Human Resource Management in British Airways: A Comprehensive Analysis

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HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT FOR SERVICE INDUSTRIES

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................. 3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................ 4
1.1 AN ANALYSIS OF THE ROLE AND PURPOSE OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN
BRITISH AIRWAYS.......................................................................................................................4
1.2 THE CREATION OF AN HR PLAN, BASED ON AN ANALYSIS OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND, WITH
JUSTIFICATION OF THE STAFF ROLES AND NUMBERS OF STAFF AND HOURS OF WORK
REQUIRED TO DELIVER THE NEW FLIGHT SERVICE TO MADEIRA...............................................6
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................ 9
2.1 ASSESSMENT OF THE CURRENT STATE OF EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS IN BRITISH AIRWAYS
................................................................................................................................................... 9
2.2 DISCUSSION ABOUT THE IMPACT OF EMPLOYMENT LAWS ON THE MANAGEMENT OF
HUMAN RESOURCES IN BA......................................................................................................11
TASK 3.......................................................................................................................................... 13
3.1 A DISCUSSION OF ON THE JOB DESCRIPTION AND PERSONAL SPECIFICATION FOR CABIN
CREW MEMBERS AT BA........................................................................................................... 13
3.2 A COMPARISON OF SELECTION PROCESS OF BA AND THE TRANSPORT FOR LONDON......15
TASK 4.......................................................................................................................................... 17
4.1 ASSESSING THE CONTRIBUTION OF TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES FOR
EFFECTIVE OPERATION IN BA...................................................................................................17
CONCLUSION............................................................................................................................... 20
REFERENCES.................................................................................................................................21

INTRODUCTION
Human resource management is of prime importance in the service based industries because
the employees need to interact with the customers on a day-to-day basis. These interactions
with the customers can be impressive if the employees are satisfied with the service condition
in the company. This report will discuss the human resource management process at British
Airways which is one of the largest aviation companies in the UK. In the initial part of the
report, different functions of HRM at British Airways will be discussed. These functions include
training and development, recruitment and employee relationship management. Later, the
report will discuss the staff roles of different team members need to be employed to start a
new flight service to Madeira. The report also discusses the recruitment process followed at
British Airways to appoint the cabin crew member and a comparison is made with the
recruitment process at Transport for London.
Figure 1: British Airways

TASK 1
1.1 AN ANALYSIS OF THE ROLE AND PURPOSE OF HUMAN RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT IN BRITISH AIRWAYS
Human Resources management is the process of increasing employee engagement so that they
can become more valuable to the organisation. It involves hiring the right set of employees and
provide them with the right environment where they can develop their skills and grow
professionally (Billings, 2018).
British Airways is a service-based organisation and the interaction of the employees with the
customers need to be full of energy and enthusiasm so that customer can associate with the
brand, but this is only possible when the employees are happy with the work condition and are
trained enough to deal with the various challenging situations in the work (British Airways,
2019). At British Airways the human resource department has to play some important
responsibilities such as onboarding of the newly recruited employees, employee wellbeing
safety and better employee-employer relationship.
FUNCTIONAL ACTIVITIES OF HRM AT BRITISH AIRWAYS
Below discussed are the four primary activities of the Human Resource Management Programs
at British Airways:
Recruitment and selection: The recruitment and selection programs at British Airways are
aimed at selecting the most qualified and talented candidates so that a better workforce can be
created. British Airways makes sure that every candidate is provided equal opportunity to get
selected irrespective of its colour, gender, age, sexual orientation or religious belief ( Collings et
al., 2018).
Payment Package and Reward: The reward and recognition work as a motivating factor for the
employees and encourages them to improve their performance (Eaton, 2017). These programs

are aimed at recognising the efforts of the employees and acknowledge them on public
platforms. Rewards and recognition are also helpful in increasing employee engagement.
Performance management: At British Airways, Performance management is one of the primary
functions of the Human resource department. The performance management is not restricted
to the appraisal process only; it is started from the recruitment process where right job
description is prepared for the job role and the candidates are provided orientation so that they
can carry their duties efficiently (Ford, 2014).
Training and development: These programs are required to identify the gaps in the knowledge
and skills of the employees and design the right training programs so that these gaps can be
fulfilled (Helmreich and Merritt, 2017). At British Airways these programs are required to
improve the customer service quality and introduce the employee with the new technical
aspects in the operations.

