Organizations require services of human resource (HR) managers in order to operate efficiently. Just like the departmental heads, HR managers play two important roles. These are managing the employees and supervising various departmental functions. In that respect, it is imperative for HR managers to have the insight of every human resource issues such as compensation, training, recruitment, as well as employee relation. HR managers need to have excellent communication skills and good decision-making abilities. This is an indication that HR managers ought to be intellects since they play a significant role when it comes to propelling organizations towards success. In that regards, this article shall discuss the various human resource strategies, policies as well as practices as they relate to the JetBlue airline case.
About the Company
JetBlue is a United States bases airline that was initiated in 1998. The airline is widely known for its low-cost services. In fact, the ability to offer low-cost services coupled with peculiar differentiation strategy has enabled JetBlue to be one of the rapidly growing airline in the region. It took JetBlue airline six years for it to be ranked 11th in the aviation industry (Brizek, 2011). Notably, JetBlue airline was among the few airlines that were operating profitably after the attack on the World Trade Centre in September 2001. During this time, many airlines were operating under losses. This was made possible owing to the low-cost strategies that the company had embraced. Besides, the broad adoption of novel technology and automating various processes has also helped the airline to reduce its operational costs as well as the cost of training workforce.
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How the National Laws about the Provision of Equal Job Opportunities Influence the Hiring Process at JetBlue airline
The Federal Laws require JetBlue airline to adhere to the regulations that advocate for the creation of Equal Employment Opportunities (EEO). This law is found under the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Under this law, the airline is supposed to conduct its hiring processes without discriminating the applicants based on their gender, race or nationality (Occhialino & Vail, 2004). An example of such laws is the 1978 Pregnancy Discrimination Act. According to this Act, an employee is not supposed to discriminate pregnant women. The law does not expect the employer to as women question regarding their birth plans and family planning among others. Besides, it prohibits the employers from firing a woman because she is pregnant. Apparently, this law greatly influences JetBlue airline. Second, there is the 1990 American with Disability Act. Under this law, the employer is not supposed to discriminate qualified candidates for a job due to their disability. The law also affects the way people associates with disables persons at the workplace. The third Act is the 1996 Immigration Reform and Control Act. Based on this law, the airline is restricted from hiring illegal Aliens. In that respect, JetBlue airline is expected to provide the identification of its employees. This includes the current ones and those it intends to employ.
These laws are important since they ensure that companies or rather organizations embrace the values that come along with diversity at the workplace. In that respect, JetBlue airline has been adhering to such policies by stressing that candidates for the various vacancies are selected irrespective of their citizenship, skin color, religion or gender. The airline believes that when such criterion is used it will be against the law. Besides, it clearly strives to embrace the merits that diversity will offer in its operations. As such, most of the hiring that is conducted within the organization is based on merit.
The EEO laws restrict organizations from getting involved in activities that are discriminatory (Occhialino & Vail, 2004). Such laws examine various practices that are undertaken in organizations such as employment, promotion, sacking, and discharging of workers. Moreover, the policies also consider other activities like payment, recruitment, and training of employees. In relation to payment, JetBlue airline has ensured that the employees are treated equally depending on their areas of the profession (Brizek, 2011). On the other hand, the company shunned the need for probation to guarantee the employees of job security. Besides, all the staff including the overlooked ones are given benefits such as medical, insurance and revenue benefits by the JetBlue airline.
Apparently, such measures that the airline has taken are not only necessary in making it adhere to the set rules but also to motivate the employees. Notably, guaranteeing the employees of job security plus giving them benefits motivates them to work extra hard in ensuring that the company can achieve its goals. Essentially, when the employees are satisfied at the organizational level, the customers will also be pleased since the employee will always strive to ensure that he/she offers the best services to the clients so that they can use their services again (Beard, 2014).
