http://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.

com/learning/management_thinking/articles/pdf/singapore_a
irline.pdf
http://www.singaporeair.com/jsp/cms/en_UK/press_release_news/ne100108.jsp
http://bschool.nus.edu.sg/Marketing/Jochen%20papers/ESM2_Case%2014_Singapore%20Airlines.p
df
http://www.ukessays.com/essays/management/management-of-human-resources-in-sia-
management-essay.php
https://humanresourcetalks.wordpress.com/tag/singapore-airlines/

Introduction (brief description and competitive strategy)
We dissect Singapore Airlines as a revelatory case study of how competitive advantage can
be achieved via strategic HRM practices. Singapore Airlines (SIA) is Singapores flag carrier
and has consistently outperformed its competitors to be recognized as one of the worlds
leading air carriers. In an unforgiving, hypercompetitive industry environment which has
posed macro level socio-economical threats such as rising oil prices, the SARS epidemic and
rising terrorism concerns, Singapore Airlines has remained consistent profitability , never
recording an annual operating loss in its history. No other airline in the world has been
awarded more times than SIA as its numerous accolades include Best Global Airline for the
21
st
consecutive year (Conde Nast Traveler) and Best International Airline Award in
the Worlds Best Awards survey (Travel & Leisure), for the 14th consecutive year.

FIGURE 1.

In this report, we will examine three HRM strategies used by SIA to decipher how it has
accomplished its high level of performance. Figure 1 show a model derived from interviews
with SIAs senior management. Based on it, we will be focusing on strategies 1, 2 and 3 to
closely identify the practices used that have helped SIA to achieve its high service excellence.

3 HRM STRATEGIES
MEETING THE PRE
REQUISITE
GROUP
INTERVIEW
ONE-ON-ONE
INTERVIEW
MANAGEMENT
ROUND
UNIFORM TEST/WATER
CONFIDENCE TEST
STRICT RECRUITING PROCESS
Strict selection and recruitment of its potential cabin crew have been the foundation of the
success of SIA. Through this long and strenuous selection process, the company makes sure
that they only hire applicants with the specific characteristics that they desire.





FIGURE 2
Figure 2 shows the 6 stages of the requirement process. Applicants first have to meet the pre
requite which focus on age ranges, academic qualifications and physical attributes.
After satisfying these criteria, the first round of interviews commence starting with the group
interview. Applicants are subjected to an overall assessment conducted in groups which
include an English passage reading test to evaluate their competency in the English language.
A one-on-one interview follows where applicants are judged on whether they possess SIAs
required core values and competencies, a psychometric test is then administered to further
confirm the earlier results.
The uniform test proceeds where applicants are put into SIAs uniform, the sarong kebaya.
This evaluation allows the interviewer to assess the look of the applicant in uniform and
judge whether the applicant has the poise, gait and general appearance which is desired for
the position. Selected candidates from this round will also have to undertake a water
confidence test where applicants have to jump into a training pool from a height of three
meters. This tests the applicants confidence with water in the event where they have to aid
passengers for an emergency evacuation on water.
The next round of interview is the management round where applicants would be interviewed
by SIAs senior vice president and senior cabin crew. In the final stage, applicants attend an
informal tea party that gives management a further opportunity to scrutinize the applicants
interaction style and demeanor.
After the initial training, new crews are carefully monitored for the first six months of flying
through monthly reports from the inflight supervisor during this probationary period. Usually,
around 75% are confirmed for an initial five-year contract, some 20% have their probation
extended, and the rest leave the company.
TEA PARTY
ROUND
Out of the 18 000 applications received annually, only a mere 3-4% of the applicant pool will
be selected. The stringent and focus selection process allows SIA to choose only applicants of
specific attributes which are in line with the vision and mission of the company.
At every stage of the recruitment process, people are getting filtered out if they do not meet
the standard that SIA requires. This strict requirement demanded from its employees makes
sure without uncertainty that the people they hire are fit for the job.
A HIGH EXPECTATION ON TRAINING AND RETRAINING
SIA has invested massive sums of money on the infrastructure and technology which has
boasted them with the worlds most awarded airport, with more than 450 awards credited to
their name. To live up to the reputation of hosting a world class airport, SIA emphasize
heavily on the quality of service produced by their staff, optimizing human capital to its
fullest potential. This is demonstrated by the training that their staff receives before being put
to the frontline.
Training is often a key highlight of many industries. However, SIA remains a notch above
other companies. Newly recruited cabin crew are required to go through an intensive 4 month
training course which is considered to be the longest and most comprehensive in the airline
industry. During this course, cabin crews are equipped with skills dealing with safety and
functional issues. In addition, they are also introduced to knowledge of beauty care, gourmet
food, wine appreciation, as well as sharpening the art of conversation. The SIA training
program aims to enable cabin crew to provide courteous service which reflects warmth and
friendliness while maintaining an image of authority and confidence in the passenger minds.
In a society that is continuously changing and involving, SIA provides its employees with
continuous training and retraining to maintain its service excellence that is under constant
development. According to Yap Kim Wah, Senior Vice President (Product and Service), We
believe that there is no moment, regardless of how senior a staff is, when you cannot learn
something. So all of us, senior vice presidents included, are sent for training regularly. We all
have a training path. You can always pick up something. If you have completed quite a
number of programmes, then you go for sabbatical. You go and learn a language, do
something new and refresh yourself. This open mind set inherent in the staff allows them to
accept change and development and deliver new services that SIA introduce regularly in a
swift manner.
SIAs leadership and relationship management with staff play a key role in the success of its
training initiatives. As Mr. Timothy Chua, Project Manager (New Service Development) put
it, I see myself first as a coach and second as a team player. SIA managers often assume the
role of mentors and coaches to guide new employees, rather than just being managers and
superiors. This attitude towards teaching and handing over of skills allows SIA to develop a
healthy environment for continuous self improvement and learning which is vital to its
quality of service. Employees from different levels of the hierarchy are able to engage and
learn more freely.