1.2 THE CREATION OF AN HR PLAN, BASED ON AN ANALYSIS OF SUPPLY AND
DEMAND, WITH JUSTIFICATION OF THE STAFF ROLES AND NUMBERS OF
STAFF AND HOURS OF WORK REQUIRED TO DELIVER THE NEW FLIGHT
SERVICE TO MADEIRA
An HR plan is required to forecast the staffing needs for a future event. In the present case
scenario, a new flight service for Heathrow to Madeira is being started by British Airways and
there is a need to assess the exact requirement of staff for this new airline service (Hopkin et
al., 2016). The exact calculation of the required staff is necessary to make sure that the demand
and supply matrices are balanced and British Airways do not face any shortage in staff during
peak seasons.
PROJECTION OF HR SUPPLY AND DEMAND FOR THE NEW FLIGHT SERVICE TO MADEIRA
SUPPLY ANALYSIS SUPPLY DEMAND
COMPARISION
Key
positions
% Quit from
2013 to
2017
Present
employees
Projected
turnover by
2020
Projected
labour
demand by
2020
Projected new
hires in 2020
General
manager
15 10 2 20 12
Chief
engineer
27 40 10 50 15
Sales
manager
30 35 10 35 15
Pilots 17 60 10 60 10
Engineers 23 75 15 88 28

Cabin crew
members
19 85 17 81 13
Airport
customer
service staff
28 92 28 80 16
Flight
attendant
16 78 10 86 18
Ground
operations
staff
25 82 12 91 21
Total
Employees
557 114 605 162
The HR plan for the new flight service to Madeira shows that in total 162 employees, managers
and senior level staff will be required to carry the services efficiently. This calculation also
includes the number of staff who will leave British Airways; around 114 staff is expected to
leave the organisation till 2020.
Working hours for different staff
Average working hours for different staff at British Airways is 8 hours. The HR department at BA
makes sure that the total work hour of any staff is not more than 40 hours in a week. Cabin
crew staff work in rotating staff and they can be called anytime or the duty. Whenever extra
work hours are required adequate compensation is provided to the employee (British Airways,
2019). For pilots, the maximum working hours is 60 in any seven consecutive days. The working

hours are not exceeded the standard norms but the duty hours of the employees may be
changed frequently which makes these jobs challenging for the employees.
Peak and offseason staffing
In the European aviation industry, there are three types of seasons which are called high
seasons, low season and shoulder season. In high seasons the demand for the tourist services
increase and some extra staff may also need to be recruited to fulfil this demand (MacLeod,
2017). Shoulder seasons are between peak and low season and the staffing needs in this season
are moderate. To fulfil the demands in the peak season companies also use professional staffing
services who deliver quality candidates in minimum possible time.
IDENTIFYING THE ROLES OF THE STAFF INVOLVED
 Pilots: Pilots has the responsibility of operations of the aircraft and taking care of the
safety and security of the passengers. They also need to manage a professional image in
appearance and in conduct as pilots also need to communicate with the passengers
(Salas et al., 2012). During the flight, they need to monitor different apparatus and give
a report to the controlling stations.
 Cabin crew: The cabin crew members at British airways help the passengers stay
comfortable during the flight. It may include serving food, refreshment, water to the
guests. In emergency situations, the cabin crew members need to act immediately and
make the passengers calm and composed so that they can evacuate safely from the
aircraft (Simon, 2016).
 Engineers: Engineers take care of the technical aspects of the flight. They carefully
inspect different parts of the aircraft and if there is some problem they also carry the
maintenance work to ensure that the safety of the passengers and the staff (Billings,
2018). They also ensure compliance of different regulatory aspects.
 Ground staff: Ground staff paly multiple duties according to the requirement. They need
to check the baggage of the passengers and stock the food and beverage items. They
are answer different queries of the passengers and help them during arrival and
departure (Wensveen, 2018).

