Qantas staff low on corporate spirit

[Wirraway]

Tues "Melbourne Age"

Qantas staff low on corporate spirit
With many staff not calling Australia home, morale at Qantas isn't soaring
By Robert Wainwright
February 15, 2005

Go here for the full story (http://theage.com.au/articles/2005/02/14/1108229930364.html?oneclick=true)

[Sunfish]

Oh goody, a five year plan. What rubbish.

QF doesn't need five year plans. It needs leaders. It is being managed to death.

By the way, does Mr. Dixon have an "open door" policy? Do any QF "managers"?

[rescue 1]

"...a 5 year plan"
I would have thought an immediate intervention would have been more appropriate.

[Kaptin M]

the results......are among the lowest recorded....international or long haul 22 per cent.

IMO, that is a DRASTICALLY low percentage - it means almost 80% of QF staff are unhappy with the way things are going at QANTAS.
Is it any wonder though, really?
Who wouldn't be:
(a) concerned for their FUTURE, with Dixon publically stating he's going to sack 7,000 of them, and replace them with foreigners, and,
(b) p!ssed off with the PRESENT, after being told that QANTAS has to become more competitive, and being screwed to a lousy 3% increase, whilst the fattest cats award themselves more than 60%!


....but Mr Brown - "Qantas's executive general manager of people" - ISN'T concerned.
He states, ""The overall result was that Qantas sits in a stable zone."
A freeking "STABLE ZONE" with almost 80% of staff dissatisfied, Mr Brown isn't too worried about staff morale.

Well no wonder QANTAS has a BIG problem!
When the "executive general manager of people" reckons he's doing his job - and undoubtedly getting a handsome salary for it - by achieving a 28% success rate, it's indicative of where the REAL focus of these "executive managers' " actually is, imho.
It's on getting the BEST for themselves!! And F:mad:CK the rest of you! Literally!

[schnauzer]

From one of those "almost 80%", Kapt, you are quite correct.

Don't get me wrong. I love my job, I wouldn't do anything else. But Dixon's recent efforts to destabilise not just our airline, but the entire industry have had an awful effect upon morale throughout every part of our company.

The problem with our cost cutting is that it is happenning in the wrong place. Qantas is cutting at the coal face and yet middle and upper management are growing fatter. The organisation is becoming top heavy.

It just doesn't make sense.

Only Dixon can fix this problem. It must start from the top and work down. I'm not holding my breath though.

We knew that the results of this survey would be poor. Just as we knew that management would spin it in their favour. Another million wasted.

[QFinsider]

My sources tell me it is around 30% commitment or engagement or whatever else today's magic word is...Mind you at anything below 40% it is considered serious as the staff are beleived to actively work against the company. Compared to DJ at around 70% and the international benchmark for aviation closer to 60%. QF is stuffed.

What they have no idea about is the goodwill is gone. The extended TOD, the trying to maintain schedule or catch up, we are just another input with a $ cost attached. If something with which they have never been exposed (at least mainline) and they will see what an asset their flight crew were!!!! If a competitor were to offer australian basings etc, QF mainline would lose heaps of us!

That is as far as flight operations are concerned...My sources tell me that the spin has them hard put to find much positive in it. Reiterated time and time again is the staff are sick and tired of thier public berating, the idle threats, the constant insecurity,...

there is no plan, as i alluded to on another thread. They keep loading mainline up with cost to make J* look lean..It's crap.
GD and the dame line their pockets then hop out in the PBL sponsored media and spin all the crap. Mind you the Dames performance at the helm of Southcorp isnt mentioned much...

:E

[Kaptin M]

The problem is, SMP, QANTAS management obviously don't believe the speel you've just spun!

If it were really true, then why are THEY not leading by example?

I'm p!ssed off with Dixon & The Dame, and I'm not even a QF staffer!!
I have been a QF FF'er - a full fare one, who elected to pay MORE to support the home-grown Aussie product, over (much) cheaper competition for almost a decade now.

But the antics and GREED of your CEO and the upper level vultures is turning ME off the QANTAS product, and now this latest statement by Mr Kevin Brown, "Qantas's executive general manager of people", indicates just HOW far QF management really are out of touch with anything but concern for THEIR own wallets! :\

[HANOI]

SeveralMillionPounds

A well thought out and appropriate piece.

What a refreshing change from some of the economic rationalist garbage and conspiracy theories we see around here.

And Kaptin M...
22% of long-haul engagement does not mean nearly 80% of Qantas staff are unhappy.
Dixon did not publically (sic) state he was going to sack 7,000 staff.

[mach2male]

Seven Million Pounds:
You can have cost cutting etc.and still have good staff morale.Qf management are totally remote,communicate no plan or vision to the troops and indeed use terms like "necessary evil" to describe their staff.
Qf used to be competitive and innovative(they INVENTED J/C)Today they are neither.
Qf does not derive 30% of their revenue from trans pacific operations.Have a look at the most recent company financial report.
Communicate,communicate is the name of the game...not threaten and intimidate.
So...80% of 36,000 employees are myopic lazy wretches...I don`t think so.
Your remark regardin g a Longhaul CSM is petty.5% of the category earn that sort of money...believe me they don`t have a wife and they don`t have a life.The wages crew earn are down to a company introduced bid system(23/10/88)and the floating of the Australian $ around the same time.Prior to that Wages were appalling.
Qantas introduced this bidding sysstem and removed 25% of crew standown.Current management see this particular system as inefficient(for their purposes)At the time it was seen as a great
win.In hindsight they did the crew(and Qantas)an enormous favour.....crew no longer needed a second job to survive and the company received an enormous increase in manpower efficiency.
Instead of complaining about the competition Dixon should become competitive...The product is under his control and he should employ individuals who are innovative to enhance the onboard offering.A celebrity chef and a coterie of hangers on simply aren`t cutting the mustard(no pun intended)
The individuals who suffer the most???...the travelling public.Qantas does not serve their needs.LHR and LAX are not the only destinations where people holiday.

