Introduction Having other pioneers in the airlines industry & facingfierce competition as a threat to new entrants, Singapore airlines has managed tocreate a benchmark in its service as the best in class and still have thelowest operating costs.
Singapore airlines have strategized its human resourcemanagement into five focused principles to provide an excellent service in themost cost efficient ways. An airline so focused towards consumer satisfaction,being its main priority along with cutting down on operating costs has lead theairline to be recognized worldwide at the top of the airline industry. May itbe any industry, product related or service related, customer satisfaction addsup to a lot of cost on the company’s shoulders.
How is it possible that Singaporeairlines are very successful in pursuing seemingly incompatible strategies? Onone hand the company is a quality leader; on the other hand, it is able toproduce its excellent service so efficiently that it is highly profitable. Thisis the main point of discussion of this case study report. The organization culture of Singapore airlines is highlyfocused towards excellence in customer service. A culture is not createdovernight by the thought of a single person or its acceptance by an individual.A culture has to be embedded into each and every single person working in theorganization or for the organization collectively, for it to be felt by thecustomers of the organization. To pursue this, Singapore airlines focused onevery aspect of the service in detail from the start to the end receiver,through human resources management, as they are the ones who are directly goingto be in touch with the customers. Singapore airlines five core elements ofhuman resource management strategy confines of a.
Straight selection andrecruitment processes, b. Extensive investment in training and retraining, c.Building high performance service delivery teams, d. Empowerment of frontlineto deliver service quality and finally e. Motivating staff through rewards andrecognition. Now, the journey, which the Singapore airline has madesuccessful, must be a journey of hurdles on every step. This report will alsodiscuss in-depth about the problems the company has faced with its employeesand how did the company address it. The very big challenge of Singaporeairlines being in the service sector is all about the people in it, theemployees as all the people travelling by Singapore airlines are directly intouch with the airlines employees and it is about that moment when a travellercomes in touch with the airline employee.
In that moment the customer judges ifthe service was good, weather they liked it or was it not up to the mark or maybe even dissatisfied. Since the training committee or the backend managers ofthe airlines are not coming into direct touch with the customers its verydifficult for the company to analyze if the service provided was good or bad toevery individual customer and moreover it is even more of a critical work toanalyze where the service went wrong if the employees are not accepting andagreeing to their probable faults. Employees of the company are also humansafter all and they have to deal all day with customers who have extremely highexpectations on receiving service without even slight disappointment. We cansay employees are the main hero and heroines of the company as they deal withtremendous pressures on a daily basis with thousands of new travellers everysingle day, each customer having different requirements, thoughts, perceptions,attitudes and the list can go on.
In a volatile environment like this and thecompany so focused and oriented towards customer satisfaction the employees arelike the meat in between a burger held tight by both sides so it does not slipoff. Such conditions will definitely ping the minds of theemployees towards higher pay scales, facilities, bonuses, incentives,interactive working environments etc. No employee in any company have suchlevel of dedication would like to work without a handsome amount of facilities.It is very obvious, if you want the best from the rest it will also cost themost and give you the maximum returns at the same time if the resources areused efficiently and effective to their maximum potential.
Dedication, hardwork, long term contracts, loyalty, honesty when Putin together will definitelydemand higher level of output as people will evaluate the efforts input to thelevel of output they receive because in a world so big there are numerousoptions for an individual to satisfy their needs. Now, all this is benefit forthe employees are again an addition on cost to Singapore airlines, which doesnot go with their strategy. So, the main conflict or problem we can say of thecase study report is to create that environment of satisfaction for the heroand heroines of the company where they are extremely efficient in their work,where they work like the companies dream is the dream of the employees and atthe same time satisfy the needs of the employees along with carrying thestrategy of cost cutting in the same hand. This report will talk in-depth aboutthis conflict or clash and how all these issues were taken charge of by thecompany using their five key core principles of focus, to implement theirstrategy of human resources management for a cost effective service excellence bringingthem closer to their vision.
Main Body As is intrinsic in benefit organizations, at SIA,individuals and particularly forefront staff, are a center piece of theoffering and the most unmistakable component of the administration from aclient encounter perspective. In light of optional research about remarks fromthe administration and flignt team individuals who have been with theorganization for long, we have refined five components that shape thefoundations 7 of SIA’s human asset administration and fortify itsadministration magnificence procedure. Those five components are: (1) Stringent selection and recruitment processes;(2) Extensive training and retraining of employees;(3) Formation of successful service delivery teams;(4) Empowerment of front-line staff; and(5) Motivation of employees.Despite the fact that these administration components are easy to state, fewfirms have possessed the capacity to actualize frameworks that convey thecoveted outcomes reliably and apparently easily, and are difficult to mirror ata similar level of modernity by contenders. Despiteevidence that such practices help service firms achieve higher companyperformance, many organisations have not managed to execute them as effectively(Huselid, 1997)Stringent selection andrecruitment processes Further to this we trust that “The wrong individualsare a risk”. HR technique starts with enlistment, where SIA embraces anexceptionally thorough and strict determination process. Cabin group candidatesare required to meet a huge number of criteria beginning with an underlyingscreening taking a gander at age ranges, scholastic capabilities and physicalproperties. After these standard prerequisites, they embrace three rounds ofmeetings, uniform checks, a water certainty test, a psychometric test and evengo to a casual get-together.
