it's all about clarity of
objectives, what we're focusedon, how do we measure success
and how do we follow up.
And then how do they feel likethey're an integral part of that
that we need to make sure theyfeel like they can make
decisions and put in place plansthat will deliver on those as
well, so they feel empowered andthen they feel trusted in the
organization.
(11:52):
So I think all those componentsare really important to me as a
leader and that's what we tryto espouse on our people
services team here at Breeze.
Speaker 2 (11:59):
Okay, you've only been in this role since March, I
believe, but it sounds like youreally got it down.
Speaker 3 (12:04):
I don't have it down yet.
I've got a lot to learn.
You'll laugh at my first monthhere.
I asked if I could go out anddo every job in the business so
I could learn the airline.
So I was helping clean planes,I was packing bags on the planes
, I was helping down on theground crew, I was helping take
tickets at the counters.
For me it was really importantto learn about every role in the
business so I would know whatthe challenges and the
(12:24):
opportunities are, and in a fastpaced environment it's really
important to know whateveryone's dealing with, and so
I wanted to experience all of it.
So that was a great way for meto get integrated in the
business.
I love that.
Speaker 2 (12:34):
I absolutely love it.
I think that's wonderful.
What were some of yourlearnings?
Speaker 3 (12:38):
Well, I don't want to have to clean up throw-up bags
anymore.
I know that.
So that was fun, but what I didlearn is the complexity of all
of those teams working togetherto turn a plane very quickly.
It's all about operationalperformance and on-time
performance in the airlineindustry, and it's not just one
team that does that.
It's multiple teams workingtogether, some of which are team
members and some of which arecontracted, and there's a lot of
(13:00):
work involved in both planning,organizing and getting people
aligned on what the expectationsare there, and doing a lot of
work around.
What does it look like when theplane needs to be cleaned
really fast?
How do we get the guests onboard as quickly as possible and
give them a very positiveexperience?
And then how do we make surethey arrive safely, along with
their luggage, at the newlocation?
So all those things require alot of coordination and I think
(13:20):
for me, that was the biggesttakeaway.
Speaker 2 (13:22):
Yeah, I guess ultimately you guys got a pretty
clear set of metrics therearound folks arriving safely.
Speaker 3 (13:31):
Absolutely no-transcript.
Important factors for us here.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
Okay, now I'd like to talk to you about something
that I'm passionate about, andthat's community building and
learning from peers.
One of my other hats is Iorganize various different
events for HR leaders andsimilar.
You've served on boards and inadvisory roles for HR
associations and nonprofits.
Jeff, how important iscommunity and peer learning to
(14:13):
your professional development?
And, as part of your answer,how should HR leaders make time
for that in pretty busy roles?
You know they've got so manyother things going on.
How can they make sure thatthey put time aside?
Speaker 3 (14:25):
I think it's critical , to be honest, to have a
well-rounded experience and Iwould say, for example, in the
case of the Women's LeadershipInstitute, for people leaders to
have things they're passionateabout and go get involved in
them gives you a balance, kindof like I'm giving back to the
community, I'm doing somethingmeaningful.
I'm seeing the impact of thatnot just at my work but also on
(14:46):
the community.
For example, in the Women'sLeadership Institute, that's one
of the most impactful thingsI've been part of seeing the
difference that's been made inhelping prepare more women for
leadership roles, both inbusiness and in politics, and
helping build that pipeline ofleaders through a series of
career development courses thatwe helped create.
That for me was so rewarding tosee those cohorts of 100-plus
female leaders go through thatprocess and seeing them become
(15:08):
really successful in theirvarious organizations.
That's very rewarding and wassuper impactful for me
personally in my career just toobserve that and see that and
see all of these incrediblepeople advance and grow in their
careers, and we were able tohelp support that and me.
Finding opportunities like thatthat matter and make a
difference is a really crucialpart of building a community and
supporting that myunderstanding is that breeze is
(15:31):
going through a period of rapidgrowth.
Speaker 2 (15:33):
You're coming on to um and ensure that happens in
the right ways, including, forexample, employees still staying
true to the original vision ofBreeze when it was first set up.
You've also led during MAs andperiods of rapid growth at other
organizations.
Of course, how should HRleaders approach culture,
integration and communicationduring times of big change?
