Strategic Human Resource Management Report: Qantas Airways Case Study

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the strategic human resource management (SHRM) practices employed by Qantas Airways. The study begins with an overview of the company, its structure, and its key leadership. It then delves into the core aspects of SHRM, including talent selection, examining Qantas's recruitment strategies, compensation, and the importance of employee screening. The report further explores employee performance and appraisal management, highlighting how Qantas evaluates and motivates its workforce. It investigates the company's training and coaching initiatives, focusing on employee development and skill enhancement. A detailed look into employee compensation structures and the management of employee learning and development for future success is also provided. The report concludes with a summary of the key findings, emphasizing the significance of effective SHRM in driving Qantas's operational success and its ability to adapt to the competitive landscape.

Running head: STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Strategic Human Resource Management
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Table of Contents
Introduction:...............................................................................................................................2
Overview of the company:.........................................................................................................3
Talent Selection:.........................................................................................................................4
Employee Performance and Appraisal Management:................................................................7
Training and Coaching:..............................................................................................................8
Employee Compensation:........................................................................................................10
Learning and Development of employees for future success:.................................................10
Conclusion:..............................................................................................................................11
References:...............................................................................................................................12

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Introduction:
The concept of the human resource management is observed to be pretty significant
for the companies that are operating in the today’s world of business. As per the comments of
Noe et al. (2015), the human resource management plays a crucial role for the companies in
efficiently managing their business and operational activities. According to Bratton and Gold
(2017), there are several business entities operating in various business industries which are
exposed to severe business competition. As per the comments of DeCenzo, Robbins and
Verhulst (2016), the ability of the companies in tackling the intensity of the business is
primarily reliant on their ability in delivering the desired quality in their products and
services. Other than this, Bratton and Gold (2017), claimed that the companies have the
necessity to retain their customers for ensuring the sustainability of their business. As the
capability of the companies in retaining the customers is dependent on the ability of
delivering increasing quality in their services, it becomes important for the companies to
prepare their workforces in a perfect manner for the delivery of the desired quality.
According to the comments of Noe et al. (2015), the success of the business organizations in
enhancing the quality of their services is reliant on their ability of managing the skill
improvement of their employees. In addition to this, DeCenzo, Robbins and Verhulst (2016),
stated that the selection of the talented employees who have the capability to deliver the
desired quality is also an important success factor for the companies in preparing their
organizations fir the much required management of the sustainability.
Apart from that, the business organizations have the necessity to ensure that the
employment relations are managed in a professional manner to ensure that the employees are
motivated and well supported for the delivery of the desired quality in their performances.
Hence, the importance of the human resource activities on the performances of the modern

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business organizations is pretty prominent. The study primarily discusses regarding the
business actions of one of the largest flag carrier of Australia named as Qantas Airways. The
study provides a detailed overview of the business actions that the company is conducting.
Along with that, the study evaluates the activities of the company in relation to the human
resource management with a detailed emphasis on the talent selection, management of the
employee performances, training and coaching the employees, establishing pay structure and
compensation for the employees along with the management of the learning and development
of the employees for the desired success in future.
Overview of the company:
Qantas Airways is recognized as the largest airline operating in the Australian region
on the basis of fleet size and is one of the top most flag carrier operating in the region. The
organization was established in the year 1920 and it started its operations in the year 1921
(Qantas.com. 2020). The organization is currently having three different primary hubs which
includes Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney Airport (Qantas.com. 2020). Apart from this, the
secondary hubs of the organization includes Adelaide and Perth Airport. Oneworld is one of
the important alliance partner of the organization (Oneworld.com. 2020). In addition to this,
the business actions of the company is observed to be divided into various subsidiaries which
includes QantasLink, Jetstar Airways, Qantas Freight, Qantas Holidays, Express Ground
Handling, Qantas Ground Services, Q Catering and Snap Fresh (Qantas.com. 2020). The
organization is observed to operate in 85 different destinations and is currently headquartered
in Mascot, Sydney. With a detailed focus towards the leadership team of the company, the
presence of several experienced leaders is pretty prominent. The board of directors of the
company includes Richard Goyder AO, the Chairman and Independent Non-Executive
Director, Alan Joyce AC, the Chief Executive Officer, Maxine Brenner, Jacqueline Hey,
Belinda Hutchinson AM, Michael L'Estrange AO, Paul Rayner, Todd Sampson, Antony

