Human Resource Management Practices at British Airways

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HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT FOR
SERVICE INDUSTRIES
1

Contents
INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................. 3
LO 1................................................................................................................................................ 4
1.1 ROLE AND PURPOSE OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN A SELECTED SERVICE
INDUSTRY...................................................................................................................................4
1.2 HUMAN RESOURCES PLAN BASED ON AN ANALYSIS OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND.................7
LO 2.............................................................................................................................................. 11
2.1 CURRENT STATE OF EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS IN A SELECTED SERVICE INDUSTRY..........11
2.2 EFFECT OF EMPLOYMENT LAW ON THE MANAGEMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES IN
BRITISH AIRWAYS.....................................................................................................................13
LO 3.............................................................................................................................................. 14
3.1 JOB DESCRIPTION AND PERSON SPECIFICATION FOR CABIN CREW JOB AT BRITISH
AIRWAYS.................................................................................................................................. 14
3.2 COMPARE THE SELECTION PROCESS OF DIFFERENT SERVICE INDUSTRIES BUSINESSES....18
LO 4.............................................................................................................................................. 19
4.1 CONTRIBUTION OF TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES TO THE EFFECTIVE
OPERATION OF A SELECTED SERVICE INDUSTRY BUSINESS.....................................................19
CONCLUSION............................................................................................................................... 20
REFERENCES-............................................................................................................................... 21
2