Speaker 3 (15:58):
For me, it's all about establishing what does
that culture look like, not onlydescribing it, but giving
examples of that, what it is,what it's not.
In my previous company wecreated videos.
We had team members showingexamples of what the culture
should be and we had executivesshowing things, examples of what
it shouldn't be.
We thought it was funny, so itwas a good way to integrate that
and show.
(16:18):
Here's what it looks like.
Here at these companies and hereat Breeze, for example, we work
really hard to bring all of ournew hire team members into one
location for training to havethat experience, and we talk a
lot about the culture, theenvironment, things that impact
it.
Our entire executive team takestime at every new hire
orientation to spend timetalking about both the company,
why they're here, what theculture is, why it matters to
(16:39):
them, why we provide the kind ofguest experience we have and
why our MPS scores are so highand how we want them to
propagate that.
That that's really crucial tous and we actually share
examples of, for example, aflight attendant, how they made
such a big difference in oneguest experience, or a tech
person who works at night on aplane to make sure it's ready to
go in the morning, the impactof on-time performance that has
(17:00):
on the plane.
So all those things go into theculture of delivering both on
results and creating thatincredible guest experience and
helping them.
See that line of sight and Iwould say that's true of
acquisitions as well Differentcompanies have different
cultures and let's justacknowledge what those good
things are from each culture andtry to adapt to both of those.
But be very clear about whatthe intended outcome is of the
culture we want to establish andhow that fits with delivering
(17:23):
on the business plan in a veryoptimal way.
And so, as we've doneacquisitions in the past, we
preemptively spent a lot of timeflying out as an executive team
, meeting with those teams,talking about the culture, the
environment, the things we careabout as a company, answering
questions, making sure peoplearen't in the dark and
over-communicating as much aspossible what this means for
them, what the impact is andwhat we expect going forward.
Speaker 2 (17:44):
Okay, very good One for our HR innovators out there.
What advice would you give toup-and-coming HR professionals,
new professionals looking tofuture-proof their careers we
are living in very changingtimes so that they can make a
meaningful and long-term impact?
I'm sure the HR function isvery different to when you
(18:06):
started, right?
Speaker 3 (18:07):
It is 100% different than when I started.
I think what's been evolving isthe need for HR leaders and the
practitioners to reallyunderstand the needs of the
business.
What are the current businesstrends, conditions, requirements
, what's happening out there?
How hard is it to get funding?
What is that funding used for?
How do we scale and grow thebusiness?
What are the businessimperatives that we have to
deliver on?
(18:28):
And then, how do you, as an HRleader and as an HR practitioner
, work with the business leadersto deliver on that?
We should no longer be thepolice or compliance department.
We should be the how do we helpyou deliver on your business
plan department?
And we should be the how do wehelp you deliver on your
business plan department?
And how do we help you thinkabout what's coming next?
How do we stay really engagedin what's coming in the future?
You mentioned innovation.
(18:48):
We should be on top of what arethe new trends, and resources
and tools are out there.
I spend at least an hour to aweek looking at new trends, from
AI enabled tools to what'shappening out there with
coaching and development,leadership, planning and
development, and I want to stayon top of it.
I'll do demos, even if we'renot looking for a tool just to
learn about what's being createdout there and it's coming very
fast.
Ai will accelerate very rapidlysome of the tools and resources
(19:11):
that will now be available.
We need to know what those are,we need to be on the cutting
edge and we need to understandif they fit or don't fit with
the needs and the strategy ofthe business.
So I think that's veryimportant to understand both how
technology can be applied todeliver on the needs of the
business and really understandthat well.
So business leaders don't seeyou as someone that tells them
what they can't do.
They see you as someone thattells them here's how you can
(19:32):
get done, what you need to doand some tools we can help you
use to do that.
Speaker 2 (19:36):
This.
I'm going to do it.
This episode has flown by.
Jeff.
Before we do wrap up for today,I've just sent you a connection
request on LinkedIn.
I'm assuming that's one waythat folks can connect with you
and learn more about what you'regetting up to.
What are some other ways, ifthere are any, and, of course,
how can they learn more aboutwhat's happening over at Breeze?
Speaker 3 (19:57):
Absolutely Very excited to connect with people
and learn more about whatthey're doing, how we can apply
best practices across the board.
Again, that's part of why it'sbeen fun to be involved in the
executive forum with Sherm andothers to really learn about
best practices and how we canapply those.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
Awesome, and if folks want to connect with you, is
that LinkedIn only.