Recruitment Processes at JetBlue Airline
JetBlue uses both the external and internal recruitment procedures. These two modes of recruitment will be discussed as follows;
External Recruitment at JetBlue Airline
External recruitment refers to the process in which a company uses other people or firms to help it during the hiring process. Notably, the primary role of any management is to hire individuals in an attempt to ensure that the company’s objectives are met and various strategies that the firm strives to achieve are implemented. Therefore, the recruitment process needs to be conducted carefully so that individuals with superior qualities can be employed for various positions within the organization. The JetBlue airline has used this strategy to employ most people in top offices such as Mr. Dave Barger who is the Chief Operating Officer of the airline (Brizek, 2011). The president and pilots who serve in the company have also been recruited externally from other organizations.
The JetBlue airline operates in such a way that it sells its image as a company that zeal to attract the best personnel from the community. Nevertheless, it is the ability of the HR manager to inform community members about the available opportunities through advertisements. This is important since it will determine whether the airline will be able to tap competent individuals from the community. Notably, the recruitment process is very expensive for most organizations. JetBlue airline understands the implication that such activities have on the financial position of the organization. Of essence, JetBlue deploys external recruitment channels for some of its employees in order to minimize expenses and maximize income.
Internal Recruitment at JetBlue Airline
The primary method that human resource management has when it comes to hiring is internal recruitment. Notably, various methods of internal recruitment exist. An example of such methods includes job posting boards. Under this approach, the company explores on both the intranet as well as the extranet. As such, it ensures that the workers are aware of the vacant positions within the enterprise. After they are aware of the positions, they are given a chance to bid for the vacant positions. In that respect, this method of recruitment ensures that the company is able to fill the available positions using the existing employees who are qualified.
Internal recruitment method can also involve employee referrals. Apparently, peers referral is one of the most powerful tools that can be used to effect the hiring process. Notably, if an in-house member is aware of a candidate who has the skills that are needed for a particular position, he/she can act as a referral for that particular individual. For instance, Ms. Rhodes, a former employee of Southwest Airlines, was referred to JetBlue airline by Mr. Neleman. Mr. Neleman, the founder of JetBlue, used to work with Ms. Rhoades in a particular airline that was later acquired by Southwest Airlines. In that respect, Mr. Rhoases and Mr. Neeleman were well familiar with one another thus it was not necessary for her to submit referrals or the company to enlist the job in various agencies
Impact of the Internal and External Recruitment on JetBlue
Internal and external methods of recruitment have had positive effects at JetBlue airline. For instance, through internal recruitment the company has realized that it has a variety of people within the organization who can be employed in various positions. As such, the company evades the need for external hiring which would require the new employees to be prescreened. This also gives the current employees of the company a chance to explore new opportunities that arise within the company. Through this process, the company has been able to realize success and set a remarkable human resource department.
As aforementioned, JetBlue is targeting to attract the best personnel from the community. As such, the two methods it deployed in its recruitment process are important since it helps the company to identify qualified staff and lure them to serve in appropriate capacities. For instance, through the process of external recruitment, the airline was able to secure services of experienced personnel. The external hiring process has also managed to tap qualified staff for the company. Mr. Dave Barger who is the Chief Operating Officer of the airline was externally recruited (Brizek, 2011). On the other hand, the airline has been able to hire professional technicians, mechanics as well as highly experienced pilots.
Selection of Personnel
Selection of Pilots and Mechanics via Interviews
In any organization, the selection process for various personnel is paramount. This is one of the important roles served by HR managers. A good selection process will see an organization achieving its objectives with ease hence becoming profitable. On the other hand, if the selection process were faulty, the organization would be forced to incur additional expenses in training the workers so that their morale and skills can be improved. Apparently, a carefully conducted selection process is a key to ensuring that the law is followed to the latter. As such, discriminatory instances will not crop up within the organization. The recruitment process for mechanics and pilots at JetBlue airline was conducted through interviews. The process involved the selection of individuals who demonstrated integrity and other qualities that coincide with the values of the company such as safety and passion. The mechanics, for instance, were interviewed about how they responded to sensitive issues while working for their previous employers.
