Human Resource Management Report: British Airways Service Industry

This report examines Human Resource Management (HRM) within the service industry, specifically focusing on British Airways. It begins by analyzing the role and purpose of HRM, highlighting key functions such as staffing, internal customer management, and performance enhancement. The report then delves into human resource planning, outlining the steps involved in forecasting demand and supply, estimating manpower gaps, and designing action plans for British Airways' operations, particularly for flights to and from Madeira. The assessment of employment relations in the aviation industry is a key aspect, discussing collective bargaining, employee participation, company culture, organizational structure, and grievance procedures. The influence of employment law on HRM practices is also addressed. Furthermore, the report explores job descriptions, person specifications, and the selection processes within different service industry businesses. The contribution of training and development in effective operation is also discussed. The report concludes with an overview of the findings and provides references to support the analysis, along with an appendix.

HUMAN
RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT
FOR SERVICE
INDUSTRIES

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................3
1.1 Analysis of the role and purpose of Human Resource Management:..............................3
1.2 Human Resource Plan:.....................................................................................................6
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................7
2.1 Assess the current state of employment relations in a selected service industry.............7
2.2 Discuss how employment law affects the management of human resources .................9
TASK 3..........................................................................................................................................10
3.1 Discuss a job description and person specification for a service industry job..............10
3.2 Compare the selection process of different service industries businesses.....................10
TASK 4..........................................................................................................................................11
4.1 Contribution of training and development in effective operation:.................................11
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................13
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................15
APPENDIX....................................................................................................................................16
.......................................................................................................................................................18

INTRODUCTION
Human resource management deals with those function that are performed in the
organisations that facilitates effective use of manpower to achieve individual and organisational
goals. Human resource approach follows some principle which conveys that employees are the
assets of any organisation. Human resource management in service industries deals with function
of management and is concerned with hiring, motivating and maintaining manpower in an
organisation (Collings, Wood and Szamosi, 2018). Airlines industry is one of upcoming and
emerging part of service sectors. British Airways is one of the leading company in an aviation
business. This report emphasis one role and purpose of human resource management in British
Airways along with proper human resource planning for appropriate supply and demand. This
report focus on understanding the effect of employee relation and employment law in British
Airways. The project report includes the role and purpose of HRM along with an appropriate
plan for service industries. The project also discusses the current state of employment relations,
employment laws, job description and person specification, contribution of training and
development in the growth of service industry business.

TASK 1
1.1 Analysis of the role and purpose of Human Resource Management:
The management of all the activities related to the performance of employees depends on
the efficiency of Human Resources. This department in British Airways plays a vital role in
providing quality services to their customer. Along with that, the HRM provides planning and
forecasting, monitors the budget, recruit skilled employees, handles their employment contracts,
monitor their performances, introduce training and development programmes (Armstrong and
Taylor, 2014). Apart from these, some of the key roles of HRM are as follows:
Conscience: It is up to the human resource management to keep the employees satisfied.
And thus, Human resource management periodically reminds the upper management their
obligations and roles towards their employees and this in turn helps to retain skilled and talented
staff in the company.
Teamwork: The managers and human resource departments are responsible to enhance
the performance of their employees at every level of the organisation. In British Airways, they
act as an advisor to managers as well as the staff in facilitating teamwork to effectively achieve
their organisational goals.
Building Commitment: Human resource management acts as a counsellor for the
employees and helps them understand the impact of their hard work to engage them more in the
organisational activities and building their commitment towards the company.
Performance Enhancement: By introducing the staff members to effective training and
development programmes, the HRM of British Airways helps to enhance performances of its
staff members.
The HRM of British Airways has a definite purpose which are as follows:
Staffing: The key purpose of HRM is to hire best possible personnels for effectively
conducting the activities of the company.
Internal Customer Management: The HRM manages the employees in the organisation
and helps to give quality care and effective treatment to these employees.
Cultural Sensitivity: HRM considers the beliefs and cultural values of the employees and
aims towards conducting the procedures without violating these cultural aspects.
Laws: HRM considers the employment laws and helps the organisation to consider their
roles towards the employees in its full capacity.

