British Airways Talent Management
MANAGING CULTURAL CHANGE
Talent Management
British Airways (BA) was formed in 1974 by the merger of the British Overseas Airways Corp (BOAC) and the British European Airways (BEA). BA’s integration did not come without problems. By the early 1980’s BA generated debs in excess of £500m, staff discontent and customer dissatisfaction were common denominators across the operational equation and in 1980 the airline topped a list of airlines to be avoided at all costs.
The appointment of Sir Colin Marshall, chief executive during the period 1983-1995, brought winds of change at the distressed air company. Sir Colin Marshall identified that focusing merely on cost cutting would not be enough to guarantee long-term success and profitability. He quickly discovered that BA was not addressing the needs of its consumers therefore Marshall embedded the “Putting People First” (PPF) initiative, celebrating a new ethos "Putting the Customer First because if we don't, someone else will".
To further embrace the new culture of cooperation, BA introduced a second program named “Managing People First” (MPF) to assist managers with the change process in their respective areas. The PPF and MPF programs worked superbly and contributed to the stellar turnaround of BA’s performance. Eventually in 1987 the company was privatized and became the “World’s favorite Airline.”
Despite the tremendous transformation that British Airways achieved over the 1980s, there were still a number of challenges that marred the company. Broadly speaking, the company had not been able to institutionalize change: this could be traced back partly to the questionable integration between BOAC and BEA (and their inherently different values and culture) and partly to the pressure yielding from the new competitive arena that BA was playing in the 90s.
These issues were palpable as employees felt that BA was still lacking a comprehensive
Talent Management
British Airways (BA) was formed in 1974 by the merger of the British Overseas Airways Corp (BOAC) and the British European Airways (BEA). BA’s integration did not come without problems. By the early 1980’s BA generated debs in excess of £500m, staff discontent and customer dissatisfaction were common denominators across the operational equation and in 1980 the airline topped a list of airlines to be avoided at all costs.
The appointment of Sir Colin Marshall, chief executive during the period 1983-1995, brought winds of change at the distressed air company. Sir Colin Marshall identified that focusing merely on cost cutting would not be enough to guarantee long-term success and profitability. He quickly discovered that BA was not addressing the needs of its consumers therefore Marshall embedded the “Putting People First” (PPF) initiative, celebrating a new ethos "Putting the Customer First because if we don't, someone else will".
To further embrace the new culture of cooperation, BA introduced a second program named “Managing People First” (MPF) to assist managers with the change process in their respective areas. The PPF and MPF programs worked superbly and contributed to the stellar turnaround of BA’s performance. Eventually in 1987 the company was privatized and became the “World’s favorite Airline.”
Despite the tremendous transformation that British Airways achieved over the 1980s, there were still a number of challenges that marred the company. Broadly speaking, the company had not been able to institutionalize change: this could be traced back partly to the questionable integration between BOAC and BEA (and their inherently different values and culture) and partly to the pressure yielding from the new competitive arena that BA was playing in the 90s.
These issues were palpable as employees felt that BA was still lacking a comprehensive