Qantas Airways: HR Strategies for Workforce Performance and Culture

This report provides an overview of Qantas Airways' HR practices, focusing on initiatives aimed at improving workforce performance, fostering a positive organizational culture, and enhancing employee engagement. The report details performance-related initiatives, such as the implementation of a standardized goal management framework and the Qantas Group Experience Strategy, which prioritizes employees in decision-making processes. It also examines culture-based initiatives, including employee surveys, culture-intensive training programs, and the promotion of diversity and inclusion. Furthermore, the report explores engagement-based initiatives, such as modifications to the performance management system to increase real-time feedback and improve employee contributions. Through these initiatives, Qantas aims to create a dynamic and efficient workplace that aligns with its long-term mission and competitive goals in the airline industry. The analysis highlights the importance of aligning HR strategies with overall business objectives and adapting to the dynamic nature of the industry.

Running Head: QANTAS 0
INDIVIDUAL REPORT

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Table of Contents
Overview....................................................................................................................................2
Performance related initiatives...................................................................................................2
Culture based initiatives.............................................................................................................3
Engagement based initiatives.....................................................................................................4
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................6
References..................................................................................................................................7

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Overview
This report outlines HR practices of Qantas Airways related to improving the performance of
workforce, culture based initiatives and enhancing the rates of employee engagement. Qantas
Airways is one of the prime and oldest airline founded in 1920. Qantas is largely a passenger
airline, however, airfreight is also constituted as an integral part of its core commercial
(Bissett, 2010). The company undertake varied price policy as per the requirements and needs
of different passengers. At present, they have 27000 plus employees and is ranked 4th among
its top 10 competitors. In 2017, Qantas Airways earned 1, 610 crores AUD in terms of
revenue (investor.qantas.com, 2018).
In the present business scenario, the airline industry is a growing industry that is highly
dynamic in nature (Hirsch, 2008). Qantas is required to develop various significant strategies
across different stages of lifecycle. If an enterprise successfully manages employees, culture
and performance of organisation in align with vision, it is possible to achieve competitive
edge in the industry.
Performance related initiatives
Many business enterprises perceive performance management as a conservative evaluation
managed by human resources. However, Qantas is continuously undertaking several
experiments in association with the employee’s performance practices that can be effectively
executed at a broad scale. Qantas believes in establishing standardised and responsive goal
management framework in extent with constant feedback assessment.
Every individual in the Qantas Group represents as the guardian of the organisation status for
integrity and excellence with an obligation to sustain the values and standards they
characterise. The company ensures that Qantas remains a grid of ‘employers of choice’ in
Australia.
People experience captures what people come across, feel or observe over the passage of
their employee journey within the company. One of the significant performance related
initiative of Qantas Airways is to form Qantas Group Experience Strategy that makes the
people at the core of their decision making and thinking process (qantas.com, 2018). This

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new strategy will help the Qantas Group to improve the performance of its employees while
redesigning internal processes and thus developing a better physical environment and
important training programs. In addition, Qantas also have an HRIS system with the
assistance of DBMS benefit the company in tracking of a larger number of employees. This
helps the company to perform its functions efficiently and fight with its competitors. In
relation with empowerment and meaning implementation, the plan emphases on offering their
individuals inclusive services and products that tie with their wants at every stage of their
employee drive so that they can provide excellent business value and consumer provision.
This comprises of giving the correct training, services and build an inclusive and varied
environment where their individuals succeed.
The success of this can be evaluated by setting up a control examination amid several job
stages in the Qantas Group. These measures can also be compared or linked to the traditional
manifold of staff performance to evaluate knowledge of worker performance and passion.
There are always been some measures come before initiatives like the setting of goals,
picking initiatives to attain the goal, setting a target, and then implement the initiative. With
regards to this, setting up comprehensive HR strategy and reporting in aligned with the
overall business strategy also help with different uses and objectives. These three categories
of HR measurement includes HR reports, HR dashboards and HR scorecards (Gates and
Langevin, 2010).
Culture based initiatives
Dynamic enterprise culture will continuously be a challenge and priority for Qantas Airways.
The organisation is structuring a culture of constant progression in a phase of change. Qantas
Group belief frame their culture inside and their part as corporate citizen more extensively.
These views are comprehended by the organisation to develop necessary procedures and
policies that describe how their workplace functions. One of the major culture based initiative
of Qantas is that they check and test the strong point of their culture through yearly
employee’s surveys and examination of retention and turnover (qantas.com, 2019). The
corporation also has presented culture intensive training plans with an objective to drive
better business outcomes with the help of common accountability for diversity and inclusion
in the company. For the culture development, role of leaders also shows a significant other