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Tyler, and Barbara Ward AM are the Independent Non-Executive Directors of the company
(Qantas.com 2020).
Other than this, the success of the company in managing the business actions in a
professional manner, is observed to be dependent on the skills of their group management
committee of the company. The group management committee of the company includes the
participation of Alan Joyce AC, the Chief Executive Officer, Andrew David, the Chief
Executive Officer, Qantas Domestic and Freight, Gareth Evans, the Chief Executive Officer,
Jetstar Group, Andrew Finch, the General Counsel and Group Executive, Office of the CEO,
John Gissing, the Group Executive, Associated Airlines and Services, Vanessa Hudson, the
Chief Financial Officer, Tino La Spina, the Chief Executive Officer, Qantas International,
Rob Marcolina, Group Executive, Strategy, People and Technology, Andrew Parker, the
Group Executive, Government, Industry, International and Sustainability, Stephanie Tully,
the Chief Customer Officer and Olivia Wirth, Chief Executive Officer, Qantas Loyalty
(Qantas.com 2020). Other than this, the company is observed to employ 26150 number of
employees in the year 2017 (Qantas.com. 2020). The success of the leadership team of the
company in delivering visionary leadership and the ability of the employees of the
organization in performing efficiently, are the main factors that enabled the company in
achieving such significant financial success for the company. The organization increased
their revenue to 17.06 billion Australian dollars in the year 2018 and at the same time, the
organization increased their operating income to 1.79 billion Australian dollars (Qantas.com.
2020).
Talent Selection:
In order to assess the excellence of the activities undertaken by the selected
organization for the management of the talent selection, it becomes important to gain an

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efficient knowledge regarding the concept of the talent selection. According to the comments
of DeCenzo, Robbins and Verhulst (2016), the modern business organizations face the
necessity of continuously improving their collective team performances for the efficient
retention of their customers. Along with that, bin Magbool et al. (2016), mentioned that the
ability of the companies in recruiting efficient employees in their workforces, adds value to
their approach of continuously improving the quality in their business. Along with that,
Elegbe (2016), mentioned that the formation of an workforce that have sound knowledge
both in theoretical and practical sense regarding the management of their business and
operational activities, is regarded as crucial for the success of the organizations in delivering
continuously high quality performances to their customers. According to the comments of bin
Magbool et al. (2016), the talent selection in the organizational context is primarily
dependent on the efficient formation of the recruitment and selection criteria of the
companies. In addition to this, the excellence of the companies in recruiting their employees
through a series of evaluation, is important for the success of the organizations in recruiting
and selecting talented individuals. Considering the human resource activities of the chosen
organization, Qantas Airways, it is visible that the organization is operating in an efficient
manner.
One of the important factors that help the organization in selecting or recruiting the
talented employees across the globe, is the efficient formulation of the compensation and the
rewards characteristics. There are several union organizations present in the workforce of
Qantas Airways and majority of the unions accepted the fact that the employees including the
pilots are well paid from the part of the company (Qantas.com. 2020). In addition to this, the
success of the company in recruiting and selecting efficient employees is observed to be
dependent on the capability of the company in formulating diversified recruitment and
selection facilities in the organization. The company has the capability to source talented

