Human Resource Management in British Airways: A Comprehensive Analysis

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HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT FOR SERVICE INDUSTRIES

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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................................3
TASK 1................................................................................................................................4
1.1 HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN BRITISH AIRWAYS WITH ITS ROLE AND
PURPOSE........................................................................................................................4
1.2 PREPARATION OF HR PLAN FOR EMPLOYEES ON THE BASIS OF ANALYSIS OF
DEMAND AND SUPPLY....................................................................................................6
TASK 2................................................................................................................................9
2.1 ASSESSES THE CURRENT STATE OF EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS IN THE AIRLINE
INDUSTRY.......................................................................................................................9
2.2 DISCUSSES HOW EMPLOYMENT LAW AFFECTS THE MANAGEMENT OF HUMAN
RESOURCES WITHIN BRITISH AIRWAYS.........................................................................11
TASK 3..............................................................................................................................13
3.1 A DISCUSSION OF THE JOB DESCRIPTION AND PERSONAL SPECIFICATION FOR CABIN
CREW, BE FOUND IN APPENDIX 1.................................................................................13
3.2 COMPARING THE SELECTION PROCESS OF BRITISH AIRWAYS AND TRANSPORT FOR
LONDON.......................................................................................................................14
TASK 4..............................................................................................................................17
4.1 ASSESSING THE CONTRIBUTION OF TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES OF
BRITISH AIRWAYS.........................................................................................................17
CONCLUSION....................................................................................................................22
REFERENCES.....................................................................................................................23

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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Human resource management.................................................................................4
Figure 2: Employee Engagement.............................................................................................9
Figure 3: Equal Opportunities................................................................................................11
Figure 4: Training and Development.....................................................................................17

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INTRODUCTION
The report defines the human resource management of a selected industry and the
importance of human resource management. The selected industry is the airline industry
and the airline company has chosen is British Airways. Human resource management plays a
crucial role in industries like airlines as it affects the activities related to dealing with people.
The HRM department handles all the aspects of employee management from recruitment to
training & development and from performance appraisal to overseeing department
functions. Human Resource Management or HRM is the management of workforce within
an organization. It deals with the selection, training, performance assessment, and
rewarding employees, along with supervising the organizational culture and ensuring
compliance with laws of employment. The report discussed the training and recruitment
process of the employees of the industry. The role and benefit of training for the human
resource of British Airways are uploaded in detail in this report.

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TASK 1
INTRODUCTION
As a trainee Human Resource Officer at British Airways, the report presented gives the
details about the relevance of human resource management in British Airways. After the
successful agreement for flights to Madeira from Heathrow, Human resource plan is
submitted to line manager which specifies the roles and responsibilities assigned to the staff
along with their working hours' schedule.
Figure 1: Human resource management
1.1 HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN BRITISH
AIRWAYS WITH ITS ROLE AND PURPOSE
HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Human resources management can be defined as the process of selection, recruitment,
training, development, orientation, motivation and maintenance of relations with the
employees of the company. The function of the organization which is related to managing
people and evaluating their performances is known as human resource management
(Heathfield, 2018). British Airways were established in the year 1974 with an objective to
make this company be the best and most successful airlines in the world. For this purpose,
the company has considered building a bridge between the employees and the company
through investment in the company's human resource management department.

