Q1) What are the HRM problems & Issues facing Novo Air?

This includes a brief

introduction to the case analysis.

As we all know that there had been a recent fatal air crash of a Bangladeshi airline carrier
US Bangla and of which later reports suggested was due to the severe depression and
unwillingness to fly of the pilot, and after that followed a close scrutiny on every detail of
the airline industry of Bangladesh. Any issue small or big caught the attention of the media
and the airline companies as a result faced severe pressure to perform perfectly as anything
not near perfection would catch the eye of the media. Recently another issue sparked which
was that some high officials of Bangladesh Biman were suspended due to gross misconduct.

While this resulted in a public relations nightmare for those organizations, it may likely
point to a deeper, underlying HR issue. What is going on in companies where emp loyees go
to extreme measures such as putting the passengers’ lives at risk by flying in a depressed
state of mind or expropriating wealth as in the case of Biman?

There could be due to several reasons and, no doubt, there’s always the outliers, from the
otherwise good employee who just has a one-off, really bad day, to one with a possible
mental health issue or simply a random employee who decides this will be their ultimate
form of resignation. But more often, poor behavior can be indicative of a dysfunctional
culture within the organization. If anybody asks whether human resources management is
important, we believe no one will reply "no" because machines definitely will not be able to
function without people.

We deal with Novo Air in this case, a notable company in the Bangladesh airline industry.
NOVOAIR was established in 2007 with a vision of “Excellence in Aviation’’ and motto “ART
of Aviation’’, which emanates from the conviction that NOVOAIR shall endeavor to provide the
best of service to valued clients. We are committed to uphold On-Time Performance, Safety,
Services and Comfort to our passengers. Over the time NOVOAIR has become the number one
choice of air traveler in the country.
NOVOAIR launched commercial operation on 9 Jan 2013 with Embraer 145 jet aircraft. Later the
Embraer fleet was replaced with ATR 72-500 turboprop aircraft. The airline currently operates to
all domestic destination of the country with lone International destination to Kolkata.

NOVOAIR aspires to reach the highest level of customer’s satisfaction through an

uncompromising commitment to safety, reliability, efficiency and stringent adherence to
regulatory compliance. We have earned customer’s preference and employee trust through
leadership, commitment and service. We invest our profits in people & services to grow. Our
mission is to provide safe, reliable and friendly air services in partnership with our customers,
suppliers and the communities we serve. One of our goals is to set ourselves the pinnacle of
standards and we deliver on our promises.

NOVOAIR is committed to uphold On-Time Performance, Superior Services, Safety and Comfort.
NOVOAIR, country’s “Best Domestic Airline” adjudged by “Monitor Airline of the Year”,
becomes passenger’s first choice for air travel.

Corporate culture is usually established at the top, and the responsibility lies with senior
leaders to ensure that any problems are quickly addressed and resolved. But often CEOs
may be so removed from the day-to-day environment, and they may not have the particular
skill set personally – or on the board – to anticipate or identify HR issues, let alone how to
solve them. Blame is often placed elsewhere and trickles down, which only reinforces a
systemic culture problem. Too many policies, procedures or useless evaluations, a lack of
candid communication and transparency, or not listening to employee feedback are only
some things that can create toxic environments.

When it comes to understanding whether Novo Air may have HR issues that need to be
addressed, they must consider the following:

Classic conditioning. We repeat the behaviors for which we are rewarded. Whether implicit
or explicit, if the corporate culture prizes rules and adherence to them, and those employees
who enforce the rules are generally rewarded, then they will more readily apply this to
others as well. Rigid rules result in a lack of autonomy and ability to think flexibly. On the
other hand, if the culture promotes an inclusive and shared vision of success where
employees are valued, they will be more motivated to go the extra mile to ensure happy
customers.

