The airline industry is facing a significant challenge: a surge in hiring needs across all sectors, from pilots to cabin crew, and engineers to IT specialists. This is a straightforward guide for recruiters navigating this landscape.
Understanding the Demand: 2 million people use airline services everyday (avg)
- Broad Scope of Hiring: Airlines and aerospace companies are in urgent need of a wide range of professionals due to an unprecedented increase in travel demand and fleet expansion.
Critical Statistics:
- The industry needs 18,100 airline and commercial pilots each year for the next decade (US Bureau of Labor Statistics).
- Boeing plans to hire 10,000 manufacturing and engineering professionals within the year.
- According to Boeing an estimated 800,000 new pilots and 750,000 new aviation technicians are required to meet the next two decades' demands, with 44,000 new aircraft expected to take to the skies.
Addressing the Challenges
- Talent Shortage: The pandemic has exacerbated the existing shortage, with many professionals retiring or leaving for different careers.
- Recruitment Hurdles: Airlines must not only attract new talent but also reassure them about the stability and prospects within the aviation industry post-pandemic.
Recruitment Strategies
- Enhancing Appeal: Simplifying the recruitment process and engaging potential candidates early in their career decision-making process are crucial steps.
- Targeted Hiring: Focusing on the specific needs and gaps within the industry to attract the right talent for the right positions.
The Stages of Airline Hiring
Airlines operate in a competitive landscape, demanding a skilled and motivated workforce. Here’s how they ensure it:
Stage 1: Casting Your Net Wide - Sourcing
- Career Sites and Job Boards:
48% of recruiters say that hiring new talent is the ‘biggest challenge’ they've to face. Compared to the 5% who admit that retirement is the biggest challenge AITA, 2018 report.
Optimize candidate facing content everywhere. Consider popular platforms like Indeed, Glassdoor, and AviationCareer.net, tailoring your job descriptions to specific roles and targeting relevant keywords. Make your career pages clean too with clear job descriptions and an option to submit the application.
Note: retirement as the biggest challenge is particularly true for pilots.
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LinkedIn: 87% of recruiters use LinkedIn to find talent so build a strong company profile showcasing your airline's culture and values. Engage with potential candidates through targeted job postings, industry groups, and employee testimonials.
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Employee Advocacy: Encourage employee referrals through incentives and recognition programs. 88% of recruiters admit that referrals usually get them above-average applicants. (Dr. John Sullivan Research).
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Social Media: Utilize platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to showcase your airline's culture and career opportunities. Share employee stories, participate in industry events, and run targeted ad campaigns to reach the right talent pool.
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Industry Events: Attend industry events and conferences, sponsoring career fairs, participate in panel discussions, and actively engage with talent seeking new opportunities.
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Headhunters and Recruiters: Partner with reputable recruitment agencies specializing in aviation. Their expertise can help you access a wider talent pool and fill niche positions quickly.
Stage 2: Separating the qualified candidates - Screening
- Skip the Phone Screening stage: A recruiter does 40-50 calls a week on a minimum. With Vesume Async’s automated video interviews you can gauge communication, presentability, language fluency and other soft skills without having to phone screen candidates. Utilize behavioral interview techniques to gain insights into past experiences and predict future performance.
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In-Person Interviews: After pre-screening candidates with Vesume Async the few qualified candidates can have an in-person structured interview with diverse panels to assess technical skills, problem-solving abilities, and soft skills like teamwork and customer service.
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Reference & Background Checks: Conduct thorough reference checks to confirm qualifications and past performance. Look beyond just positive feedback and seek specific examples of the candidate's strengths and weaknesses- how have they demonstrated it in a previous role?
Stage 3: Landing the Dream Team - Hiring and Onboarding
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Unanimous Decision-Making with Hiring Team: Carefully evaluate all information gathered during the hiring process. Utilize tools that make collaborative decision making possible to mitigate bias and ensure objectivity.
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Smooth Takeoff for New Hires: Design a comprehensive onboarding program that introduces new hires to the company culture, values, and specific role expectations. Provide mentorship opportunities, training programs, and clear communication for a successful onboarding.
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Invest in training and L&D: 77% of HR professionals in the airline industry admit that it's getting harder to retain talent (AITA)
With recruitment being ever so challenging, a high turnover doesn't help:
(AITA, 2018 report)
The airline industry does have a talent and skill shortage so when you get talent willing to learn, give them the opportunity to continually level up.
A successful airline workforce is a continuous process. By implementing these strategies you can ensure you’ve a team that shares your passion for the skies.
How International airlines deal with hiring quickly
When you're facing a talent shortage that needs a high volume hiring drive in an industry that has to combat high turnover, being smart about how you hire is important.
Leveraging the right tools and software solutions is a game-changer in hiring. We've not hot ATS, one way interviewing technologies to automate repetitive tasks, organize applicant data, and facilitate smoother communication between recruiters and candidates.
How Emirates deals with high volume hiring: With a one way video interviewing solution!
Other international companies doing the same include Unilever and Hilton.
You can experience the one way video interview here.
To use one way video interviews in your own hiring get Vesume with 50+ ATS integrations and for your customizable hiring tech stack!
ATS Benefits: An Applicant Tracking System (ATS) is at the heart of modern hiring. It filters applications based on predefined criteria, ensuring only the most suitable candidates move forward. Benefits include:
- Reduced administrative burden
- Improved candidate experience
- Enhanced reporting and analytics for better decision-making
Tips for Hiring Airline Staff
Streamlined Application Process: Ensure the application process is user-friendly, mobile-optimized, and concise. A positive application experience can significantly impact a candidate's perception of the airline.
Personalized Communication: Use automated systems to keep candidates informed at every stage of the recruitment process. Personalized emails or messages about their application status can improve the candidate experience and maintain their interest in the airline. Vesume is working on integrating this feature for quick and easy communication.
Live Q&A Sessions with Employees: Host live Q&A sessions with diverse employees from different departments. This allows candidates to interact directly, ask candid questions, and gain real-life insights into the company culture and day-to-day work. Live Q&A sessions attract 2x more applicants than traditional interviews. (BambooHR)
The industry's success depends on a skilled workforce capable of adapting to rapid changes and embracing new technologies.
For bringing down the turnover
The IATA Aviation HR Report 2018 reveals that 56% of HR professionals report their training programs as only 'quite effective,' indicating a significant room for improvement in how we prepare our workforce for the future.
As we chart the course forward, it's crucial to remember that "Customer service is the single biggest area where we’ll need new skill sets in the coming years" (Brendan Noonan, Qatar Airways Group). The airline industry's needs are always evolving.
Furthermore, as Li Wang, Deputy General Manager of HR at Air China Cargo, insightfully notes, "When we’re recruiting from the labour market, we are obviously being compared directly with other companies. One of the key areas that we are being compared on is career development. They are always asking how long it will be until they can get to the next level". (AITA, 2018)
In the words of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry: "If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea."
Airline recruiters, we hope this article was helpful and knowledgeable to help you meet your hiring & workforce retention challenges. We publish more of these, check out our blogs.