Human Resource Management in British Airways: A Comprehensive Report

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HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT FOR SERVICE INDUSTRIES
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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Task 1...............................................................................................................................................3
1.1 The purpose and role of human resource management in British Airways...........................3
1.2 An HR plan for the new flight service to Madeira................................................................4
Task 2...............................................................................................................................................6
Assessing the current state of employment relation in the airline industry (AC 2.1, M1 ).........6
Task 3...............................................................................................................................................9
Discussion of the job description and person specification for the position of BA (AC 3.1,
M2)..............................................................................................................................................9
Comparing the selection processes of British Airways and Transport for London (AC 3.2,). .11
Task 4.............................................................................................................................................13
Contribution of training and development to the effective operation of British Airways (AC
4.1, M1, D3)...............................................................................................................................13
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................15
References......................................................................................................................................16
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Introduction
The human resource management of an organisation has a specific responsibility towards
managing the human resource. But the roles and responsibilities of Human Resource
Management in the service industry are more important than the product manufacturing
industries. The service industry is totally based on the quality performance provided by the
workforce. Therefore, human resource practices become very necessary and continuously
upgraded to maintain the best quality of services for the customer. In this study, the focus will be
given on the human resource management roles and purposes, employment laws, employee
relationship, recruitment and selection process, HR plan and training and development areas.
Task 1
1.1 The purpose and role of human resource management in British Airways
Just like other departments the human resource management of this organisation is associated
with developing a better performance of the service industries employed the main subject for
improving the performance. The human resource management of this organisation British
Airways is to conduct the planning, organising, directing, recruiting, selecting and training the
employees. Human resource management has the role of
Developing a good relationship with the organisational stuff can help in maintaining the welfare
and understanding the need of various departments.
The training program for the employees are being designed and organised by the human resource
management (Analoui, 2017).
The human resource policies and procedures are made up which can help for properly
implementing the welfare of the employees.
Human resource management is associated with developing an environment for the employees
who help them to who provide their decisions and ideas to improve the organisational
performance.
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Both the personal and professional development is being arranged by the human resource
manager in British Airways for helping the employees to focus on their future opportunities.
Most of the instructions need to be given to the employees given by the human resource
management. Both the new employees and old employees are managed in this manner by the
HRM (Cascio, 2015).
Finally, considering and managing the appraisal for the employees is another role of the human
resource management of British Airways.
The responsibilities HRM in British Airways are:
After the continuous ups and downs of British Airways, the organisation is looking forward to
the best results the organisation can provide. For this purpose organising proper and advocate
training program for the employees is a major responsibility of the human resource management
currently. Training has been given to the Employees for tackling the customers developing a
better organisational culture and providing training sessions personally.
Developing the best teams which can perform for improving the organisational performance by
providing them rewards and operation another responsibility which is given to the human
resource management to accomplish the current goal of the organisation.
in the process of recruiting and selecting the employees for different branches of British Airways
is also done by the human resource management (Mills and Helms Mills, 2017).
The appointment formalities and the corporate office works related to the employee recruitment
and selection are the responsibility of the human resource manager.
Developing different survey and workshop within the British Airways is required to understand
the feedback of the employees, which will help the organisation to develop a better workplace
according to the Employee’s wish.
Besides that, the human resource manager is associated with direct communication with the fresh
employees for the process of salary settlements and better job role responsibilities
(britishairways.com, 2019).
1.2 An HR plan for the new flight service to Madeira
For providing a human resource for the new flight service to Madeira, the human resource plan is
highly required.
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The human resource audit is the process by which the human resource management develop
proper enhancement and improvement of Human Resource function. According to the scenario
for the summer season, 8 new flights will be provided for this new destination coverage of
Madeira to Heathrow (Eaton, 2017). Rest of the year, total of six flights is needed for this same
function every week. Human resource audit will help in maintaining the function by providing
the proper number of employees to conduct this job.
Selection and recruitment is also a necessity for this new destination coverage. Four new pilots
and four new pilots are necessary for the summer season every week. Besides that, four
engineers, 48 cabin crew and air hostess need to be recruited.
Pilot- 4 pilots will be needed for the summer season but the pilot requirement in rest of the year
will be three per year. Both ups and downs of the flight will be managed by one pilot.
Copilot- An assistant pilot is required by every pilot. Therefore, a total of 4 copilots will be
recruited.
Engineer- for every flight 1 engineers is necessary. This engineer will help in any internal
problem during the 4 hours of flying (Cascio, 2015).
Cabin crew and air hostess- The cabin crew and air hostess are always considered as the main
requirement for the flight, who will attend the customer directly to provide the best services
within the flight. For every flight total, 12 travel crew and air hostess will be recruited.
Doctor- for the emergency conditions of the customers, one doctor is needed for every flight.
Induction- The use of the induction process is very essential for new members who are being
recruited as part of his new job roles. Providing training to them is known as induction for which
different types of training will be provided according to the job role.