Doing unto others. Conversely, if employees are routinely treated harshly or feel that
supervisors don’t care about them, most often their resentment may cause them to treat
coworkers or customers in the same manner. A focus on rules, process and e fficiency that is
prioritized above employee and customer wellbeing can result a toxic corporate culture.
Managers who focus on supervising rather than coaching or mentoring, and leave little or no
room for feedback and discussion, will not foster positive relationships with their staff. Nor
do they set a good example for the employee.

Don’t pay lip service. Especially in hospitality, good customer service needs to be seen as a
clear priority by the executive team, not just something that’s paid lip servi ce. If you want
to ensure your employees provide good customer service, involve them in defining what
those service standards are. They are the ones closest to the front line and in the best
position to know what matters to your customers and what their pain points are. Through
their direct experience, the may know how to best address your customers concerns. Invite
them to share their learnings with others on the team.

Prioritize training. Don’t just set an expectation of excellence without supporting it.
Ongoing training and support of employees on how to appropriately handle frustrated
customers and diffuse charged situations is important. As with anything, practice makes
perfect. Establish a regular training program with role-playing, brainstorming, and case
studies, so that these skills are constantly honed and updated. A company-wide email
reminding employees of the customer service standards doesn’t cut it. Set a standard
internally for how mistakes are handled by providing supportive, calm assistance. Berating
or throwing an employee under the bus to please a customer will not likely yield a positive
result – or display problem solving best practice.

Pay attention. To how your employees are behaving. We live in a world of increased
demand, stress and expectation, with an inverse proportion of time, patience and reward.
This paradigm is perhaps felt most by those in customer-facing roles, who may deal with
hundreds or even thousands of different people, and personalities, each day. Check in with
them regularly and when they start showing signs of stress, pull them off the front line and
let them diffuse their stress with non-customer facing tasks.

As with anything, you can’t get to the heart of a problem and fix it without talking about it
and addressing it truthfully. Culture problems can usually be resolved when management
has the courage to face issues openly and provide the right tools, and environment that will
foster real and positive change.

I’ve discussed how HR management is constantly changing and, with that being said, the airline
industry is perhaps one of the most volatile industries in the world. It is an industry whose way
of doing business is constantly changing due largely in part to those outside forces. Not only are
they subject to regular bankruptcies, mergers and acquisitions, they are subject to such
uncontrollable factors as the political and economic situation of society and its customer base.
Thus, the human resources manager in an airline industry has the challenge of staffing for this
ever-changing need.

Because the airline’s needs are in a constant state of flux, the first step the human resources
manager must take is to establish a system that allows for a regular evaluation of the need and
then recruit based on the evaluated need.

Within Novo Air there are numerous different levels of positions, from executives to pilots, from
stewardesses to maintenance personnel. The human resources manager will only be able to
successfully recruit and thus staff each of these diverse needs if they create a line of
communications with each department in order to access their specific needs and then base the
recruiting plan on this gathered information.

Novo Air resource manager’s job is complicated by the challenge of the ever-changing need of
the airline industry. Because the industry is rapidly changing, job security is a regular question of
an employee at any level. For this reason, the airline human resources manager must recruit for
the future, a place where they can offer some amount of a guarantee for job stability. (Wensveen,
2003). The three main issues that a human resources manager will face in the industry is the
increase in the amount of outsourced jobs, recruiting personnel who are qualified to handle the
increased level of technology involved in the industry, and to be able to successfully handle
employee disgruntlements and possible strikes or other union-based actions. (Flouris, 2006).

The rapid pace of change in the aviation industry requires human resources professionals to be
ready to change with the circumstances. Mergers, acquisitions, environmental issues, increased
regulation and international engagement each bring their own set of challenges to HR training
programs and how they influence employee retention.
Hiring Managers

Recruiting, hiring and training managers are costly endeavors for airlines. HR policies targeting
potential management candidates from the current roster of employees can help reduce expenses
while maintaining the company's cultural integrity. Management training for current managers
can task them with finding replacements within their ranks to take their places when they move
up. Doing so would follow the current trend in aviation training to improve succession planning
from within rather than relying on outside recruitment efforts.