[Three Bars]

It is not surprising that people took the first (and so far only) opportunity to tell management, anonymously, what they really think of their approach to the company.

I don't think that the result says that we are lazy - it says that while we enjoy our jobs and work hard, we are not in accord with the company line - hence not "engaged".

So knowing our current management mantra and their methods, our management team will look at this result and say, "Jeez, they are not in tune with our corporate vision. Let's sack them all and get those cheap, cheerful and "engaged" employees that VB are so full of!"

:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

[mach2male]

Sunfish
The only open door at Qantas is....The front door!

[Sue Ridgepipe]

The bottom line was that people went to work and did their best [but] many didn't care about the company because they felt the company didn't care about them.

....and that boys and girls is the bottom line IMHO.

[flugenluft]

Lifted from Crikey.com.au of January this year

Sickly Qantas cabin crews

Three Fed Up Frequent Flyers
and one Happy Camper

As one frequent flyer puts it, "for cabin service, Qantas comes pretty close to the bottom of my list".

11 January 2005

A frequent flyer writes:

A depressing, but regular, feature on Crikey in the recent past has been the whinging and whining articles by Qantas cabin crew about how badly they are done by and what a terrible employer they work for.

This article goes someway towards putting the behaviour of this lot into perspective.

On Christmas Eve a Qantas A330 Airbus due to depart from Sydney for Perth was delayed because the cabin crew was one flight attendant short. The reason was that the flight attendant had rung in sick at the last minute.

This sudden sickness by cabin crew is known as a “roster adjustment sick day”. In other words, if a flight attendant does not like a roster day he or she simply calls in sick at the last minute. The endemic level of this rort run by Qantas cabin crew is highlighted by the fact that Qantas was not able to find one healthy flight attendant replacement on reserve in Sydney who was able to fill the roster.

A330 Airbus’s have 10 cabin crew so one might well ask why one short would hold up the entire flight. The answer is that the aircraft was fully booked and Qantas flight attendants will not crew a full aircraft without a full crew. The flight attendants’ union does, however, have discretion and could have allowed the flight to depart with 9 rather than 10 flight attendants.

Being Christmas Eve and all, it might have been expected that in the Christmas spirit the flight attendants’ union may have had the decency to allow the passengers to spend their planned evening and Christmas day with their families and friends in Perth. It was after all the rostered attendants who were all too sick spending an un-rostered Christmas with their families that had caused the problem.

It was not to be. The union said no. To satisfy the flight attendants’ union, 20 passengers were kicked off the flight and it eventually departed with vacant seats in both business and economy.

This incident brings to mind the scam run by the Ansett domestic flight attendants before that airline went belly up.

Having leased Boeing 747s for its new international route, Ansett ran one or two on the Sydney to Perth route prior to going into service on the international routes. Cabin crew had been specially trained for the 747s however the domestic flight attendants’ union refused to allow them onto the domestic run without using domestic flight attendants.

Ansett eventually capitulated to the blackmail and each flight was crewed with its trained international flight attendants while a full 747 cabin crew of untrained domestic flight attendants sat up in first class and passengered both ways; attracting full pay and allowances.

The truth of the matter is if Qantas were to undertake professional surveys of their passengers it would quickly learn that overwhelmingly, its cabin crew are viewed as rude, unhelpful and lazy.

Frankly, for my money, the sooner Geoff Dixon finds a way of getting rid of those flight attendants who apparently hate their job, hate their boss and hate their passengers, the better.

Meanwhile, another frequent flyer adds to these comments on Qantas:

As a constant international traveler, utilizing both the Star Alliance and One World networks, I fly on most of the major airlines sooner or later. For cabin service, Qantas comes pretty close to the bottom of my list. For all its carefully cultivated image as the nation's flag carrier, it's an airline totally lacking in style. Its meals, at least in economy, are awful. The cabin crew often seem more interested in nattering among themselves than in being attentive to passengers. Increasingly it's behaving like the near-monopoly it is within Australia. It is treating its frequent flyers with contempt, having just devalued their hard-won points. I fly Qantas only when I have no other choice, and I'm sure I'm not alone in that sentiment.

I have a vivid memory of being in a Qantas flight about to depart Singapore, when passengers in window seats near me were being rained on by condensation seeping through the air-conditioning ducts. Two complained to a cabin attendant. One was brusquely given a blanket to put on her sopping seat as a solution to her problem. The other was berated by the attendant, on the grounds that if Qantas waited for the ducts to dry themselves out, it would delay departure, and was this passenger so inconsiderate as to want to inconvenience everyone else by holding up the plane?

Let's be fair. On one or two occasions Qantas ground staff have gone out of their way to rearrange my travel when bad weather messed up flight schedules in Europe, giving me some much appreciated free upgrades in the process. That's the kind of thing travelers remember, and which is repaid in spades in customer loyalty. Unfortunately, such courtesy on the ground doesn't seem to be reflected in the air.

Since Qantas don't seem to be much interested in customer feedback, perhaps Crikey might encourage the establishment of a complaint website, along the lines of www.untied.com, where customers of United Airlines are able to document their unpleasant experiences. It seems to have had some effect on the perpetually bankrupt carrier, who in my experience has finally begun to lift their game a little.

