Manager’s Nightmare Education Session Addresses Workforce Retention Concerns

Oct. 16, 2018

Approximately 80 percent of attendees at the “Manager’s Nightmare: Workforce Retention” education session reported dealing with recent turnover in their organization.

Christopher Broyhill, CAM, group COO for Vipping US Limited, discussed the results of a recent NBAA workforce survey, which demonstrated business aviation organizations are finding it more challenging to identify qualified pilots and mechanics. The survey also indicated for both pilots and technicians, compensation is the top reason for leaving an organization.

Lee Blake, manager of of shuttle operations at Cummins Inc., shared his organization’s experience in attracting and retaining pilots in the new workforce environment. Cummins recently hired a pilot with fewer hours than they would normally consider, but the pilot was well-educated and had a temperament that fit the organization. Cummins used a change management process to identify risks associated with hiring a pilot with less experience than typical, then published guidelines for the new pilot and for the experienced captains who would be flying with him.

“It was paramount to get buy-in from the aviation team and company executives,” said Blake. “What can we do to make the new hire as successful as possible while keeping our current employees happy?” He added that some pilots are just not interested in, or well suited to mentoring a young pilot.

The policies allowed Cummins to appropriately mitigate the risk of hiring a new pilot with less experience than would typically be considered for a flight department. Blake encouraged attendees to consider a process like this to expand their available pool of new employees.

Finding the right people for business aviation positions is one key to employee retention, said Dean Walters, CAM, director of aviation at Jackson National Life Insurance, explaining identifying candidates who are the right fit for business aviation, for your specific team and for the company can lead to successful workforce retention.

“Recruiting is a 365-day-a-year job,” said Walters, whose organization reaches out to colleges, organizations and other groups to identify new candidates. “Recruiting isn’t just my job or HR’s job – it’s everyone in our organization working together.”

Greg Adams, director of operations at Jen-Air, shared advice on addressing the competition of airline positions, including considering compensation, retirement benefits and more. His organization’s research showed that while the company was in line with salaries and bonuses, it was lagging in retirement benefits. As a result, his organization changed its 401(k) matching policy.

Adams summed up the session saying, “Accidents are prevented, and error chains are broken by the people who fly and maintain our airplanes. Our executives want the very best talent we can attract for our team. The market today means what you need to do to meet that directive is different from what it was years ago.”

Learn more about NBAA’s Workforce Initiatives.