Strategic Human Resource Management in Qantas Airlines

This essay explores the most important issues related to strategic human resource management in Qantas Airlines. It highlights the HR strategies, challenges, and ways to implement best HR practices in the organization.

Running head: STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Strategic Human Resource Management
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Introduction
The purpose of this essay is to explore the most important issues related to strategic
human resource management. This has been regarded as one of the most important issues in the
shaping of the organizations in the best ways. Qantas Airlines has been chosen as the company to
be focused on. They have spent a lot of time in developing their corporate strategies. The various
ways in which the Qantas Airways is trying to gain the competitive advantage over their
competitors will be discussed in this essay (McGrath, 2013). They have to set the new targets in
front of them so they can achieve them and be the unparallel one. They have to focus on the
workplace culture as well. The HR strategies of this organization will be highlighted in this essay
in order to find out the challenges they have been facing. As the HT strategies are very
important, they will have to be discussed and the ways they can achieve the organizational
success would be discussed here as well.
Strategic plan for the organization
It is very important to incorporate the HR strategies in the strategic plan of the
organization. Qantas Airlines has always catered for the benefits and advantages of the
customers in all the ways. They have adopted some of the strategic approaches by which they
can achieve the organizational objectives in the best ways (Briscoe, Tarique & Schuler, 2012).
This organization is considered to be the largest airline in Australia. The Human Resource
Department of the organization looks after all the major issues in the organization like the
employee recruitment and selection, employee remuneration, employee development and the
other important issues (Kehoe & Wright, 2013). The HR managers also adopt the certain
strategies by which the organizations can develop themselves and compete with their rivals.
They work in a very competitive industry so they need to provide their employees with the best

2STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
kind of training and provisions for achieving the objectives of the organization (Briscoe, Tarique
& Schuler, 2012).
The strategic plans that Qantas had taken in terms of their HR policies are to cut the costs
of different segments in the organization. They have also focused themselves on decreasing the
labor costs that could help the better productivity in the organizations (Briscoe, Tarique &
Schuler, 2012). The HR management looks after the moderating policies of the wages to cut
down the costs. They wanted to build up a flexible and highly motivated workforce that could be
essential to meet the requirements of their customers. The organizational structures should also
be made flexible as well for the benefit of the organizations. Some of the ways in which the labor
costs could be decreased are the reduction of the salaries and wages and strike off the costly
practices within the organization (Briscoe, Tarique & Schuler, 2012). The experts have said that
these types of problems for the organization have been very much recurrent. This will ruin the
reputation of the organization (Qantas.com.au, 2018).
The Qantas airlines have faced many challenges in their internal and external business
environments. This is why they had to make several challenges in the entire system so they could
eliminate all the challenges (Van De Voorde, Paauwe & Van Veldhoven, 2012). The factors that
propagated these changes were the need for gaining more profit. The company had to maintain
the hierarchical structure that it followed along with the autocratic leadership (Bhatti et al.,
2012). Sometimes the employees have been deprived of several facilities. The organization has
posed some strict rules that have been very problematic for the organization (Van De Voorde,
Paauwe & Van Veldhoven, 2012). The training process of the organization went through a
thorough change in the year 2003. The HR management of Qantas had expanded the
apprenticeship program of the company. The learning and training process had to be reinvented

3STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
to have the best results. As training and recruitment are very important for the organization,
Qantas is trying very hard to implement these issues into their strategic plan (Shields et al.,
2015).
Rationale for the workforce related strategies in the HR
The Qantas Airlines have adopted some strategies by which they can motivate the
workforce. This will enhance the performance of the organizations and employees in the best
ways. They have looked to strengthen their workforce in the best possible ways (Qantas.com.au,
2018). The workforce planning has been very efficient and they have been trying to implement
the best strategies. Thus they will be able to get the best results if their employees perform at
their best. They have always wanted to provide the employees with a fair recruiting process that
will make the recruiting process a transparent one. They focus on the selection, sourcing and
appointment of the best candidates into their organization according to their merits. They like to
develop the skills of the people as it is needed. The managing process of the candidates has to be
done properly. They want to make sure that the new employees can get onboard very quickly and
smoothly (Qantas.com.au, 2018).
The HR management is always keen on the fact that they have to create a work
environment that could be competitive but the employees would feel secure to work in it (Shaw,
Park & Kim, 2013). They provide the best environment so the people can feel excited to
complete their works. The performance of both the individuals and managers has to be managed
so they can meet the requirements and improve their performance (Shields et al., 2015). The HR
management of Qantas has always stressed on improving the personal and professional
development of the employees (Qantas.com.au, 2018). The employees who possess proper talent

4STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
are supported by the HR managers properly for their learning and development (Harrison, 2012).
The HR managers also give the employees proper opportunities for their betterment
(Qantas.com.au, 2018).
The workforce related priority for the HR
The HR department of Qantas airlines always wants to provide their employees with the
best opportunities and facilities so they could retain the talents (Jackson, Schuler & Jiang, 2014).
Their soul interest is to develop and maintain the talents within their organization as the business
industry in which they operate is very much competitive. They always want to build a proper
workforce that could lead up to the expectations of the organization. They always prioritize on
providing the stakeholders the best options for their investments (Brewster, 2017). They give
security to their employees in the best ways. Many employees suffer from several issues in the
workplace. The employees who face these issues should always bring them in front of the HR
management (Hendry, 2012). The issues like the interpersonal conflicts among the employees,
the misbehaviors among them and the results of the internal recruitment procedures. If any
employee breaches the legal policies or the guidelines the HR department takes strict actions
against them instantly (Cascio, 2018). The Whistleblower policy has been seen as one of the best
policies in the Qantas airlines (Qantas.com.au, 2018)
Issues and challenges in the HR
Many issues and challenges have been seen in the HR management of the Qantas airlines
despite the success of their job design and change management (Qantas.com.au, 2018). In spite
of the cutting the labor costs to increase the productivity, they have failed to design an effective
change management that should have been non-biased (Jiang et al., 2012). Some important

5STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
things have been seen in the context of Qantas that the organization is not paying the workers
proper salaries and they have gone for strikes for that as well (Qantas.com.au, 2018) Qantas
should have ensured the proper remuneration of the employees that is very well justified. This is
why it is very much disgraceful that a famous and well reputed organization like Qantas has not
been able to pay their employees properly. This has been registered as a very challenging issue
indeed (Bratton & Gold, 2017).
Ways to implement best HR practices in the organization
After going through these several challenges in the organization like Qantas, they should
implement some strategies so they can get back their lost reputation in the industry. As the
company is suffering financially, the HR managers need to draw up a plan to bring back the
sustainability in the business. They need to arrange one to one interviews with the employees
who are very much displeased with the payment implications. The payment issues should be
resolved by implementing some long-term strategies to get financial benefits (Qantas.com.au,
2018). The skill gaps in the organization should be covered. They should redesign their training
and communication models properly so the employees can perform properly. Qantas has recently
taken up the market oriented approach that has hampered their employee engagement. This is
why the organization should take up the employee oriented approach and implement the
strategies properly. These are the ways of reviving the lost reputation (Truss, Mankin & Kelliher,
2012). They should invest their money on the pilot candidates. They should also stress on the
innovation, creativity, safety of the passengers and more productivity. Thus the organization can
regain their spot in the industry (Buller, & McEvoy, 2012).
Achievement of the organization through the HR strategies

6STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
If Qantas can develop these HR plans with success and implement them properly they
can surely develop their place in the industry. As one of their main issues is the paying the wages
to the staffs, they should be able to make the proper arrangements for the overstaffing. Then they
can pay the wages to the best employees only (Lashley, 2012). The HR strategies should always
be able to ensure that Qantas is always responds to the necessities of change (Dwertmann &
Kunz, 2012). The HR strategies of Qantas should unite all the perspectives of the managers in
the way that they can address the challenges in the best ways. Qantas shall put these different
issues like the retaining the talents in the workforce for a better future for the organization
(Qantas.com.au, 2018)
Conclusion
This essay can be concluded by saying that Qantas has taken up some good HR strategies
that could lead the organization to enhancement but their poor implementation power has ruined
their strategies. The workforce related strategies of the Qantas airlines have been discussed in
this essay and the challenges and issues have been highlighted. The proper recommendations
have been provided on how the HR practices could be improved. Thus they can enhance their
business performance and provide the best facilities to their employees.

7STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
References
Bhatti, N., Maitlo, G. M., Shaikh, N., Hashmi, M. A., & Shaikh, F. M. (2012). The impact of
autocratic and democratic leadership style on job satisfaction. International Business
Research, 5(2), 192.
Bratton, J., & Gold, J. (2017). Human resource management: theory and practice. Palgrave.
Brewster, C. (2017). The integration of human resource management and corporate strategy.
In Policy and practice in European human resource management (pp. 22-35). Routledge.
Briscoe, D., Tarique, I., & Schuler, R. (2012). International human resource management:
Policies and practices for multinational enterprises. Routledge.
Buller, P. F., & McEvoy, G. M. (2012). Strategy, human resource management and performance:
Sharpening line of sight. Human resource management review, 22(1), 43-56.
Cascio, W. (2018). Managing human resources. McGraw-Hill Education.
Dwertmann, D. J., & Kunz, J. J. (2012). HR strategies for balanced growth. In Balanced
Growth (pp. 137-161). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg.
Harrison, R. (2012). Employee development. Universities Press.
Hayes, J. (2014). The theory and practice of change management. Palgrave Macmillan.
Hendry, C. (2012). Human resource management. Routledge.
Jackson, S. E., Schuler, R. S., & Jiang, K. (2014). An aspirational framework for strategic human
resource management. The Academy of Management Annals, 8(1), 1-56.

8STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Jackson, S. E., Schuler, R. S., & Jiang, K. (2014). An aspirational framework for strategic human
resource management. The Academy of Management Annals, 8(1), 1-56.
Jiang, K., Lepak, D. P., Hu, J., & Baer, J. C. (2012). How does human resource management
influence organizational outcomes? A meta-analytic investigation of mediating
mechanisms. Academy of management Journal, 55(6), 1264-1294.
Kehoe, R. R., & Wright, P. M. (2013). The impact of high-performance human resource
practices on employees’ attitudes and behaviors. Journal of management, 39(2), 366-391.
Lashley, C. (2012). Empowerment: HR strategies for service excellence. Routledge.
McGrath, R. G. (2013). The end of competitive advantage: How to keep your strategy moving as
fast as your business. Harvard Business Review Press.
Qantas.com.au. (2018). Qantas.com.au. Retrieved 19 April 2018, from
https://www.qantas.com.au/infodetail/about/corporateGovernance/BusinessPracticesDoc
ument.pdf?adobe_mc=MCMID
%3D38686179153957551890609069398380585881%7CMCORGID
%3D11B20CF953F3626B0A490D44%2540AdobeOrg%7CTS%3D1515378669
Shaw, J. D., Park, T. Y., & Kim, E. (2013). A resource‐based perspective on human capital
losses, HRM investments, and organizational performance. Strategic management
journal, 34(5), 572-589.
Shields, J., Brown, M., Kaine, S., Dolle-Samuel, C., North-Samardzic, A., McLean, P., ... &
Plimmer, G. (2015). Managing Employee Performance & Reward: Concepts, Practices,
Strategies. Cambridge University Press.

9STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Truss, C., Mankin, D., & Kelliher, C. (2012). Strategic human resource management. Oxford
University Press.
Van De Voorde, K., Paauwe, J., & Van Veldhoven, M. (2012). Employee well‐being and the
HRM–organizational performance relationship: a review of quantitative
studies. International Journal of Management Reviews, 14(4), 391-407.