Workforce Planning for Singapore Airlines - Case Study Example

Running Header: Manage workforce planning Student’s Name: Instructor’s Name: Course code/ Name: Institution: Date: Part A Manage workforce planning There is need to invest in a good workforce that can facilitate a speed achievement of an organization’s goals. For a workforce to be efficient, there are some issues that would have to be resolved like the affordability of good working conditions, good remunerations, job security just to name a few (Heracleous, Wirtz & Pangarkar, 2006). All these rely on the availability of a good planning procedure where all the different levels of management are incorporated by a smooth flow of ideas, workers and a good transitional mechanism. Succession planning is the coming up of workable ideas that make the future functions of an organization possible. It requires strategic and deliberate efforts in ensuring that all the positions in an organization have been filled by qualified personnel (Atwood 2007). In case there is a transition of any sort from the organization, there should be plans to ensure the future of the organization is guaranteed and that the transition process does not lose credibility to the workers. Qualified staff should always be available in an organization and there should be ways of improving the potential of the new recruits so as to assume uniformity in all sectors (Donald 2008). In order to have a good succession plan, it would be in order to identify a viable workforce plan. This is having knowledge of any gaps that may be prevalent in the workforce and formulating the necessary measures to ensure the gaps are filled with the right personnel (Emmerichs, Marcum & Robbert 2004). It is in this line that an airline is chosen so as to formulate a good succession plan. A good example of my choice will be the Singapore Airlines. This airline company is based in Asia and is entitled to giving the best service to its customers worldwide. It has grown from being a small airline company to one of the most successful airline companies in the world. It is a company that was once under the British rule during the time the British government was colonizing Malaysia and Singapore. Due to the market capitalization it now enjoys, it is classified as the second biggest airline after Southwest Airlines of the U.S. it has about 29, 734 workers and a stock worth about 6.8 million dollars. Managing such a workforce requires efficient plans and effective procedures to facilitate the growth of the business. The company’s long-term goal is to be the leading airline in the world in terms of customer choice and delivery of services (Heracleous, Wirtz & Pangarkar 2006). It also plans to purchase and possess the biggest airplanes so as to increase their customer range. This it intends to achieve by continuing to expound on their objectives which is dedicating to accord the highest quality of services to customers with a friendly sense of personal pride. The effect of the company’s goal on the supply of labor is immense. Being the leading airline means having access to all airports and increasing their flights to all major airports in the world. This in turn calls for more personnel like pilots, cabin crew, hostesses, flight attendants and others. This means that labor needs will increase and so will the workforce. There has to be effective workforce plans as well as succession plans to govern the whole process. Being voted the second biggest airline company in the world in terms of capital standardization, there is a current demand for labor force. Due to the success the company has achieved in the recent past, many workers would like to migrate from other airline companies to work for the Singapore Airlines (Heracleous, Wirtz & Pangarkar 2006). This is due to the fact that people would want to be associated with the best. Workers see a potential to grow and earn expertise in their respective fields especially on a time the company is purchasing the biggest airplanes to accommodate the increasing customer share. If the company maintains its vision and mission in serving their customers, there is a chance to expand further and this will increase the demand for labor from all over the world. They will need staff to operate the planes, to attend to the customers, to offer security services at the airports and more. The company’s rapid growth means there is potential to labor demands in the future. The workforce will continue increasing so as to serve effectively the rising number of customers. Employees’ turnover is the state of employees switching companies in search of better terms of employment. Workers may leave a firm if they feel they are not well appreciated in either of the following terms: salary, job security and good working conditions among others. There was a time the Singapore Airlines suffered from employees’ turnover, but the management changed tactics to achieve customer satisfaction. There are less instances of staff turnover in the company as the airline embarked on plans to improve on the ratios of retention. This was done by allocating more time and energy in the recruiting of workers and the subsequent training programs that followed for the workers (Heracleous, Wirtz & Pangarkar 2006). The training was geared to synchronize with the mission of the company to accord high quality customer care service. This has seen a drastic change in the workers commitment to their respective duties and they are happy to be associated with a company that recognizes the needs of its customers. Organizational change can be in the form of a change in the structure of management and this if not dealt with properly may have repercussions on the workforce. Since at one time change will be inevitable, it is better to work out procedures of having to cope with the organizational change (Heracleous, Wirtz & Pangarkar, 2006). There are several strategies that can be used when there is certainty of organizational change. One strategy is to let the employees know of the impending change before the employees get to know about it from informal sources. This would make them get prepared psychologically (Donald 2008). Another strategy to use to help the workers cope with the organizational