Human Resource Management Report: British Airways Case Study Analysis

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Human Resource Management (HRM) practices within British Airways. It begins with an introduction to the role and purpose of HRM in the organization, including planning, recruitment, placement, training, and employee relations. The report then delves into developing a human resource plan based on the evaluation of supply and demand, considering the airline's expansion. A significant portion of the report assesses the current state of employment relations within the airline industry, examining employment laws and their effects on HRM. The report also discusses job descriptions, person specifications, and compares the selection processes of cabin crew between British Airways and Transport for London. Finally, it explores the contribution of training and development activities to the effective operation of British Airways, concluding with a summary of key findings and recommendations.

HUMAN RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT IN SERVICE
INDUSTRIES

CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION .....................................................................................................................................3
TASK – 1.................................................................................................................................................3
1.1 Role and purpose of human resource management in British Airways ......................................3
1.2 Justifying a human resources plan on the basis of evaluation of supply and demand for British
Airways ................................................................................................................................5
TASK – 2.................................................................................................................................................6
2.1Assessing present state of employment relations in Airline Industry ..........................................6
2.2Employment law and its effects on management of human resources within British Airways ....7
TASK – 3.................................................................................................................................................8
3.1Discussing in relation with job description and person specification for Cabin Crew of British
Airways ................................................................................................................................8
3.2Comparison of the selection process of Cabin Crew in British Airways and Transport for London
...........................................................................................................................................10
TASK – 4...............................................................................................................................................11
4.1Contribution of training and development activities to the effective operation of British Airways
...........................................................................................................................................11
CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................................................13
REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................................14
INTRODUCTION

Every organization whether it is related with service or business needs human
resource department for effective functioning. The main role of HRM starts with recruitment
of effective manpower and meeting out their need and contributing in their welfare and
development. They are also liable to maintain harmony within the firm by comprehending the
requirement and problems of the workers (Armstrong and Armstrong, 2011). The human
resource department of the organization has to work according to employee laws of the nation
and are required to maintain the rights of the staff members. The current HR practices needs
to be adopted timely considering the rising work-life balance problems of the employees.
Considering this, the main purpose of the present research report is to gain knowledge
in regards with the HRM, employee relations, recruitment, employment laws and training and
development in service industries. The report will analyse the main purpose of HRM in
British Airways and will develop a human resource plan. Further the states of employee
relation within the firm and effects of employment law on functioning of human resource
management will be discussed. The later part of the writing will throw light on recruitment
and selection and training & development activities in British Airways.
TASK – 1
1.1 Role and purpose of human resource management in British Airways
There are many roles being played by the human resource management in British
Airways such as planning, motivating, staffing, training, developing as well as maintaining
employees for the betterment of the organization (Brewster, Mayrhofer and Smale, 2016).
As a trainee Human Resource Officer at British Airways, the main task here is to prepare a
report regarding the analysis of the role and purpose of HRM and development of HR plan
considering the recent agreement being made by the firm for flights to Madeira from
Heathrow. The duration of the flight is four hours and there will 6 flights in a week including
return. Explanation of the roles is being done underneath: Planning and forecasting – Throwing light in relation with planning, it is being
defined as a process of making estimation about the human resource in the firm in
advance so that all the duties are being fulfilled significantly. This is being regarded
as one major principle of HRM as it supports in developing and accomplishing the
strategies of business and helps in attracting right number of workers being needed in
the company (Appelbaum and Fewster, 2003). Recruiting process (Contracts of employment) – As British Airways is starting new
flights to Madeira from Heathrow. They will be required to recruit and select large