In addition to these comments, the following letter was sent to The Australian Financial Review letter section and to Crikey:

The bleating by bloated Qantas General Manager, John Borghetti, (letters AFR), are becoming tiresome and repetitive. The latest batch of awards it congratulates itself on receiving - from Luxury Travel Magazine - are as meaningless as Virgin Blue's award from OAG - Official Airline Guides. Only awards from Skytrax or Business Traveller Magazine are actually voted by the shiny bums on the seats, not BOUGHT by the Airlines advertising.

QF has slipped to PR or UA, NW standards. Even TG and MH are now well in front. Singapore, BA, Virgin Atlantic, Emirates and Gulf Air leave it for dead. Its P class, denoting Premium, (ostentatious to the end at QF), - really a poor mans C Class, does not now come up to Hawaiian Airlines Business Class standards.

Is it any wonder that most seasoned business travellers now fly to the US via the Island State of Singapore with SQ, - in all three classes. Their customer service, 'can do' attitude, rest room cleanliness on board - (QF T/dollies don't clean), airport lounges, FF scheme, quality of F& B, amenities, seat/bed comfort, library, audio and video systems, are all World class and light years ahead of what Geoff Dixon and Neil Perry would throw our way.

SQ must be given full access to the US market ex Australia - and fast.

Zac C. Zussino

However, as this New Year's day traveller points out, it’s not all bad at Qantas:

As someone that travels a bit, I've experienced everything from good to ordinary service from Qantas staff, but credit where credit's due to the staff that looked after the CityFlyer flight I was on to Sydney on New Year's day.

The guy looking after check in was genuinely friendly and conversational, even wished me a happy birthday after checking my driver's license.

Even the Melbourne Airport security officer who "randomly" selected me for an explosives scan was quite nice.

And the cabin crew on the aircraft were great. Good and genuinely friendly service, with one of the cabin crew wandering around constructing party balloon animals for passengers. Really nice touch. The plane was clean, the flight uneventful (unlike the return trip to Melbourne in high winds and one of the roughest landings I have ever experienced) the kids were well looked after, and we left and arrived on time.

Like I said above, it's not always like this, but (especially on a day when you would normally expect a few late scratchings from the Qantas roster) the staff and flight crew on duty this day were fantastic.

Chris

[Sunfish]

"Stable"? I guess it is and it it is as depressing as a sky full of nimbus.

When you must do change in abusiness you either do it quick and dirty or slow and clean. Mr. Dixon looks like he is doing iit slow and dirty - with predictable results. That "legacy" quote was a stupid remark.

In addition, if J* is being propped up, and VB can prove it, the ACCC will eat QF alive. There is this concept of competitive neutrality and QF had better not be charging J* less than full commercial rates.

The scary thing is that the apparent reason for pulling out of overseas ports was "to concentrate on LAX/LHR". The obvious danger is putting all your eggs in one basket. If SQ etc. cut the ground out from under them there are no alternative sources of revenue available.

[HANOI]

What about......
Singapore/Mumbai/Bangkok/Jakarta/Den Pasar/Hong Kong/Tokyo/Manila/Honolulu/New York/Shanghai/Johannesburg not to mention all the Trans-Tasman plus the entire domestic network.

[Ultralights]

during my 10 yrs in Qf, i must have seen a new 5 yr plan every 2 weeks! no one in Qf has ever had a plan! even 3 yrs ago, morale was increadibly low, i didnt believe it could get any lower.

If another round of redundancies come around! get out while you still can and get what your entitled to!

[QFinsider]

It is an interesting thing that Geoff can't see it, Boggetti the Dame and all the others with their snouts firmly in the trough are too busy to see it.

They are going to spend $18b on new aircraft. Yet they lack any plan beyond 3 years(which i am told does exist). I may be out of the big picture but surely you can't get your return on assets for $18b inside 3 years.

They needed to spend $$$ on a staff engagement survey, when all they had to do was look around. As Kap M put it in another post, their head of people sees no problem..You better have another look at the numbers, get out of the office and have a look around, stupid wan$er:mad:



i got 30 years in the company to go, these bast@rds will squander the lot inside 5 years, and the only legacy will be the one Geoff , Boggetti and the Dame presided over.

By the way just how is Southcorp wines travelling today?:E

[Sunfish]

Reminds me of a certain Crown Casino. Father of sat back on the Board and watched and waited as the company over invested and therefore overcapitalised a lavish casino.

Once the hoo-haa had worn off it didn't generate returns commensurate with the investment and the stock price went into free fall. Father of then merely stepped in and bought the bit he didn't already own. The losers were the small investors.

He put in professional management, incentivised properly, and laughed all the way to the bank.

To this numbskull, J* Asia, perhaps J* itself and eight A380's sounds like gambling the farm. I've watched too many similar grand strategies fail dismally.

My opinion is that above average returns on investment are produced by nurturing your staff so that ordinary people produce exceptional results.

Dixon obviously does not agree.

[DutchRoll]

I can add my voice to those who work on the flight deck for QF and are not surprised by the results.

What will surprise me though is if QF management actually take, and follow through with, any sort of sensible action to rectify the problem. What irks me even more is the number of management types who are 'along for the ride' - nothing but passengers dipping into obscenely large helpings from the record profit cookie jar, and who will be getting off as soon as possible.

I've got 20 years left in the company and I really wish some other major international carriers would start a Sydney basing. That way I could at least have a 'cost neutral' backup plan!