INTRODUCTION
The Aim of this study is to understand the human resource sector in depth by taking in the
context of British Airways which is a leading airways company based in the UK. The role and
purpose of human resource management are studied in detail by encompassing the roles and
responsibilities they undertake as HR managers. An HRM plan is also created which covers the
duties the HR team has to execute for BA. The effect of employment law on the management of
human resources in British Airways is also discussed. Lastly, the contribution of training and
development programs for the employees of British Airways is discussed (Wangithi and
Muceke, 2012).
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LO 1
1.1 ROLE AND PURPOSE OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN A SELECTED
SERVICE INDUSTRY
Human Resource Management is defined as the practice of recruiting new staff, hiring,
deploying, managing and organizing a company’s employees. It is often referred to as human
resources and involves managing those human resources well so as to organize them and make
them work in the right direction that benefits the company. For British Airways, the HR
department is the one that creates and puts into effect the policies governing the workers and
also maintain a healthy relationship between the employees and the organization (Elhazzam,
2015).
At BA, the employees are managed with emphasis as they are an asset to the company. They
are the human capital on which the organization spends and invests so as to reap rewards. The
goal is to make the employees productive and to use their skills and capabilities in the best way.
Reducing human resource related risk and maximizing the return on investment is also a major
component of human resource management.
The following tasks are carried out by the human resource management team at British
Airways-
Employee Recruitment, onboarding and Retention- This task includes hiring new staff at
BA as and when the vacancy arises in any department of the organization, the new
employees are hired on the basis of their skills, capabilities and qualifications to join as
an employee of BA. For example, for the vacancy of cabin crew, the HRM team seeks
the needed skills of presentation and communication skills; for hiring a pilot for the
fleet, the qualifications looked for are a person with valid pilot's license and some years
of experience of flying aircraft (NGOLE, 2015).
Talent Management and Workforce Management- The employees currently with the
company have to be managed well and aligned to achieve the common business goals
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of BA. Talent management includes using the talent and skills of the employees in the
best possible way so as to get maximum output and productivity from the employees.
The right employee should be engaged in doing the right task so that the employees like
what work they are doing and performing their best. The employees should also be
presented with opportunities to succeed and grow in their fields and should also be
presented with challenges so that they enjoy their job at BA (Tyagi et al., 2017).
Job role Assignment- This includes assigning the right job to the right employee so that
they fit in their job role perfectly. As the new employees are hired in BA, it is the HR
manager's job to assign the job role to the new employee and assign them the tasks
they have to complete. Familiarising with the job to the new employee is also the task of
the eth HR manager. The HR manager introduces the employee to the company and
discusses aspects like the role he has to play, the expectations from the employee, the
rules and regulations of the company, the benefits, incentives and bonuses given to the
employee depending on his performance and addressing other concerns and queries of
the employee (Guang-yu, Z. and Hua-jun, 2010).
Compensation- This part is to give the employee compensation, bonuses and perks if
the employee has performed outstandingly in the tenure. Compensation is provided to
the hardworking employees of BA in the form of paid leaves, hike in monthly salary or
vouchers. All this is managed by the HR team which keep a tab on every employee’s
performance and motivate them to do well (Tyagi et al., 2017).
Labour Law Compliance- Labour law includes the rights and responsibilities of the
employees and maintains the relationship between the workers, employing entities and
other trade unions formed by the employees. The HRM at BA looks over if the
employees are fulfilling their labour law duties and also if the organization is able to
fulfil their duties in providing the right working environment and job satisfaction to the
employees (Duarte et al., 2015).
Performance Management- This includes managing the performance of the employees
and looking at the aspects where they are lacking in fulfilling their duties. This role also
includes overlooking the performance of various sections of BA and seeing which unit is
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performing well and which one is lacking to reach the desired performance level.
Consequently, the employees of that department are discussed with to find why are
they not performing well and whether there is any requirement of training or skilling of
the employees (Gittell and Bamber, 2010).
Learning and Training- This is an integral task of HRM of BA which includes giving
training to the new employees and the existing ones too to equip them of the skills and
capabilities which will help them do their tasks in a better manner. The learning and
training must be carried out in the organization from time to time to skill the employees
and to increase their productivity. For example, the cabin crew might undergo training
of learning a new language if that is deemed necessary or training might be given to
ground staff in the procedures to be followed at airports. The training is a vital factor in
any organization and especially in the airline industry (Tyagi et al., 2017).
Employee Engagement and Recognition- This factor includes engaging the employees in
the activities of the company so that they feel a part of the company and are engaged
with the company in the long run. Recognising the employee’s hard work and
contribution towards the company is also done by the HRM and is awarded
appropriately in form of appraisal and giving other rewards (Rouse, 2019).
These are the functions of the human resource management team at BA. These important
tasks of managing the employees are done by the HR team of BA on a continuing basis.
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1.2 HUMAN RESOURCES PLAN BASED ON AN ANALYSIS OF SUPPLY AND
DEMAND
An HR Plan is the plan that outlines the continuous processes of systematic planning of
employees and resources of BA to achieve the optimum use of an organization’s assets and
resources. The HR plan includes creating of balance between the employees and the jobs they
are doing to avoid any manpower shortages or surplus. The HRM plan gives a strategic
approach on how to manage people in a way that the organization can gain from their expertise
and skill set in the best possible way. The HRM plan also outlines maximizing motivation and
contribution to the development of the organization. The plan consists of preparation and duty
allocation for the next years to achieve the business goals and objectives through a systematic
designing and implementation of the HRM programmes (GK, 2014).
Steps for developing the HRM Plan
1. Conduct a departmental analysis- The first step in creating the HRM plan is the
understanding of the company’s vision. Here, understanding the vision and mission of
British Airways is very important so that the plan can incorporate the business
objectives and align the employees’ performance according to the set vision and goals
of BA (Eaton, 2017).
Mission and Vision of BA: British Airways’ mission is to set new industry standards in
the sector of customer service and innovation and to deliver the best services to its
customers. The vision of BA is to follow its corporate responsibility and to become the
most preferred airline in the world. To achieve this, the company has also prepared
some guiding principles that will lead the company in a set direction.
2. Identify Strategic HR issues- The next step is to find out the issues pertaining to the
industry. The problems within the HR department should also be taken into
consideration like adequate employees in each department, need for skilling and
training, task delivery on time, etc (Harzing and Pinnington, 2010).
HR issues in BA- The Company is having low staff from a long time and recruitment is
not occurring so the company has to work on increasing the staff in many sectors like
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Operations, Marketing and Ground Staff. These issues have to be kept in mind while
creating the HRM Plan for BA.
3. Identify On-going HR Issues- In addition to the strategic issues faced by the company,
the on-going issues must also be addressed in the human resource management plan
for British Airways. This will ensure that the problems are brought into the light and
effective work is done to address the issues faced by the airline company. An on-going
issue with BA can be employees not having job satisfaction or their disagreement with
the wages (Gittell and Bamber, 2010).
4. Prioritize the issues and create an action plan for them- The solutions for the problems
in the department/s must be framed to reduce the impact of the issues on the working
of the airlines. The issues must be prioritised according to their severity and resources
available within the industry in curbing down the issue. The department’s top
management must aid in creating the action course and provide suggestions and input
to solve the issues (Belobaba et al., 2015).
5. Draw the HRM Plan- The problems and their solutions must be framed in the HRM plan
which outlines the human resource management and allocation of duties to run the
organization in a positive direction and to achieve the company goals efficiently.
These are the steps for creating an HRM plan for BA. The steps are vital for making the HR plan
which will improve the company’s performance in the current scenario and in future.
8

