I was reading with interest an interview with Praful Patel, India’s Civil Aviation Minister and the state of the recent Air India changes (Businessworld, July 27, 2009) and impact on morale of employees.
What stuck to my mind was his statement that ‘change in Air India must come from within. Nothing can change unless people from within change’.
He was pointing to the growing resentment to organizational changes, increased competition and pressure on the airline to be profitable. There seemed to be resistance to adapt to the environment, understand implications of archaic performance management processes and lack of accountability. The recent merger of the two airlines – Indian Airlines and Air India wasn’t as successful as expected.
Other challenges which the case throws up are rumor mills working overtime, unions calling the shots and lack of decision making by leaders and board members.
While the government is a stakeholder, there is only so much intervention from an external party can do to change the circumstances.
I believe there are numerous opportunities that the airline can explore to improve productivity, motivate their employees and grow the brand once more.
The internal communicator has a large role to play in shifting perceptions and mindsets. By keeping all channels of communication open and drawing employees and the leadership in conversations, the communicator can command respect and build change inside out.
The foremost priority for the leaders is to instill a sense of belonging to the current crisis and rally them to overcome it together. From the minister’s articulation, there are many forces tugging at different directions – something which the airline can do without.
There also needs to be a single leader empowered to communicate and take decisive actions – something which Praful describes as a ‘major surgery’. The decisions may not be the most popular but it is important to get a buy-in from employees as to the turnaround plan and how each one can play a role.
That means, sharing the new short term goal, the overall vision and a detailed action plan to get there. This in essence will be the change management format for employees to track and measure their leaders on.
The communicator can role in key change agents from all strata of the organization to be ‘models’ of change and lionize their effort.
Managing rumors is the next step which the communicator can take. Identifying key employees who are respected and believable and tapping this informal channel to route some of the key messages on change.
Keeping relevant stakeholders like unions and the government informed on decisions well ahead of them being known externally is a best practice to quell resentment and resistance.
In the Jet Airways episode, the airline took a hasty decision of removing 2000 of their staff overnight without even informing their stakeholders. It resulted in a severe backlash not just from employees but also from the government and regulatory bodies who forced the airline to take back the sacked people. An example showcasing the importance of managing stakeholders in a change management plan.
That said, Air India’s case is tougher to crack considering the systemic failure over time. Any change management initiative and communication will need to draw on the collective wisdom of communicators and leaders who have not just acumen but the tenacity to stick it through the rough ride.
Nice article.
Air India will need to allocate dedicated resources to the Change management initiative, in terms of people guiding and managing the same as well as some budget. Hope AI Management is serious about managing change …
One key factor is the ‘sense of urgency’ which needs to be created amongst the entire length adn breadth fo the organization.
Simple, clear communication aimed at “educating and engaging” the employees as well as management will be key to successs.
All the Best to them …
Hemantkumar Jain
(Org. Change Mgmt Consultant with Mahindra Satyam)
Excellent post Anish!
Makes one really think as to how a huge giant such as Air-India can ‘learn to dance’! You are right change is an important driver to become viable.
To make ‘change really happen’ an organization must start from its vision/mission. On Google I found the vision/mission statements of AirIndia and Southwest Airlines(SWA). They may not be exactly comparable as each has different business models. But SWA is considered one of the few airlines’ in the world that has survived very tough and complex challenges successfully for more than 35 years. The inspirational power enshrined in the mission statement of the latter airline is quite evident and needs no explanation.
Air-India Mission
“Welcome aboard Air-India Express, India’s first international airline that offers great value for money and efficient service. Our mission is to provide convenient connectivity in the short-range routes at the most affordable prices to passengers”.
Southwest Airlines Mission
The mission of Southwest Airlines is dedication to the highest quality of Customer Service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride, and Company Spirit. To give ordinary people the opportunity to fly.
To the employees
We are committed to provide our Employees a stable work environment with equal opportunity for learning and personal growth. Creativity and innovation are encouraged for improving the effectiveness of Southwest Airlines. Above all, Employees will be provided the same concern, respect, and caring attitude within the organization that they are expected to share externally with every Southwest Customer.
I believe a vision/ mission can make the impossible possible.
For more on this please view: http://dilipnaidu.wordpress.com/2009/07/16/power-of-a-vision/
Thanks,
Dilip
Dear Aniisu,
I personally feel that India has already established legions of private carriers are fly out of India in the likes of Jet Airways and Kingfisher for years now.
Why don’t the Aviation Ministry proceed with Jet as the national carrier (they have earned accolades internationally) and as a brand it has received positive signals from flyers.
Would a brand re-creation really work for Air India? It is doubtful even though 10 of the 44 aircraft requisitioned by Air India has already been inducted into the fleet. Spanking new fleet has not necessarily revived the carrier.
Regards,
Prashanth
Reviving ailing Air India is a very tough job and what is required to turn around its performance is a complete re-engineering of its Systerms & Processes and changing the attitude of its Internal Stake holders towards the Organization, Customers and relevant Internal & external enviornmental factors. An effective Internal Communication system serves as a ‘Vital Catalyst’ in this process provided it is driven in a transparent manner. This campaign should just not aim at cascading information and tell people what they have to do but to establish a seam less two-way communication system where in employees colloborate with the top management in finding solutions to the issues that are bothering the organization. This process will also serve as a medium to capture ‘Voice of Employees’ which would provide a first hand feedback on effectiveness of organization’s strategy, operational plans and execution.