Compensation and Performance: HRM works towards enhancing the performance of
the employees and sets up compensation and incentive schemes according to their performances.
Employment Relations: HRM helps in maintaining employment relationships in the
organisation for smooth running of the activities.
(Source: Purpose Of HRM, 2018)
Illustration 1: Purpose Of HRM

1.2 Human Resource Plan:
Human resource planning refers to the ongoing process of organised planning to utilise
human resource optimally. It is very important for managers of British Airways to develop a
flexible human resource plan as the success of the company heavily depends on human resources
(Baum, 2016). There are various aspects which are required to take into considering while
making of HR planning process. It includes employees availability with specific skills etc. Thus,
to make HR planning following steps need to be taken by the management of the firm. For their
trips to and from Madeira, the HR plan for British Airways is as follows:
BRITISH AIRWAYS HR PLAN
Analysing
organisational
objectives
At the first, HR manager of British Airways should analyse the
overall business objectives which includes production, finance,
marketing etc. that assist manager in giving an overall idea regarding
work that to be done in near future. In this stage, the focus of HR
Manager must be on developing objectives of providing comfort and
effective service quality to its customers travelling to Madeira.
Availability of existing
human resource
HR manager is held liable to identify the skilled workforce at present
with company so that further decision can be taken regarding
recruitment and selection. This can be estimated by external as well
as internal source. It is imperative for the firm to determine their
existing employees that could effectively fulfil the requirements of
four flights in the peak season and three flights for the rest of the year
to and from Madeira.
Forecasting demand
and supply
According to the job profiles, requirements of workforce is estimated
by HR manager of British Airways. For this, internal as well as
external sources are used to measure the job requirements. For
Madeira, the predicted staff members would be pilots, flight
attendants, air traffic controllers, engineers as well as ground staff
that would effectively manage and handle the flight. Generally, there
are 2 pilots required per flight working almost 8 hours a day. Each
flight to Madeira would require 2 pilots as the duration is almost 5

hours and 40 minutes, i.e., below 6 hours. As for flight attendants are
concerned, the capacity of British Airways Airbus is generally more
than 100 passengers which requires each flight to have two
attendants and one additional attendant for a part of each unit
working throughout the duration of the flight with rest time during a
stoppage. Each flight to and from Madeira would also require a team
of Air traffic controllers that would direct the air traffic for the
flights. These controllers might change the shift once during the
flight duration. It also needs 4 flight engineers per flight to check and
monitor the effectiveness of the aircraft. For Madeira flights, ground
staff would also play a prominent role in fulfilling the ground duties
of managing luggages, ticket sales and fuelers. It would be a team of
10-15 people on each airport to maintain comfort and service quality
for customers working 6 hours a day before and after flight.
Estimating manpower
gap
HR manager is held responsible to identify the requirements of
workforce in an organisation by comparing demand and supply of
manpower. Deficits indicates the shortages of employees whereas
surplus indicates about terminations. As such the firm has the
required workforce but it still is short where ground staff and flight
attendants are concerned. To fulfil this gap, British Airways must
hire new employees through effective recruitment and selection
procedures focusing on their skills and required experience fit for the
job.
Design human resource
action plan
HR department of British Airways should design and implement a
suitable action plan and on the basis of which transfer and train new
employees within an association. Moreover, the existing staff such as
pilots and engineers must be train to satisfy the demands of the new
route and fulfil the required effective service quality.