HRM PLAN FOR BRITISH AIRWAYS
This is an HRM plan for British Airways and it includes the tasks to be accomplished by the HRM
team in order to improve employee productivity and sales for the company.
9
HRM Plan
Access Define Select Migrate Operate and
improve
 Developing
a
manpower
database
 Initiate
migration
of HR
functions
 Initiate
change
manageme
nt facility
 Shared
service role
 Impact on
HR
organizatio
n
 Update
business
case
 Service
provider
 Negotiate
the
agreement
 Manage
relationships
in the
organization
 Planning and
management
 Preparation
and analysis
 Design and
development
 Testing and
parallels
 Plan and
design
performance
 Review
performance
 Managing
processes
 Project
management
activities

Supply and Demand of Labour
The demand for labour is a derived demand that arises due to the output it produces. If there
are more consumers demanding the product then more is the demand of the producers for
skilled labour. Hence there is a rise in the demand for labour as the consumer's demand for the
product rises. The demand for labour also depends on other factors like the price of the
machines, the wages they are getting and the availability of labour in the market. If the
machinery is expensive then the demand for labour will also rise. In some cases, the machinery
and labour are used in a fixed ratio like in the handlooms industry. If more looms are produced
by machines then less requirement of the labour will be felt (Harvey et al., 2013).
Just like the demand for labour, the supply of labour is also governed by some integral factors.
For industries, supply is directly proportional to the wages; more the wages offered by the
company or employer more will be the supply of labour and fewer wages offered by the
employer, less will be the supply of labour. The total supply of labour in the economy depends
on economic, social, political and technological processes. Example, the attitude and preference
of women towards work, part-time employment availability, size and distribution of the
population in a given area, etc. The supply of labour decreases when labourers refuse to work
for the employer. This happens when labourers form trade unions and demand certain
conditions from the employer like better working condition, flexible timings, better wages and
compensation among other demands (Seth, 2019).
These are the concepts of demand and supply of labourers in an economy. A similar case can be
experienced for British Airways for retaining its employees.
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LO 2
2.1 CURRENT STATE OF EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS IN A SELECTED SERVICE
INDUSTRY
Employee Relations are a company’s efforts to manage relationships between the employer
and the employees. Human Resource Strategies are the plans of the company to help them gain
and retain a competitive edge in the market. Stakeholders are those persons who are
committed to the company, financially or otherwise and get affected by the company’s success
or failure. Employee relations policy is the company’s philosophy, procedures and guidelines for
tackling the employee related issues for resolving problems at the workplace. To make sure the
employee relations are maintained at the company, an Employee Relations Representatives
Committee is formed which ensures that the company policies are followed fairly and without
breach (Nickson, 2013).
Importance of Employment Laws-
The employment laws prevent employers from discriminating against employees on various
grounds like age, sex, disability and various other factors. Discrimination laws are in place to
avoid employers from discriminating against the employees and show a biased attitude to the
employees. Discrimination laws also prevent employers from hiring persons of their choice and
not giving promotion to some employees because of their ethnicity or race. The
implementation of employment laws considers all employees to be equal for the employees
and that all are entitled to the same benefits and facilities of the organization (Boselie, 2010).
Employment laws have also improved the minimum wage that employees receive. Before the
employment laws were enacted, it was in the hands of the employers to decide what they want
to pay to the employees but after the law was passed, it created a certain minimum that
employees must be paid irrespective of the success or failure of the organization. Thus
employment laws have given security and protection to the employees regarding the minimum
wage they receive for giving their services to the employer.
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Employment laws have also progressed with regard to workplace safety. The employees can
complain to the law if the workplace is not following safe working practices. The workplace
safety law implies that any hazardous or dangerous substances must be kept out of reach of the
employees and that they should not be affected by it at all. Those employees who are working
directly with harmful substances must be provided with protective gear like shielding suit,
goggles, cap and gloves by the employer so that their health is not affected in any way.
Workplace safety also includes that employees are safe from any threat or harm at the
workplace so that they can do their tasks peacefully (Belobaba et al., 2015).
The health employment laws have also benefitted the employees as a right to remain safe at
the workplace. After the implication of the health laws, the employees can take sick leaves if
their health is not well, they can get maternity and paternity leaves which are paid, they have
access to flexible working hours and cannot be forced to work overtime as the law prohibits it.
Due to all these facilities provided by the employer, the employees tend to stick with the
organization for a long time and tend to be loyal employees of the organization (Bratton and
Gold, 2017).
Workers’ Compensation laws are also important employment laws which entitle the employees
to receive compensation and bonus if his performance has been great with the organization.
The employees also receive a bonus if the company has performed well and has earned a profit.
The employment laws about child labour state that anyone below 12 years of age cannot do
any kind of employment, non-light work by children aged 12-14 and hazardous work was done
by children aged 15-17. This is done so that the children can attend school, get an education
and live their childhood freely instead of working with an employer and earning a dime
(Boselie, 2010).
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