globalhrm

Global Aviation HumanResource Management:Contemporary Recruitmentand Selection and Diversity andEqual Opportunity Practicesby Steven H. Appelbaum and Brenda M. Fewster

Abstract

The commercial airline is an extremely competitive, safety-sensitive, hightechnology service industry. People, employees and customers, not prod-ucts and machines, must be the arena of an organisation’s core competence.The implications are vast and pervasive affecting no less than the organisa-tion’s structure, strategy, culture, and numerous operational activities.Completed by 13 respondents (executives), this audit presents a series of se-lect findings of a human resource management audit carried out in 2001-2and contains extensive data on airlines from nine countries from around theglobe.

The conclusion drawn from these three bodies of work is that, with the ex-ception of a handful of high performing airlines, the industry as a whole con-tinues to function as per a traditional, top-down, highly divisionalised,industrial model of operations and governance. This model is manifestly in-appropriate in such a highly knowledge-based service market as the airlineindustry. HRM expertise in general and recruitment and selection as well asdiversity and equal opportunity in particular are required now, more thanever, to spearhead the strategic development of a customer-centric,learning-oriented workforce that is capable of adapting quickly to the strate-gic goals and change imperatives facing the airline industry.

Introduction

Strategy in the aviation and airline industries is premised upon two funda-mental drivers that have been evolving since deregulation of the US airlineindustry in 1978: one, a growing global concern for safety; and two, anever-increasing consumer expectation of broad service choice and serviceexcellence. Research has long shown that accidents and poor service qualityare primarily rooted in socio-technical human factors, not technology per se.Sub-optimisation, or poor quality in regards to management, decision-making, teamwork, employee motivation, or communication can translateinto loss of customers, loss of market share, loss of organisation assets, andabove all, loss of life.

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Biographical Notes

Dr. Steven H. Appelbaumholds the Concordia UniversityResearch Chair in Organiza-tional Development and Pro-fessor of Management, JohnMolson School of Business,Concordia University, 1455 deMaisonneuve Blvd. West, Bu-reau GM 503-9, Montreal,Quebec, Canada H3G 1M8.

Brenda M. Fewster,MA,MBA, Webster Library, Con-cordia University, 1455 deMaisonneuve Blvd. WestMontreal, Quebec, CanadaH3G 1M8.

In such a safety-sensitive, customer service-centric environment, the tra-ditional product-centred industrial model of corporate structures and indus-trial relations is inappropriate. Human resource management (HRM)expertise is required now, more than ever, to spearhead internal marketingstrategies in order to gain customer lock-on. The primary area of focus ofstrategy is the manner in which the HR department in general aligns activi-ties, policies and procedures with the recruitment and selection and diversityand equal opportunity imperatives of the organisation. This staffing and em-ployee equity-maintenance function is the focus of this article.

Methodology

The original purpose of the review of the literature was to find other empiri-cal studies of the airline industry regarding HRM practices from an appliedperspective, with which to compare and contrast the results of the audit pre-sented later in this article. None were found. This is consistent with the find-ings of other researchers. Thomas (1997) author of the book, A PortfolioManagement Approach to Strategic Airline Planning, comments on the scar-city of research in the area of airline management. “In reviewing the litera-ture on international aviation, it is clear that researchers tend to analyse theindustry at a macro-level. Although it has gained much attention recently . . .the topic of international commercial airline management suffers from a lackof theoretical and empirical work, and the scarcity of literature from a micro-economic perspective”. Thomas studied “present planning efforts in interna-tional commercial airlines” by conducting “semi-structured interviews anddistributed mail questionnaires among carefully selected business execu-tives”. Thomas’ conclusions derive from his “early report on a multiphasestudy on service organisations. To date, in-depth data from fifteen airlineshave been connected and analysed” (Thomas, p.147). The need for generalmanagement expertise in general, and human resource management exper-tise in particular, is the raison d’etre of this undertaking.

According to Eaton (2001), author of the book, Globalization and HumanResource in the Airline Industry, research is particularly difficult because“Airline managers are even more secretive and defensive about academic re-search than those in other industries” (Eaton, 2001, p.ix). For the purpose ofthis article, Human Resources Management (HRM) refers to the manage-ment of people within the internal environment of organisations. It com-prises the activities, policies, and practices involved in planning, obtainingdeveloping, utilising, evaluating, maintaining, and retaining the appropriatenumbers and skill mix of employees to achieve the organisation’s objectives(Appelbaum, Syllabus, 2001).