The aim of using Personalized Interviews for the Pilots and Mechanics
The use of personalized interviews was integral since the information obtained from the interviews was used to establish the best candidates for the two positions. Notably, the candidates who were selected for the posts were the ones who did not compromise the safety of the passengers onboard. As such, any mechanic who failed to perform his/her duties while working for their previous employers were not considered for the position. On the other hand, the pilots were required to be computer literate in addition to possession of traits that rhyme with the culture of the JetBlue airline. Apparently, such considerations are important since they help the company to maintain its culture that guarantees customer satisfaction and improved organizational performance.
Factors that Affect Performance Appraisal
Performance evaluation is essential since it helps in determining whether the organization was able to meet its goals or not. The ability of an organization to achieve its set objectives is directly dependent on the performance of the employees. This is an indication if the employees fail to perform, organizational performance will also decline. Nevertheless, through the performance appraisal, organizations can examine how experienced their employees are in addition to ascertaining what ought to be done in order to improve their output. In that respect, performance appraisal ought to be done regularly so that organizations can not only improve but also sustain their productivity. Evaluating the performance of an organization is a demanding process that needs several factors to be taken into account. One of such factors is the policies that require the process to be conducted in such a way that it does not discriminate the employees. As mentioned earlier, the Civil Rights Act of 1994 illegalizes any form of discrimination at the workplace (Occhialino & Vail, 2004). Discrimination can be on either religious, racial, or gender grounds among others.
Second, there is the concern about Unions such as the labor unions which require the company to spell clearly the terms in which the employee was employed under. In that respect, organizations have an obligation to indicate the various benefits that an employee is entitled to. These may include compensation and insurance benefits among others. Under such regulations, JetBlue airline is expected to establish a compensation policy. This is the reason why the organization does not actively indulge or rather allow the union to be involved directly in most of its operations. Another factor that affects performance appraisal is the organizational culture. Most organizations require their employees to adhere to organizational norms. As such, the actions need to reflect on the culture of the organization. Corporate culture in this respect refers to how the employees act during particular instances. It determines how they deal with problems, talk or even how they are supposed to dress. At JetBlue, the culture of the airline is defined by how the employees demonstrate safety, integrity, passion, care and fun while they are working. Importantly, the performance appraisal process ought to establish ways of ensuring that the employees are satisfied which on the other hand would improve the performance of the organization.
Performance Appraisal
360-degree Feedback Appraisal
The development of the 360-degree feedback method has substituted the conventional performance appraisal systems. The JetBlue airline in that regards has embraced the merits that this novel approach offers to organizations. One of the main advantages of this system is the fact that it ensures that organizations have ample information regarding the performance of their organizations. Notably, the merit of using this system is that fact that the feedback is not confined to the employees alone. Rather, it is collected from a wide range of individuals who play a significant role in determining organizational performance such as supervisors, clients, and subordinates among others. This will help in determining how the employees perform at various levels. The conventional tools for performance appraisal used to deploy the supervisors to assess how the employees performed. This implies that the final information that would be used to evaluate the performance of the employee will be the views of one person. As such, the information will be prone to errors or even bias.
Additionally, when compared to the traditional methods that were deployed to serve the same role, the quality of information obtained from this model is appealing. Notably, the feedback received from different sources regarding the employee will help in reaching meaningful inferences relating to the performance of the employees. Finally, the use of this system can assist the leaders of an organization to come to an agreement with the employees about specific organizational targets. Apparently, when the process of setting performance targets is done collaboratively, it will be easy for the corporate culture or rather behavior to change positively. This is because it will make the employees will feel that they are part of the organization. Such a feeling will make them strive to ensure that organizational objectives are met.
How 360-degree performance appraisal will benefit JetBlue Airways
Adopting the 360-degree performance appraisal will help JetBlue Airways in many ways. For instance, it will ensure that JetBlue airline provides quality services to its clients. Consumer satisfaction is one of the aspects that most service industries strive to achieve. In order to ensure customer satisfaction, it is imperative for organizations to understand how their employees perform at various levels. In that respect, JetBlue needs to make sure that its clients are satisfied by assessing how its employees perform. Understanding the performance of the employee cannot be achieved if the performance appraisal does not only rely on the information provided by the supervisors relating to the performance of the employees.
