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Case Studies > Human Resource
Management GROUP II
How does the HR department avoid making the
mistake of hiring a round peg for a square hole?
……By using competency mapping .

Sudipta Dev

expesscomputeronline.com
What are competencies
Competencies are the characteristics of an employee that
lead to the demonstration of skills & abilities, which result
in effective performance within an occupational area.
A cluster of related knowledge, skills and abilities that
affects a major part of ones job, that correlates with the
performance on the job, that can be measured against
well accepted standards and that can be improved via
training and development
Competency may take the following forms: Knowledge,
Attitude, Skill, Other characteristics of an individual
including: Motives, Values, Self concept etc
Competency Mapping
 Competency mapping is a process through which one assesses
and determines one’s strengths as an individual worker and in
some cases, as part of an organization.

 Competency mapping is a process of identifying key

competencies for a particular position in an organization, and
then using it for job-evaluation, recruitment, training and
development, performance management, succession planning,
etc.

 Competency Mapping consists of breaking a given role or job

into its constituent tasks or activities and identifying the
competencies (technical, managerial, behavioral, conceptual
knowledge, an attitudes, skills, etc.) needed to perform the same
successfully.
Procedure Of Competency
Mapping
Identifying what competencies currently exists in the
Organization
Identify competencies required for a particular job/role.
Generate behavioral indicators for these competencies.
Gap Analysis : Identifying the gaps between
organizational needs and people capabilities.
Understand and integrate competencies identified with
other HR systems and processes like selection, placement,
promotion, training etc.
Develop competency models specifically for own
organization for shoring the identified gaps
Example :
Competency Mapping At Zensar Technologies

Behavioural competency model

Defined the various job roles
A focused study was initiated where job role holders were
interviewed , the data of success-critical factors was collated
The job roles and deliverables were finalized on the basis of
the competencies derived from the data.
After identifying the competencies, a job analysis / Gap
Analysis exercise was carried out where the importance level
of every competency was ascertained
 Why Competency Mapping
SPECIFIC AREAS BENEFITTED BY
COMPETENCY FRAMEWORK-
 Gap Analysis
 Recruitment and selection  Role Clarity
 Performance management  Selection, Potential
 Success planning
Identification, Growth
 Training and development
Plans.
 Reward management
 Potential assessment  Succession Planning.
 Job design and grading  Restructuring
 Inventory of competencies
for future planning
FOCUSSES ON:

How poor management, especially in the human resources area, could spell doom
even for a Rs 40 bn monopoly

Why and how Indian Airlines was constantly plagued by HR problems

how IA's lackadaisical handling of its HR problems contributed to the overall mess

Examines the causes of the HR problems faced by Indian Airlines.

Poor management and stubborn work force can drive a monopoly into losses

Other lapses such as poor canteen management and payment of excessive allowances.
Attributed to :

• Lack of proper manpower planning

• Underutilization of existing manpower
• The recruitment and creation of posts in IA was done without proper
scientific analysis of the manpower requirements of the organization
 Formed in May 1953 with the nationalization of the airlines industry through the
Air Corporations Act

Merger with VAYUDOOT in 1990

Network ranged from Kuwait in the west to Singapore in the east, covering
75 destinations

PRIVATISATION in 1994
a mass exodus of its pilots to private airlines

Competitive strategies

a new image building advertisement campaign

Strict adherence to flight schedules
better in-flight and ground services
Could not sustain competition :

•By 1999 the losses touched Rs 7.5 bn

•Market share reduced to 47%

Interference by the Ministry of Civil Aviation

Human resource problems : Lack of MANPOWER PLANNING

periodic and realistic assessment of the manpower needs

need-based recruitment
optimum utilization of the recruited personnel
abolition of surplus and redundant posts

NO PROPER MECHANISM TO HANDLE THE LABOUR RELATIONS

PARTICULARLY THE STRIKES AND ALSO THE COMPENSATION CLAIMS
WRT TO OVERTIME ALLOWANCES ETC.
IA's eight unions

Use of unscrupulous methods to force the management

Pressurizing IA for more money
From November 1989 to June 1992, there were 13
agitations by different unions
Raised questions
The agitation in April 1995 by PILOTS On IA's
demanding higher allowances for flying in international
vulnerability
sectors
refused to fly with people re-employed

False medical claims

April 2000 GO SLOW AGITATION by engineers

pay revision
change in the career progression pattern
 Analysts noted that the people heading the airline were more interested in making
peace with the unions than looking at the company's long-term benefits.