The categories used to tie together the numerous functions involved in HRmanagement are as follows: strategy, operational activities, and HR depart-ment management. The key activities involved in this category are recruitingand hiring the appropriate personnel as well as managing diversity and equalemployment opportunity in steering the organisation in the desired direction.

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The objective of HRM in this instance is to align these operational activitiesthroughout the organisation with the organisation’s mission, strategy andculture. These recruitment-retention and employee equity-maintenancefunction topics are essentially the flight deck of HRM functions incorporat-ing/integrating the “people” resources (intellectual capital).

Empirical studies of HRM practices in the airline industry were not evi-dent and the review of literature became a study of popular themes and con-temporary problems in the commercial airline industry. In order to keep theresearch current, only applied and empirical publications as of 1995 onwardwere considered. The research strategy was database driven drawing uponthe business, management, journalistic, academic, and technological data-bases. A broad range of sources were consulted with a view to aggregatingthe fragmented material existing in an attempt to construct a snapshot imageof key HRM themes found in, and regarding, the commercial airline indus-try.

A series of select findings of an HRM audit carried out in 2001 is pre-sented. This audit contains extensive data on 13 airlines from nine countriesaround the globe. The audit data was gathered by 13 students/aviation man-agers in the Global Aviation Master’s of Business Administration(GAMBA) programme at the John Molson School of Business, ConcordiaUniversity, Montreal, Quebec.

HR Operational Activities: Recruitment and Selection

The focus of applied aviation psychologists and human factors researchersis largely on pilots and cockpit crews. The selection of pilots historically hadbeen based almost exclusively on flying skills. The aviation community isnow placing greater emphasis on a pilot’s potential to work well in a crewsituation (Hedge et.al., 2000). Research on the process used by British Air-ways to select pilots, suggests the “task of the current generation of manag-ers in the airline business”, (Lowe, 1995) as beginning with the selection andcontinued grooming of professional commercial pilots. Interpersonal skills,and not just technical skills, are slowly becoming viewed as critical successfactors for pilot performance and safety. In another study by Goeters (1995),it was found that nearly half of the problem cases in a study of 193 pilotswere rooted in difficulties with interpersonal skills. In other words, “meas-ures of interpersonal skills/aptitudes were good predictors of whether or nota pilot became a problem case” (Monfries and Moore, 1996). Carriers andthe aviation community as a whole are becoming increasingly aware of theneed for pilots to be competent in crew resource management skills and that“successful completion of a flight or mission requires not only flying skillsbut the ability to work well in a crew situation” (Hedge et.al., 2000). Recruit-ment and selection, obviously, are critical components of this issue.

The airline industry is not only short of skilled pilots, but of quality front-line people as well. The problem is described and quantified in an article inAirline Business (1998), as follows:


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“Like other service companies, airlines are finding it increasinglydifficult to attract, retain, and afford quality frontline people. The supplyof quality service sector people is decreasing as a result of the end of the‘baby boom’, a lessening service ethic among young people, and ashrinking supply of pilots as countries downsize their air forces. At thesame time demand is increasing as the service sector grows to anincreasing percentage of the world economy (from 54% in 1970 to 60% in1995) and more companies realise the potential higher returns fromimproved service” (McKinsey & Co., 1998, p.16).

Good (1999, p.46), citing a Fortune Magazine survey of the world’s mostadmired companies determined that “the single most reliable predictor ofoverall excellence is the ability to attract and hold on to talented employees”.Hiring right, suggests the American Society for Training and Developmentin their study of leading-edge companies, is one of the things their choice ofExemplary Practice Partners do in their organisations (Managing Trainingand Development, 2000, p.3).

Case studies of outstanding aviation and airline organisations offer scat-tered but rich sources of anecdotal insights into the recruitment and hiringpractices of successful airlines. One source offered very specific recruitmentand selection guidelines. In a survey conducted by Business & CommercialAviation, hiring experts were asked for their advice on how to hire the righttechnician. B & CA’s summary (Benoff, 2001 p.65) includes helpful tips onsuch issues as how to target job announcement locations, what to look for in aresume, how to assess the applicant’s work experience and career path, howto prepare for the interview, and how to conduct the interview and referencechecks (Benoff, 2001 p.65).

