How effective is Virgin Air Human Resource Management in ensuring good Customer Service?
I chose Virgin Atlantic because it has a problem that is connected to Human Resource Management form
the poor performance in customer service. There are over than 58 persons complained about the
customer service of the employees (Dudovskiy, J. ,2012).. Firstly, it effect about their reputation among
loyal customer. The first cause was about the few years ago on the quality of the employee was
unprofessional with customers also this is because the following cases:
1- According to customer Anne on September 8, 2013, she complains about Virgin employees are
unhelpful, ignoring customer, rude and arrogant.
2- In addition, there is anther customer complains about the bad services named Bianca’s which he faced
a luggage delayed; with no reply about his complaining form the staff.
There are many causes leads to decrease on the customer services on Virgin. There are internal and
external changes have direct and indirect relations in these changing for this purpose, the researcher has
selected Virgin Atlantic Airline to develop of Virgin�s human resource strategies to promote quality and
reliable customer service delivery. The proposed research work is focusing on understanding how airline
industry�s human resource practices influence the quality of services provided to the customers.
How effective is Virgin Air’s Human Resource Management 2
My job on the report as consultant for Virgin Air�s which might help them to decrease some problems in
their environment.
How effective is Virgin Air’s Human Resource Management 3
How effective is Virgin Air Human Resource Management in ensuring good Customer Service?
- Introduction
Virgin Air is an airline that has a global reputation for being a leader in customer service
and most of its loyal customers can attest to this, but recently there have been increasing
incidents of complaints by customers who have been treated badly by customer service
representatives. These incidents have got the attention of the management who are concerned by
the same given that this is a new trend that has not been witnessed in the past and may indicate a
deeper human resource management problem that should be resolved before the brand loses its
good reputation. The report seeks to unearth the underlying HRM problems if they do exist and
propose solutions to the problems.
1.1 Background
Virgin Air is part of the Virgin Group of companies started by Sir Richard Branson under
the Virgin brand, which is a popular global brand that is associated with values such as being
innovative, prioritizing fun in all they do and above all putting their employees and clients first
in everything they do (Virgin Atlantic., 2014). Therefore, the airline and the whole group of
companies have thrived on their excellent customer service reputation in the extremely
competitive airline industry and the events being reported of poor customer service must be
investigated. Virgin Air is aware that any damage to its reputation as an airline that addresses
and anticipates all the needs of its customers and attends to them promptly would cause
irreparable damage to the airline and the brand in general, which is not acceptable.
1.2 What is the virgin issue?
The Virgin issue is that the whole group of Virgin companies is built on its endearing
brand image and any issues that threaten the brand image do not just threaten Virgin Air, but
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rather such issues threaten the survival of the brand and all its affiliated companies. Therefore,
this is not merely a human resource issues or a customer service issue, but it is a crucial issue
about the future of the whole Virgin brand and should be treated with a lot of significance. It is
also important to mention that the founder of the Virgin brand, Sir Richard Branson cannot allow
such incidents to occur, not forgetting the Group CEO and the CEO of Virgin Air.
1.3 The purpose of the report
The main purpose of this report is to investigate the reported complaints about customer
service so as to ascertain their validity, after which the report shall try to analyze whether these
were isolated incidents or there is an emerging trend that needs to be stopped. If it is clear to the
consultants that there is a deeper issue, which should be addressed, then the report shall provide
appropriate recommendation on what steps the company should take to correct the problems. The
report shall mainly focus on whether the problems identified relate to human resource
management and advice the executive board and the HR director accordingly.
- To what Extent does Virgin’s HR Management Support good Customer Service?
Virgin’s HR is built on the vision that happy employees will result in happy customers,
which is what Richard Branson has always championed in all his companies and the group
ensures that all their employees understand their customer service culture thoroughly. The HR
culture at Virgin is visible through all its employees who go through a thorough recruitment
process where the interviewers seek to hire only those employees who demonstrate that they
have the personality traits that would fit in with Virgin’s culture. The recruitment process is
where the company weeds out all those people who do not have the same values championed by
the company and its founder Sir Richard Branson.
2.1 How does virgin’s HRM Support good customer service?
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Another critical way in which Virgin’s HR supports good customer service is by
engaging in constant conversation with its employees, especially customer-facing people who
deliver the airline’s main product, which is excellent customer service. The HR department is
always in direct constant contact with its call center where customers can report any complaints
of inadequate or poor service as well as with its cabin crews and airports. Another important
function of the HR department at Virgin Air is that it reports directly to the CEO and is directly
involved in setting strategies at the company, which ensures that only the best HR practices in
line with the company’s culture are implemented.
2.2 Academic theory might change HRM?
I do not believe that academic theories might change HRM at Virgin given that just as Sir
Richard says, he has never read a HR book and that all the HR practices that he champions at
Virgin are based on values that he believes define his company. I strongly think that no academic
theories can change HRM at Virgin, but they can definitely help the company improve some of
its HR practices given the depth of the HR function within Virgin. Academic theories can be
vital in streamlining Virgin’s values and vision to adapt to the global aviation industry and the
new challenges brought on by globalization. The increasing competition within the airline
industry and the tough economic times can be handled through correct application of some
academic theories.