BUILDING HIGH LEVEL SERVICE TEAMS
Effective teams form the basis of delivering excellent service. SIA takes this notion into play
by aiming to create esprit de corps among its cabin crew. Team concept is the approach
used to maximize the potential of its diverse group of cabin crew staff. By dividing its total
crew members into teams of 13 people, team members are rostered to fly together as much as
possible to better comprehend and enhance each others capabilities. This also allows them to
build camaraderie and gel as a unit to maximize their performance. Check trainers are also
administered to oversee 12 to 13 teams and often fly with them to evaluate their work ethics
and give feedback on improvement.
Within a team, a team leader is appointed to guide and sharpen the skills of them team
members and its overall performance. According to Ms. Gladys Chia (Assistant Manager of
Training), Team leaders are able to monitor and point out what can be improved in the crew;
team leaders are the ones to evaluate the crew, monitor staff development, staff performance,
supervise them. They see the feedback and monitor back the performance.
This team structure gives each member the chance to improve and readily seek help when
needed. The constant evaluations allow them to learn from their mistakes and sharpen their
skills. This structure also allows employees to form camaraderie with their colleagues and
give them a sense of belonging.
According to Mr. Sim Kay Wee, Senior Vice President (Cabin Crew), The interaction within
each of the teams is very strong. As a result, when team leaders do staff appraisal, they really
know the staff. You would be amazed how meticulous and detailed each staff record is, even
though there are 6,600 of them. We can pinpoint any staffs strengths and weaknesses easily.
So, in this way, we have good control; and through this, we can ensure that the crew delivers
the promise. If there are problems, we will know about them and we can send them for
retraining. Those who are good will be selected for promotion.
This meritocratic approach allows the management team to have a good overview of its staff
and allow them to easily evaluate their staffs performances.
CONCLUSION
The ability to achieve maximum effectiveness from its human capital through human
resource management strategies has been the core foundation of the success of Singapore
Airlines (SIA). The company places a huge emphasis on choosing the right people to do the
right job through its stringent recruitment process and provides them with the a
comprehensive training program with the skills needed to provide excellent service to its
passengers. Their constant effort to stay relevant with the present has been vital to sustaining
a competitive edge over other airlines. Working in effective service teams have made sure
that their performance can be maximized and constantly improving to suit the needs of its
passengers.
From this report, we can conclude that the core of SIAs reputable service excellence drives
deeply from its ability to optimize human capital with their methods of fundamentally finding
the right people who they deem have the potential for the job, providing them with the proper
skill knowledge required and effectively executing them by using team based strategies. The
HRM team effectively understands the constant growing needs of its passengers and readily
makes changes and developments which are efficiently executed by its staff which helps
them to sustain its service excellence.