number of employees. The HRM of the firm will make efforts to select the suitable
workers that can support the business in sustaining a competitive position in the
market by offering excellent services. For this purpose, the HR of British Airways
will recruit efficient candidates from hospitality management universities and colleges
and will organize interview as well as aptitude tests on the grounds being required in
the aviation industry. They will require employees such as ground staff, cabin crew,
pilots, assistant pilots etc. Placement and monitoring employees – The Human resource management is not only
responsible for just selecting the employees rather they are also required to monitor
the workers, their attitude towards job, their performance level and ways of
accomplishing the tasks. With this, the managers will be able to determine that
whether the employees are accomplishing their work duties effectively or not (Gilley,
2009). Training and development – The Human resource manager of British Airways is also
required to offer training and development to its workforce. With this, they will be
able to learn about the new flight regulations, duration and will learn new methods of
meeting out the problems of the business.
 Employee relationship – It is also being regarded as one of the most important role
being performed by HRM of the firm. They are required to maintain healthy
relationship amid the workers and management of British Airways. Policies should be
established that maximizes the benefits of the employees.
According to Storey, there are two approaches such as Hard and Soft HRM and both
are quite opposite to each other. The Hard approach pays attention towards the development
of the firm and effective utilization of the available resources whereas the soft approach
emphasize on maximizing the interest of the workers and motivate them to work effectively
(Hall, 2003). Both these styles of human resource management is not sufficient individually
and there is a need of integration both the approaches for effective productivity as well as
growth of British Airways.
1.2 Justifying a human resources plan on the basis of evaluation of supply and demand for
British Airways
Focusing in relation with the HR planning, it is being defined as a process through
which present as well as future needs of the manpower is being determined. Considering the
present situation of the British Airways, it is vital on the part of HR manager to identify the

vacant position and fill up the same with the best matched talent in the industry so as to offer
best services to the passengers. At the same time, they can also achieve competitive
advantage in the airline industry. However, it is quite difficult to implement HR plan in the
firm as there are few employees with many responsibilities already and thus it becomes
difficult to decide who will be the in-charge. Secondly, firm need to evolve quickly to keep
up with the changing times and thus, staff members need to learn to evolve as well.
Furthermore, it is very crucial to evaluate the demand and supply of manpower because with
this the requirement of human asset in the industry as well as the cost of procuring them can
be ascertained (Schuler and MacMillan, 2004). The supply and demand planning processes
focuses on acquisition of talent, workforce balancing and talent management to meet out the
need of future. HR planning is being affected by the characteristics of demand and supply of
labour. The characteristics of current demand for a labour include skills, knowledge, training,
level of education and regional affiliation will affects the HRP. The HR department of British
Airways will recruit employees based on these features.
Demand and supply will also help British Airways in identifying the competitive
environment of availability of human resource. The supply of HR can be forecasted by
external as well as internal sources. The internal source encompasses the existing workers
within the firm and external source includes placement agencies, newspaper advertisement,
campus placements and many more. The HR plan for British Airways are as follows:
 The very first stage in the human resource planning of British Airways is recognizing
the positions that needs to be filled up and then initiating the process of recruitment
and selection. For new flights various personnel will be required such as cabin crew,
pilots and ground staff.
 At this step, the capabilities and skills being required in the employees is being
determined. In simple words, the skills and abilities being required within the
employees is estimated such as cabin crew should be agile and must have good
communication skills, pilot should have required knowledge about the technology etc.
 The next stage is recruiting maximum number of employees according to the criteria
for the vacant position. This is being performed by giving advertisement in newspaper
and recruiting through hospitality management institutes and universities. Further,
British Airways can also transfer their existing candidates in Heathrow to Madeira or
they can also promote their existing employees (Annual Report, British Airways,
2006). There are around 2 pilots, 4 cabin crew and 6 ground staff required for new

flight. Out of 12, 2 will be transferred within the company and 10 will be recruited
from outside.
 After recruiting pool of candidates, the best applicant is selected by testing them
based on some aptitude tests and interviews. The applicants are evaluated on different
basis and those who match up with the required skills and qualities for the vacant
position are selected.
 This is being considered as the last stage where the human resource plan is analysed
in regards with its effectiveness. Further, at this stage it is also viewed that objectives
of the firm are accomplished or not and based on that the plan is measured. Gaps is
determined effectively and measures are also undertaken for filling the same (Ball,
2012).
Thus, it can be said that human resource forecasting supports in maximum utilization
of the resources effectively so that the current requirement of the British Airways is being
met out.
TASK – 2
2.1 Assessing present state of employment relations in Airline Industry
Talking in reference with the airline industry, it is extremely competitive, high-tech
and safety sensitive service industry. In comparison with the other industries of the economy,
this sector is amalgamation of application of tourism, information technology, engineering
and most importantly elements of people that makes this airline industry doubly exotic,
challenging as well as interesting. Employees, customers and people are adopting the lead
roles in the technology shift rapidly from traditional processes and services. In other words, it
is labour intensive industry which is mainly worked upon the human resource (Lado and
Wilson, 2004). There are various departments in Airline companies like British Airways such
as finance, operations, marketing, Front office attendants, cabin crew, avionics technicians
etc. It is very vital to maintain industrial relationship for the firm. It generally means having
good relations amid the employee and management of the company that reap outs maximum
profits and output. This can also be defined in several ways such as defining social gains,
resolving conflicts, alteration amid freedom and discipline and many more. For airline
industry, employment relation is very crucial because through this a good comprehension and
bonding is being developed between workers and employers. In addition to his, it also helps
in eliminating fraud as they know each other quite well and things can be sort out among
them (Dessler, 2010).

