BA strike proves importance of continued employee engagement

by Henry James, Intern, Melcrum

Willie Walsh, and the rest of the BA board are being made to suffer after losing the loyalty of their staff.

The news reported in yesterday’s Financial Times, that Willie Walsh, chief executive of British Airways, along with the rest of the board were “jeered, heckled and booed” at BA’s annual meeting by shareholders, comes as no surprise. For months now this debacle has continued with neither board members, shareholders nor cabin crew, offering any realistic alternative to the conflict.

However, with so much on the line for all groups, it’s no surprise that once the debate began it would become drawn out. What is surprising, however is the initial reaction of the cabin crew after the cuts were first presented last November.

At a time when the economy was saturated with insecurity and instability as a consequence of the recession, and with thousands of employers also cutting costs and making redundancies, the board of BA must have made some major internal communication blunders to have warranted such a dramatic backlash.

The very fact that in December 2008, 92% of cabin crew voted in favor of strike action, with an 80% turnout, clearly illustrated mistakes had been made. Had the board, led by Walsh, managed their employees differently, then perhaps the same cost cutting measures may have received a markedly different reception and saved the organization the £148 million the two waves of strikes since March, are alleged to have cost.

What’s also significant is that it wasn’t the cost cutting and reduction in crew on long-haul flights that brought about such widespread discontent – two other issues were cited. Cabin crew were concerned about the possible deterioration in customer service, and union Unite about the creation of an “apartheid” among staff, which could have resulted from new recruits being offered less favorable contracts than current staff.

Both of these concerns were speculative, and yet were still enough for 92% of the turnout to vote in favor of strike action, and both tell us much about the mindset of the employees!

Only since December, and with confidence in their board dwindling further and with no settlement being finalized, have new points of dissatisfaction been raised – namely, pay freezes and the merger with Iberia Airlines coming under increased scrutiny.

A letter was passed out to shareholders at the annual meeting by Unite members offering suggestions for re-engaging employees. An extract reads: "If management want to restore morale and team spirit at BA, then, whatever the result of our ballot on the offer, it needs to do one thing above all: restore travel concessions in full to all cabin crew. It won't cost a penny. And it would be a gesture worth millions”.

Walsh and the board seem to have lost the confidence their employees once instilled in them, as well as a sense of what their workforce needs, and are now suffering the double blow of declining revenues and reputation. What is needed now is not a huge financial settlement, but the successful re-engagement of their staff.

What are the next steps for BA’s internal communication team? I’d love to know your thoughts.

Comments

[Victoria Mellor]

Great piece Henry well done. I guess time will tell what the long term impact of the dispute will be on BA. Anecdotal evidence I've heard from many loyal customers of BA is that they're disappointed that the company can't appeal to a higher sense of purpose - ie the long term survival of the airline and its ability to adapt to major structural changes in the industry. Engagement at that level will be essential to get employees to make the change necessary.