Are there any other ways thatthey can connect with you?
That's really the best waythat's what I check and stay up
to date on Me too.
Me too, I'm not cool enough tohave a TikTok.
Okay, very good.
That just leaves me to say fortoday Jeff Weber, thank you very
much for being my guest.
Speaker 3 (20:28):
Thank you, bill, pleasure to be here today.
Thank you for having me on.
Speaker 2 (20:31):
And listeners as always.
Until next time, happy working.
Speaker 1 (20:37):
Thanks for listening to the HR Chat Show.
If you enjoyed this episode,why not subscribe and listen to
some of the hundreds of episodespublished by HR Gazette and
remember for what's new in theworld of work?
Subscribe to the show, followus on social media and visit
hrgazettecom.
Welcome to the HR Chat Show, one of the world's
most downloaded and sharedpodcasts designed for HR pros,
talent execs, tech enthusiastsand business leaders.
For hundreds more episodes andwhat's new in the world of work,
subscribe to the show, followus on social media and visit
hrgazettecom and visithrgazettecom.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Welcome to another episode of the HR Chat Show.
Hello listeners, this is yourhost today, bill Battam, and in
this episode we're going toexplore the big ideas impacting
the world of work, leadershipand innovation in HR, and I'm
joined to help me on thatjourney today by Jeff Weber,
chief People Officer over atBreeze Airways, a premium
leisure carrier that'sredefining affordable, non-stop
(00:50):
services across the US.
Jeff's career has spanned someof the most forward-thinking
organizations, includingAncestrycom.
Jeff's not only driveninnovative talent strategies,
but he's also held leadershiproles in HR communities and
advocacy organizations like theWomen's Leadership Institute and
the Utah SHRM Chapter.
(01:12):
Jeff, how are you doing today?
Welcome to the show.
Speaker 3 (01:15):
I'm great.
Thank you, Bill.
Appreciate you having me on theshow.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
So let's get straight into it and, as we like to do
on this show, why don't youstart by adding to what I just
said?
Why don't you take a minute ortwo and tell our listeners a bit
more about yourself, yourcareer, background and also what
gets you up in the morning,jeff?
Speaker 3 (01:33):
Yeah, absolutely, bill.
I appreciate you asking thatquestion.
For me, it's all about how dowe leverage the talent in an
organization to best accomplishwhatever the business mission or
strategy is of the business.
And that relates to both how weengage the hearts and minds of
people who work for that companyin this case, team members at
Breeze and how do we get themreally excited about what we're
delivering every day as far asthe guest experience for our
(01:54):
experience, for our customers.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
I'm interested to know what first interested you
in terms of joining Breeze andwhat made that opportunity stand
out for you.
Speaker 3 (02:04):
So what initially interested me in Breeze?
David Nilman, the CEO, reachedout to me and asked me if I'd be
interested in taking on thechief people officer role here
at Breeze and my first responsewas David, I don't know anything
about airlines so maybe I'm notthe right person for this role.
And he kept calling me despitethat and he's pretty persistent,
as you may discover in hishistory of founding five
(02:29):
different airlines.
So he kept calling me.
We talked more about it.
He said I don't really wantsomeone who has been in the
airline industry before for thisrole.
I really want someone that'sgoing to bring a culture like
you had at the softwarecompanies you built and
utilizing technology to buildthat kind of culture.
So that became pretty apparentthat he was very interested in
that and it really intrigued myinterest in coming in and
learning a new industry andworking to build that culture
and dynamic as the companycontinues to grow fairly rapidly
(02:51):
right now.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
Thanks for listening to this episode of the HR Chat
Podcast.
If you enjoy the audio contentwe produce, you'll love our
articles on the HR Gazette.
Learn more at HRGgazettecom.
And now back to the show.
So my understanding is Breezeand I have to say I've never
taken a Breeze flight yet, butmaybe I'll have to do something
(03:15):
about that in the future.
But my understanding is Breezeisn't just an airline.
It brands itself as a techcompany that flies.
That's very interesting.