From the 16,000 applications got every year, justnearly 500 to 600 new lodge group are enlisted to cover turnover rates of 10for each penny, including both intentional and coordinated wearing down. Afterthe underlying preparing, new team are deliberately observed for the initial ahalf year of flying through month to month reports from the in-flight manageramid this trial period. For the most part around 75 percent are affirmed for anunderlying five-year get, exactly 20 percent have their probation broadened,and the rest leave the organization. Regardless of the stringent systems andstrict guidelines about appearance and conduct, numerous informed youngstersaround the area apply to join SIA because of the apparent economic wellbeingand style related with SIA’s lodge group. SIA’s notoriety for being anadministration pioneer in the carrier business and a broad and all encompassingdesigner of ability empowers it to have its pick of candidates. Numerous schoolleavers and graduates see SIA as an alluring organization to work for and as achance to move to more lucrative employments in different organizations in thewake of having worked with SIA for a couple of years. Senior supervisors underline that SIA searches for lodgegroup who can understand travelers and who are happy, agreeable and humble.
Meetings that short-recorded candidates experience incorporate gatheringinterviews for an underlying general evaluation and an English section perusingto survey their dialect fitness. The following round includes a one-on-oneinside and out meeting expecting to assess whether the candidate have SIA’s required center esteems and skills, and after that apsychometric test is controlled to additionally affirm the prior outcomes. Theuniform test after this enables the questioner to evaluate the look of thecandidate in SIA’s sarong kebaya. This assessment incorporates the stance,stride and outward presentation of the candidate in the uniform.
Chosencompetitors from this round will likewise need to attempt a water certaintytest in SIA’s preparation pool in its flight security wing, where candidatesbounce from a tallness of 3 meters. This tests the candidate’s certainty withwater on the off chance that they need to help travelers for a crisis departureon water. The following meeting is the administration round where thesenior VP and senior lodge group staff meet those short recorded. In the laststage, the candidates go to a casual get-together that gives administration afurther chance to watch candidates’ cooperation style and mien. This fastidious determination process guarantees withsensible conviction that SIA employs candidates with the coveted traits with achoice rate of 3 to 4 for every penny of its candidate pool.
Extensive investment intraining and retraining SIA places considerableemphasis on training which is one of its focal points in its human resourcestrategy. According to Ms Lam Seet Mui, senior manager for Human ResourceDevelopment: SIA investshuge amounts of money in infrastructure and technology, but, ultimately, youneed people to drive it. At SIA, we believe that people actually do make adifference, so the company has in place a very comprehensive and holisticapproach to developing our human resources. Essentially, we do two types oftraining, namely functional training and general management-type training. Despite the fact that preparation is frequently stressed asa key component of accomplishment in benefit ventures (Schlesinger, 1991),SIA remains the aircraft with the most astounding accentuation on this angle.Recently enlisted lodge group are required to embrace serious four-monthinstructional classes – the longest and most exhaustive in the business (Kingi, 2003).
Flight groupare additionally required to set out on 29 months of far reaching”on-line” preparing before any advancement to first officer (Singapore Airlines, 2005). SIA’spreparation plans to empower lodge group to give charitable administrationreflecting warmth and agreeableness while keeping up a picture of expert andtrust in the travelers’ psyches. SIA’s comprehensive preparing incorporateswellbeing and practical issues, as well as excellence mind, gourmet sustenanceand wine gratefulness, and additionally the specialty of discussion. (Chan, 2000) According to Mr Choo PohLeong, senior manager Crew Services: During thefour months’ training, cabin crew go through various courses. Typically, theyhave to go through modules like the SIA Way, where they are taught what isexpected from them in SIA, passenger handling skills, food and beverage skills,service attributes and grooming. We pay a lot of attention to grooming anddeportment. They also attend various safety training courses, which areconducted by our flight safety department.
They cover first aid, safetyequipment and procedures, evacuation procedures, and handling of unrulypassengers. So it’s quite a comprehensive training course. When they pass thecourse, then they can fly.
They are put on probation for six months. Buttraining doesn’t stop after that; there’s continuous training. So even crewmembers who are flying have to come back for further training. Ceaseless preparing and retraining has been key to SIA inmaintaining administration greatness by outfitting staff with an openmentality, to acknowledge change and advancement and to convey the newadministrations SIA presents routinely. SIA bunch has seven preparing schoolsfor the seven center practical zones of lodge group, flight operations,business preparing, data innovation, security, air terminal administrationspreparing and building. SIA Management Development Center (MDC) additionallyoffers general administration preparing under the domain of the HR division.
MDC gives official and initiative projects to all staff with the target ofcreating compelling overseers and visionary supervisors. The brought togetherpreparing empowers a cross-departmental systems administration that improvesshared comprehension and builds up a more incorporated perspective of SIA.
