Managing People Performance at the British Overseas Airways Corporation - Case Study Example

Contents Managing people’s performance at British Airways…………………………………...2 Background ……………………………………………………………………………..2 Promoting performance management …………………………………………………..2 Development of work plans …………………………………………………………….2 Work allocation…………………………………………………………………………..3 Guidelines for establishing performance standards……………………………………..3 Measuring staff performance ……………………………………………………………4 Assessment of staff performance………………………………………………………...5 Providing appropriate feedback………………………………………………………….5 Preparing and initiating learning and development plans………………………………..6 Risk analysis……………………………………………………………………………..7 Career development mechanisms………………………………………………………..7 Conclusion and recommendations……………………………………………………….8 MANAGING PEOPLE’S PERFORMANCE AT BRITISH AIRWAYS BACKGROUND British Airways (BA) was formed in 1974. British Overseas Airways Corporation was merged with British European Airways Corporation to form the British Airways Board. The company is based at Heathrow Airport in London. The strategic direction of the company is to be the leading Airline in the world with operations in all major cities. BA is UK’s largest airline based on international flights, international destinations and fleet size. It is second to easy jet in terms of the number of passengers it carries (Hawkins 2009, 84). PROMOTING PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT To promote performance management in BA there needs to be a framework integrating individual and business planning in the organization. Performance objectives should be clarified and linked with the business plans of the organization. The performance of individuals and teams should be appraised periodically against goal achievement. Feedback from the appraisal should be given regularly. Performing employees should be rewarded with things like salary progression and performance pay. Teams and individuals will be allowed to develop themselves and build capacities. Poorly performing employees should be counseled. A link should be established between capability development and business and organizational planning. The contributions and performance of teams, individuals and the organization should be evaluated (Dresner 2007, 18). DEVELOPMENT OF WORK PLANS In developing work plans that go with operational plans it is important to consider the problems faced by the organization for example for BA high fuel prices and industrial unrests could be enlisted. The attainable goals and objectives of the company which are the outputs should be included. Next are the resources available to the company and the constraints the company is facing. Next is information about the key strategies and the actions that need to be taken to achieve the objectives. The budget and the schedule will also be included. The timeline should also be included with the team members and there responsibilities being mentioned. The starting dates end dates on which particular events and goals are scheduled for. In the work plan the methods of measurement should also be included. Quantifiable ways of determining project success must be discussed (Fina 2007, 135). WORK ALLOCATION In work allocation I would definitely consider the operational requirements in the work area. To add to this I would consider the working hours, rest pauses, span of hours, overtime, meal breaks, leave and time off arrangements. I would put in place the necessary systems for managing the hours of work. When allocating duties to the workers it is necessary to select what can be allocated to different workers depending on their record of performance and the skills they have to accomplish the available tasks. It is important to discuss with the relevant employees before work is allocated to them. Through the discussion the workers should be made to understand the expectations pegged on the results of the work (Hawkins 2009, 114). Employees should be asked to summarize the tasks in their own words to prove that they understand their assignments. A goal should be proposed to accompany the process of duty allocation. After allocating work I would then stay involved and keep checking to see that things are working smoothly. Another important thing is to allow the workers to assume full responsibility of their assignments (Liff 2007, 81). GUIDELINES FOR ESTABLISHING PERFORMANCE STANDARDS To establish the performance standards for the employees I would use a number of things such as quantity to specify the amount of work that needs to be completed in a given time period. Quality will describe how good the job should be as it specifies on accuracy, appearance, precision or effectiveness. The standards will also be based on timeliness which tells of the time period the job should take. Effective resource use can also be used as an indicator especially when assessment of performance is possible based on resource utilization like wastes reduced and money saved. The effect of effort will establish the ultimately expected effort and the manner of performance will describe the situations where the behavior of a person influences his performance. Finally the standards will be based on the method of performing the job. If the job is done based on the set terms then it meets the standard (Bascal 2011, 201). MEASURING STAFF PERFORMANCE Gathering input from co workers and supervisors on interpersonal skills and the ability of an employee to follow attitude and direction can help measure performance. To know the level of performance I would also listen to the thoughts of employees through a process of self appraisal. To measure the performance of staff I would also use the indicators discussed below. Quantity will show the amount of units produced, sold or processed. Quality as another indicator will show how best the employees can work (Liff 2007, 34), The time taken to finish the job will also show if they are performing or not. For example the amount of units produced for every hour could show the speed of work. Bad performance can also be indicated by absenteeism or tiredness. Creativity helps to indicate performance as well. Creative employees can be said to be performers. Adherence to policy also shows that the performance goals of the workers are in line with those of the company. Personal habits such as gossip may not appear to be related to performance but they interfere with the performance