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ROLE OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
British airways understand the need of human resource management for the success of the
company and for the same reason a huge sum of money is invested in the training and
development of the employees. The human resource management is the backbone of the
company that thrives the workforce to work productively and contribute to the success of
the company (Bianca, 2018). HRM plays a crucial role in managing the employees of the
organization in the aviation industry like British Airways. It directs the company for its goals
achievement and paves the path of success. There are various activities which are carried on
in the process of human resource and development of the British Airways which are
detailed below:
Human resource planning
Human resource planning is the process of critically thinking and developing a systematic
plan for the best utilization of the most valuable resources of the organization that is human
resources. It the continuous process of employing the potential of the individuals of the
company for the attainment of common goals and objectives of the organization (Kenton,
2018). British Airways puts its efforts towards its aim of providing exceptional and satisfying
customer services by grouping the capabilities of its employees. Planning is one of the most
important functions carried on by the human resource department of a company. British
Airways has the objective to provide unique services to its employees which cannot be
achieved by copying any other airline. For this purpose, it trained its employees and
invested in the development so that they can serve their customers in the best possible
manner.
Employee Development Program
Development and training is a very important process to update the technological and other
skills of the employees of the company. The process of training and development is
necessary to utilize the emerging opportunities of the market and to serve the changing
demand of the customers. The British Airways makes various researches from time to time
in order to find out the current needs and demands of its customers and based on the same
information it makes changes in the training and development process of its employees. It

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decided to invest in the different development program for improving the knowledge and
potential of its workforce. The company became the most successful airline company by
continuously satisfying the needs of their customers.
Payment Package and Rewards
Rewards are the most powerful motivator which works in every field to motivate and
enhance the capabilities of employees and to get their full support for the attainment of
objectives of the company (Heathfield, 2018). British Airways pays salary to its employees by
a job evaluation grading system which measures the performance of the employees. For
performing better and achieving more than the target set by the employee, the company
pays the bonus to its employees. British Airways organizes employee satisfaction program
by providing them different internal and external benefits.
1.2 PREPARATION OF HR PLAN FOR EMPLOYEES ON THE
BASIS OF ANALYSIS OF DEMAND AND SUPPLY
Human resource planning is a continuous process which is done in order to manage
employees of the organization. There are many factors which affect the human resource
planning of a company which involves internal and external factors. British Airways is
affected majorly by its external factors such as technological factors, political factors,
economic factors, and social factors. Through planning and development, British airways
improved the performances of its employees and ultimately increased the profitability of
the company. The process consists of four main steps which are explained below:
Analyzing current supply
This is the first step in the process of human resource planning which analyses the current
availability of the human resource. It includes research in terms of the capabilities, skills,
experience, tenure, age, numbers, qualifications and performance of the workforce of the
company. This is done with the help of interviews and questions asked the managers about
the current working of the employees of British Airways. Then the future supply is
forecasted in the sense of improvements that can be made in the human resources.
Examining future demand

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The second step in process of human resource planning includes the forecasting made for
analyzing the demand of human resource of the British Airways. While making the forecast,
a number of factors are taken into consideration by the company such as attrition, layoffs,
foreseeable vacancies, retirements, promotions, pre-set transfers, etc. Certain other factors
which include unknown workforce variables like competitive factors, resignations, abrupt
transfers or dismissals are also considered by British Airways.
Demand forecast
After analyzing the current supply and future demand, they are compared with each other
for forecasting the demand for a human resource of British Airways. This step aims at
aligning the objectives of the business with the workforce demand forecast.
HR Sourcing Strategy and Implementation
After the above processes, the last step includes the preparation of a human resource plan
which is based on the demand and supply of British Airways. The company can organize
communication programs to meet the gaps between demand and supply as forecasted
above. This can be done with the help of these communication programs which is carried on
with employees, trainers, personnel managers, and with other parties included in the
human resource department and management.
Following the plan is prepared for the human resource of British Airways:
Name of Department Supply Analysis Demand Analysis
Working
hours
Number
of
present
staff
member
s
Staff
Quit
during
the
year
Staff
left by
the
end of
the
year
Projected
Staff
Demand
for Flight
Projected
New
Hires for
Flight
Working
Hours (Per
Week)
In-flight Business Manager 5 2 3 5 3 42
Customer Service
Manager 5 1 4 6 5 48

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World Class Cabin Crew 10 5 5 20 15 36
Heathrow Mixed Fleet
Cabin Crew 20 8 12 15 12 36
Pilots 286 2 4 10 8 42
Flight Attendant 15 5 10 30 28 48
Airport Station Attendant 10 2 8 20 12 36
Airline Administrative 5 2 3 5 4 48
TOTAL 76 27 49 111 87 336
CONCLUSION
The report clarifies the importance and role of human resource management in the British
Airways company. The factors affecting the human resources of British Airways are
examined in detail. The human resource plan is developed by analyzing the demand and
supply of the same for a flight to Madeira by assigning the working hours to employees and
workers of each of the department.

