Qantas board mistakes
The mistakes were:
1. Totally ignoring the fact the biggest asset of ANY company is THEIR EMPLOYEES.
One could be forgiven for thinking that during the tenures of Geoff Dixon and Alan Joyce that they had a grand plan for converting Qantas International from a premium full sevice airline into a low cost carrier. Both had stated aims of putting shareholders ahead of customers and employees.
The employees have endured a period that management has disregarded their value and contributions over the years, so it's any wonder that employee morale has plummeted to an all time low. When this happens, service is affected, no matter in which area they work. Output suffers, quality suffers and the end product is less than baseline.
It used to be a matter of pride to work for this highly regarded airline and this immediately connects to dedication ,commitment to reaching goals, loyalty, contributing to new ideas, quality and effective teamwork.
These have been replaced with all the opposites over this period and the company has been left with managers standing over others to prevent them from rising further.
Hardly a recipe for success.......
2. The grounding of the airline.
This alienated the traveling public against the company for good reason.
Why would anyone travel on Qantas services when you couldn't be sure of arrival at any port with certainty? Staff at the pointy end were dealing with the brunt of the customers fury and worked hard to resolve the problems of getting people home.
The decision to ground the airline had to be the worst decision of Qantas history. The loss of business, and some of it permanently, ensured a balance sheet loss for years to come.
To blame unions and other airlines for the current woes shows the disconnect this board has from good business practice and the unwillingness to take responsibility for their actions. In other companies, Board members would have resigned long ago......what are they waiting for?
The shareholders have rewarded with a share pice below $1.00 and no certainty of an alliance with any other airline. The board, no doubt, will reward themselves with a fat bonus along the way.
I wonder what their KPI's were.........?