Professional Engagement Within Flight Crews: What causes disconnect?
Is it possible to be a high-standards, results-driven business aviation leader while at the same time building an engaged, fun-to-work-with flight crew? Many people would contend that doing either of these things well makes it almost impossible to succeed at the other. However, not only is it possible to do both things well, but the best leaders are the very ones who manage to do both.
Building a team of highly engaged, motivated professionals is a critical part of any company’s success. Employees are the very foundation of any organization and, regardless of industry, lack of engagement contributes to high turnover, which is costly and can negatively affect a company’s culture. But, with aviation, there’s another wrinkle to consider: Lack of employee engagement can affect an organization’s safety record.
For smaller corporate or private aviation teams, the risks associated with disengagement and subsequent turnover are too great to ignore. Even seemingly small issues can not only result in costly delays; they can also put employees' lives in jeopardy.
Though a strong, safety-oriented culture is just one benefit of a highly engaged team, statistics show that engaged employees are 38 percent more likely to have above-average productivity. But that’s not all. Engaged employees stay. When employees feel like they have a voice, are contributing and feel valued, they’re less likely to look for other jobs.
It’s clear that creating camaraderie and a great workplace culture has the potential to decrease turnover and mitigate risk; however, corporate aviation teams are often scattered and moving in different directions. Directors of aviation, maintenance professionals, and schedulers/dispatchers typically work on site, while pilots and flight attendants are scarcely seen.
The question then becomes: how do directors of aviation create a team-oriented environment with so many moving parts? Here are the top common themes:
Manage expectations.
Managing expectations starts during the hiring process. For pilots and flight crew, even if there’s a “no show face” policy, it’s imperative that they know they must be available to attend events like staff meetings and briefings—even if they’re working remotely. Not only that, schedulers, dispatchers, and maintenance crew may, at times, be the only people in the hangar. If potential hires need a more interactive work environment, it’s possible that these positions aren’t the right fit.
Reinforce expectations.
While it’s important to set expectations during the hiring process, those expectations must be reiterated during mid-year and annual performance reviews. Even setting aside a few minutes to make sure everyone is clear on job descriptions and what is expected of them can make a huge difference in engagement. Every person is a critical part of the team, so when each segment of the department understands their own roles and responsibilities as well as those of the other team members, teams will thrive.
Interact with staff members.
Directors of aviation have a lot on their plates, which means they can often be head-down on important business. However, it’s still important to be both visible and approachable, especially in the case of non-flying directors. That can be as simple as getting away from a desk and walking the hangar and the office space on a regular basis. By observing and interacting with team members, they’ll be able to identify friction or small signs of disengagement, giving them opportunities to help employees course correct before a resignation letter appears. This type of visibility builds rapport with those who are regularly in the hangar and shows investment in an employee’s ability to perform his or her job. Not only that, it ensures team members succeed in the long run.
Communicate and build camaraderie.
Sometimes staff meetings can feel tedious, but they’re a key part of getting a scattered team together and building camaraderie. Monthly is ideal, but if that’s not realistic, even a quarterly all-hands-on deck meeting helps facilitate engagement. While it’s important to cover operational business, these meetings should also be fun! By hosting a group breakfast or lunch, performing team-building activities or even bringing in a relevant speaker, staff meetings can be transformed from boring to exciting.
Whatever the activity, center it around the state of the flight department and encourage group sharing, no matter the position someone holds. Have a team leader discuss what’s working with communication and bring ideas for improvement per department, including pilots, maintenance, scheduling/dispatch, and flight attendants. If meetings are designed to strengthen team bonds and give everyone a voice, employees will feel valued, and valued employees stay.
Be coachable.
Leaders who resist feedback are much like the emperor with no clothes. Since they do not seek or want feedback, people see do not speak up. Problems slip through the cracks. Deadlines are missed. However, if a leader seeks feedback and is receptive to advice, colleagues will not stand by if they see that leader is about to make a mistake.
People skills.
Leaders who ask for feedback from others and work to make improvements are highly respected. Their coachability is an example to everyone.
Having the ability to simultaneously drive for results and practice excellent people skills is a powerful combination that has a dramatic impact on a leader’s effectiveness. As noted earlier, we found that leaders who possess both of these skills were rated in the 91st percentile in their overall leadership effectiveness. Hopefully, you can identify one or two of these six behavioral bridges that will help you achieve this magic combination as well.
Many companies now offer employees the chance to work remotely, and that’s all thanks to technology. While some aviation positions simply aren’t possible to perform remotely, others are, and leveraging technology to bring everyone together is a key part of building a successful team. For example, if some team members can’t be physically present at the hangar for a monthly staff meeting, offer a user-friendly, inclusive option, such as WebEx or Butterfly. Even something as simple as offering an online forum where employees can post articles and share professional and personal information gives team members a chance to facilitate dialogue, regardless of physical location. Not only that, it removes some of the mundane elements of communication, such as monthly communication emails.
These are just a few ways that industry leaders are helping to build and retain strong teams that thrive. Even small changes 
can net big results, and when it comes to employee engagement, those changes are always worth it in the end.
Butterfly, our partner company provides cloud-based engagement tools that are designed for deskless employees who are often disconnected, mobile or working in the air.
By engaging these team members who are rarely included in ongoing feedback programs, organizations see positive improvement in productivity and employee turnover.