Preparation Plans

Pilots, flight and ground crews and air traffic controllers cannot train for every possible scenario.
Instead of training only for known emergency situations, the current concept involves cross-
training employees to ensure the optimal safety of passengers and crews. Sound critical thinking
skills may be the best defense against the unknown. While employees in aviation must learn
specific tasks to successfully fulfill their obligations, this multidimensional approach to training
allows staff to respond quickly to changes and challenges as they occur.
Beyond Company Borders

Current staff can also learn the practices of companies that offer customers seamless travel to
provide a more positive consumer experience, the International Air Transport Association says.
As regulators smooth over international laws that often make cooperation difficult, aviation
training will likely include more instruction on how to move passengers by creating alliances and
air travel partnerships.

Environmental Initiatives

The aviation industry has made significant strides in overcoming environmental damage through
technical and mechanical innovation. Training trends along these lines will continue to develop
as the industry incorporates improvements in environmental protection. Education of engineering
and maintenance crews will include programs aimed at reducing the industry’s carbon footprint.
This may include learning more about using alternative fuel supplies and promoting sustainable
practices within their fields of expertise.

However, for the airline industry, players can be compared easily regarding human resources
management because of the similarity of machines in Boeing and Airbus, the same international
aviation rules and regulations and some similar operating standards, for example.

“Therefore, in this dynamic competitive business, we are able to demonstrate the importance of
HR easily,” Ariya Furkfon, managing consultant at Hay Group, said last week. Citing data from
IATA, she said an effective airline is one that can develop effectiveness in three key productivity
drivers – fuel, aircraft and labor.

Finally we can see that Novo Air can adapt these cultural changes to improve their overall HR
condition.

Just Culture - A Just Culture is described as a culture in which employees are not punished for
actions, omissions or decisions taken by employees that are commensurate with their experience
and training; however, gross negligence, willful violations and destructive acts are not tolerated.
The entire concern over taking responsibility for one’s action became interwoven into the Just
Culture philosophy. It stress finding a middle-ground between a blame-free culture, which
attributes all errors to system failure and says no individual is held accountable, and an overly
punitive culture, where individuals are blamed for all mistakes. Creating an organizational
culture where people embrace their accountability toward one another and toward the
organization produces greater transparency and openness (Marx, 2009).Just culture is associated
with incident-prone professional activities (e.g., pilots and doctors) where consequences of
mistakes are potentially grave. The ultimate goal is safety (Stastny and Garin, 2004).

Self-Reporting by Employees - The system relies on pilots self-declaring. Therefore, unless a

pilot is honest about an alcohol problem or psychiatric disorder, there is no guarantee a problem
will be spotted. Even though commercial airline pilots undergo psychological testing, aviation
experts acknowledge those who are depressed or suicidal may be difficult to detect (Kaiser,
2015). It is recognized that there may be barriers affecting a frank discussion of mental health
issues between an aeromedical examiner and a pilot. A highly independent culture exists where
pilots are in control and they fear losing their medical certificate. The problem is that pilots who
report symptoms run the risk of having their commercial pilot license suspended or revoked. So
they stay quiet. Pilots are not likely to disclose any potential mental health problems, because
that could get them grounded (Kaiser, 2015; Scarpa, 2014). Airlines must do a better job of
monitoring mental illness among pilots. Existing rules rely on self-reporting; but most pilots are
not willing to self-report (Wharton, 2015). Pilots, like others with high stress jobs, tend to be
good at compartmentalizing, warding off difficult or emotional experiences so they don’t
interfere with their ability to function day-to-day (Kaiser, 2015). Pilots fear and loath being
grounded. Pilots are exposed to constant stress when flying, including adapting to changing
altitudes and time zones. When you couple that with being away from home and the increasing
volatility in the airline industry, you’d expect to have a lot of anxiety and emotional issues. Novo
Air must learn to deal with these issues and give constant emotional and psychological support
and counseling to the pilots on a regular basis and in the process regularly monitor their mental
health issues.