TASK 2
2.1 Assess the current state of employment relations in a selected service industry
Employees acts as pillars for any organisation as they serve their best at their roles and
responsibilities with potential skills. Employee relations deals with the practices for ensuring that
employees are productive for the organisation and satisfied with their jobs (Sadeghi, et, al.,
2018). Employee relation at British Airways offers employee recognition and policy
development for sorting out all types of problems. Employee relations is wider concept that
involves maintaining a healthy working environment that satisfies the needs of management and
individual employees. Employee relation at British Airways helps in improving employees
morale, conveying exceptions and building organisation culture. In order to build employment
relations following measures are adopted by Allied Healthcare that are discussed below:
Collective bargaining: In the service industry, workers always tried to bargain with their
employees on terms and conditions related with the employment. It generally identified due to
raising voice by trade unions in which leader confront all the requirements of employees towards
the company. Such requirements includes increment in wages, reduce working hours and other
grievances. An organisation also support the demand of trade union with an objective of
maintaining good relation with them and achieve their loyalty with company for longer period of
time.
Employee participation: British Airways should have sufficient amount of skilled
employees to provide effective services to the customers due to which it is important for
management to achieve loyalty of their employees which can be possible through maintaining
better relation with them. For this, the management of British Airways should conduct training
and development programs, performance appraisals, rewards and compensation etc. which
increases the satisfaction level and working behaviour of employees within an organisation.
Culture: It play a significant role in establishing a better relation with the workforce
through creating own values and cultures that support the equality and welfare of employees. In
British Airways, the rules and guidelines are strict which brings demotivation among employees
and create fear of termination as well. On the other hand, if the culture is favourable of
employees then it increases the morale of employees which in turn increases their work
commitment with company.

Structure: Prior, hierarchy is followed by British Airways, where employees are
receiving proper guidance and instructions to follow as well as they are restricted to involve in
decision making process. But now, firm has given a freedom to employee to share their views
and suggestions to top level management without facing any communication gap. This will
develop satisfaction level of employees which in results develop health relations with
management.
Grievances and disciplinary procedures: In order to resolve issues and grievances
among employees, British Airways should form a conflict resolving team whose main
responsibility is to maintain healthy environment at workplace through resolving all conflicts
among employees.
2.2 Discuss how employment law affects the management of human resources
Employment laws emphasis and covers various areas of law that is directly related to
employees, employers, employment and workers compensation. Employment laws are
implemented all over the nation and it is necessary for employers and employees to follow them.
Employment laws covers a wide range of areas that exists in the workplace. Employment laws
can assist an employee or an employer in various areas which includes employment
discrimination, disability accommodations, family and medical leave act compliance, wage and
hours issues, disciplinary and termination issues, maternity and paternity rights (Ross, 2018).
Some of the employment laws are mentioned below:
Employment discrimination laws: Employment discrimination laws conveys that an
employer cannot discriminate any potential employee on the basis of certain characteristics
which includes gender, age, caste, national origin, race and disabilities. In context with British
Airways, it is found that there no discrimination against employees on the basis of age, gender,
national origin or race. It creates positive impact on the management of human resources as no
such discrimination are followed by organisation (Barrow and Lyon, 2018). For example
Disability discrimination act, 1992 etc. which protects the interest and rights of disable
employees at workplace in an organisation.
Right to fair compensation: This employment laws focus on rights that is concerns with
daily wages and salary of employees. Moreover, Equal Pay Act of 1970 states that both men and
women should get equal pay or compensation for the same work. It will be consider illegal to
pay any one more pay than the other for the same quantity of work. In context with British