Falter wrote an entire dissertation on her employer, Duncan Aviation aleader in aviation service and maintenance who has received No.1 rating forthe last 25 years in Professional Pilot magazine’s annual survey for avionicsand maintenance. Falter (2000, p.107) provided the following informationregarding the recruitment and hiring of employees: within one week of hire,the president of the company meets with all new employees as part of theirorientation and to learn about the new people. A large percentage of newhires originated from internal referrals—as seen in 2000 when almost 50% ofnew hires were referrals from employees (Falter, 2000, p.117).

A far better known example of recruiting and hiring policies is that ofSouthwest Airlines. According to Southwest’s V-P of the People Depart-ment, Libby Sartain, the key to recruitment and selection for frontline posi-tions is to hire for attitude, not skills (Ellis, 2001, p.48), “If we hire peoplewho do not have the right attitude, disposition and behavioural characteris-tics to fit into our culture, we will start to change that culture. The recruiter’sprimary role is to make sure it is a good cultural fit” (Ellis, 2001, p.48). Eachyear, Southwest’s 90,000 applicants go through an “application process thatincludes a personality test as well as interviews by a recruiter, the candidate’spotential supervisor and a peer employee” (Ellis, 2001, p.48). Southwest


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hires for attitudes and trains people for specific skills because of the beliefthat skills can be taught but attitudes cannot be changed. Part of the inter-view process involves testing for “a sense of humour, ability to work withothers, and friendliness” (Czaplewski et.al., 2001, p.15). This is done in in-terviews “where applicants tell jokes and role-play a variety of situations todemonstrate teamwork and the capacity to act spontaneously” (Czaplewskiet.al., 2001, p.15). The lucky 4% who are hired receive their orientation atthe University of People, Southwest’s in-house training centre (Ellis, p.48).

Atlas Air Inc., a Boeing 747 cargo aircraft operator with headquarters inGolden, Colorado, understands the importance of hiring for flexibility as akey factor in its low-cost operating success. Atlas has achieved high growthrates without accidents and at lower incremental personnel costs than manyestablished international airlines and cargo carriers largely because of thescheduling flexibility and high productivity of its flight crew workers(Good, 1999, pp.11, 17, 203). One reason for this flexibility may be found inwhat appears to be the company’s practice of hiring young crewmembersmotivated by the prospect of flying a Boeing 747 aircraft—the envy of manypilots. Although Atlas employees are paid less than half the industry stan-dard in wages (compared to established union airlines), “For many, AtlasAir is clearly the best opportunity even without a favourable change in com-pensation or work rules” (Good, 1999, p.378).

Part of Southwest’s mandate to hire for the right fit is its dedication to en-suring employee diversity. According to Sherry Phelps, director of employ-ment, Southwest tries to “mirror the population at large.... The U.S,. censusstatistics are provided to all the recruiters responsible for hiring in our citiesand they make a concerted effort to make sure we have opportunities for eve-ryone and reflect the outside population” (Hendersen, 1995, p.41).

In addition to the concern over hiring the right contact, or front line peo-ple, and good pilots with both technical and interpersonal skills, there is ex-press concern regarding the availability of good management talent.O’Toole (2001) refers to talented management as a “scarce commodity” thatis likely to become even scarcer unless the industry invests more in its hu-man resources. “The internal supply of airline executives will not, as itstands, be enough to meet demand. In Europe, recruitment activity at air-ports is booming” (O’Toole, 2001 p.106). In another article, O’Toole(2000(b)) cites the observations of Michael Bell, who leads the global avia-tion practice at the executive search consultancy, Spencer Stuart. Bell be-lieves that, “Regional airline executives must craft and execute robustbusiness strategies, establish and defend niches in competitive markets andhandle myriad operational issues that arise in the larger carriers” (O’Toole,2000(b) p.82). Because of this, regional carriers offer management talent asgood as that found in major carriers.

Recruiting practices however, have become particularly focused con-cerning some airlines’ astute observation that diversity matters to customers



and should be part of the organisation’s hiring policy. Examples of Continen-tal Airlines’ hiring for diversity and multicultural marketing will be drawnout below in the section on Diversity and Equal Employment Opportunity toshow how this organisation credits a big part of its recent turnaround to its“aggressive attitude in hiring, training and retaining minority employees”(Fitzgerald, 2001, p.s6).