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TASK 2
INTRODUCTION
The human resources of the airline industries are the trusted employees which are the most
valuable resources of the company. The reports depict the present state of relationship with
employees of the airline industry. Also, the effect of employment law in the management of
British Airways is analyzed in detail.
2.1 ASSESSES THE CURRENT STATE OF EMPLOYMENT
RELATIONS IN THE AIRLINE INDUSTRY
Figure 2: Employee Engagement
EMPLOYEE RELATIONS
Employee relation includes all aspects of the relationship between employee and employer
which helps in achieving the objectives of the company (Scott, 2018). Today, one of the
most difficult challenges faced by modern airlines is achieving economic growth under
expanding employee rights. With the change in employment law, Airline Company faces
many problems regarding the management of their employees. The employees enjoy a
very healthy relationship in the British Airways company because this airline considers
employees as their greatest asset and continuously made arrangements for their training
and development. British Airways are careful enough to maintain employment relations

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with its union as well. Despite various measures for the maintenance of employment
relations, the company faced numerous challenges from time to time (Brian, 2018).
EMPLOYEE PARTICIPATION
Employee participation is the contribution of employees of the organization for the
attainment of its goals and objectives. The skills of the employees can be utilized in a better
manner by asking them for their participation. Each worker participation is necessary for an
organization to be successful which also gives the advantage in the form of unique ideas and
creativity (Quain, 2018).
EMPLOYEE INVOLVEMENT
Involvement of employee is related to the opportunities provided by the company to its
employees to help in decision making. By this sense of involvement, the employees feel
associated with the company and work with their extra potential. Greater is the employee
participation less will be the resistance from them. The employee involvement meaning
refers to the direct interaction between management and employees that encourages
workers to take ownership of the outcome of a project (Quain, 2018).
EMPLOYMENT EMPOWERMENT
Employee empowerment is delegating some responsibilities, authorities, and influence over
work to the employees of the company for achieving organizational policies (Jones, 2017).
British Airways achieved high-level productivity of its workforce by empowering them with
authorities and diligence of power. This helped in improving the performance of the
employees in British Airways. This airline believes that allowing the employees to take some
of their own decisions reduces wastage of time, improves performance and motivate
employees.
GRIEVANCE AND DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURES
Issues and grievances can arise at any point in the business enterprise and so it becomes
important for the company to establish a grievance and disciplinary procedure. The
standardized grievance is a continuous process which starts with a complaint by the
employee. British airways permit its employers fairly and consistently to deal with the

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employee misconduct and complaints from employees about the workplace of the company
(Frost, 2018).
2.2 DISCUSSES HOW EMPLOYMENT LAW AFFECTS THE
MANAGEMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES WITHIN BRITISH
AIRWAYS
EMPLOYMENT LEGISLATION
Employment legislation is the law that governs the employees of an organization which
affects the employer, employees, and unions directly. It deals with the roles responsibilities
of the employees, the process of engagement, duties of employer and employee of the
company. The British Airways focused on the
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES
Figure 3: Equal Opportunities
[Source: Dimech, 2018]
British Airways organizes a diversity programme which aims at recognizing diversity in the
employees in terms of disability, age, race, religion, gender and sexual orientation (British
Airways, 2018). The concept of equal opportunities is being applied at British Airways where
the company has short-hauls pilots and long-haul pilots. The long-haul pilots work for
comparatively long hours per year than those in many short-haul airlines. And so for
ensuring equal work opportunities, the company gives various allowances and concessions