2.2.1 Maslow can be useful & analysis
Maslow’s theory of human motivation based on his hierarchy of human needs can help
Virgin motivate its staff in the right way to offer the best customer service in the industry by
addressing all their needs as identified in the hierarchy (CoW, 2014; Schneider, 2004). The
different people employed at Virgin have different needs that should all be addressed by the
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leaders in order for them to deliver excellent customer service. People with physiological and
safety needs should be paid enough, given incentives and provided with a safe working
environment (Methot, 2010; Tzafrir, & Gur, 2007). Employees who have belonging and self-
esteem needs should be recognized, given responsibilities and should be involved in the
decision-making process, especially for decision directly related to their work. Employees with
self-actualization needs should be given interesting and challenging work, and should be offered
training opportunities.
2.2.2 Taylor theory of management analysis
Taylor’s theory of scientific management was based on the principle that both workers
and managers needed to relate well, which was unheard of at a time where managers rarely
interacted with the workers under them (Mind Tools, 2014; Ueno,. 2012). Some of the core
principles of his theory included matching the skills, capabilities, and motivations of workers to
their jobs, using scientific methods to develop the most efficient ways of accomplishing tasks,
monitoring the performance of workers on their jobs and instructing them on where they went
wrong, and allocating work between workers and managers (Di Mascio, 2010, p.65). However,
Taylor’s theory does not advocate for individual responsibility (Towler, Lezotte, & Burke, 2011,
p.401).
2.3 How successful these theory on Virgin’s HRM?
Taylor’s theory is applicable to Virgin Air in the sense that it advocates for the matching
of employees skills and abilities to their jobs, which is an important aspect of Virgin’s HRM
strategy and has been crucial to the success of the airline. Maslow’s theory is relevant to Virgin
as it advocates for the addressing of all the needs of employees, which is also part of Virgin’s
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HR policy as they always engage with their employees where they listen to the views of the
employees and act on their suggestions.
- HR Strategy
Virgin’s HR strategy focuses on finding the right employees with the relevant skills and
above all the right spirit and personality that is in harmony with Virgin’s values of excellent
customer service and innovation (Lebard, Rendleman, & Dolan, 2014). During recruitment, the
right candidates are identified and then they undergo extensive training to learn Virgin’s culture
and their role in perpetuating the culture. Once the recruits have been trained they join Virgin’s
team, but the training never stops.
3.1 HRM & Virgin leadership forecast some improvements on the HR Management.
Virgin’s executive team acknowledges that more needs to be done so as to bring the
standards of their customer services to match the brand image that promises excellent customer
service to all customers (HC Online, 2003). Virgin’s leadership promises to improve on its
overall leadership strategy in terms of leadership truism and more so in the leadership of the
customer services department to prevent any further incidents of poor customer service.
3.1.1 Leadership of truism
Virgin’s leadership wants to adopt a leadership based on truisms such as the fact that the
culture of the company is a direct reflection of the value of its leaders, and that the culture of an
organization is reflected in the stories told by employees (Petrilli, 2011). These truisms are
critical in reshaping the culture at Virgin Air to reflect the overall culture of the Virgin Group.
3.1.2 Leadership of customer services
The leadership of customer services will be given a chance to correct the wrong
behaviors of employees within the department within a period of two weeks. The department
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leader should have identified and removed the employees who caused so much damage to the
airline’s image given that their actions not only jeopardize the success of the airline, but that of
the entire Virgin Group (Brady, 2012). If the customer service leaders do not take the appropriate
measures recommended above, they will be removed and replaced with other more effective
managers from within the organization.
3.1.2 Leadership Recommendations
It is my recommendation that Virgin Air’s board examines the conduct of all its top
leaders it seems likely that they are not congruent with the values and culture of the Virgin
Group. Any leaders who are found to have conducted themselves in a manner opposite to the
culture of the group should be immediately removed from their positions and replaced with
leaders who have proven that they understand and abide by the values of the Virgin Group
(Crush, 2012).
3.2 HRM & Motivation can change customer services track?
I do believe that proper motivation and HRM is the key to implementing successful
change within the customer services department at Virgin Air.
3.2.1 Motivation theories analysis
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is quite appropriate for Virgin Air as all people work to
satisfy their needs and these needs are clearly stipulated by Maslow’s theory (CoW, 2014;
Bowen, 1986). Frederick Herzberg’s theory is also appropriate as he clarifies that people will
only do something in order to gain a benefit or to avoid incurring a loss. These two theories
complement themselves in their application to Virgin Air and may lead to significant changes at
Virgin Air.
3.2.2 Motivation recommendations
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I recommend that Virgin Air should motivate its employees by satisfying all their needs
according to Maslow’s theory and to ensure that their work with the airline results in the
employees benefitting according to Herzberg’s theory. The airline should also adopt the general
Virgin Group motivation strategies in their motivation programs.
- Conclusion
In conclusion, I have found that the incidents of poor customer service at Virgin Air were
not isolated and that the leadership was culpable in the emerging negative trends as reports by
customers had indicated. Therefore, I have recommended that the leaders in charge of customer
service be censured and given a chance to correct his mistakes or be removed from his position. I
have also made recommendations on how the company can implement change throughout its
ranks moving forward from this point. The airline should implement my recommendation for
there to be lasting change in the organization and to save the brand image from irreparable
damage by customer service agents.
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References
Bowen, D. E. 1986, Managing Customers as Human Resources in Service Organizations. Human
Resource Management. 25(3), 371-383.
Brady, J., 2012. HRD interview with Jill Brady-HR Director-Virgin Atlantic Airways. [Online]