HR Operational Activities: Diversity and Equal Employment Opportu-nity

A different spin on dealing with diversity can be seen at Continental Airlineswhere “Airline executives imply one reason the company has posted severalyears of profits and double digit growth is its aggressive attitude in hiring,training and retaining minority employees. About 23% of its managers and37% of its employees are minorities” (Fitzgerald, 2001, p.s6).

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Continental is situated in a “laboratoryof diversity”, where, in Harris County, 39% of people aged 18 to 30 years areHispanic, 29% are white; 22% are African-American and 8% are Asian. In itsmove to embrace diversity, Continental became “the first official airline ofthe U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and has formed alliances with theOrganisation of Black Airline Pilots, the Black Flight Attendants of Amer-ica, the National Black MBA Association, and the Hispanic MBA Associa-tion to recruit minorities at all levels of the company” (Fitzgerald, 2001,p.26). Continental’s hiring and organisation’s policies are paying off, lead-ing to Continental having been ranked number 18, in 2001, on Fortune’s listof “100 Best Companies to Work For” (Fitzgerald, 2001, p.s6).

Diversity is often discussed in lay and practitioner industry sources, notfrom the point of view of equal and fair treatment of employees, but as a mar-keting method particularly in discussions on recruitment. Hendersen out-lines the growth of both women (International Society of Women AirlinePilots) and black airline pilots (Organisation of Black Airline Pilots, OBAP)associations challenging the old status quo. “About 30 years ago, the U.S.airline industry was an almost 100% white male bastion” (Hendersen, 1995,p.37). Little information can be found on the presence of women and minori-ties in the American transport industry, but airlines are learning how to suc-cessfully court and embrace diversity. At Southwest Airlines, a “leg up” isgiven to women and minorities by interviewing them ahead of other candi-dates” (Hendersen, 1995). At Southwest and America West, where both or-ganisations claimed more than 50% of their employees were female. Bothcompanies also have clear equal employment directives. At America West, acorporate statement of commitment regarding equal employment opportu-nity and affirmative action is maintained and updated annually in addition toa separate “non-discrimination in employment policy that specificallytouches upon harassment, including race, colour, religion, national origin,age disability, veteran status, sex and in particular, sexual harassment”(Hendersen, 1995). As mentioned earlier in the section on recruitment,


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Southwest seeks to mirror population statistics in its hiring practices. Unitedhas also taken a stand and has declared its commitment to “providing oppor-tunity for career advancement to women and minorities ... [setting] aggres-sive affirmative-action goals and strongly [promoting] equal opportunityfor all employees in the areas of recruitment, hiring and promotion...”(Hendersen, 1995).

Delta Airlines has also taken a number of industry-leading initiatives topromote the development of women and black pilots in an industry whereonly 5% of all pilots are women and less than 1% is non-Caucasians (BlackEnterprise, 2001). In June 2001, students began benefiting from Delta’scommitment to spend $1.6 million in pilot training scholarships in a jointprogramme with Western Michigan University and the Organisation ofBlack Airline Pilots. Delta has also targeted selected high schools aroundthe US where it provides financial assistance, internships, job shadowing,and facilities tours. Employees provide programme support by serving asmentors in the classrooms, sharing real-life experiences with the D-TCA[Delta Technical Career Academy] students. And, in another collaborativeeffort with OBAP, 30 boys and girls were brought to Ace Camp to gainfirst-hand knowledge of what it takes to be successful in the field of aviation(Black Enterprise, 2001).

References throughout the literature were made to the lack of respect andoutright sexual harassment experienced by women working in the airline in-dustry. According to the International Society of Women Pilots, after carry-ing out a survey via 134 of its members, “Despite the media attention usuallyconcentrated on sexual harassment, the ISA participants reported total gen-der discrimination incidents as both more frequent and more significant. Ofthe significant incidents reported, 55 per cent (37 incidents) were catego-rised as gender discrimination and 45 per cent as sexually oriented harass-ment” (Eaton, 2001, p.143). The Federal Aviation Association is also notimmune to problems of sexual harassment. Three women at the agencyclaim the agency persistently ignored their complaints of sexual harassment.In the case of Carolyn Davis, Ms. Davis’ harassment worsened on 30 May,2001, to the point that the scope she used to co-ordinate air traffic, had beentampered with (Federal Human Resources Week, 2002). It is interesting tonote that according to the “2000 Employee Attitude Survey results, employ-ees did not feel the FAA ”was fully committed to improving personnel rela-tions”, even though management at FAA believed its reforms were on track(Federal Human Resources Week, 2001).