On the job training will be provided to the air hostess and cabin crew members. Specific
language requirements for communicating with these customers are Portuguese, Russian, Arabic
and Mandarin. Besides that understanding, the cultures of these people are also important for
these cabin crew members to directly communicate with them.
Specific performance appraisal has to develop for motivating will start working with British
Airways (Eaton, 2017). After reviewing the performance of employees the uprising will be
calculated and provided as part of their salary.
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Task 2
Assessing the current state of employment relation in the airline industry (AC 2.1,M1 )
Airline industry is one of the largest industries in the international market that constantly changes
due to the rapid development of technology and tough competition between the different airline
industries (Armstrongand Taylor 2014). The fact is without experienced employees'
incorporation of technological advantages is not possible for the airline industry. For this
purpose, employment relation is crucial for the wealth and future development of this industry.
However, thestructure and cultureof an organization play an important role in developing
employment relation. In the context of British Airways, the organizational structure is flat type,
which adds value in improving employment relation. There are a few levels or no levels between
the employees and managers in a flat organizational structure, which allows the staffs to
communicate with their managers without any hesitation (Bach and Edwards 2013). As a result,
the HRM department of BA is able to develop a friendly and interpersonal relationship between
the managers and employees. British Airways follows cultural diversity in its workplace, which
gives value the employees belong from different cultures and religions.
As commented by Brattonand Gold(2017). Employment relation refers to the regulation of
employment relationship between the employees and managers in an organization, which is
established both individually and collectively. However, collective bargaining is derived from
collective labor agreements and it is established between the management and union. The
employees are abided by laws according to this labor agreement. On the other hand, the scope for
negotiation varies in terms of working hours, contact and development. In the context of BA, the
management and supervisors use the scope of negotiating working hours with a little opportunity
for employee development. This affects the employment relation in this industry
(Britishairways.com 2019).
Employee participation and involvement in the decision-making process is an effective way to
improve the relationship between an employer and employee (Nickson 2013). In British
Airways, the HR managers influence the employees to participate in the organizational decision-
making process and allow them to provide their own viewpoints. This is helpful to increase the
confidence level of staffs. On the other hand, empowerment is one of the vital methods of
improving the employment relation in an organization. In BA the managers empower the staffs
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and allow them to take necessary decision while dealing with any crisis. This creates value for
the staffs in this organization and the staffs regain their trust in management.
Managing conflict is mandatory for developing the relationship between the employees and
employer (Siddiquiand Bisaria 2018). However, as an airline company BA includes a large
number of staffs in various divisions and each division depends on another. For this purpose
often conflict occurs between the employees of different departments that affect the relationship.
Therefore, often misunderstanding occurs between the management and staffs regarding any
organizational decision. To deal with these challenges the HRM department of BA has
established an open discussion forum, which allows both managers and employees to share their
perspectives and develop a common goal. Moreover, the management of BA always focuses on
reducing the challenges faced by the employees in this organization. They have different
compensation planning to support the employees to overcome their grievance.
Discussion about employment law affects human resource management in British Airways
(AC 2.2, M2)
The HRM department of every business industry is responsible to comply with the employment
laws while managing human resources. In British Airways discrimination occurs with the part-
time staffs, which is unlawful (Curzongreen.co.uk 2019). According to the Employment Right
Act 1996, UK business industries are responsible for providing equal opportunities to all
employees (Equalityhumanrights.com 2019). In the context of BA, the management fails to
comply with the Employment Right Act as they do not give equal facilities to the part-time
staffs. However, the maternity leave policy of BA is totally unfair, which affects the employee
right in this organization. For example, the cabin crew members of BA who, upon returning from
maternity leave became the part-time workers in this organization. As per the UK employment
law, this management process of human resources in BA is totally unethical and unlawful.
As per the Employment Right Act BA needs to treat the employees fairly who are returning from
leave. However, the current management process of part-time employees in BA is affected by the
Employment Right Act and this organization is forced to change its people management policy.
The ill health retirement and dismissal policy of BA is not effective. For example, Mohindra
Sandha was a logistic agent of BA who was dismissed for getting an injury in his eyes. However,
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this dismissal was totally unfair as the management of BA did not provide a fair warning to this
employee before terminating him. This employee has won an unfair dismissal claim at an
employment tribunal and he was awarded £19000 (Peoplemanagement.co.uk 2019). The
management of BA claimed that Sandha was able to work as per his medical report but still he
was on leave. This claim is totally vague as BA was unable to prove it. From this case, it has
been received that BA did not follow the Employment Right Act while dismissing Sandha. Here
is a clear indication of nom-compliance with the employee right in BA during their termination.
As a result, of non-compliance with the employment law BA was forced to provide a huge
compensation to Sandha.
The Employment Relations Act focuses on establishing a fair relation with the employees in
the business industry (Equalityhumanrights.com 2019). In BA the current employment relation is
under threat as unfair termination and dismissal affect the employment relation in this
organization, which results in a random strike. As per the UK employment law regarding the
termination, every business organization should provide a notice period to the employees based
on their working years. In BA 20 cabin crew staffs were sacked in Hong Kong without giving
any prior notice. This termination policy of BA led them to face legal challenges occurred due
to a breach of employment contract law.