Speaker 3 (03:24):
How do you align the high tech with high touch to
create an employee experiencethat reflects both innovation so
really, for us it's aboutcreating what we call that
seriously nice guest experience,and that really stems from
creating a culture where we havea seriously nice experience for
our team members, and thatincludes technology around any
strategy or structure and thisis one of the competitive
(03:45):
differentiators for Breeze ishow do we provide technology and
a seamless experience for ourcustomers up until they get on
the aircraft and when they're onthe plane, what kind of
experience we provide with ourflight attendants and pilots who
actually come out of thecockpit and talk to people I
know shocking to say just overthe intercom.
And so we really create thatguest experience that has
resulted in a really high NPSscore for the airline of around
(04:06):
60, which is incredible in thiskind of industry right now, and
so our role is creating thetechnology that supports that.
You never want technology todrive the organization.
You want technology to supportthe strategy and the innovation
you want to build in theorganization and, in this case,
the culture and the dynamics.
So as we roll out new tools andprocesses, we really try to
remove barriers using technology.
(04:28):
I think it's really important.
Everyone's talking about how touse AI and AR in HR, but it's
not about just rolling out AIchatbots.
It's about any analysis you wantto do about what is the problem
we're trying to solve for thebusiness, what is our thesis on
how this is going to helpimprove both the employee
experience and or the guestexperience, and how do we
utilize that technology in a waythat interacts with all of our
(04:49):
other systems in a scalable way?
So we're rolling out a newproduct called Harper, which is
an AI-enabled HR generalistprovided by WISC, and the goal
there is to provide that levelone or level two tier support
for team members who may be onthe go.
We have flight attendantsrushing to catch a plane and
they may want a questionanswered immediately, but our
(05:10):
staff isn't always on 24 seven.
This tool enables them to getthe first response very quickly
that both summarizes theirquestion, gives them a curator
response based on Breeze'spolicies and practices, and then
gives them the source documentas well as who they go to next
if they need to escalate thatquestion.
So they get an immediateresponse.
It fits very well in ourculture of technology enabled
(05:31):
solutions and they know who totalk to if they want to take it
to the next level.
So we're using applicationslike that to really grow and
scale our business in a waythat's really user friendly and
what they're used to asconsumers getting immediate
answers to their questions.
We also need to provide thoseimmediate answers, and so that's
one of the tools we'reutilizing to provide solutions
for those types of situations.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
Okay, excellent.
So as part of your role, you'rethere to encourage your staff
members to embrace beingaugmented by AI.
Can you offer some otherexamples of programs,
initiatives that you're leadingaround that in the moment?
Speaker 3 (06:06):
Yeah, absolutely, ranging from anywhere from
talent acquisition all the waythrough talent development and
growth, and this kind of appliesto our talent strategy.
But how do we remove hurdlesanywhere?
We see them in the organization.
Instead of saying, oh no, youcan't do this, our job is to say
what is it you want toaccomplish and what tools can we
provide for you to get thatanswer or request or or
(06:26):
something faster.
For example, if a manager has anew requisition and they need
to post it, sometimes the hurdleis the manager has to write the
description or it takes them awhile.
We can provide an AI enabledtool that says here's the last
posting you did.
You wanna update this?
And here's how we help you postit.
Here's the recruiter you'll beworking with and, if we can able
that process so it removes thatbarrier to entry to every
(06:46):
process like that that's alreadyestablished in the company.
That helps us deliver on thismore efficient and engaging
experience, both for our leadersand for the team members.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
So I don't know a heck of a lot about the airline
industry, I have to admit, butI'm going to guess that no time
in the near future will you seeairline assistants being
replaced, and I certainly hopethat the captains and co-pilots
and whatnot are not going to bereplaced by robots in the near
future.
That would make me feel veryuneasy, um, but you know the the
(07:19):
place we're at now, and we'rerecording this in the middle of
2025, is we're seeing lots ofroles being not just augmented
by ai and machine learning, um,but actually being replaced.
Are you seeing that in yourorganization in different areas?
If so, what are some of thoseexamples of roles that perhaps
existed 12 months ago that don'treally exist on their own
anymore?
Perhaps they've been combinedwith other positions?
(07:40):
Can you give us some insightsaround that?
Speaker 3 (07:43):
Yes, we're not seeing roles getting replaced here
right now.
We're seeing more of what youindicate of being augmented by
technology.
Pilots and flight attendantswill be needed in the future.
So, but how do we make theirjob easier?