A lack of respect can also be communicated in an airline’s attempt to cre-ate a certain image or marketing gimmick. In 1994, JAL made female flightattendants “dress up as Minnie Mouse, with mouse ears, headbands with redpolka dot bows and aprons decorated with Disney characters” (Eaton, 2001p.12). Male flight attendants were not required to dress up as Mickey Mouse.Some flight attendants believed that JAL, in its goals to reduce staff from



22,000 to 17,000, was trying to make flight attendants look ridiculous andwant to quit their jobs.

Eaton (2001, p.13) asserts that for a woman to secure employment in theaviation industry, she “must achieve and maintain a particular state of em-bodiment, prescribed primarily according to an instrumentally imposed con-cept of a feminine aesthetic and practice largely according to constraint,containment and concealment”. Eaton cites the image of the Singapore Girl.

The selection procedure of SIA exemplifies the effect of suchmarket-oriented strategies [i.e. glamorised cabin hostess connotingin-flight pleasure and a lyrical quality], as human resource management.The girls must be between 18 and 25 years of age, fluent in English, slimand attractive with a clear complexion, taller than 1.58 metres, with apleasant personality and a smile. Although no one would admit it, thetraining was implicitly sexual: the Singapore Girl’s brief was to beirresistible to Western and Japanese (Eaton, 2001, p.132).

Overview of Audit Findings: Recruitment and Selection

There was an overwhelming consensus in the review of the literature that hir-ing the right people was one of the single most important issues in human re-source management. Audit findings do not contradict this but a number ofdiscrepancies on hiring practices appeared in the audit findings. Accordingto respondents, 93.33% (See Table 1, question no. 6) of the airlines in the sur-vey answered yes to the question of whether their organisations attempts tofill positions internally before going to outside sources (the remaining 6.67answered not applicable). In spite of the unanimous policy of seeking inter-nal candidates first, less than half of the respondents (46.67%, see Table 1,question no. 14) responded yes to there being a policy regarding promotions(40.00% answered no and the remaining 13.33% answered not applicable).Another surprising finding was that less than half (46.67%) of all those whointerviewed candidates received training in “the types of questions and ac-tions that are legal” (See Table 1, question no. 40), and even fewer (40%) re-ceived training in interviewing techniques (See Table 1, questions 40/41).On a more general note, the highest ranking sources cited for seeking exter-nal candidates (See Table 1, questions no. 21) was employee recommenda-tions (73.33%), followed by the Internet (71.43%), and fairly close behind,newspaper ads (66.67%). Interestingly, even though employee recommen-dations was the single highest source of external candidates, less than half(40%) of the respondents responded yes to the question of there being an em-ployee referral programme (See Table 1, question no. 22).

Overview of Audit Findings: Diversity and Equal Employment Opportunity

Contrary to the enthusiasm encountered in the review of the literature con-cerning the marketing opportunities promoting workforce diversity, theaudit findings indicate a relatively low level of commitment to facing thechallenges inherent to diversity. Only 60% of the audit respondents said theirorganisations had an equal employment opportunity policy (See Table 2,


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question no. 2). Of that 60%, only one-quarter (26.67%) have communi-cated that policy to all employees (question no. 4) or have trained all super-visors and managers in the proper implementation of the policy (questionno. 5). On the issue of sexual harassment, while 73.33% (question no. 14) ofrespondents said their organisations had sexual harassment policies, only46.67% have distributed that policy to all employees (question no. 16), andan even lower percentage of supervisors and managers (33.33%, questionno. 17) have been trained in the proper implementation of the policy. As inthe above categories, seeking employee opinions is given low priority.Seventy-three per cent of respondents said their organisations do not surveyemployees on the issue of equal employment opportunities and sexual har-assment (question no. 32).

