Employee Engagement
We build a high-performance culture by engaging employees and listening to their feedback.
Introduced the Total Rewards Survey to gather feedback on the total package of compensation and benefits our people receive.
A Culture of Engagement
We foster a culture of engagement through a wide range of programs:
B-DAY
Half-day onboarding experience for new hires to learn about Delta’s business, brand, culture and history while connecting with fellow team members
4,000
Employees engaged in 2024
Note: Not all new employees participate in B-DAY. Frontline, those earning an hourly wage and flexible benefits, and merit, salaried, employees in Atlanta, as well as several outstations, engaged in the program in 2024.
Executive Station Visits
Town hall-style listening and feedback sessions where senior leaders have candid conversations with frontline employees
VELVET
Over the past 18 years, Delta has hosted a conference experienceopens in a new window known as VELVET for our frontline employees. Billed as the ultimate employee engagement experience, VELVET allows frontline employees to meet and hear directly from senior leaders and share their feedback to help shape the company's future.
VELVET is offered multiple times a year, in various cities, reaching roughly 7,000 Delta people annually. Employees learn about company strategy and key initiatives from our CEO and other senior executives at every VELVET. They attend breakout sessions to hear from their divisional leadership, participate in Q&A sessions with the CEO and other executives, and enjoy an evening of networking with their peers and Delta leaders.
Leaders also share how Delta continues to invest in our employees and support frontline teams as they work together across divisions to care for our customers and each other.
These sessions are open to all frontline employees.
Business Resource Groups Foster Inclusion
With over 20,000 members, our 12 Business Resource Groups (BRGs) add value to Delta by offering key insights on business strategies, customer offerings and employee perspectives through their unique lens. Also, BRGs support a sense of belonging for all and help make connections across the business.
- ABLE – Disability
- ADELANTE – Latin America and Hispanic
- BOLD – Black
- DESI – South Asia
- EQUAL – LGBTQ+
- FUSION – Asia-Pacific
- GENGAGE – Multigenerational Workforce
- GREEN UP – Sustainability
- SHE – Women
- VETERANS – Veterans and Armed Forces
- WORKING FAMILIES – Working Parents and/or Caregivers
- YALLAH – Middle East and North Africa
8%
Growth year over year in the number of Delta employees who belong to a BRG
9%
Of Delta employees participate in more than one BRG
Engagement Surveys
We continually engage our people through our open-door policy, employee engagement groups and Business Resource Groups, in-person events with senior management, digital communications and surveys to evaluate employee satisfaction. We recently adopted a more holistic approach to employee listening in line with the level of sophistication Delta employs in listening to our customers.
In 2024, we conducted a Total Rewards Survey to gather feedback on the total package of compensation and benefits our people receive, also known as Total Rewards. We collected 35,000 responses, with participants ranking employee travel benefits as the No. 1 reason they want to work at Delta. Based on the survey feedback, we introduced several pass travel changes for 2025 aimed at providing greater flexibility and opportunities for employees’ family and friends to travel.
Also in 2024, we saw record participation in our Employee Engagement Survey, with over 42,000 employees participating and sharing almost 68,000 comments. Survey feedback that financial health remained top of mind for employees influenced Delta’s decision to extend our Emergency Savings Program beyond 2025, when it had been set to expire. In addition, the 2024 Employee Engagement Survey included a new Purpose category.
Work anniversaries are so important at Delta that we even put our own spin on the name: Deltaversary, a day to celebrate and check in on each employee. In 2024, we expanded the Deltaversary Survey to include all corporate (salaried merit) employees, in addition to frontline employees.
Delta uses employee feedback to inform investments in our people and provide senior leaders with actionable insights concerning programs and policies. Leaders receive aggregated results for their teams, with Employee Engagement Survey responses remaining confidential. The Delta Board Council, comprising employee representatives from every major noncontract operating division, relays employee feedback, perspectives and suggestions directly to our executives and Board of Directors.
We listen to our people and respond to their needs through tools like our annual engagement survey — and we look for new ways to care for them to support their physical, emotional and financial well-being.”
67.9K
Comments provided by 56% of Employee Engagement Survey participants
83
Average engagement score for the 2024 survey
(increased from 80 in 2023)
85
Average score for the new Purpose survey category
(out of a 100-point scale)
Recognizing Employee Excellence
We celebrate and reward the contributions of our people, while fostering deep engagement, through several core programs:
Unstoppable Together
This program encourages peer-to-peer and manager-to-employee recognition in real time. Managers can also recognize their team members with Delta Difference points that can be redeemed for SkyMiles, gift cards and much more.
Delta Leadership Excellence Award
Introduced in 2024, the Delta Leadership Excellence Award is bestowed upon divisionally selected frontline operational leaders who are driving our culture and are working to increase frontline team members’ engagement and performance. This award recognizes the servant leadership of selected operational leaders and their dedication to create a thriving frontline workforce.
100
Awarded in 2024
Chairman’s Club
Delta’s premier annual global recognition program honors 100 employees who continuously demonstrate our core values and embody “the spirit of Delta.” Following a competitive nomination and selection process, the honorees are recognized and celebrated with their families and peers at a red-carpet event and black-tie gala. In 2024, this program involved 21,201 employees in 2024, including nominators, nominees and leaders recognizing their people.
9,747
Nominated in 2024
Show Our Team Some Love
New in 2024, the Show Our Team Some Love Program enables customers to share positive experiences and interactions more easily and directly with employees.
12K
Recognitions extended from customers directly to employees in 2024