[Orville]

SeveralMillionPounds
If you're a Qantas employee and not concerned by any of this, or value your pay RISE above the long term viability of a 33,000 employee company, then I'm afraid the employees, as the ultimate stakeholders, have lost the battle and the war.

Tell this to those who should lead by example, what these senior executives are doing is asset stripping before the ship goes down. And it is a known fact that senior executives don't usually stay longer than 5 years, so they will be gone before the full weight of their ineptitude is realised.

[Visual Landing]

Hmmmmmm Where has this happened before?
Answer Ansett late 90s

[Don Esson]

A director (Eastwood) resigned today but ther's no word of his replacement. Do we see another young turk without any tertiary education but who has the fortune to have a rich dad?

Also, tucked away in the week-end press was the story that Qantas number one spin doctor (Sharpe) is finising up after only four years and is reportedly headed for Brambles as a senior VP of something or other that's not very memorable. Again, no word on his replacement but will he or she come from ACP/PBL or Channel 9?

Great for morale ain't it?

[flyingfox]

Low morale? I flew LHR to Per via Singapore last month as a 'cattle class' pax. The cabin crew out of LHR didn't give a $h!t about their charges. Worst I've ever experienced! You can't treat customers like that and expect them to come back for more; even the low fare ones. Fortunately this malaise isn't affecting all F/A's at present, but if it spreads..... watch out for a QF slump. Management have to 'wear' the main blame when things get so bad, but staff need to realise that they help the slide into chaos themselves with bad attitudes. If working for QF has become so bad, call the managements bluff and accept the outcome that follows. Don't die by 'a thousand cuts'. If the jobs OK, then get on with it! (I flew three sectors as a pax on domestic last week and the cabin crews were great!)

[rescue 1]

Bulletin February 8, 2005 Geoff Dixon:
Under the duopoly, the airlines actually didn't make much. They were run for staff. The salary and wage structures were very high

Hmmm...well I guess they can't really be surprised about the corporate spirit then.

[Sunfish]

B.S.! Maybe TAA and QF didn't make much but AN was laughing all the way to the bank! GD is just demonstrating his incompetence! What a stupid and pointless attempt to rewrite history!

Of course a lot of AN$ never saw the light of day as profit. I still remember Graeme McM smiling and saying "there is nothing in the world so profitable as a fully depreciated aircraft". I also remember a lot of money going out the back door through the sale of some "old" aircraft.

As for QF and TAA, is Dixon an expert in forensic accounting for Government instrumentalities????? Obviously not! For all I know TAA And QF might still have been grappling with accrual accounting!

As for staff wages and conditions????? Yes they were set, but SO WERE EVERYBODY ELSES in the entire country!

Pilots and cabin crew may have made a lot in comparison with ordinary staff, but compared internationally? I don't think so.

Furthermore, ground staff were stuck in absolute lock step with TAA and QF wages thanks to the arbitration commission, collaborating HR departments and complaisant unions. It was common knowledge that you could not leave AN and be hired by TAA and vice versa (dont know if this applied to flight crew). Ticket prices were set in Mac's.

My first job offer after completing an MBA was higher than a State Managers Salary. There were no company cars unless you were very very very high up. Sure you had staff travel, but with four weeks leave a year how often did it get used?

AN was a great place to work, but the pay was cr@p compared to what I found I could earn outside, and for that reason I left.

What is Dixon smoking?

[ditzyboy]

I am very interested to know when the results of the JQ 'engagement' survey will be published. It will be interesting to see what the Company do with the info... Middle level managers sacked? Or perhaps more courses to tell us that employees are the ones with the negative feelings and that we choose to see things (being publicly abused by Manager of Cabin Services) in a negative light? Why don't they look at the reasons why a bunch of people known to be overly positive (wasn't uncommon for QF ground staff to call VQ cabin crew 'The Brady Bunch'...) are now so upset?

I can't wait for my next cabin crew brainwash course. This one is entitled "Love Your Work." How about "Love Your Employees"? Or "Love Your Salary"?

Word is many people attached pages to the survey. Hopefully all this information is used constructively and postively rathers than being seen as negativity and ignored.

I agree employee culture does need an overhaul. But to single out the employee group with an attitude that needs fixing as being the main 'problem' is wrong.

Anyone know who the Eastern and Sunnies 'engagement' surveys went? The results of those cannot be far off.

[Sunfish]

The report will be suppressed because it will be critical of management style. There was a similar study at Telstra that reached similar conclusions about seven years ago - they suppressed it.

ALl that will happen is that Dixon will be asked to be softer and kinder - expect to see him kissing babies or some such twaddle.

[Chronic Snoozer]

Curious mate, whats your day job? Ever thought of joining the QANTAS board?

[Sunfish]

Nah, my Mom would be upset at the loss of reputation. She thinks I'm a piano player in a brothel.

[Wirraway]

news.com.au

Qantas workers not happy
February 18, 2005

QANTAS chief Geoff Dixon is puzzled by an internal survey that showed employees of the flying kangaroo are not happy little vegemites.

A study by Hewitt recruiters found that when quizzed on how happy they were with management and working conditions, Qantas staff recorded some of the lowest scores on the happiness scale.

A perplexed Mr Dixon, who may have thought he was in the running for boss of the year, said the survey made "fascinating" reading.

"The group that had the lowest opinion of management happens to be the long-haul flight attendants, and when I last looked I can't find when someone resigned," he said.

"I'm really going to talk to my psychiatrist and psychologist about this because what you've got is the group who says they're most dissatisfied are the group that has the lowest attrition rate.