Employment legislation and laws in place guarantee safe and faire working
environment to employees and employers. Without these obligations and rules, employer will
be unaware about their responsibilities. Legislations creates framework for the employers on
constructing their recruitment, selection and training processes, provides structure to the firm
and act as a guidance. On the other hand, legislations are being created to protect the
employees from any sort of discrimination based on race, caste, gender, colour, region,
nationality and disability. Working condition in the airline sector is also very diverse from
other service industries as it works all day and night and there should be presence of HR
every time so as to offer services to passengers. There are many challenges that are being
faced by the employees in this sector such as long and free working hours, peak season
working, health and safety at work etc. Therefore, there is a requirement of such manpower
that are open to work in any situation.
British Airways holds a leading position in the world and they recruits thousands of
workers in their bases all across the globe. There are many representatives of Staff being
employed by the firm who are known as trade unions. They are generally being established to
develop relationship with the employer and with a sole aim to protect the rights as well as
interest of the human resources within the company. They also make discussion in regards
with the pay scales and negotiate as well on behalf of other workers. Each and every workers
has a right to be a part of trade union as to safeguard their rights and interests (Afonso, 2016).
A sample trade union being connected with British Airways is BALPA which is
representatives of pilots and BASSA which is representatives of cabin crew members of the
company. Other than this, the workforce within British Airways is highly unionized with
collective bargaining agreements being carried out periodically. However, because of this
there is high number of negotiations breakdown and operations within the firm has also
impacted up to some extent. Nonetheless, the continuous efforts of the firm to reduce cost of
employment by productivity and fuller utilization of resources is still posing a risk to the
firm. All the functions of British Airways is currently paying attention to change the culture
and because of such programs, there is transformation in the airline into a company where
innovation, growth, relationship and customer services are major thrust constitute that defines
the standards of excellence. Further, people within the airline industry are engaged and their
views are considered in the decision making so as to drive performance within the workplace
(Albrecht and et.al, 2015). Employees are invited in group meetings so that they feel involved
and participated. Further, there is proper conflict management process to manage the issues
within the firm so that group outcomes can be improved. There is also creation of

performance based culture and short term and long term operational efficiency by continuous
improvement driven philosophy. All these thrusts helps in boosting the morale of the
employees and enhance their capabilities and helps in maintaining string employer-employee
relationship.
2.2 Employment law and its effects on management of human resources within British
Airways
Employment laws has significant influence on the human resource management in
British Airways because it supports the firm in achieving its objectives and goals effectively.
These employment laws and regulations also offers a base for undertaking decisions within
the firm. Furthermore, within British Airways the employment laws supports in undertaking
various activities of routine life and identify the terms and conditions of employment as well.
It increases the liabilities of the company in regards with the workers (Barnard and Ludlow,
2016). Some of the important employment laws which needs to be take care by British
Airways in analysing the terms and conditions within the firm are as follows: Health and Safety at work act 1974 – Under this act, British Airways take care of the
substance that might cause injuries to avionics technicians and other flight
dispatchers. Protective instruments as well as clothing should be offered to those staff
so as to protect them from hazardous situations. Licensing Act 1964 – On board the passengers are being offered alcoholic beverages
in almost every airline company. They need to obtain a license to sell the same. Thus,
this act offers rights to the firm to serve alcoholic beverages to their clients and there
should be separate bar in order to serve the same. British Airways need to follow such
rules and regulations for effective functioning (Gama, McKenna and Peticca-Harris,
2012). Data protection Act 1998 – The employees of the ground staff of the company are not
allowed to share any personal information of their passengers. The information should
be secured and should be destroyed within a certain specified time frame.
 Equality Act 2010 – This act entails that there should be no discrimination of
employees on the basis of gender, race, disability, religion and age. The HRM in
British Airways should consider all these while recruiting staff.
Other than the above, there are many laws as well such as Employment Rights Act,
the working Time Regulations, The Sex Discrimination Act etc. that helps in identifying the