How do we make it easier forthem to schedule, to work out
their shift changes, to taketime off, to request sick leave
and then, when they're on theplane, how do we make it easier
for them to understand if theload balance is correct and
(08:05):
automate all of those processesso they don't have to spend a
lot of extra time chasing thosethings down?
So for us, we're usingaugmentation capabilities from
AI-enabled tools and software tomake their jobs easier and more
efficient in everything they do.
And that applies across theorganization Our guest
experiences team.
They all work from home andthey're all remote, but they
(08:25):
utilize AI-enabled technology tohelp our guests answer their
first level questions and thenthey take the escalated
questions.
That make it much moreefficient for our guests to get
immediate response, especiallywhen they're airport asking a
question and they need immediateanswers.
But then our team can also takethose escalation questions and
help them get responses in thoseas well.
So that's how we're usuallyusing technology right now not
(08:46):
just to replace anyone, but moreto augment what their current
roles are doing.
Speaker 2 (08:50):
Okay, very good.
So across your career, you'vebeen responsible for building
people functions, of course,from the ground up.
What practical steps can HRleaders take to effectively
define their vision andinfluence areas like technology,
talent development and thefuture of work?
We like to have practicaltakeaways on this show.
Go, yeah, okay.
Speaker 3 (09:11):
Well, that's a broad question for me.
I always come in and start withwhat is the business strategy
that needs to be delivered on,what is the mission, what is the
strategy, what are the keyinitiatives that need to be
focused on?
And then how do we build ourtalent strategy around that?
And usually I build that intothree functional areas, which
are pretty normal, I wouldimagine talent acquisition how
do we quickly access the type oftalent we need to grow the
(09:33):
business, assess them, bringthem on board and onboard them
in a way that fits the culturein the business?
And then the next phase of thatof the talent strategy is what
is the talent engagementstrategy and how do we build
that?
How do we get everyone to wantto be here delivering on that
mission every day, despite thechallenges of fast pace, fast
growth, operationally intensivebusiness?
And the third component of thetalent strategy is how do we
(09:55):
develop and grow our teammembers and our leaders?
What are the competencies wecare about as a business?
What are the values we espouse?
And then how do we actuallybuild the skills for our team
members in each of those areasthat are important for us to
deliver on that strategy and thebusiness plan.
And then how do we build andgrow our leaders?
Many of our managers are innewer roles because we're
(10:16):
growing so fast, and how do wemake sure they have the tools
and capabilities they need todeliver successfully on whatever
the challenges are in thebusiness every day?
So we're building adaptabilityand agility into the
organization because thingschange rapidly here in this
industry.
And then how do we use thoseskills to adapt and grow and
build new skills as they'rerequired of us as we use new
technologies or new applications?
Speaker 2 (10:37):
Okay, let's talk a bit more about leadership, if
you don't mind.
When managing a team, how doyou personally balance
delivering results with keepingengagement and morale at high
levels?
Speaker 3 (10:50):
Yeah, I think it's important for everyone on the
team to understand what is thebig picture, how do we deliver
in our team to support themission of the company and what
does every task we do contributeto that mission.
And so we have a clear outlineas what is the business strategy
, what are the key projects,what are our projects that link
into those and cascade thosedown, and then how do we as a
(11:12):
team contribute to those andhelp our business leaders become
successful in their variousteams, and then how do we
measure that success?
So it's very objective.
How do we know if our teammembers are engaged, that
they're having a good experienceon different teams, and how do
we support the organization inthat regard?
And when there are road bumpsor other issues, how do we
partner with the businessleaders in a way that helps them
accomplish those objectives?
(11:32):
And so for me and the team,it's all about clarity of
objectives, what we're focusedon, how do we measure success
and how do we follow up.
And then how do they feel likethey're an integral part of that
that we need to make sure theyfeel like they can make
decisions and put in place plansthat will deliver on those as
well, so they feel empowered andthen they feel trusted in the
organization.
(11:52):
So I think all those componentsare really important to me as a
leader and that's what we tryto espouse on our people
services team here at Breeze.
Speaker 2 (11:59):
Okay, you've only been in this role since March, I
believe, but it sounds like youreally got it down.
Speaker 3 (12:04):
I don't have it down yet.
I've got a lot to learn.
You'll laugh at my first monthhere.
I asked if I could go out anddo every job in the business so
I could learn the airline.