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employees owing to their excellent employee screening actions undertaken by the
organization itself at various schools and universities. According to the comments of Elegbe
(2016), the success of the modern organizations in managing optimal workforce planning is
primarily dependent on the ability of the companies in utilizing the digital job search portals
as that provides considerable amount of ease to the probable candidates for participating in
the recruitment programmes in an efficient manner. As the creation of a talented workforce
asks for the recruitment of the employees on the basis of their skill and expertise, the
capability of the company in sourcing the professionals from the indigenous or the aboriginal
groups is of great significance in achieving the desired excellent in recruiting the talented
employees.
The employment opportunities of the company provides special attention to the
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander individuals. The career pathway program of the
company is observed to be well designed for providing sufficient scope to the school based
trainees and university interns in gathering the required skills and expertise for operating in a
professional manner in Qantas workforce. The company is observed to be well placed for
providing the chance to the indigenous people for taking different operational and corporate
roles in their workforce. With a close consideration towards the school based traineeship
program of the company, it is understandable that the company is provides a lucrative chance
to the high school students of Australia for working for a day per week basis in Qantas, for
receiving a handsome income while developing new professional skills, for achieving
nationally recognized qualification certificates and to get the desired support from the
experienced supervisors of Qantas. Apart from this, the internship program of the company
dedicated for the university students is also great significance for the organization in creating
a talented workforce. With a detailed look at the program, it is visible that the company
provides the scope to the employees in participating in a summer or winter training during

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their university breaks to gain sufficient skills and expertise. Along with that, the training
plays a massive role in enhancing the experience of the students regarding the suitable
practices in the organization both in technical and non- technical sense. In addition to this, the
company provides a monetary compensation to such students to recognize their efforts in the
organization during the training. As a result, it is understandable that the company prepares
their probable employees from the grassroots stage and the success pays off with the
formulation of an efficient and talented workforce.
Employee Performance and Appraisal Management:
As per the esteemed opinion of Shaukat, Ashraf and Ghafoor (2015), the success of
the companies in managing the performances of their employees in a professional manner, is
regarded as a crucial success factor when it comes to achieve high performances. According
to the comments of Amirkolaii et al. (2017), majority of the mainstream business
organizations of different business industries are seen to be subjected to an intense level of
business demands and that is influencing the companies in formulating efficient performance
regulatory frameworks for assessing the performances of the employees. According to
Cappelli and Tavis (2016), the companies that are able to tackle the demands of the market in
an efficient manner, is primarily focused in motivating their employees on a continuous basis.
The success of the companies in motivating their employees for the required improvement in
their performances, is based on their capability in recognizing the performances of the
employees with appropriate financial and non- financial benefits. Considering the case of
Qantas Airways, it is visible that the organization is able to establish a diversified
performance appraisal program. The services of the employees of the company get evaluated
at various managerial stages.

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As the employees work in different team set ups in the organization, the primary
evaluation of the performances of the employees is conducted by the intermediate team
leaders. Other than this, the performances of the employees working for Qantas get evaluated
in two other managerial levels which are the departmental heads and the destination or branch
managers. This ensures that the performances of the employees are getting evaluated on a
360 degree basis which increases the effectiveness of the performance evaluation process
applied by the organization (Collier and Munir 2016). Other than this, the managers of the
organizations who are responsible for the evaluation of the performances of their employees
at various levels of the hierarchy, are seen to be apt in analysing the performances of their
employees without any sort of impact of the rater bias which contributes to the efficient
management of diversity at the organizational context (John Bernardin et al. 2016). Other
than this, the efficient formation of the rewards plan for recognizing the individuals who
performed well, is a substantial advantage for the company in creating a competitive and
motivated workforce. Having said that, one of the important aspect that ensures that the
employees are managing their performances with a low rate of service errors, is the accurate
formation of the different job roles in the company. The success of the company in managing
optimal workforce planning through a professional and expertise based allocation of the
tasks, is observed to place the company in a better position in delivering the desired quality to
their customers.
Training and Coaching:
As mentioned earlier, the sustainability in the business actions of the companies is
largely dependent on the capability of the companies in meeting the developmental
requirements of their employees. As per the comments of Hunt and Weintraub (2016), the
ability of the companies in providing the scope to their employees for enhancing their skills,
plays a massive role in favour of the companies in simultaneously meeting the excessive