Tables 1 and 2 are presented below depicting the actual questions re-sponded to in the audit by the 13 graduate global aviation students/managersin this study:

Summary and Conclusions

The US airline industry appears to be in trouble on this front. In a study bythe Better Business Bureau, data indicates that consumer complaints “morethan doubled between 1995 and 1999” (Lovelock and Wright, 2002, p.123).According to the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) that meas-ures customer’s evaluations of the total purchase and consumption experi-ence, both actual and anticipated, on an annual basis. Compared to four otherindustries (banks, stores, hotels, phone companies) between 1995 and 2000,airlines showed the “sharpest deterioration in customer satisfaction” (Love-lock and Wright, 2002, pp.123-124).

A high correlation exists between customer satisfaction and satisfied em-ployees. Furthermore, a high correlation exists between satisfied employeesand world-class human resource practices as depicted in this article: em-ployee and labour relations.

A conceptual tool that can help an organisation to plan according to cus-tomer perceived value is to liken service delivery to a theatrical event. Thecustomers’ experience of the service “consists of a series of events that cus-tomers experience as a performance” (Lovelock & Wright, 2002, p.64).This experience is most visibly affected by an organisation’s contact person-nel (actors) but can be equally affected by back office staff (back stage) aswell. In response to the need to optimise work performance by line and ad-ministrative staff, service organisations are slowly adopting the philosophyof internal marketing. Broadly speaking, internal marketing may be under-stood to mean two interrelated concepts: one, that “even employees and de-partments not having direct contact with external customers are stillsuppliers of something which adds value for internal customers, and thus in-directly for external customers as well”; and two, internal marketing can beviewed as the use of “traditional marketing techniques as communications




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Table 1: Recruitment and Selection

NumberOut of aTotal of 62Questions

Question Yes, No, N/A (orother as indi-cated in thequestion box) %

3 Does authorisation for hiring a new employee require a

position description?

86.67, 6.67, 6.67

5 Does authorisation for hiring a new employee require a

statement of the position�s specific requirements (com-

petencies, education, experience, and skills, both techni-

cal and special)?

86.67, 6.67, 6.67

6 Is an attempt made to fill positions from within the Or-

ganisation prior to obtaining candidates from outside the

Organisation?

93.33, 0.00, 6.67

14 Does your Organisation have a policy regarding promo-

tions?

46.67, 40.00,

13.33

16 If your answer to the previous question was yes, has that

policy been communicated to all employees?

33.33, 0.00, 66.67

21 What sources are used for external candidates?

[Choices: internet, search firms, employment agencies,

schools, consultants, newspaper ads, professional jour-

nal ads, professional associations, employee recommen-

dations, job fairs, outplacement firms,

downsizing/relocating employers, organisation publica-

tions, organisation marquees and signs, other.]

71.43, 46.67,

53.33, 40.00,

26.67, 66.67,

33.33, 26.67,

73.33, 33.33,

26.67, 13.33,

13.33, 0.00, 6.67

22 Does the organisation have an employee referral pro-

gramme?

40.00, 53.33, 6.67

34 Are any measurement devices such as tests used?

[Choices are yes, no, sometimes, n/a]

40.00, 6.67,

46.67, 6.67

35 If your answer to the previous question was yes or

sometimes, are such devices based on an analysis of the

job?

73.33, 6.67, 13.33

36 If your answer to Question 34 was yes or sometimes,

have such measurement devices been professionally

validated?

53.33,

26.67,20.00

40 Have all people who interview candidates been trained

in the types of questions and actions that are legal?

46.67, 46.67, 6.67

41 Have all people who interview candidates been trained

in interviewing techniques?

40.00, 53.33, 6.67

43 Are all position requirements based on an analysis of

the job?

86.67, 6.67, 6.67

47 Does your Organisation require drug testing? 33.33, 60.00, 6.67

58 Is there an individual within the human resources de-

partment accountable for the entire selection and re-

cruitment programmes?

86.67, 6.67, 6.67



Table 2: Diversity and Equal Employment Opportunity

NumberOut of aTotal of 45Questions

Question Yes, No, N/A (orother as indi-cated in thequestion box) %

1 Is there an individual within the human resources de-

partment accountable for ensuring the Organisation ful-

fils all equal employment laws and regulations?

73.33, 26.67

2 Does the Organisation have an equal employment op-

portunity policy?

60.00, 40.00

4 If your answer to Question 2 was yes, has that policy

been distributed or communicated to all employees?

26.67, 46.67,

26.67

5 Have all supervisors and managers been trained in the

proper implementation of the Organisation�s equal em-

ployment opportunity policy?