So I was helping clean planes,I was packing bags on the planes
, I was helping down on theground crew, I was helping take
tickets at the counters.
For me it was really importantto learn about every role in the
business so I would know whatthe challenges and the
(12:24):
opportunities are, and in a fastpaced environment it's really
important to know whateveryone's dealing with, and so
I wanted to experience all of it.
So that was a great way for meto get integrated in the
business.
I love that.
Speaker 2 (12:34):
I absolutely love it.
I think that's wonderful.
What were some of yourlearnings?
Speaker 3 (12:38):
Well, I don't want to have to clean up throw-up bags
anymore.
I know that.
So that was fun, but what I didlearn is the complexity of all
of those teams working togetherto turn a plane very quickly.
It's all about operationalperformance and on-time
performance in the airlineindustry, and it's not just one
team that does that.
It's multiple teams workingtogether, some of which are team
members and some of which arecontracted, and there's a lot of
(13:00):
work involved in both planning,organizing and getting people
aligned on what the expectationsare there, and doing a lot of
work around.
What does it look like when theplane needs to be cleaned
really fast?
How do we get the guests onboard as quickly as possible and
give them a very positiveexperience?
And then how do we make surethey arrive safely, along with
their luggage, at the newlocation?
So all those things require alot of coordination and I think
(13:20):
for me, that was the biggesttakeaway.
Speaker 2 (13:22):
Yeah, I guess ultimately you guys got a pretty
clear set of metrics therearound folks arriving safely.
Speaker 3 (13:31):
Absolutely no-transcript.
Important factors for us here.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
Okay, now I'd like to talk to you about something
that I'm passionate about, andthat's community building and
learning from peers.
One of my other hats is Iorganize various different
events for HR leaders andsimilar.
You've served on boards and inadvisory roles for HR
associations and nonprofits.
Jeff, how important iscommunity and peer learning to
(14:13):
your professional development?
And, as part of your answer,how should HR leaders make time
for that in pretty busy roles?
You know they've got so manyother things going on.
How can they make sure thatthey put time aside?
Speaker 3 (14:25):
I think it's critical , to be honest, to have a
well-rounded experience and Iwould say, for example, in the
case of the Women's LeadershipInstitute, for people leaders to
have things they're passionateabout and go get involved in
them gives you a balance, kindof like I'm giving back to the
community, I'm doing somethingmeaningful.
I'm seeing the impact of thatnot just at my work but also on
(14:46):
the community.
For example, in the Women'sLeadership Institute, that's one
of the most impactful thingsI've been part of seeing the
difference that's been made inhelping prepare more women for
leadership roles, both inbusiness and in politics, and
helping build that pipeline ofleaders through a series of
career development courses thatwe helped create.
That for me was so rewarding tosee those cohorts of 100-plus
female leaders go through thatprocess and seeing them become
(15:08):
really successful in theirvarious organizations.
That's very rewarding and wassuper impactful for me
personally in my career just toobserve that and see that and
see all of these incrediblepeople advance and grow in their
careers, and we were able tohelp support that and me.
Finding opportunities like thatthat matter and make a
difference is a really crucialpart of building a community and
supporting that myunderstanding is that breeze is
(15:31):
going through a period of rapidgrowth.
Speaker 2 (15:33):
You're coming on to um and ensure that happens in
the right ways, including, forexample, employees still staying
true to the original vision ofBreeze when it was first set up.
You've also led during MAs andperiods of rapid growth at other
organizations.
Of course, how should HRleaders approach culture,
integration and communicationduring times of big change?
Speaker 3 (15:58):
For me, it's all about establishing what does
that culture look like, not onlydescribing it, but giving
examples of that, what it is,what it's not.
In my previous company wecreated videos.
We had team members showingexamples of what the culture
should be and we had executivesshowing things, examples of what
it shouldn't be.
We thought it was funny, so itwas a good way to integrate that
and show.
(16:18):
Here's what it looks like.
Here at these companies and hereat Breeze, for example, we work
really hard to bring all of ournew hire team members into one
location for training to havethat experience, and we talk a
lot about the culture, theenvironment, things that impact
it.
Our entire executive team takestime at every new hire
orientation to spend timetalking about both the company,
why they're here, what theculture is, why it matters to
(16:39):
them, why we provide the kind ofguest experience we have and
why our MPS scores are so highand how we want them to
propagate that.
