Talent Managers As Problem Solvers

I accepted an invitation to speak at the 4th HR Africa Summit organised by IIR. I flew out of London Heathrow on Monday 26 November and embarked on the 12-hour flight to Johannesburg on Virgin Atlantic. Feeling tired, I happily accepted the massage when it was offered by the on-board masseuse. Dinner over, I pulled out my laptop and went over the slides I would be presenting at the summit on Wednesday 28th November at the Emperor’s Palace. On arrival on Tuesday morning, I checked into the Intercontinental O. R . Tambo Airport Hotel since the Emperors Palace was fully booked.

On Wednesday morning, I picked up The Star newspaper. The front page headlines that screamed at me were: “Global recruitment drive for South African pilots” “17,000 extra pilots expected to be recruited worldwide in the next 10 years”. I smiled. I remembered an interview Dave Ulrich had with People Management magazine, the official journal of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, UK on 28 June 2007. Speaking on HR Strategy, he said that “HR needs to offer integrated solutions to business problems”. With this in mind, my team had proactively developed human capital development initiatives that led us to:

a. Recognize the value of our internal talent pool

b. Hold skills audit/career development meetings

c. Conduct career mapping and pathway exercise

d. Focus on our critical workforce segment

e. Promote cross-functional moves for employees

Addressing the delegates later in the day, I shared our story. At inception, the human resources team had already convinced the airline management to make a commitment to invest in the next generation of skilled workforce because we faced acute shortage of skilled aviation personnel, ageing industry workforce, difficulty in attracting, recruiting and retaining talent as we prepared to start operations. Hence, our strategic people objective was to achieve balance of skills, via open global recruitment reflecting the global, complex nature of aviation, whilst at the same time aggressively prioritizing recruitment and training of capable local talent.

Using this value proposition, we attracted talent from eighteen countries (across four continents – Asia, Europe, Africa, North America). We positioned ourselves as key developer of aviation skills and became Africa’s fastest growing airline. We followed this up with the announcement to acquire 24 new aircraft from Brazilian manufacturer, Embraer. 

We resolved to grow by developing the right people through cross-functional moves for high performers. We established a cadet pilot development programme with plans to admit cadets twice a year. The first group was made up of internal candidates in recognition of their commitment and demonstration of our core values. Seventy-five shortlisted applicants reduced to eight successful cadets after a rigorous selection process (psychometric, aptitude testing and medical examination). They will graduate as Second Officers after 18 months. This will ensure a steady pipeline of much-needed cockpit crew.

The need for local on-board Flight Services Managers (FSMs) was accelerated following an event at Heathrow Airport. My flight to Lagos was delayed for over half an hour because some crew members seconded from another airline were not available to operate a scheduled flight to Lagos. I met with the head of cabin services, who assured me that the Nigerian crew on board were all licensed by the UK Civil Aviation Authority to operate the Airbus A340-300 aircraft type. Does that mean we are good to go? She said yes. I met with some of the crew members and told them that we plan to start a Flight Services Managers Development Programme and they all have the opportunity to prove their eligibility for the scheme on this flight. Once we were in the air, I pulled out my laptop and worked on the outline of the development programme which would run for six months in two phases starting in August. Phase one produced 12 local FSMs to replace those seconded to us for our long-haul fleet. Phase two supported the introduction of new aircraft type into our fleet. This led to approx 22% reduction in FSM cost.

To develop aircraft engineering maintenance skills, we instituted a partnership with the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT) and agreed to sponsor five NCAT students on the 36-week aircraft maintenance course. Successful candidates will then go through a rigorous licensing/certification process with the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). 

To retain the right people, we created a supportive corporate culture and value and career development opportunities. Our transparent performance management system and feedback process driven by a performance-related pay philosophy, ensured recognition through appropriate monetary and non-cash incentives.

The following day, with work to be done, I headed to the airport for my flight to Lagos.