HR Planning for British Airways Essay

Human Resources are one of the most important departments in any organisation. It plays a big role for the company and influences every employee because it is responsible for managing employee costs. However, Human Resources Department also has responsibility for many other tasks including Recruitment and Selection, Training. The most important task that performed by HR Department is Workforce Planning. Basically, Workforce Planning is the process when business needs to make sure that it recruits the right people. The recruitment and selection of best employees might be very hard. First of all, the company has to understand the importance of Human Resources Management and ensure they spend enough capital on each employee. As many companies nowadays failed to do that and can’t survive among its competitors. Human element is the key to potential success and it is what the company should care the most about. If you have the right employees with right skills and they are well motivated then they will perform a good job and will bring the company more profit. British Airways is one of the leading global airlines that I have selected for this assignment. British Airways is aware of the importance of Human Resource Management. Therefore, as the employer they are providing the professional environment for its employees where they can be treated with respect. British Airways also trains and motivates the employees by communicating ethical policies and socially responsible behaviour to them. It makes employees to work more efficiently. There are many external and internal factors that can affect Human Resource Planning and that any organisation should be aware of. The main external factors that affect British airways are political, economic, technological and social. The airline industry is highly affected by political factors. British Airways’ business operation and decisions are influenced by regulations and policies. Regulations can be such as routes that an airline chooses to fly, the business partners the airline works with, the airport slots it uses as well as the fare it sets and the infrastructure costs it pays. Safety and security is another area that is highly regulated by governments. British Airways is engaging with different governing bodies such as European Union and national government to ensure safety and security while causing minimal inconvenience to customers. The airline business is highly sensitive to any economic downturn. There are a number of factors that affected the business of British Airways. For example, prices increases in oil and commodities. Consumer and business confidence on airlines declined because of rising unemployment, uncertainty in the capital markets, the erosion of household budgets and falling house prices. Therefore the customers are likely to cut its costs on holiday and airline tickets which means lower profits for the company. Social factors that affecting HR planning need to be taken in an account by British Airways. Nowadays passengers are choosing trusted airlines, First of all the fall in the economy is also pushing customers to seek for lower prices. With the developing of Internet and other technological advances it is easier for the customers to choose among different airlines and even get personal recommendations online, therefore the customers became less loyal. As every other company nowadays British Airways is also affected by technological factors. Maintaining a corporate website which handles customer queries and reservations is a new requirement for the airlines. British Airways has managed with this task and also the company keeps regularly up to dated with its competitors and technology world. Making customers experience more easier and faster British Airways also uses online self check in and self check in machines at the airports which makes the process much easier for its customers. Like many organizations today, British Airways face several environmental issues such as climate change. Governments and policy makers are now creating regulations and policies that will require airlines to curb emissions growth. All airlines have to meet a comprehensive range of local, national and international environmental regulations As well as there is a number of external factors affecting HR Planning, there are also internal policies and procedures impact HR activities. For example, if the company is committed to promoting from within, HR must ensure employees receive appropriate training and development to be ready for promotion when the time comes. HR should monitor the number of employees eligible for retirement and ensure potential replacements or other staff members are trained to avoid a sudden departure of business