rights of the workers in British Airways and offers them direction about how to work
(Cabrelli, 2010).
TASK – 3
3.1 Discussing in relation with job description and person specification for Cabin Crew of
British Airways
Talking in relation with recruitment, it is being defined as a process that includes
attracting pool of applicants for the vacant position by determining the needs of the firm,
labour market and performing job analysis. On the other hand, selection is the process
wherein appropriate candidate is being selected from the pool of applicants for a particular
job position based on their abilities and skills. Both these processes are essential in
identifying the performance of British Airways and for attaining a competitive edge over the
other firms in the market. The main aim of HR manager here is to attract as well as retain
employees with high potential with minimum costs (Cabin Crew Job Description, 2018).
There are numerous tasks and activities being involved in British Airways where employees
have different roles and responsibilities. Thus, to know in detail about these things job
analysis is required to be performed. It simply includes accumulating data in relation with the
type of job, responsibilities, requirements, conditions, persona specification etc.
Job Description of Cabin Crew of British Airways is being developed in the
subsequent paragraph:
Role information
Title of the job Cabin Crew
Company British Airways
Purpose of Job
The main purpose of cabin crew is to make
sure the safety as well as comfort of the
passengers during the flight. They are also
required to offer excellent customer service
by placing the customers at the heart of
everything being performed on board.
Principle Accountabilities
 To make sure the safety as well as
comfort of the passengers during the

flight
 Performing task with high standards
and by considering the norms of
EASA and requirements of British
Airways
 Maintaining safety compliance every
time with recency training
 Required to administer the first aid
of the passengers (Airline cabin
crew: job description, 2018)
 To ensure that all the emergency
equipments are present
 Required to deliver outstanding
services in line with the standards of
British Airways
Personal specification
Skills
 Good communication and inter-
personal skills
 Art of diplomacy and tact
 Good colour vision and hearing
 Art to remain clam in the
situation of emergency
 Passionate towards delivering
services to the customers
 Assertiveness
 Good health and fitness
 keeping cheer countenance
Qualifications
 18 or more at the time of application
 Fluency in English and Hindi Both
 Good health and fitness is more vital
than qualifications
 A certified degree from hospitality,
travel and tourism university is
preferable
 Capable of working in shifts
 Holding a passport
Experience
Person having customer service experience
in their previous jobs is preferred
Physical Criteria
 Medically and physically fit to meet

out the requirements
 Height between 5’2 to 6’1 and
weight in proportion with the height
 Can lift a weight of around 9 kg
 Be able to tread water while fitting a
lifejacket and pull your own
bodyweight out of the water
(Compton, Morrissey and
Nankervis, 2014)
 Must be able to fit in the jump seat
of the airline
 Should be confident in working with
heights
 Good looking and cheerful
 To be able to remove any hardware
in case of emergency
Behaviour for cabin Crew
Faster Should be clear in what needs to be achieved
and must have an ability to make decision
quickly
Smarter Should understand the needs of the customers
and must be innovative
Learner Always try to learn new things, make efforts to
reduce complexity and remain cost conscious
Together Things about all not about oneself
3.2 Comparison of the selection process of Cabin Crew in British Airways and Transport for
London
Steps Selection process of Cabin Crew
in British Airways
Selection process of Customer
Service Assistant at Transport for
London
Step – 1 Talking in reference with the
selection process of British
The selection process of customer
service assistant at Transport for

Airways it is quite intensive but
simple. The vacancies for varied
job positions is being placed on
the career web page of the British
Airways. There are many
questions which needs to be
answered by the applicants such
as asking whether the candidate is
able to comply with all the rules
and regulations or not, possess
right to live in UK etc.
London includes advertising the
vacancies through recruitment
agencies and also placed on the
website of Transport for London.
Step – 2 Afterwards the candidate is
required to fulfil all the
requirement of Cabin Crew being
mentioned on the web page and if
the applicants say yes to each of
the questions than they are needed
to complete the interest form
wherein they write their personal
details and many more
(Edenborough, 2005). This is the
end of the process of online
application form.
Interested candidates creates log-in
and password and requires to fulfil
the details of online application
form.
Step – 3 At the next level, applicants who
meet out all the requirements are
offered a log-in pin to fulfil the
online psychometric tests such as
verbal reasoning, numeracy,
situational judgement test.
Those who are eligible can
complete the online situational
judgement test. Applicants who
clears the test are invited for
assessment sessions and successful
candidates are invited for interview
and role play.
Step – 4 Those who clears these tests are Further, reference are being