HR issues in the aviation industry

• Virgin Atlantic• Attracting Great People• HR in a Regulated Industry• Engaging People in Tough Times • Managing the People aspect of Change • HR to Drive Business Decisions • Questions

Agenda

• Founded by Sir Richard Branson in 1984• First flight from Gatwick to Newark, USA• 38 Aircraft - Boeing 747 and Airbus A340 • 29 long haul destinations• Upper Class, Premium Economy and Economy • Singapore Airlines own 49% stake

Virgin Atlantic

Relentless Innovation

Clubhouse

Inflight Entertainment

• No.1 most admired brand in the UK (HPI)

• No.1 brand to represent Britain in the future (Marketing Week)

• No.1 best company to work for, UK (Marketing Week)

• No.1 coolest travel brand in the UK (CoolBrands)

• No.5 best customer service provider in the UK (National Consumer Council)

• 4th best marketed brand in the world (Forbes)

• 11th most innovative company in the world (Boston Consulting Group)

Power of the Brand

• Over capacity on core routes• High and fluctuating fuel prices • Global recession affecting customer confidence • Being a player in future industry consolidation • Long term sustainability of aviation • Little or no growth

Business Challenges

Manifesto and Values

Clear and Consistent strategy

Clear and Consistent Strategy

Where People Love to Work

Challenge 1 Attracting Great People

Right People

• Be clear about who you want – Common sense before intellect– People skills before technical skills– Someone you’d want to work with

• Set the bar really high; – Tell people about the real job– And recruit for the next job

• Everyone is a Talent Spotter; let your people pick the team

Attracting Great People

iRecruitment

• Start before they Start• Importance of the brand• Set the Bar High….again!• Customer Service • Brilliant Basics and Magic Touches• The Big Welcome

…..and off to a Flying Start

Challenge 2 HR in a Regulated Industry

Regulatory Competence

Fit to do business now and in the future

Challenge 3 Engaging People in Tough

Times

“For us, our employees matter most. It just seems common sense to me that, if you start off with a happy, well-motivated workforce, you’re much

more likely to have happy customers. And in due course the resulting profits will make your

shareholders happy.”

Sir Richard Branson

People, Service and Profit

EmployeeEngagement Value Customer

SatisfactionCustomer

Loyalty

Profit &

Growth

…..People stick around and put in the

effort when it matters

….. and deliver Brilliant

basics, Magic touches

….. So our customers love to fly

Virgin Atlantic

….. and we’re able to grow a profitable

airline

People love to

Work at the

airline

Drivers Performance

“Our Manifesto is to grow a profitable airline where people love to fly and where people love to work.”

Feel

Act

Think

Identify your drivers of engagement

BRILLIANT BASICS - keep working on service consistency• Understand the problems you face in your work so we sort them together

• Provide you with the tools and training to do the job so you can shine

• Let you know what your customers are saying so you can respond

RESPECT – your ideas and talent

• Involve you in work decisions, listen to you ideas and act wherever possible

• Give you regular feedback on how you are doing and develop you to be the best you can be

• Encourage career development and transparent & fair progression

WORK TOGETHER – to be more efficient and have fun!

• Strengthen the cooperation between departments and divisions

Opportunities to improve

•eLearning

•Managing the Virgin Way

•Management Qualifications

•Leadership Development •Star Lite

Recognition and Reward

• Saying Thank you

• Fair Pay

• Profit Share

• Lifestyle Benefits

• Sales Incentives

• Heroes

• Celebrate Success

Leadership at any level

Challenge 4 Managing the People aspect of

Change

Spin the wheels of change

The Change Journey

• Destination • Getting people on-board • In-flight• Arrival

Change Enablement

• Change Enablement is the process of preparing an organisation and its people for change

• Change work typically addresses several issues :

- Aligning roles, jobs and teams - Developing & delivering training and performance support- Planning & developing communications- Measuring and coaching the business in change readiness, sponsorship, and governance activities

Challenge 5 HR to Drive Business Decisions

• Facilitate strategic and operational planning• Identify capabilities to succeed• Plan how to deliver capabilities• Drive for efficiency & effectiveness• Ensure business equipped to manage change • Right policies and processes• Past and future perspective

HR role in business planning