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demands of the industry and delivering the desired quality to the customers. Apart from this,
Passmore (2015) claimed that the companies have a better possibility of managing their
service reputation through meeting the developmental requirements of their employees as the
same will enhance the skills and expertise of the employees. As a result, the companies will
be able to empower their employees for the delivery of the desired performances both in the
sense of quality and quantity. According to Jasson and Govender (2017), the accurate
management of the developmental needs of the employees place the company in a
comfortable position not only in enhancing service quality but also it reflects the excellent
quality of the companies as employers. In addition to this, Alasadi and Al Sabbagh (2015),
mentioned that the capability of the companies in implementing diversified training facilities
for managing the training needs of the employees, is crucial for the companies in ensuring
strong potential of the company in retaining the talented employees in their workforce.
Considering the case of Qantas Airways, it is understandable that the organization is able to
develop efficient infrastructural presence for meeting the training needs of their employees
and that is prominent with the introduction of the Qantas Group Pilot Academy.
The organization estimated that approximately 790000 number of pilots are required
for managing the aviation operations for the next 20 years and one third of them will be
required in the Asia Pacific region and in such situation, the development of the pilot training
academy in association with the Flight Training Adelaide is the need of hour for the company
(Australianaviation.com.au 2020). The training academy provides the scope of the basic,
certificate level and advanced training for the pilots in Toowoomba. The organization
developed the brand new classroom facilities, accommodation spaces along with a hangar
and the facility is perfectly designed for delivering top quality learning environment for
creating next generation pilots. Other than this, Qantas training facility is observed to be well
developed for the purpose of creating the future of aviation industry and that is prominent

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with their capability in providing the scope to the students for joining the Qantas Group
Future Pilot Program which places the aviation students in perfect position for achieving the
desire success in their career pathway (Qantas.com. 2020). Apart from this, the academy of
the company has the capability of delivering top quality aviation learning to the general
student which is visible with the inclusion of the courses such as the Commercial Pilots
Licence, Multi-Engine Command Instrument Rating, Airline Transport Pilots Licence and
Multi-Crew Cooperation. In addition to this, the training provides mentorship and coaching to
the employees in the aspect of various soft skills such as leadership, diversity, ethics and
business management.
Employee Compensation:
The formulation of an attractive wage structure that has the capability to meet the
basic needs of the employees in an efficient manner, will always place the companies in a
better position for achieving the desired success in motivating the employees. In such
situation, the company is observed to be well placed with Remuneration Committee Charter
taking the initiative for formulating a lucrative wage structure for their employees. The
company follows different remuneration frameworks for their employees and the executives.
As a result, the company is experiencing the formation of three different frameworks which
includes Qantas Executive Remuneration Framework, Remuneration for Non-Executive
Directors, Remuneration for Chief Executive Officer and any other Executive Directors and
Remuneration for Executive Management (Qantassuper.com.au. 2020). Other than this, the
mentioned committee was able to introduce equity based plans for their employees which
certainly has greater significance for the company in developing the much required
transparency in the formulation of the wage characteristics in the organization. Considering
the example of the executive remuneration packages, it is understandable that the pay
structure is primarily dependent on two different aspects which are the base pay and annual

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performance based incentive. The formula that the company utilizes for the development of
annual performance based incentive is (Target)* (a factor reflecting the Plan’s performance)
* (a factor reflecting individual performance) (Qantas.com. 2020).
Learning and Development of employees for future success:
With a close look at the activities of the training centre, it is visible that the future
pilot training facilities is accurate in acknowledging the future career aspiration of the
candidates. The training facilities of the company is well equipped for developing
professionals for their services from the grassroots levels which are the school level and the
university levels (Qantas.com. 2020). Along with that, the training and developmental
facilities of the company is observed to well framed for acknowledging the soft skills of the
employees and the fundamental are such as the diversity management or the business
management enhances the level of professional education of their employees. Other than this,
the capability of the training facilities of the company in delivering appropriate lessons to the
trainees regarding the corporate ethics, leadership and communication is expected to play a
massive role for the future development of the candidates (Qantas.com. 2020).
Conclusion:
On an ending note, it is visible that the company is conducting a smooth and
productive business in the Australia aviation industry and that is visible with the success of
the company in improving their financial condition. One of the important factors that
influenced the ability of the company in achieving such substantial financial success, is their
capability in excellently managing the human resource of their company. The organization
has achieved greater success in the formulation of an industry standard wage and work time
characteristics for their employees and executives and at the same time, the capability of the
company in developing pilot training academies, is crucial in stating the success of the