of the gossipers and those around them. Grooming and personal appearance is another indicator of performance. It shows how organized the employee is (Hawkins 2009, 104). ASSESSMENT OF STAFF PERFORMANCE Employee performance can be assessed first through various methods of appraisal among them manager appraisal. I can appraise the performance of the workers then he gives the appraisal to the workers. Self appraisal by the employees is also possible. This is then compared to the review of management. Another method of assessment is peer appraisal where workers in similar positions may appraise employee performance. This is workable since co workers know the performance of employees. Performance is also assessed through team appraisal whereby the team members holding different positions are requested to appraise the work styles and the work of each other. Appraisal of employee performance is also possible through an assessment center. Professional assessors can appraise the employee by evaluating actual or simulated work activities (Hawkins 2009, 55) Another method of appraisal is the full circle or 360 degree where the performance of the employee is appraised by all the people he or she interacts with. The list includes peers, managers, departmental members and customers. This method is used on key employees. As a manager I would also assess the workers’ achievement of objective goals or do management by objectives. Continuous review and monitoring of objectives will then make the employees to focus on goal achievement (Liff 2007, 112). PROVIDING APPROPRIATE FEEDBACK Feedback is important because it motivates employees. Feedback should be focused on the positive side where possible and it should be done immediately and publicly. Whenever there is negative feedback it should be delivered in privacy. The feedback should be specific touching on particular products, procedures and activities. Positive feedback should be done in a ceremonial manner to give it some meaning. The feelings of the recipient should be considered. For instance; a person that is very shy can be appreciated in front of his work group while for others streamers and banners can be hanged in the departmental area. Feedback should be given often regardless of whether it is of a big or small success. Appropriate feedback is also given evenly with small success getting small recognition while big successes get big recognition. Sincerity must be observed as well because it is inappropriate to congratulate a person for doing their duty or coming to work on time (Bascal 2011, 45). LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT PLANS The learning and development strategic plans should be aligned with the overall strategic plan of the company. The plan must be made to respond to organizational needs and therefore before the process begins an audience and needs analysis should be done. The primary purpose such as production of company leaders as a goal should be decided upon (Shields 2007, 10). Changes from previous strategies can also be incorporated. The plan must be divided into functional levels such as management, service, and executive leadership. Job competencies should be defined next since they reveal the behavior and skills needed. Provisions should then be made for team and personal development as goals for every area are established followed by a statement about the achievement of these goals. The plan may be divided into programs for things like management training, new employees, and development of professional skills. Strategies and goals should be set for sticking to company values for example integrity, diversity and creativity. The strategic plan is then distributed to employees (Fina 2009, 67). RISK ANALYSIS In analyzing the risks associated with the performance of employees it is necessary to establish the context of the risks meaning the circumstances under which a risk occurs. This is followed by assessing the risk whereby the risk is identified and evaluated. Risk treatment is then done and the solution to the performance problems sought. Finally there should be monitoring and review of the risk to reveal the progress in risk avoidance (Dresner 2007, 56). CAREER DEVELOPMENT MECHANISMS In order to develop the careers of employees an in house development center will be started in the company to sharpen the skills of employees and boost their morale. Jobs fairs will also be held within the company once in 4 months. Job openings will be filled from within. Employees will also be enlisted as mentors and teachers of new employees. Existing employees need to get the time of branching out of their expertise areas. Career tracks for star performers should be created and in this case technical and managerial tracks will work. Hiring from within is another way of career development. New employees must be given proper orientation so that they can have a foundation. The managers within the company must be held accountable for the career development of employees and finally ex-employees must be treated as alumni with good relations between them and the company (Shields 2007, 100). CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS Management is important in any work place. The manager should be in a position to maintain the performance of the workforce high by adhering to the processes described in this paper. The paper has examined the assessment of risks, career development, performance standards, work plan development, performance management, work allocation, appropriate feed back among other work related processes. This paper recommends that all the managers should seek for training on the requirements of better performance at their work places. Companies should provide their managers with necessary opportunities for this training. Bibliography Bascal R. (2011) Performance management 2/E; McGraw Hill. Dresner H. (2007) The performance management revolution: Business results through Insight and Action; John Wiley & Sons. Hawkins W. F. (2009), managing employee performance: An accelerated learning text for supervisors and students, Booksurge LIc. Fina M. A. (2009) Perspectives on managing employees; Course Technology. Amazon Publishers. New York City. Liff S. (2007), managing government employees: How to motivate your people; Amazon Publishers. New York City. Shields J. (2007) Managing employee performance and reward: Concepts, practices, strategies; Cambridge University Press. Read More