26.67, 60.00,

13.33

6 Does the Organisation have a grievance procedure for

employees to redress perceived violations of the Organi-

sation�s equal employment opportunity policy?

46.67, 40.00,

13.33

8 If your answer to Question 6 was yes, has the equal em-

ployment opportunity policy been communicated to all

employees?

33.33, 20.00,

46.67

14 Does the Organisation have a sexual harassment policy? 73.33, 26.67

16 If your answer to Question 14 was yes, has that policy

been distributed or communicated to all employees?

46.67, 33.33,

20.00

17 Have all supervisors and managers been trained in the

proper implementation of the Organisation�s sexual har-

assment policy?

33.33, 46.67,

20.00

26 Have supervisors and managers been trained in what

constitutes sexual harassment?

46.67, 46.67, 6.67

27 Have non-management employees been trained in what

constitutes sexual harassment, the Organisation�s sexual

harassment policy and the grievance procedure?

40.00, 53.33, 6.67

28 Do all of the Organisation�s advertisements for employ-

ment identify the Organisation as an equal opportunity

employer?

46.67, 46.67, 6.67

32 Have employee opinions on equal employment opportu-

nity and sexual harassment been survey separately or as

a part of a general employee opinion survey? [Choices:

yes, no. do not survey such information, n/a]

13.33, 13.33,

73.33, 13.33

39 Does the organisation accommodate disadvantaged

and/or disabled people whenever possible?

80.00, 20.00

devices to involve and motivate employees and gain their commitment to thecorporate purpose” (Holloway, 1998, p.170).

The most obvious conclusion to be drawn from the results of the audit ishow poorly understood the concept of “internal marketing” is in the airlineindustry. Airlines cannot offer optimal service to external customers becausethey do not know their internal customers very well {employees recruitedand selected driven by the foundation of diversity and EEO}. Airline admin-istrators via the literature and audit findings, appear to show little awarenessof, and interest in, their own internal customers’ opinions and insights. Man-agement also tends not to communicate many types of important information(with the exception of rules and regulations) to their internal customers (bothsupervisors and line personnel) and often do not provide sufficient internalservices that would contribute to optimising internal customer performance(e.g. training and development). The reason for this lies in the poor state ofhuman resource management in the airline industry. Shareholders and man-agers should be aware of these deficiencies.

In broad strokes, HRM weakness gleaned from audit results for one of themajor categories is as follows:

Recruitment and Selection. Overall scores in the categories were fairly goodwith the notable exception that in spite of the fact that employee recommen-dations were the single greatest source for external candidates, less than halfof the organisations were indicated as having an employee referral pro-gramme in place.

Diversity and Equal Opportunity. Managers and supervisors are not welltrained either in regards to issues surrounding equal opportunity employ-ment and sexual harassment or in the proper implementation of related poli-cies. There was also a low level of interest in surveying employees for theiropinions on these matters.

Recommendations

Unless airline administrators begin conducting internal HRM audits in theirown organisations, they will remain crippled by external issues e.g., endlessprice wars and shortsighted cost cutting binges. Airline administrators mustmake the connection between what their external customers value and howand why employees provide that value and more. The bridge linking cus-tomer value to employee performance is human resource management ingeneral and recruitment and selection as well as diversity and equal employ-ment opportunity. To this end the following four recommendations are of-fered:

First, that airline administrator’s conduct audits of their respective organi-sations in order to ascertain the gaps between what they thought their airlineswere doing and what they actually were doing. In other words, an audit con-stitutes both a reality check and a baseline from which to plan for the future.


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A second and related recommendation is that national and internationalregulatory bodies in civil aviation should collaborate on formulating anairline-specific HRM audit that could be readily adapted and used by indi-vidual airlines. An opportunity exists here for researchers in the field ofHRM to conduct additional audits in the airline industry.

The third recommendation is that airlines appoint a person whose respon-sibility it is to conduct timely employee opinions surveys on the followingsubjects: organisation culture, organisation leadership, employee relations,equal opportunity employment and sexual harassment, and benefits prefer-ences. The results of the surveys should also be communicated to all em-ployees.

The fourth recommendation also deals with information gathering. Infor-mation should be gathered in respect to such industry and organisation rele-vant items as recruitment, selection, benefits, compensation, costs andemployee productivity. These results need to be communicated to employ-ees.



References

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