Russy Mody (Mody), joined IA as chairman in November 1994, made efforts to

appease the unions by

 proposing to bring their salaries on par with those of Air India employees

increase the age of retirement from 58 to 60 to control the exodus of pilots

Probir Sen (Sen) took over as chairman and managing director

the pilot emoluments on par with emoluments other airlines

created Alliance Air, a subsidiary airline company where the re-employed people were
utilized
TABLE I

IMPACT OF STAFF COST HIKE IN FARE INCREASE (%)

Source: IATA-World Air Transport Statistics

In the late 1990s, in yet another effort to appease its employees, IA introduced the
productivity-linked scheme : PRODUCTIVITY LINKED INCENTIVE (PLI) SCHEME

But recessionary trends in the economy and its mounting wage bill pushed IA back into
losses by 1999.
DRAWBACKS OF PLI SCHEME :

grossly misused by large sections of the employees to earn more cash

flights leaving 30 - 45 minutes late were shown as being on time for PLI purposes
INCREASE IN STAFF COSTS
TABLE II
INCREASE IN STAFF COSTS
INCREASE IN LOSSES DUE TO PLI

7.1

6.9

6.8

6.7 Rs. In billion

6.6

6.5

6.4
1995 - 99 1999

In 1998, IA tried to persuade employees to cut down on PLI and overtime to help the airline
weather a difficult period -- efforts failed

A net loss of Rs 641.8 mn was registered during the period 1995-99.

IA had the maximum number of employees per aircraft.

TABLE III

A COMPARISON OF VARIOUS AIRLINES

The Brar committee attributed abnormal increase in staff costs to :

inefficient manpower planning,

 unproductive deployment of manpower and
unwarranted increase in salaries and wages of the employees.

Analysts criticized the way posts were created in IA

In 1999, Six new posts of directors were created of which three were created by
dividing functions of existing directors

no basic educational qualifications prescribed for senior executive posts: a matriculate
could become a manager, by acquiring the necessary job-related qualifications &
experience

40 posts were introduced in the Southern Region on an ad-hoc basis, pending
the assessment of their requirement by the Staff Assessment Committee
Q.1 What role does HR Management play in checking Employees from becoming
adamant & make management agree to their demands?

Q.2 What are the key factors that contribute towards the superlative Recruitment &
Performance thereafter?

Q.3 According to you, is Scientific (in depth) analysis of Manpower requirements is

essential or not?  What are the ill effects of proceeding with recruitment without Job
analysis?
PROBLEM 1: The management of IA aims at problem solving for short period of time. Also the trade
unions seem to be much in power and the organizations doesn’t seem to be management driven

RECOMMENDATION 1: In order to come over these problems the management should get into long
term alignments/contracts with the trade unions and make them bind with the terms and conditions of
the contract so signed

PROBLEM 2 : No check on employees with regard to their performance and output during
the stipulated time period

RECOMMENDATION 2To overcome this problem employees need to be given targets

which have to be achieved within a specific time period and also the implementation of
employee or performance management systems would help keep a check on every one’s
output
PROBLEM 3 : there were no limits as to which these emoluments and pli schemes were being withdrawn
and the costs were raising

RECOMMENDATION 3: In order to cope with this the management should decide a budget with regard
to such pli schemes or incentive schemes that are fixed during a time period for a particular grade and job.
For each job the targets as well as the range of earning incentives should be clearly defined.

PROBLEM 4: The problem of social obligation and less management freedom

RECOMMENDATION 4 :
To meet the social obligation the Indian airlines should connect flights to remote destinations but the
frequency of those should be limited to say once a week or so, this will help the organization to maintain
its high costs. Also the subsidies should be given but to a fair extent, also promotional offers can be
introduced so that more customers can be attracted to visit such destinations.

 The management should have more powers with itself to take the major decisions regarding technical
assistance and cabin crew so that trained professionals join and perform the tasks
There are various un- required posts in the organization. These have to be removed by
proper job evaluation and specification. Also the jobs that can be outsourced or can be
done outside the organization at lower costs also the employment of contractual staff
can be made. .

A strict check on the various allowances being paid to the employees and their
authenticity to be checked.

The staffing of professionally qualified people suitable for each job such as that of
pilots or cabin crew etc should be hired and if possible they should be hired after
signing bonds with the organization.