Description
This internship is turning into a great hands-on learning opportunity for you. Your manager has tasked you with proposing a talent management plan for pilots at Southwest Airlines. Your proposal will be considered by the Director of HR to make a formal plan.
Develop a 3- to 4-page proposal that includes the following:
A recommendation of 3 recruitment sources that are best suited to recruit pilots. Consider the number of resumes generated, the percentage of resumes likely to result in accepted offers, the time to fill a position, and the cost to fill a position (see Chapter 5).
An evaluation of common methods used to select a candidate
Recommend 3 methods for selecting new pilots. In your evaluation, consider reliability, validity, utility, and legality (see Chapter 6).
An evaluation of common methods used to train and develop employees
Recommend 3 methods for training pilots at Southwest Airlines. Consider learning and development outcomes, cost of training and development, the effectiveness of training and development, and risks (see Chapter 7).
An evaluation of common performance management systems
Recommend 1 method for performance management of pilots at Southwest Airlines. Consider strategic congruence, validity, reliability, acceptability, and specificity (see Chapter 8).
An evaluation of common methods to minimize voluntary turnover
Recommend 1 approach to retain pilots at Southwest Airlines. Consider methods for retaining employees, meeting pilot needs, and cost (see Chapter 10).
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ORG/535 v1
Design Decisions
Choices
Analysis of how well each choice works
View of employees
Southwest Airlines considers employees as assets.
Employees as
Employees as assets
expenses
This is because the company has showed its
gratitude to the employees because if their
dedication in delivering high quality services to
customers. Southwest Airline’s 2022 annual report
reveals that employees played a big role in reviving
the operations of the airlines during the December
2022 operational disruptions. The report reveals that
after the disruptions, the airline embarked on
improving operational reliability in order to cater for
employee needs. The company seeks to increase the
number of employees in 2023 and beyond, a show
that they value the benefits of employees to the
organization. The report also reveals that the
company has productive employees.
Compensation
Below market
Competitive
Southwest Airlines 2022 annual report reveals that
Above market
the company offers competitive compensation and
benefits to all employees. The company offers
attractive medical plans, a 401 (k) plan that has non
elective contribution of 15% for pilots, and a profit
sharing plan. The company conducts regular
employee surveys to determine if they are
comfortable with current remuneration and
employee benefits. The company has a performance
based compensation program that seeks to ensure
that top performing employees get more payment as
compared to lazy non-performing employees. The
company offers premium payment and additional
compensation for employees. The company also
offers share based compensation, which covers
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certain employees and certain members of the board
of directors.
Training and Development
Spontaneous
Planned
Southwest Airlines engages in planned training and
development. The company deals in a delicate
industry that requires employees to have high level
of skills and knowledge to minimize accidents and
errors during operations.
The company offers an annual multi-year training
that equips company employees with cultural
diversity knowledge and skills. The training has
helped the company to become the diversityrecruiting center of excellence. The 2022 annual
report states that the company ensured that it had
met all the FAA requirements and trained all their
pilots with the MAX-related training. The company
has special training programs for each category of
employees. As such, the employee training is
planned and executed strategically to ensure that
employees are fully equipped for their work.
Job Descriptions
Specific
General
The company offers specific job descriptions to
employees. The company has several categories of
job positions with their descriptions including pilots,
co-pilots, flight attendants, airline administrators,
avionics technicians, regional sales managers, flight
dispatchers, ground/airport station attendant, aviation
meteorologists, passenger service agent, reservation
sales agent, ramp, planner, airline ticket agent,
airline station agent, crew schedule coordinator, and
aviation attorney. As such, the aviation industry, and
specifically Southwest Airlines, have a wide range of
job descriptions, which means that each job position
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needs to be distinct. The aviation industry is a
sensitive sector that requires high specifity to avoid
accidents and errors that could result in many
fatalities in case an error occurs on a flight in midair.
Recruitment
External
Mixed
The company uses mixed forms of recruitment. The
Internal
company conducts both external as well as internal
recruitment. This is because externally, the company
recruits novice employees to join its lower ranks of
employment positions, but internally recruits
experienced and talented employees to help in the
high position jobs. Sensitive and challenging tasks
are usually given to long serving employees who
have a record of accomplishment of the skills and
expertise needed to carry out the sensitive tasks
successfully. The company targets both external and
internal recruitment to ensure that only the
experienced, skilled, and talented employees get the
right positions. This has ensured that the company
has trusted employees to carry out the most
challenging and risky tasks to guarantee high success
rate.
Onboarding – Socialization of new employees
Limited
Extensive
It can be argued that Southwest Airlines offers
extensive onboarding and socialization for new
employees. The company offers internship programs
for students, from which most become company
employees. The company also offers the Emerging
Leader Development Program (ELDP) for its new
employees to equip them with leadership skills. The
company offers a series of programs for new
employees to equip them including physical classes,
workshops, and online resources. The company has
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Adopt A pilot program, and Destination 225°
program for new pilots to helps them get conversant
with company culture and requirements. The
company is a champion for diversity, inclusion, and
equity at the workplace and thus supports new
employees to integrate successfully into the pool of
employees.
Bargaining
Collective
The company allows both collective as well as
Individual
individual bargaining. This is because the Southwest
Airlines’ 2022 annual report reveals that 83% of the
company’s employees are covered by unions,
whereas 17% others utilize individual bargaining. As
such, 83% of the total 79,564 employees are helped
by unions to bargain their case, whereas 17% of this
number are individual bargainers. In light of this, it
is clear that the company is free and open to any
form of employee bargaining. The collective
bargaining effort helps employees to have power to
fight for their cases in case they feel oppressed. On
the other hand, the company offers the best
employee remuneration, benefits, and other
wellbeing programs to ensure that individual
bargainers are contented and happy with their work.
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Reference
Southwest Airlines. (2022). Southwest Airlines Co. 2022 Annual Report to Shareholders.
Retrieved from https://www.southwestairlinesinvestorrelations.com/~/media/Files/S/
Southwest-IR/LUV_2022_Annual%20Report.pdf
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