Airways, it practices equal pay to both men and women so human resource management has no
issues in concern with compensation or wages.
Maternity and Paternity Rights: This rights also some under Civil Rights Act in which
both father and mother can claim for leaves to take care of their newborn child. In context with
British Airways, they are concern about maternity and paternity rights and they provides leaves
due which human resource management has to hired competent employees to replace them for
short duration.
TASK 3
3.1 Discuss a job description and person specification for a service industry job
Refer to Appendix
Job Description refer to a document which includes a detailed description of the required
post that needs to be filled in a company for which the firm hires employees. British Airways
must provide effective requirements with a detailed description of the purpose of this job role
and roles and responsibilities that are required to be fulfilled by the candidates to effectively get
selected in the firm. For British Airways, a job description is prepared for cabin crew member.
The purposes of this job are handling employees, conflict management and ensuring
safety and welfare. Where employees are concerned, cabin crew member effectively manages
each employee and ensure their satisfaction and engagement with the firm. Moreover, they are
required to set pay and compensation package of employees. This position also requires conflict
management between employees and that between customers effectively while maintaining
utmost professionalism. Another purpose is assurance of safety and passenger welfare during and
after flights and ensure their comfort throughout the flight duration,
The roles and responsibilities of cabin crew includes availability of refreshments,
ensuring safety, using first aid in a systematic order, displaying safety procedures during
requirement, fulfilling basic need of each customer and so forth.
3.2 Compare the selection process of different service industries businesses
Selection is a process that depends upon different organisation's needs, strategy and
objectives. Selection process is negative approach for short-listing the candidates based on
responsibilities of the job, experiences, characteristics and qualification. Selection is considered
as final process and this decision is finally taken by either middle or top level managers.

Selection process is concerned with selecting the most appropriate candidate through various
tests and interviews. Selection process involves with collection of activities that includes
screening, eliminating unsuitable candidates, medical check, checking references and
interviews. Some of the selection methods used for hiring purpose includes application forms,
CVs, conducting face to face interviews, aptitude tests, group discussion, presentations and
personality profiling.
Different services industries has different selection process that is totally based on
organisation goals and objectives. Comparison of two different service industries are described
below:
Comparison between selection process of British Airways (BA) and Transport for
London(TfL)
 BA displays its job vacancies on their official websites whereas TfL recruits through
advertising on official websites as well as taking help of recruitment agency.
 In BA, applicants should fill the questionnaire forms as well as give only psychological
tests whereas TfL candidates are giving situational judgement test.
 On qualifying from the recruitment process, BA provides sufficient training and learning
programs whereas in TfL selected candidate are directly appointed for the offered
positions.
TASK 4
4.1 Contribution of training and development in effective operation:
Training refers to the activities for performance enhancements of the employees
regarding a specific job, while development refers to the overall advancement of an employee in
terms of their personality, professionalism or experience (Brewster and Hegewisch, 2017).
BASIS TRAINING DEVELOPMENT
FOCUS Training focuses on the
present, i.e., it focuses on
enhancing the performance for
a specified job
Development focuses on the
future advancements of an
employee in terms of their
professional as well as
personal life
ORIENTATION Training is job-oriented. It is Development is career-

limited to perfect the
performance in a certain task.
oriented. It's an ongoing
process throughout a person's
professional life.
Need of training: In a leading Airways sector like British Airways, it is important for the
staff members to undergo training as to enhance their skills and performance in achieving their
objectives (Tracey, 2016). The need for training in British Airways is as follows:
 There are different passengers having different needs at different time. Training would
allow the staff to be flexible in their working process so that customers are not facing any
difficulties while getting their services.
 Good training would develop expertise amongst the staff members which will increase
the company's reputation.
 Training is essential as it would decrease employ turnover and would improve retention
which would reduce costs of staffing and hiring.
Types of Training programs: In British Airways, there are different types of training and
development activities which are required to retain the staff at every level of the firm. These are: Technology-Based Training: In British Airways , this type of activities include training
of employees with the technological equipments and tools to manage well the air crafts
needs. On-The-Job Training: This refers to the ongoing training process while monitoring the
job of the employees. British Airways superiors monitors the working style of the
employees and communicate their shortcomings spontaneously (Leberman and
McDonald, 2016). This helps the employees to take corrective actions while working in
the future. Soft Skills Training: These skills are crucial for employees in British Airways as the
quality of their treatment have a heavy dependency on the soft skills. Employees are
trained in these skills via interactive training sessions to increase their abilities.
Benefits of Training and Development: There are many benefits associated with training and
development, which are as follows:
 It helps increase the morale and job satisfaction among employees.
 It increases efficiency of the employees.