The use of 360-degree performance appraisal will ensure the airline collects information from various stakeholders such as technicians, customers, and supervisors among others. The information from such individuals can be analyzed to come up with better ways of improving service delivery that guarantees customer satisfaction. Limiting the process of performance appraisal to the information the supervisor provides about the employee excludes other parties whose contributions would be vital in improving the performance of JetBlue airline. Besides, the information may be biased, and the management may end up getting the wrong information regarding the performance of the employees. As such, with the 360-degree performance appraisal, JetBlue Airways management would have precise information regarding the actual state of the ground. Hence, they may come up with working strategies that may motivate the employees thereby curbing the concerns at hand. Involving other stakeholders in the performance appraisal process is the surest strategy if JetBlue airline wants to get an all round information that would elevate its competitive ability in the region.
Employee Related Factors that Determine Financial Compensation
According to the labor unions, all employees are entitled to compensation. However, the financial compensation that every employee is entitled to at workplace is dependent on a couple of factors as it will be shown in this section. To begin with, the employees working in any organization at any given time show greater variation in terms competence. This is an implication that one of the factors that determine financial compensation in organizations is competence. Competence in this regards is dependent on the academic attainment of an individual. In most cases, persons with high academic qualifications are often compensated highly.
Second, the level of experience is also a key factor in determining the financial compensation that a person gets. People with better work experience and hands on experience on their duties are subject to better remunerations as opposed to those who lack such skills. Organizations also perceive that individuals with such skills are an asset to the organization hence they ought to be maintained at all cost. In most cases, organizations usually offer better salaries to such individuals in order to lure them to remain with the organization. The third factor is the level of performance. The final factor that influences the level financial compensation is the level of responsibility. Responsibility, in this case, is determined by the degree of loyalty and commitment that an individual has towards an organization. Apparently, employees who show commitment and high level of accountability are usually compensated compared to the employees who do not indicate such level of responsibility.
Discretionary Employee Benefits
Discretionary Employee Incentives
Discretionary benefits are the benefits that an employer provides the employee. Nonetheless, the company is not bound by the law to offer such benefits to the workers. There are many benefits which an employer can offer an employee. However, this article will discuss a few benefits in order to show the examples of benefits that an employee can be entitled to. One of the benefits that an employer can offer an employee is the contribution plan. The commonest contribution plan among many employers is the 401K. Under this plan, JetBlue employees exert total control of their retirement. Employee stock option plan (ESOP) is another benefit that employers offer to the employees. ESOP provides an employee with an opportunity to make a stock share contribution to a trust. Premium and hazard pay are the other types of discretionary benefits that employers can offer the employees. According to the overtime law, employers are supposed to pay the employees if they work over forty hours in a week. Nonetheless, some companies offer to pay in instances where an individual works for over eight hours in a day. The hazard pay is given to those people who work in an environment that is risky. Notably, both the premium and hazard pay are discretionary benefits that employees are entitled to depending on their working environment.
How JetBlue has Incorporated these Benefits
JetBlue airline has embraced various voluntary benefits in its operation. For instance, the company provides its employees with medical benefits. Besides, it has devised a profit sharing formula to ensure that its employees also enjoy the profits that the company realizes. Furthermore, the employees of JetBlue airline are offered contribution plans like the aforementioned 401K plan. Under this program, JetBlue airline provides its employees with total control regarding their retirement. As such, instead of the company managing the pension contribution, the employees make their own decisions in that perspective. In addition, JetBlue airline is among the businesses that offer higher wage rates. Notably, both the full-time and part-time employees of JetBlue airline enjoy the competitive wages that the corporation provides. Of essence, JetBlue airline embraces such benefits in order to create an attractive working environment for its employees.
References
Beard, R. (2014). Why Consumer Satisfaction is Important (6 Reasons). Client Heartbeat . Retrieved from http://blog.clientheartbeat.com/why-customer-satisfaction-is-important/.
Brizek, M. (2011). JetBlue Airways, Trouble in the Sky. Journal of Aviation Management and Education , 1 , 1.
Occhialino, A. N., & Vail, D. (2004). Why the EEOC (Still) Matters. Hofstra Lab. & Emp. LJ , 22 , 671.