==========================================

[Ichiban]

QFinsider & DutchRoll

Singapore Airlines has basings for Captains in SYD on B744; BNE & PER on B777!

[Sunfish]

If Dixon has actually said what he is quoted as saying then I'm very sorry for all you Qantas staff, especially long haul flight attendants because that was both a veiled threat and an insult if ever I heard one.

It is perfectly obvious that Dixon is a narcissist as he enjoys using his power to inflict pain. He is also made it quite plain that he is not going to change his management style. The crack about psych says it all. Narcissists are notoriously untreatable anyway.

In the survey, you were supposed to say that the sun shines out of GOD's fundament, and if you had said that, he would have taken it as his right and proper due.

Since you little people didn't say that, then your silly survey will be ignored, except to single out who to punish.

I'm waiting for the next Dixonion pronouncment.

To date I am aware of;

"Legacy airline"

The letter to Hammy Island residents.

References to his behaviour that reek of the sense of entiltlement common to these people.

The usual response to these survey results are "sensitivity" training sessions for managers (I'll bet the proposal is already on someone's desk). The usual twaddle is about making heroes out of your staff celebrating achievments, telling jokes and making work fun.

After seeing the stunned disbelieving silence after the mars bars or the cake are passed out at the staff meeting, the retrained but insincere former fire breathing managers revert to type pretty quickly.

But it looks like you are not even going to get that. The survey will be used to divide and conqer some more. Good luck all of you.

[Reverend Doctor Doug]

Ichiban

Where did you get the information about SIA 777 basings?

The Rev

[Kaptin M]

It is perfectly obvious that Dixon is a narcissist With comments emanating from Dixon, such as "I'm really going to talk to my psychiatrist and psychologist about this because what you've got is the group who says they're most dissatisfied are the group that has the lowest attrition rate.", I'd class him as a sarcastic, self-centred @rsehole, completely out of touch with his staff, and their NEED to maintain employment to service their mortgages and personal needs, versus GOD's unrealistically high, multi-million dollar income, that would leave him wanting for nothing, and needing no-one.

And OBVIOUSLY he doesn't read PPRuNe!! :{

At the rate he's dismantling QANTAS mainline, there is very soon, going to be little of the original airline that existed even a few years ago.
And after he's destroyed it, he's outta there, leaving behind a legacy of disenchanted employees working for a shell of the airline they once loved :(

[Pinky the pilot]

I'm really going to talk to my Psychiatrist...
The mere fact that he admits to having one should broadcast it to all and sundry that he's not exactly the full pallet of bricks anyway.
So WTF is he doing in the position he's in then? Sounds like he should be in a rubber room!!

You only live twice. Once when
you're born. Once when
you've looked death in the face.

[Chief Chook]

....AND psychologist

What a public admission to make.
If anyone was in doubt before, no need to wonder any more!

Straight from the horse's mouth! :ooh:

[argusmoon]

Both Daniel Goleman (Emotional Intelligence) and
Alistair Mant (Intelligent Leadership)
Reached the same conclusion:to be a CEO or senior executive in any large company you must be basically dysfunctional.You lack remorse,compassion,empathy and introspection.Almost a sociopath.The Australian Financial Review carried an article in a similar vein last year.They went further.Indeed according to their research the psyche profile for most CEOs had more in common with that of a typical serial killer.If you have ever had the pleasure of Geoff Dixon`s company and conversation the parallels that may be drawn are astounding.
Sunfish et al you are absolutely correct with your appraisal of him.
John Borghetti is worse.Short(er than Dixon) and with very little style or taste.You should see what he has done to company`s Series 5 BMW.It ain`t gonna get any better under his management....if possible maybe even worse

[HIRRY BALSAK]

Just a comment on JQ engagment survey.From what I have read in the past Impulse/Qantaslink was chosen as the new LCC because of the business model and staff that were there already operating and committed to the success of impulse/Qantaslink.These were a bunch of very company minded loyal people.What has happened to these people?.It appears all the goodwill is gone.Jetstar only started in may!maybe managment would be better off reading pprune then they wouldnt have to waste money on their employee screwing (oops sorry)engagment survey.JQ managment should have a good look at what is going on as it seems the (can do )staff may be running out of steam.What is the difference between jetstar managment and the old impulse managment?It seems you guys were much happier pre jetstar.Tell me it isnt so!:{ :\ :*

[Ultralights]

"The group that had the lowest opinion of management happens to be the long-haul flight attendants, and when I last looked I can't find when someone resigned," he said.

"I'm really going to talk to my psychiatrist and psychologist about this because what you've got is the group who says they're most dissatisfied are the group that has the lowest attrition rate.


Im not even QF staff anymore, and i find this to be increadibly insulting!

as said before, dixon, unlike you, the staff you refer to have mortgages! mouths to feed! kids to school etc etc. hey, i dont Love working either! but it puts a roof over my head, food on thetable and clothes on my back! its called reality! something i find mr dixon is seriously lacking! well the reality within "his" airline!

[vortsa]

"The group that had the lowest opinion of management happens to be the long-haul flight attendants, and when I last looked I can't find when someone resigned," he said.

The truth is that in any industry idle time breads a low moral. This is the only group that has time to sit around bitching amongst themselves, just ask the passengers, once the first meal has been served you don't see them until just before landing.