According to the employment, law pension is mandatory for every retired employee in UK.
However, the employers are responsible to enroll their employee's name automatically into a
pension scheme (Siddiquiand Bisaria 2018). This employment law influences the retirement
policy of BA. BA offers a good pension scheme to its employees after retirement. However,
nowadays, the trustees of BA are forcing the management to increase the amount of pension,
which leads this organization to face high cost. In order to deal with this challenge, BA has
transferred its pension liability to an insurance company, which was the largest deal in UK.
However, the pension policy of UK employment law influences the people management in BA
both positively and negatively.
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Task 3
Discussion of the job description and person specification for the position of BA (AC 3.1,
M2)
The job description and person specification for the position of airline operation manager in BA
are as follow:
Job Description
Job Title: Airline Operation Manager London City
Band: Management department
Department: BA management
Job Purpose:
A great opportunity exists to join our renowned airline company and ever-expanding London
city management team. As an operation manager of BA, you will be responsible for looking after
both ground operation control and air traffic in an effective manner. You will be passionate and
enthusiastic about handling our service detail and training of both pilot and cabin crew in BA.
Duties and responsibilities:
 To create and maintain the schedule of coming and going out of all flights in London
 Responsible to manage the delays in flight timing
 To perform a security check while hiring employees for their department
 To conduct training and development for all staffs in BA
 To ensure that all safety policies and legal requirements are implemented effectively
 To analyze the design of the runway and if found any problem they have the right to alter
the design of the runway
 To co-ordinate with the in-flight staffs during the take-off and landing
 To prepare report in case of emergency landing and deliver this to the airport authority
 To communicate with all the airline departments to make a flawless operation
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 To update their skill as per the situation
Person Specification
Skills
 Excellent communication and ability to coordinate with all departments
 Need to be passionate about operating and managing each area of operation
 Having the capacity to deal with the challenging circumstances confidently
 Problem-solving skills to identify the problems regarding airport security and solve these
effectively
 As an airport manager, you should have time management skill to oversee the working
process of various departments
 You must act as a leader in the entire airport and ensure that everyone works in harmony
with another
 Ability to build a good relationship with all the co-workers
Qualification
Bachelor’s in aeronautical Science is mandatory
Master’s in Business Administration
Experience
Minimum of five years' experience in airport operation management and administrative work
Physical criteria
Physically feet to meet all the job criteria and challenges occur during the work
Behavior required for this current position
 Faster
 Smarter
 Good Listener
 Learner
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Comparing the selection processes of British Airways and Transport for London (AC 3.2,)
Selection process British Airways Transport for London
Step 1: Job vacancy Vacancies are posted on the
company webpage
Vacancies are posted on website
and newspaper
Step 2: Application method Application is done via online
and application needs to submit
on the official BA career website.
In BA the applicant needs to
agree with some terms and
condition associated with the
desired position. After
completing this process the
candidate can submit the form
successfully (Britishairways.com
2019).
Application is done by filling the
form online and going physically
to the head office. In TFL there is
no requirement of completing
any term or condition during the
application (Tfl.gov.uk 2019).
Step 3: Completion of interest
form
In BA the applicant needs to fill
an interest form after submitting
the application form.
Does not have such type of
requirement
Step 3: Online test The candidate needs to perform a
psychometric test via online only
after meeting the basic
requirements. The psychometric
test includes verbal reasoning,
spatial reasoning, numeracy, and
situational judgment.
The applicants need to perform
two online tests after getting the
confirmation mail. The
candidates need to follow a
strength test and a general ability
test within 1 hour
Step 4: Assessment day In BA candidates who are
successfully completed the online
test invited to perform an
assessment day. In this process,
the candidate needs to solve
some multiple choice questions
and perform a role play and
group exercise
In TFL the applicants need to
perform group exercise,
presentation exercise and written
exercise on the assessment day.
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Step 5: Interview After completing the assessment
day the candidates are invited to
perform a face to face interview.
In this process, they have to
explain their strength, weakness,
and personality and confidence
level. In BA there is no account
of telephonic interview.
The interview process is very
important and unique in TFL. In
TFL the candidates need to
perform a telephonic interview
after that they are invited for the
final round interview. The final
interview is a competency-based
interview, which is done by
organizing a panel of 12 board
members. The interview
questions focus on how the
candidate deals with the
challenging environments and
what is the rationale
Step 6: Background check A background check is done
accordingly. The most important
thing is the medical check
conducted in BA selection
process. The medical check is
mandatory and varies based on
the designation.
The background check and
medical check is less complex
compared to BA
Step 7: Training and joining The long-term training program
is conducted to increase the
safety knowledge and
professional knowledge of the
applicants.
Short-Term training is conducted
before joining.
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