changes is by interviewing them to get their feel on the impending change and what their fears are. This would provide more information on what they expect and any problem they may have can be solved at this stage (Donald 2008). It is imperative also to assure the workers of their job security and remunerations so as to alleviate any fears the workers may be harboring in anticipation of the incoming change. Losing experienced workers to competitors is usually a big blow and hence the need to formulate strategies that will see to it that experienced workers are given chances to grow and are retained. Implementations strategies to ensure desirable workers are developed and experienced ones retained include: remunerations as was of appreciation for job well done, giving the workers a sense of belonging, allowing the workers express their heartfelt views without the fear of reprimand etc. By regularly giving the workers remunerations, they feel appreciated and valued and this makes the worker feel a part of the big picture (Donald, 2008). Workers at the Singapore Airlines are always appreciated by being accorded better remunerations thus building in them a sense of being valued and in return use their energy in serving the needs of the company. There are channels of communication at the airline company where workers air their views without fear and this boosts their morale feeling they are treated with respect and harboring no fear of getting reprimanded. Workers would only leave working for a particular and seek employment chances from competitors if they were sure they are not appreciated or there is no opportunity of growth in the current company they are working for (Glanz, 2002). They should be given chances to grow and expand and in the process, their energy would be directed towards building the company that allowed them to grow. A good pay package is vital in retaining employees, involving them in the changes that may befall the company is also necessary and should be encouraged and according them training programs where they further their knowledge is also a good venture of retaining the workforce and minimizing losing them to competitors. To retain workers, a company needs to create an environment that a worker is fully comfortable in and one that may prove hard to get elsewhere. Some objectives would include; guaranteeing job security in the workforce, administering safety measures to the workers, hiking their salaries, promoting health programs that are either cheap to access or free for the workers, programs where employees can air suggestions and offering training and development programs for the workers etc (Glanz, 2002). When all these are achieved, workers would feel better treated and appreciated and although movement is inevitable at times, chances are the worker may opt to stay than transfer to another place. Another objective to facilitate retaining the workers is by encouraging those who are nearing the age of retirement to continue working by offering them incentives. At Singapore Airlines, workers are treated with a lot of respect and enjoy a large span of incentives like occasional holidays in the best destinations of the world, enjoying a share in the company’s turnover and diverse job content (Glanz, 2002). There is an unprejudiced blend of incremental and far-reaching improvement that has demonstrated effectiveness to uphold healthy competition for greater productivity among the workers. The government’s influence on labor supply and demand is usually pegged on the minimum wages it sets for workers to be paid. Government’s involvement on matters of salaries and wages is a way to control and deter worker harassment that could be in the form of underpayment. The government comes up with acts to protect the workers examples being the minimum wages act, bonus payment act and the equal remuneration act. They help maintain uniformity in the labor sector. Part B Organisation’s current workforce plan The workforce plan employed by the Singapore Airlines is effective as they are concerned with proper recruitment procedures for the workers. Emphasis is laid on recruiting the best qualified personnel who are chosen not only from Singapore, but from other regions in Asia as well (Heracleous, Wirtz & Pangarkar 2006). Each worker is absorbed in the workforce with the respective capabilities and all their talents and professional qualifications are combined in this company, the results are astounding. The management has taken upon itself to train the workers and this expands their level of knowledge which translates to efficiency and hence more production. Training of workers is important as it instills in them what the company expects from them and as they are fully integrated in the workforce, they become part of a large group of people bound by a common bond of propelling the company ahead so as to achieve the set goals and objectives (Heracleous, Wirtz & Pangarkar 2006). Since there is a big market that is yet to be tapped in this industry, the company should rely on the good image its services have carved in the international market and take advantage by acquiring other fleets of planes to expand on their market share. This would be easily achieved because the public has already heard of the achievements made by the company, the many awards the company has won from travel agencies and airline regulatory boards and its image in treating customers with delight at the same time according them the highest quality of service. The company should target regions that have not been fully exploited by competitors as there are still regions that do not experience air traffic in a big extent. References Atwood, CG, 2007, Succession planning basics, Massachusetts, American Society for Training and Development. Donald, C, 2008, Dealing with Significant Organizational Change, Saarbrucken, VDM Verlag. Emmerichs, RM, Marcum, CY & Robbert, A, 2004, An operational process for workforce planning, California, RAND. Glanz, BA, 2002, Handle with care: motivating and retaining your employees, New York, McGraw Hill. Heracleous, LT, Wirtz, J & Pangarkar, N, 2006, Flying high in a competitive industry: Cost effective excellence at Singapore Airlines, New York, McGraw Hill. Read More