[DEFCON4]

What a broad empty unsubstantiated piece of generalized garbage.Many people stay at their job purely for the wage they receive not because they love their employer.Having a family,a mortgage and a long term financial plan I am not about to jeopardise any of these things because morale at the workplace is low or I think my CEO is a prique.So it is at Qantas.
Perhaps one of the reasons you don`t see crew after the meal service is because you are asleep.The majority of QF`s longhaul sectors have a night component.In my experience pax like to sleep at night.If you provide your name and travel intinerary I will ensure that the crew wake you up and ask if you want anything.You will feel wonderful when you reach your destination knowing you have been well looked after but sleep deprived.
Or perhaps you don`t see the crew because there are simply less of them to see.!!!!

[vortsa]

Well it is easy to see where you are employed, ( I am reluctant to say work ), and if I choose to stay awake all night then it is my business, and when I call for an attendant to service my needs on a full service airline I expect to be served.

I pay many thousands of dollars to fly, unlike you I am not an employee of Qantas. The only reason I still fly them is they are an Australian icon, but if that ever changes, Goodbye.

And I never mentioned attrition, hell, where else would you get paid to go on a holiday around the world every other week. And that is all it is for many CabinCrew, there are only a handfull that I have seen over the years that realise that it is work punctuated by relaxation not relaxation interrupted by having to work.

Morale is a state of mind and if you force yourself to go to work then get a job as a waitress, you will still be able to feed your family, but you might have to be home for them as well and not leave them while you gallivant all over the world.

[DEFCON4]

It is most unfortunate that you continue on in this manner.You cannot possibly have met all longhaul crew (and had them "service your needs")It is also unfortunate that those you have met did not meet your expectations.For this I apologize.
I appreciate my job has its privileges.It also has its downside.I do not like being away from my family 7 months of the year..but it pays the bills and I have built my long term financial goals around my income...like most people.To change this now would be foolish.
I am a self motivated person and don't particularly concern myself with Dixon's ravings but at least allow me to have an opinion.
If you are not happy ...you have the choice of travelling with another carrier...no one forces you to fly QF.
However,I repeat, most of what you have said is unsubstantiated rubbish.

[Point0Five]

An interesting topic.... and I must say that there seems to be some validity in Dixon's comments:

"The group that had the lowest opinion of management happens to be the long-haul flight attendants, and when I last looked I can't find when someone resigned," he said.

"I'm really going to talk to my psychiatrist and psychologist about this because what you've got is the group who says they're most dissatisfied are the group that has the lowest attrition rate.


Taking this at face value, why would a group of people so grossly disattisfied with their employment still turn up to work? Surely there are other empoyers who can provide superior conditions of service and work environment. Why continue to work for Qantas?

To borrow from SMP's excellent post:

A generally accepted model these days of appropriate remuneration is 'payment according to earning potential elsewhere'.

I wonder how genuine the grievances of these long haul flight attendants really are? After all, the general theme of the posts on this topic have revolved around scales of remuneration. I can only assume that people perceive themselves as being worth more, I'm just curious as to what standard this belief has been derived from.

[surfside6]

The discontent experienced by longhaul crew has little to do with renumeration and a lot to do with being thwarted by their employer in doing their job well.I can now apologize in 12 langauges.
An example..we once carried baby rusks for teething children.I used these as a means of introducing myself to the child's parents and providing a remedy for anticipated crying on decent.They have been removed...cost cutting.I now take my own,although I sometimes fall foul of quarantine in some countries..particularly NZ.
IFE breakdowns.a/c breakdowns...the list goes on.This never used to happen.Write reports about shortages of blankets,milk,wine,splits and nothing happens.It produces frustration at not being able to do your job well.In the end you give up!

[Point0Five]

surfside6

Thanks for the additional detail, it's always nice to see some substance added to these conversations.

[jettlager]

The whole point of the survey was to measure "engagement" with the business and the direction it is taking.

It is not designed to measure the job satisfaction felt by those surveyed.

Those of us at operational levels in the company have seen SO MANY short term cost saving [ie bonus chasing] measures made that continue to damage the long term reputation of the airline that most of us are completely disgusted and disengaged from those running the business.

Some recent examples from Longhaul cabin services-

1.The forced taking of long service leave by FAs to boost this years bottom line has resulted in Longhaul services leaving Sydney without on board managers and supervisors.Some flights without either.One of these flights it is rumored was operated without the required PAs being carried out. CASA investigating.

2. The London base which impacts our "premier route" will be operating Ex LHR with hundreds of FAs the vast majority of whom have NEVER operated on a 3 class 744.
The training provided these individuals is next to non existent and the individual's familiarity with First and Business class service proceedures and standards is nought.
Cross crewing during the startup with seasoned crew from SYD would avert the coming disaster but would also cost money, so to hell with it...............

Repeated equipement failures, filthy aircraft, lack of food choices for P/C and J/C , non availability of aircaft stock all continue to make what we do on the aircraft more and more difficult.
The vast majority of us continue to do all we can to maintain passenger satisfaction despite the difficulties. The savior for Qantas being that once the doors closes personal pride in what we do means the punters get off happy.
I suspect the b@stards running the company know this, even if they dont care.

So obsessed with profits are QF management that it seems that they have forgotten that they are running an airline who's LONGTERM success requires a balance between profits AND happy people, both passengers and staff.

Operational staff have a LONGTERM stake in the success of Qantas but sadly those running the company do not and none of us are blind to the fact that our reputation as a QUALITY airline is being cynically and systematically sold in exchange for ever increasing executive bonuses.

This is why so few of us [22%] are "engaged" with the direction the "trough feeders" are taking us.
The unproffessional and unnecessary comments made by the pig who runs this company over the weekend just serves to drive more and more of us away.

22% ?..........I dont think so.............