That that's really crucial tous and we actually share
examples of, for example, aflight attendant, how they made
such a big difference in oneguest experience, or a tech
person who works at night on aplane to make sure it's ready to
go in the morning, the impactof on-time performance that has
(17:00):
on the plane.
So all those things go into theculture of delivering both on
results and creating thatincredible guest experience and
helping them.
See that line of sight and Iwould say that's true of
acquisitions as well Differentcompanies have different
cultures and let's justacknowledge what those good
things are from each culture andtry to adapt to both of those.
But be very clear about whatthe intended outcome is of the
culture we want to establish andhow that fits with delivering
(17:23):
on the business plan in a veryoptimal way.
And so, as we've doneacquisitions in the past, we
preemptively spent a lot of timeflying out as an executive team
, meeting with those teams,talking about the culture, the
environment, the things we careabout as a company, answering
questions, making sure peoplearen't in the dark and
over-communicating as much aspossible what this means for
them, what the impact is andwhat we expect going forward.
Speaker 2 (17:44):
Okay, very good One for our HR innovators out there.
What advice would you give toup-and-coming HR professionals,
new professionals looking tofuture-proof their careers we
are living in very changingtimes so that they can make a
meaningful and long-term impact?
I'm sure the HR function isvery different to when you
(18:06):
started, right?
Speaker 3 (18:07):
It is 100% different than when I started.
I think what's been evolving isthe need for HR leaders and the
practitioners to reallyunderstand the needs of the
business.
What are the current businesstrends, conditions, requirements
, what's happening out there?
How hard is it to get funding?
What is that funding used for?
How do we scale and grow thebusiness?
What are the businessimperatives that we have to
deliver on?
(18:28):
And then, how do you, as an HRleader and as an HR practitioner
, work with the business leadersto deliver on that?
We should no longer be thepolice or compliance department.
We should be the how do we helpyou deliver on your business
plan department?
And we should be the how do wehelp you deliver on your
business plan department?
And how do we help you thinkabout what's coming next?
How do we stay really engagedin what's coming in the future?
You mentioned innovation.
(18:48):
We should be on top of what arethe new trends, and resources
and tools are out there.
I spend at least an hour to aweek looking at new trends, from
AI enabled tools to what'shappening out there with
coaching and development,leadership, planning and
development, and I want to stayon top of it.
I'll do demos, even if we'renot looking for a tool just to
learn about what's being createdout there and it's coming very
fast.
Ai will accelerate very rapidlysome of the tools and resources
(19:11):
that will now be available.
We need to know what those are,we need to be on the cutting
edge and we need to understandif they fit or don't fit with
the needs and the strategy ofthe business.
So I think that's veryimportant to understand both how
technology can be applied todeliver on the needs of the
business and really understandthat well.
So business leaders don't seeyou as someone that tells them
what they can't do.
They see you as someone thattells them here's how you can
(19:32):
get done, what you need to doand some tools we can help you
use to do that.
Speaker 2 (19:36):
This.
I'm going to do it.
This episode has flown by.
Jeff.
Before we do wrap up for today,I've just sent you a connection
request on LinkedIn.
I'm assuming that's one waythat folks can connect with you
and learn more about what you'regetting up to.
What are some other ways, ifthere are any, and, of course,
how can they learn more aboutwhat's happening over at Breeze?
Speaker 3 (19:57):
Absolutely Very excited to connect with people
and learn more about whatthey're doing, how we can apply
best practices across the board.
Again, that's part of why it'sbeen fun to be involved in the
executive forum with Sherm andothers to really learn about
best practices and how we canapply those.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
Awesome, and if folks want to connect with you, is
that LinkedIn only.
Are there any other ways thatthey can connect with you?
That's really the best waythat's what I check and stay up
to date on Me too.
Me too, I'm not cool enough tohave a TikTok.
Okay, very good.
That just leaves me to say fortoday Jeff Weber, thank you very
much for being my guest.
Speaker 3 (20:28):
Thank you, bill, pleasure to be here today.
Thank you for having me on.
Speaker 2 (20:31):
And listeners as always.
Until next time, happy working.
Speaker 1 (20:37):
Thanks for listening to the HR Chat Show.
If you enjoyed this episode,why not subscribe and listen to
some of the hundreds of episodespublished by HR Gazette and
remember for what's new in theworld of work?
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