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than HR management as the improvement just not happen instantly by requires a multiyear
way based on long term vision.
In order to attain great things, the company is committed to building and foster a culture in
which diversity is valued. Qantas Airlines have high standards of organizational culture
which sustains integrity, greatest standards of ethics and compliance to related performances.
The mutual and distinct behaviour at Qantas states the accomplishment and respect of
business. Organizational culture at Qantas promotes improved bond with the customers and
individuals. Qantas has also formed ten group policies which include many fields of
governance essential to sustain their highly considered reputation and brand and for availing
legal requirements. The entities and employees at Qantas group are necessary to stand by to
these policies. Other than this, Qantas culture is also constructed on innovation and
collaboratio with transformation of existing businesses and experimentation (McQuillan,
Rissanen and Roberts, 2013). It is cultivated with multifaceted and open aspects with having
substantial resources including disruptive technologies and innovative workplaces. Using
culture to drive performance needed emphasizing elements of the employee experience in
aligning with desired business outcomes, and restraining non-compatible essentials. Qantas is
pursuing a low-cost strategy, its culture should emphasize behaviours around aggressive cost-
control with consistent to the company’s strategy and may be essential for performance.
Engagement based initiatives
In relation with engagement related initiatives, the company is committed to attaining high
engagement with focusing on development, coaching and feedback so that to build positive
relations environment. The company leverage to become a more dynamic and efficient
through engagement initiatives with an emphasis on interacting honestly with their
individuals and enduring to support significant progress initiatives for their teams and leaders
(investor.qantas.com, 2018). It is as important as with more engaged people, more they will
understand how to contribute to the whole of corporate goal.
Qantas has modified its performance management system that benefits the organisation to
improve the employee engagement rate. Qantas also founded that due to the previous
performance management system i.e. 360-degree feedback, there were wasting of 2 million
hours each year. Moreover, the employee complete performance was also reduced as they

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were not coordinating with the corporate mission much efficiently. This leads Qantas to
continue with an innovative approach that agreed out to develop somewhat that is based
much more on real-time synchronisation and can assess performance individualized. Hence,
using this strategy helps the company to emphasis on raising engagement in employee rather
than evaluating in the past.
Formerly, the aims were registered yearly and also assessed yearly. Hence, this creation and
assessment of annual objective become too “batched” for a real time world and also lot of
time wasted on rating of performance. In addition, it should be like devote period
communicating to individual relating to their careers, effort and representation.
The next aspect of this approach is that for some individual’s skills is subjective and state
more about the rater instead of rate. This aspect makes Qantas bewildered. Hence, in order to
gain best feedback, it is important for the management of the company to refer employee
engagement from an immediate team leader. It helps Qantas to identify employee strengths
on individual level in relation with performance and engagement. Though, one of the biggest
problems was there like what ideal approach required to be encompassed while best
evaluating it.
From a long time in research, Qantas also comes up with uncovered foundations and
philosophies in association with worker engagement like creating work expressive, growth of
great management, formation of flexible and comprehensive personnel, making adequate
prospects for development, creating transparency in control, and engaging personnel in the
team work.
In brief, the greatest way to advance rate of employee engagement may very well linked to
involve personnel on individual level.

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Conclusion
In the limelight of above discussion, Qantas renewed performance system controlled by HR
help the firm to satisfy the employee expectations and various stakeholders in the long period
of time. In addition, Qantas is required to undertake various initiatives in align with long term
mission of the company. More prominently, due to the dynamic competitive environment,
employees are required to develop their professional abilities in the long run.
Considering the Qantas market position and growth, it can be said that their initiatives are
well associated with the changing and dynamic work setting. Understanding the requirements
of marketplaces and even comprehending the diverse market profiles and variables, Qantas
has the capability to achieve the needs and preferences, in turn, gain the consumer's attention
and then transform them into regular ones.

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References
Bissett, A. (2010) Company Secretary: Enterprise Risk Management-Is It
Achievable?. Keeping good companies, 62(2), p.80.
Gates, S. and Langevin, P. (2010) Human capital measures, strategy, and performance: HR
managers' perceptions. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 23(1), pp.111-132.
Hirsch, B.T. (2008) Sluggish institutions in a dynamic world: Can unions and industrial
competition coexist?. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 22(1), pp.153-176.
investor.qantas.com. (2018) Qantas Annual Report 2018 [ONLINE] Available from:
https://investor.qantas.com/FormBuilder/_Resource/_module/doLLG5ufYkCyEPjF1tpgyw/
file/annual-reports/2018-Annual-Report-ASX.pdf [Accessed 05/08/2019].
McQuillan, H., Rissanen, T. and Roberts, J. (2013) The cutting circle: how making
challenges design. Research Journal of Textile and Apparel, 17(1), pp.39-49.
qantas.com. (2018) Performance against our Strategic Pillars [ONLINE] Available from:
https://www.qantas.com/in/en/qantas-group/delivering-today/performance-against-our-
strategic-pillars.html [Accessed 05/08/2019].
qantas.com. (2019) Our people [ONLINE] Available from:
https://www.qantas.com/us/en/qantas-group/acting-responsibly/our-people.html [Accessed
05/08/2019].