Jettlager

[socks]

Surfside 6
IFE breakdowns.a/c breakdowns...the list goes on.This never used to happen.Write reports about shortages of blankets,milk,wine,splits and nothing happens.It produces frustration at not being able to do your job well.In the end you give up!

You wouldn't be short of wine if the cabin crew stopped filling their overnight bags.

Jetlagger
The London base which impacts our "premier route" will be operating Ex LHR with hundreds of FAs the vast majority of whom have NEVER operated on a 3 class 744.

Well they will be right at home then.

Repeated equipement failures, filthy aircraft, lack of food choices for P/C and J/C , non availability of aircaft stock all continue to make what we do on the aircraft more and more difficult.

I have been on some other operators who go through the a/c before landing with large plastic bags and ask for passengers to empty their rubbish. This then allows the cleaners who are working with a very tight schedule to tidy up the a/c more effectively.

The savior for Qantas being that once the doors closes personal pride in what we do means the punters get off happy.

Yes they are very happy to get off.

[schnauzer]

Socks. It gives me a remarkable amount of pleasure to tell you that you are a farkwit.:mad:

[QFinsider]

Jetlagger
excellent post.

The cost cutting is being seen in our department too. rest assured we continue to operate to a standard, if this generates a profit then excellent.

With the CP on a bonus for performance we too suffer the indignity of being told our department is under cost pressure...Imagine a General aviation Chief Pilot telling pilots that the must be ooh so conscious of the impact their decisions have on the profitability of the operation. CASA would not tolerate it...

Our simulator time is being sold to train CX captains, it isnt any longer availoable to the S/O's who go in their own time to try and maintain a standard...

It is in no way ab out profit, it is all about reputation. Something the vast majority of us have always wanted to be part of being destroyed by those with an eye only for themselves. It is really quite sad.

[Sunfish]

Argus And Kaptin M. I learned about Narcissistic managers the following way.

I was CEO of a successful company owned by another company. The new CEO of this company started doing some interesting things, like lying to the Board, doing devious political things, only talking to certain "special" people, organising meetings to which I was not invited (called bullying by exclusion), sucking up to politicians and people "above", and generally treating anyone "below" them in the corporate pecking order with contempt. In addition, although the books looked great, they were making dreadful management decsions and hiding the inevitable costs in the books. (These should surface in the press maybe this year, about $250 million worth is my guess)

I was at a dinner party held for a visiting old friend from MBA days who was Vice President of HR of a New York company. I explained this person's somewhat bizarre management style to her and another senior HR person and asked what they thought. They both turned as one to each other and then back to me and chanted as one; "Narcissistic personality disorder, Alistair Mant chapter 2(?)"

I chased up NPD on the web and it fitted this person to a tee. After learning about it I was then able to 'work around" this individual concerned.

I suggest those of you who are interested might look a little closer at NPD and compare the profile with GD and MJ.

The apparent cause of NPD is a complete and total lack of the ability to empathise with people (put themselves in other people's shoes). The coping mechanism for this is to develop an overwhelming sense of superiority often buttressed by hard and very intelligent work out of the desire to achive power and position.

The ruthlessness you think you see Kaptin M, is not really ruthlessness at all. To be ruthless, you actually have to understand the impact of what you are doing to someone and then do it anyway.

A true narcissist just cannot even know or care about the impact of his decisions on "little people" because he cannot empathise. However telling him he is ruthless will simply be viewed as a complement anyway even though he doesn't understand the meaning of the term.


The most dangerous thing about NPD people is that they will do whatever they need to do to maintain their superioriority veneer - both legal and illegal.

The only way you can "get through" to NPD people is to scare them, at which point thir persona will collapse. Best recent example was Rene Rivkin's performance on being sentenced to jail.

I just pray thst GD's legacy isn't a big smoking hole in the ground.

[surfside6]

How then, do you scare Dixon?

[str]

Just operated the QF 32 LHR - SIN. Ran out of red wine in economy within 3hrs of take off. Still 9hrs to go, kept the customers happy giving them business and first red wine. Ended up costing QF even more money. Do I care? No, because any profit we make goes into Dixons and Co's pockets. Less we make, worse off they are.

[socks]

You might have found a few more bottles if you had emptied a few overnight bags.

[Eastwest Loco]

Yes socks - there is a bus leaving in 10 minutes.

Be under it.

:}

Now seriously, after discounting the shallow end of the gene pool, it would make more sense to this little black duck to take care of your staff, be they aircrew or ground. I do harp back to years gone by (yet a-bloody-gain) but we adored our airlines, and would walk over broken glass to get an extra passenger or to ensure a good journey for a client.

Can anyone tell me that cutting to the bone on staffing a simple things like properly stocking an aeroplane is not going to be noticed by the general punter? It is - and it is being relayed back to me.

Had a client today on a round world one world explorer business fare who requested his SYD LAX fare was booked on the American side of the code share. I currently would normall do that as the commission is higher if OK with the PSGR, but as this was a high rank QF Club dude, I was going to default to Rat. The gentleman said "I do not like the way they are treating their people, and will not directly support them". After I picked up my chin from the deck, I duly booked AA outbound, SYD LAX PSP LAX SFO then BA to LHR and CX back.

Do not think the punters are unaware of very un-Australian treatment of staff and their futures. They are, and many high spend clients are not happy. The sad bit is that is the staff that this negativity hits first. It will be very interesting to see the cash flow figures QF post for the first quarter of this year. I think there may be a big shock coming.

Let them do their job without trying to undermine them at every opportunity Geoffy boy!

Best all

EWL

[socks]

At least on a bus the entertainment system works.

