Recruitment and Selection Processes at Emirates Airlines - Case Study Example

Student’s Name Instructor’s Name Course Name Date of Submission Emirates Airline’s Human Resource Management Practices Introduction In the present day’s fast-paced and complex business environment, having a high caliber of employees with the right skills and knowledge is viewed as a source of competitive advantage. As such, human resource management practices are very critical and are necessary since it ensures that a company has talented, highly skills and motivated staff to deliver to a company’s goals (Wirtz et al. 4). Additionally, human resource management is important as it ensures that a company has the right number of staff and that they are properly remunerated, as well as offered a conducive work environment (Wilcox 2). Emirate Airline is an example of an example of a company that understands the value of having the right employees. For this resource, the United Arab Emirate airline has a human resource department that ensures that the company has the right number of employees with the right skills all the time. The objective of this paper is to evaluate Emirate Airline’s human resource management practices by assessing its HR processes and procedures. Based on the analysis of its HRM practices, the paper will provide suggestions on areas that need improvements. Company Background Emirates Airline is a Dubai-based airline founded in 1985 (Miller et al. 2). The company has since grown to become a major player in the global airline industry flying to more than 122 destinations in more than 65 nations across the globe. Emirates is regarded the largest airline not just in UAE but in the entire Middle East region. Emirates Airline is a part of the Emirates Group that employs more than 50,000 people that works under the government of Dubai considering that the airline is wholly owned by the government (Miller et al. 3). The airline operates more than one thousand flights weekly to different destinations across the globe. The company currently owns more than 180 fleets of aircrafts comprising of both Boeing and Airbus. Despite the stiff competition it faces from rival airlines, such as Etihad, Emirates still commands a large market share in the UAE and the Middle East at large. HMR Practices Recruitment and Selection Wirtz et al. states that recruitment and selection is one of the most important functions of HRM (5). The HRM has the responsibility of ensuring that a company is staffed with the right number of people with the right skills (Wilcox 7). To get the right people for the job, Emirates Airline adopts a vigorous and formal recruitment process that begins with identifying the requirements of the post that has fallen vacant. This is followed by putting an advert for the position detailing the education and competence, as well as the experience that is required (ATTC par. 3). The ads are usually posted online on the company’s official website, as well as on major print newspapers. Once the applications for the position has been received within the time frame allowed by the HR department, the applications are reviewed to identify the candidates that meet the requirements specified who are them called for an interview. The shortlisted candidates are notified via email, phone calls and letters. The shortlisted applicants are then taken through oral interviews to select the best candidate for the job. The selection process is done with the help of psychometric testing to identify not just their academic qualifications, but also their personality and attitudes to see if they are in tandem with the Emirates culture (ATTC par. 6). This gives the HR a chance to select the best candidate to fill the position. Training and Development Skill building is a critical function of the human resource management of any company. Because if the changing nature of the business environment and consumer needs, a company must be able to keep in pace with the trends in the market and this is only possible when the employees have the right skills to perform their jobs at any given time. According to Wirtz et al., high performing companies are those that focus on constant skill upgrade through training and development (8). Emirates are an example of an airline that offers training and development programs to ensure that employees have the right skills. Because Emirates hires a large number of fresh graduates from universities, the airline provides on-the-job training program that ensures that the fresh graduates acquire the right skills. The airline does this through mentorship program in which less skilled employees, such as pilots and cabin crews are paired with experienced employees that takes them through the work process until such a time that they are able to do the jobs on their own. Mentorship programs have helped the company develop a pool of highly skilled employees and this has acted as a source of competitive advantage for the airline. According to the airline’s latest annual report, about 6% of its annual budget goes to training and development as the company believes that result can only be achieved through competitive skills (Maceda par. 9). In fact, Emirates training and development practices are in circle with its philosophy of ensuring continuous customer satisfaction. In addition to mentoring programs, Emirates also develop the skills of its workforce by organizing training programs for its staff. The seminars are organized periodically and the employees are encouraged to attend these seminars, where they get the opportunity to meet people who have succeeded in the airline and get inspired and learn from them (Maceda par. 2). The company management reveals that the seminars have greatly help improve the interaction between the employees and the experienced management and authority. Moreover, Emirates Airline promotes self-study program. Emirates are a company that recognizes the value of the Internet and uses it as a tool for promoting self-learning in the company. The airline provides free Internet services, which its uses to promote self-study. However, for this program