TASK 2
INTRODUCTION
In the given report, the current state of employment relation for British Airways (BA) would be
effectively evaluated. Furthermore, the role of the trade union for ensuring benefits for the
employees would also be discussed. Besides, there would also be a discussion about the
employment law which would have a significant impact on the human resource management of
BA.
2.1 ASSESSMENT OF THE CURRENT STATE OF EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS IN
BRITISH AIRWAYS
Employee Relation
According to this concept, the management works hard to improve the relationship between
employers and workers so as to enhance the productivity of the employees and hence their
efficiency for getting better results. A good employee relation would help the organization to
perform its function in a smooth manner and achieve its objectives appropriately (). In the
aviation industry, it is required to have a good motivation among the employees so that they
would remain engaged in their work and would be motivated enough to achieve the success for
the company (Mills, 2017).
Employee Relation in BA and its Importance
For BA, employee relations are an important part of their working. If a good relationship is
maintained by the management of BA, it would help in reducing the overall expenditures for
the given organization. Moreover, a good relationship would also help in the reduction in staff
turnover ratio for the company (Wang and Seifert, 2017).
Employee Relation plays an important role in the proper functioning of its operation in BA. A
good relation in a positive manner with the employees would help them to improve their
service quality and thus provide efficient services to the customers of the BA. Good interaction
is a must for its Cabin Crew and should interact with the customers on daily basis. If the
employees working in this position are unsatisfied with their job, it would reflect on their

behaviour. This, in turn, would also have a negative impact on the customers which in turn
would tarnish the brand image of the company. In such situation, a good employee relation
would help the organization to keep the employees satisfied so that they could fully devote
their time to their work and thus enhance the productivity in the form of flight experience for
the customers. So, a good and cordial relationship by the management of BA with employees
would help in providing a great success to the organization (Mills, 2017).
Trade Unions
To provide welfare to the employees, there is a formation of trade unions, the notable of being
them is the World Federation of Trade Union (WFTU). It works towards protecting and
safeguarding the rights of employees in an organization and ensure them to work in a good
environment. They also work for providing compensation in case the employee has sustained
an injury while working in the company (Moon, et al. 2018).
Impact of Trade Union on the UK's Aviation Industry
There are various trade unions working in the Airline industry of the UK and includes Pilot
union, Cabin crew union and ground staff union. BA consults with these unions on various
issues related to the employees such as pension, working conditions and hiring policies.
Therefore management of airline industry such as BA uses a proactive approach by consulting
with them and then taking decisions which would help in avoiding the conflict among the
employees (Crafts, 2019).

2.2 DISCUSSION ABOUT THE IMPACT OF EMPLOYMENT LAWS ON THE
MANAGEMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES IN BA
The employee legislations are the set of rules enforced by the parliament of UK so as to
maintain a certain standard in services which would help in minimizing the impact of violation
of the rights of the employees working in an organization. The employment laws put emphasis
on the human resources management of British Airways which compels the given organization
to take necessary steps to maintain the dignity of their employees and thus assure them to
work with ease.
Equality Act, 2010
This act provides proper protection to the employees by nullifying the role of the management
of an organization to comprise their equality status. Thus, this law compels the BA to do not
discriminate with the employees in terms of salary, training, allowances, basic facilities and
other aspects. Moreover, BA must also ensure that it would not conduct any kind of partiality
against the employees in terms of race, sex, religion and social background and all the
employees would receive facilities as mention in their contract (Flynn and Schröder, 2018).
Employer’s Liability Insurance Act, 1969
This act allows the employees who are working in BA to get proper insurance facilities for any
injury and harm they would sustain due to an accident in future. So, it is the responsibility of
the BA to take steps to provide an insurance cover to all of their employees in case of
unforeseen accident, natural and man-made disaster and make them and their family secure
(Turner, 2019).
Health and Safety at Work Act, 1974
As per this act, the management of any organization is responsible for taking proper care of the
health and safety of the individual working there. So, BA must take the necessary steps and
provide all the safety equipment to the employees so that they work without thinking much on
accident. In addition to this, it should also provide a good working environment where they
would be able to work without any tension and thus provide a significant contribution to the
company (Hunt, 2018).

CONCLUSION
From the given report, it could be concluded that there has been significant discussion about
the employment relationship for the management of BA and it was found that it was portrayed
in an appropriate manner. Besides, the role of the trade union in keeping the rights and dignity
of the employees of the airline industry has been stated in a positive manner. In addition to
this, the given report also provided the information about how the employment laws have
compelled the management of BA to take necessary measures to ensure equality among the
employees as well as their health and safety in a significant manner.