[schnauzer]

The tragic conundrum, EWL, is that if all of our pax did what yours did, we here at QF would be out of jobs. Would management wake up before it was too late? Maybe, maybe not. More likely theywould blame something else...

EWL, have you thought about a short email to [email protected] expressing your clients views? Every little bit helps....:ok:

Trouble is, for the most part we love our job. We wouldn't give it up for the world. Hence the low attrition rate. And for the most part our people do an excellent job without the resources that they need.

Dixon is an evil little turd who is hell bent on destroying an icon and greedily taking as much as he can at the same time. It disgusts me.

[socks]

The majority of the inmates in a prison would cut the throat of the Warden given half a chance, but he has a job to do.

The players on a football team after a gruelling session of practice would love to charge the coach and knock him down, but he must push them hard, and they know that, and all want to be part of that team.

The Captain on the bridge of an ocean liner does not sail as close to an iceberge as you would like but with the help of radar he sees beneath the water and must steer a wide arc.

Traffic lights are put on roads to make the traffic flow freely but you wonder why they always turn red for you.


The airtraffic controller always keeps you waiting the longest for departure but you can't all be first.

Mum and Dad would never allow you to eat as much ice cream as you wanted, they new you would get a tummy ache and they were trying to keep you from the pain.

God always makes it rain when you plan a Bar-B-Q but we need the water.

The shepherd leads his flock to the market to be slaughtered, it sounds cruel but there is a bigger picture.

So please understand that God has a greater plan, and you may want to cut his throat, knock him down, know what direction he is taking us and get that green light to be first or even stock your galley with more icecream. But he is God and he can rain on your parade and ultimately cut your throat when he decides.

[Kaptin M]

The only bigger plan Dixon has for QANTAS, imho, is to continue unimaginatively slashing away directly at staff levels and incomes to qualify for His performance bonus.

You might see Him as GOD, socks, but I get the feeling that most people - including non-QF employees - are seeing him for the greedy little Devil he really is!http://pprune.org/forums/images/icons/46.gif http://pprune.org/forums/images/icons/46.gif

[Sunfish]

Socks I'm afraid you subscribe to the idea that a CEO is god. Geoff Dixon obviously agrees with you.

However I have some news for you. The theory is demonstrably wrong as indicated by the spectacular failures of companies managed by the people who subscribe to it.

I suspect having never worked as a CEO working to a Board of Directors Socks, you just wouldn't know.

The decisions the CEO makes normally take about three to five years to affect the business - that is, to make a real positive impact on profitablity. Sure a CEO can pressure people to "window dress" the accounts to make short term impact, but that is not the same thing.

The sad part is that a CEO can make an immediate NEGATIVE impact on profitability by p!ssing off front line staff.

It works like this Socks. The power and time horizon of employees (including Dixon) are inversely linked.

ie: One junior FA can immediately and instantaneaously either make or mar a passengers experience of a trip. And she or he can do it in a few seconds.

A pilot can do the same for a planeload of passengers, but the time horizon is the length of the trip.

Moving up the chain, the Marketing Manager can influence cutomer numbers, but his time horizon is about a year from conception of a marketing plan to its execution..

Same with LAME's and so on.

So Dixon's stupid forays into day to day operations are not only futile but a waste of his time.

Furthermore, on the matter of bonuses. Ah Yes! bonuses. It is now best practice in the U.S.A. to perform an audit of a company, including an audit of corporate culture, capability, market perceptions market share etc. before the arrival of a CEO. The audit is repeated when he leaves.

The bonus he receives is adjusted up or down based on the results of the audit.

This is to stop the practice (which allegedly Dixon is engaged in) of gutting a corporation to produce a huge bonus, then running away from the smoking ruin clutching a big bag of cash.

Of course I don't expect the Board of QF is either aware of international best practice, nor interested in performing such an audit - the engagement survey has already told them what they would find. As I said before, the results of that survey will be suppressed.

[surfside6]

Can I work for you Sunfish?.Your management style is the way Qantas used to be run before Dixon turned up.It was a happy place and STILL made a profit.Unfortunately it was bled dry by successive federal governments.The board was full of people who were politicians mates.They knew little about running an airline and didn't meddle much.The board we have now...well they still don't know much but......

[Sunfish]

Coral, there is nothing wrong with bonuses, the problem is HOW you achieve them. If I go into another business as CEO you can bet that I will want options.

The way options SHOULD work is this: You determine the company's share price - say today its $1.00. You grant the executive options exercisable at $2.00 three years from now.

What that means is that the executive is expected to work her guts out to double the value of the company in three years.

Assuming she succeeds, and the price rises to $2.01 the options are said to be "in the money". If she exercises them buying the options and then selling the shares, she makes 1 cent per share.

If the share price goes to stratospheric, she wins accordingly. There is however the matter of taxation which I haven't gone into.


Trouble comes when executives "Tune" things to maximise shareprice when they can exercise the options and then immediately sell the shares and vamos! One stuffed company, very angry investors and a very rich CEO.

To put it another way. If I am expected to make $500 million for shareholders, I want a little bit to stick to my paws, and my staff's paws as well.

[OperationsNormal]

What is the average term of a CEO these days ??

Would I be right in guessing that it is rarely longer than 5 or 6 years ??

If so, what incentive do they have to look ahead and plan for the future ?? What incentive do they have to make the tough decisions ?

How much of QF's record profits are actually sustainable ?? As I read it most of the record bottom line comes from cost cutting - selling the furiture to pay the rent if you will - How much longer than this keep up before theres nothing left to cut(/sell) ?

I think GD will be long gone when theres nothing else to slash.