Culture Building Is Critical for Change Management

As the business aviation industry continues to change, companies need to adapt to changing market conditions, customer expectations and regulatory environments.

Companies also need to adapt to a changing workforce, as longtime industry veterans are supplanted by younger professionals with different workplace expectations. Professionals, meanwhile, need to embrace new IT systems and aircraft technologies, and to bring an increased focus to serving more-demanding customers.

Unfortunately, according to Bob Hobbi, founder and CEO of ServiceElements, change can be exceedingly difficult for business aviation organizations to navigate. “Change is disruption,” said Hobbi. “Disruption can be chaos.”

Often, existing culture is the primary obstacle to making necessary changes to how organizations operate. For example, managers with a “my way or the highway” style may find it challenging to take constructive feedback from team members. Longtime workers may be reluctant to let go of traditional ways of doing things and embrace new processes and procedures. And organizational silos may prevent collaboration and knowledge sharing.

“Business aviation operations need to evolve in response to ongoing changes in our industry,” explained Cat Wren, vice president at ENG Aviation Group, which provides organ transportation, aircraft management and charter services. “Unfortunately, many operators are too busy to focus on change, or stuck in old ways of doing things. Often, they end up realizing that failing to adapt to shifts in market conditions and workforce expectations can result in losing valuable talent.”

Don’t Forget the Human Factor

Managing change can be a challenge for any organization, but it can be especially difficult where organizational culture is resistant to embracing new ways of doing things. Rapidly and successfully adopting new technologies, complying with new regulations, attracting and retaining top talent and meeting evolving customer demands requires a culture that’s proactive, supportive, flexible and collaborative. By contrast, cultures that feature rigid, top-down decision-making and functional silos and view people as plug-and-play resources instead of as unique individuals are more likely to resist change.

“It’s important not to forget the human factor when dealing with change,” said Hobbi, whose company works with business aviation organizations to develop their people and culture. “For workers, this means going beyond saying ‘that’s not my job’ and doing what it takes to help your team succeed. For managers, it means getting to know the unique strengths and needs of each employee – and understanding that if you tell today’s workers to jump, they’re not going to just ask ‘how high.’ Instead, they’ll make you explain why they should jump.”

Three Culture-Building Pillars

Organizational cultures that thrive in today’s business aviation industry are built on the following pillars:

1. Modern leadership: Leaders need to be “bought in” on evolving organizational culture. They need to be transparent around decision-making, and to solicit and act on team feedback. They need to understand their people as human beings, not as human resources, and to be committed to helping everyone on their team to grow personally and professionally.
2. Effective hiring: Bringing the right kinds of people onboard—team players who take initiative to solve problems – can be a key part of evolving organizational culture. But according to Gus LaRoy, aviation maintenance manager at Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, engaging qualified potential hires can be a challenge. “A lot of people don’t know very much about business aviation, so you really have to shout your message from the rooftops to connect with job seekers – for instance, by working with schools and universities, participating in career events and launching internship programs.”
3. Strategic investment: Workplace programs can make employees feel more supported, help them to grow personally and professionally across their career lifespan, and help create a more flexible, collaborative and proactive organizational culture aligned around solving problems for customers. These programs can include training and mentoring, and should be personalized to meet each employee’s needs and learning style.

At the end of the day, according to Hobbi, to manage change, attending to the human factor needs to be standard operating procedure for organizations in business aviation.

“Think of flight ops, where teamwork has become more important than ever,” Hobbi said. “Every role is tightly interdependent with every other role. It requires more clarity, communication and collaboration than ever – and rewards teams where leaders really know their people, and people really trust each other.

“And on the other side of the coin, today’s passengers demand more individualized attention. People in the industry need to adopt an attitude of ‘If they’re paying $150,000 for a flight, we’d really better knock their socks off.’”