to success, Emirates expects its entire staff to be innovative and creative. The company encourages its staff to engage actively with the Internet for ideas and learning. Additionally, the staff of the company gets information regarding group management and technology advancements through the Internet. Performance Management Performance management is a critical undertaking in any organization (Wirtz et al.11). For an organization to succeed and become competitive, the employees must perform. Therefore, performance management is a process used to evaluate the performance of employees to see if they deliver to the objectives of a company. Emirates Airline HR conducts performance management through job evaluation. The aim of performance management at Emirates is to improve the workers and the organizational performance. Performance management has helped the airline build a high performing culture for individuals and teams in the company and this has translated to better performance by the company (Maceda par. 4). This is achieved by providing feedback to the employees continuously on their performance and the areas they need to improve to ensure productivity. Reward System and Benefits Emirates Airline believes that the key to success is having highly motivated and satisfied staff. Employees who are satisfied in the jobs and are highly motivated tend to increase effort and their commitments to the achievement of the organizational objectives (Appelbaum. and Fewster 60). However, reward system that a company adopts can either motivate or demotivate an employee and in the event that an employee is demotivated by the reward offered this might result in the withdrawal of services or decreased performance. Therefore, to ensure high motivation and satisfaction level of its staff, Emirates Airline adopts a Total Reward system for its staff. Part of Emirates total reward system is the cash benefits it provides to its employees. The airline provides competitive tax free basic salary to its entire staff (Emirates Group par. 5). The fixed monthly income for all employees is related to the position of an employee, their skills and contribution to the role. The airline benchmarks the salaries for its entire staff against the industry and is reviewed regularly to ensure that they remain competitive. Emirates understand that for employees to perform to the best of their ability, they need a decent accommodation. For this reason, the company provides employees with accommodation at its housing facilities that are built near the offices to en sure that employee do not travel long distances to get to work. However, for those not willing to get accommodation at the Emirates housing facilities, they are provided with accommodation allowances (Emirates Group par. 7). Other cash benefits provided by Emirates to employees as part of its total reward system include profit share scheme, exchange rate protection scheme and professional specialist allowances, which are awarded depending on the role of the employee. Additionally, Emirates provide a wide range of non-cash benefits to its employees that include annual leave, end of service gratuity, leave tickets, education support allowance, government pension scheme and provident fund. Conclusion & Recommendations Emirates Airline is the largest airline in the UAE and the Middle East. As indicated in the report, the success of Emirates is largely attributed to effective HRM that has ensured that the company has highly motivated and satisfied staff with the right skills for the job. The company’ HR has ensured this through effective recruitment, selection, development and reward system. However, there are some areas where the company has not done well and needs to improve in order to ensure success. First, Emirates Airline’s HR managers need to introduce work/life program for its employees. In the modern business world, top-notch employees are looking for employers that are capable of providing them with time to attend to family and personal matters. Therefore, the airline has a chance to attract these top performers but extending its work/life program to include telecommuniting and part time work, which the airline has not put enough emphasis on. Second, on training and development, Emirates should consider providing fully paid education scholarship to its engineers and pilots to enable them learn more and advance their knowledge as this would translate to better services and customer satisfaction. Moreover, the training and development programs provided by the airline needs to be customer oriented in a manner that convenience, safety and customer comfort is factored. Works Cited ATTC. Emirates Assessment, Recruitment and Selection Process. Web. 15 December 2016 http://www.attc.com/Emirates-Assessment-Recruitment-and-Selection-Process.htm Appelbaum, Steven H. and Brenda M. Fewster. Global Aviation Human Resource Management: Contemporary Compensation and Benefits Practices. Management Research News, 26.7 (2003): 59-71.Print. Emirates Group. Employee Benefits. Web. 15 December 2016 http://www.emiratesgroupcareers.com/english/about/benefits.aspx Maceda, Cleofe. ‘UAE Workers Committed To Jobs But Unhappy With HR Practices.’ Gulf News 11 July, 2015. Web. 15 December 2016 http://gulfnews.com/business/sectors/employment/uae-workers-committed-to-jobs-but-unhappy-with-hr-practices-1.1552543 Miller, Frederic P., Agnes F. Vandome, and McBrewster John. Emirates Airline: Major Carrier United Arab Emirates, Dubai, Dubai International Airport, Emirates SkyCargo, Airbus A380, The Emirates Group, Emirates Destinations, Emirates Airline Fleet.London: Alphascript Publishing, 2010. Print. Wilcox, Tracy. Doctoral Stream Something In the Air: HRM Legitimation Strategies in a Global Airline. Fifth Critical Management Studies Conference: Manchester Business School. School of Organisation and Management University of New South Wales (2007): 1-19. Wirtz, Jochen, Loizos Heracleous and Nitin Pangarkar. Managing Human Resources for Service Excellence and Cost Effectiveness at Singapore Airlines. Managing Service Quality, 18. 1 (2008): 4-19. Print. Read More