Management

Internship Report on Recruitment and Selection effectiveness Biman Bangladesh Airlines

Internship Report on Recruitment and Selection effectiveness Biman Bangladesh Airlines

1.0       Introduction

Biman Bangladesh Airlines Limited is the most reputed airlines in Bangladesh and one of the biggest organizations in Bangladesh. It was founded in 1972. Its main hub is known as the Shahjalal International Airport. Its slogan is ‘Your Home in the Sky’. Biman provides international passenger and cargo service to Asia and Europe, as well as major domestic routes. To maintain all of these, it needs huge human power trained well and competent to do jobs assigned. It has a huge Human Resource Department containing many sub-departments. Recruitment and selection combines the Employment Section. The main job of this section is to advertise in order to attract eligible candidates and fill the vacant positions.

Recruitment and Selection are the major activities among many others activities of Human Resource Management. Most of the time, the concept of recruitment is misunderstood. Recruitment is the process of discovering potential candidates for actual or anticipated organizational vacancies. An effective recruiting process requires a significant pool of candidates to choose from-and the more diversity within the group the better. Being a well-known organization, Biman Bangladesh Airlines Ltd can collect a huge number of Curriculum Vitas. Recruitment section has two objectives. Firstly, it encourages eligible candidates to apply for job. Secondly, it discourages ineligible candidates from applying. The recruiter must provide enough information so that unqualified candidates can find themselves out of job candidacy.

After bringing the potential candidates, the competent employees are selected through selection process which is done by the Employment Section of Biman Bangladesh Airlines.I tried my level best to observe the tasks of this section among many other sections of Human Resource Department.

1.1 Scope and delimitation of the report

Firstly, the time was to go through all the things. As I was sitting at the Employment Section, it was comparatively easier to collect information I needed. The employees of Employment Section were very amicable to help. Their behavior, attitude and helpful mentality assisted me to collect the necessary information and complete my study.

The environment is much more peaceful. And obviously, the guidance of my faculty member persuaded me to continue the study. At last, all of my gratitude goes to Allah. Allah has made me successful to complete this study who is the best planner among the planners.

Basically there are many limitations regarding this study. As an intern it is pretty much difficult to manage all the information as well from such a big organization. The limitations of the study are-

  • Time frame is not enough to understand all of the aspects of recruitment and selection at Employment Section at Biman Bangladesh Airlines Ltd.
  • Though I got my necessary information, I could not ask few sensitive issues about the recruitment and selection because of organizational privacy.
  • The Human Resource Information System (HRIS) does not exist at Biman Bangladesh Airlines Ltd. To find a piece of information, employees have to look at many pages. All are done in Microsoft Excel.
  • Recruitment and selection are complicated tasks. If it is big organization like Biman Bangladesh Airlines Ltd, it becomes more difficult to perform the tasks.
  • Notorious familiarity of Biman Bangladesh Airlines Ltd because of previous corruptions has made me questioned to many people.
  • The HRM Department is at transitional point. It is still known as Administrative Sector. So, modern concepts of HRM are not followed at many sectors of HR.

1.2.1 Broad objective: The broad objective of the study is to know about the Recruitment and Selection System of Biman Bangladesh Airlines Limited.

1.2.2 Specific objectives:

  1. To know about HR policies of Biman Bangladesh Airlines Ltd.
  2. To focus on HR planning of Biman.
  3. To reveal the selection process followed in Biman Bangladesh Airlines Ltd.
  4. To highlight different tests in the Selection process.
  5. To know the problem facing to recruit and select people for Biman.
  6. To provide some suggestions to improve the system

1.3       Methodology

The methodology of the study including sample selection, data collection, data analysis etc is being detailed in below,

1.3.1    Sampling Plan:

  •   Sampling Elements: Employees of Biman Bangladesh.
  •  Sample size: For this project I have selected the number of 20 employees of Biman Bangladesh.
  •   Sampling Technique: Non-Probability Convenience sampling.
  •   Data Sources: I have collect mainly from primary and secondary sources.

1.3.2 Primary Source:

Primary sources of information are-

  •   Practical desk work.
  •   Face to face conversation with the officers.
  •   Direct observations.
  •   Face to Face conversation with the employees.
  •   I have collect information by filling questionnaires.(Structure Questionnaire)

1.3.3    Secondary Sources:

In order to make the Report more meaningful and presentable, mainly secondary source of data and information have been used widely. Secondary sources are-

  •   Annual report of Biman Bangladesh
  •   Files & Folders.
  •   Daily diary (containing my activities of practical orientation in Biman Bangladesh) which was maintained by me.
  •   Websites.

1.3.4 Data Analysis:

For analyzing the data I have used SPSS software.

1.4 Limitations of the study

There are some limitations in our study. We faced some problems during the study which is mentioned below

i) Lack of time: The time period of this study is very short. We had only 4 weeks in my hand to complete this report, which was not enough. So we could not go in depth of the study. Sometimes the officials were busy and were busy and were not able to give me much time.

ii) Insufficient data: Some desired information could not be collected due to confidentially of business.

iii) Lack of monitory support: Few officers sometime felt disturbed, as they were busy in their job. Sometime they didn’t want to supervise me out of their official work.

iv) Others limitation: As we are newcomer, there is a lack of previous experience in this concern. And many practical matters have been written from my own observation that may vary from person to person.

2.1  Biman Bangladesh at a Glance:

Biman Bangladesh Airlines Ltd. is the most reputed airlines in Bangladesh. It is popularly known as Biman. Biman Bangladesh Airlines Ltd is the flag carrier airline of Bangladesh. As a member of IATA, it flies passengers and cargo to 16 international destinations in Asia and Europe. It goes to most of the destinations directly or via a stopover. Convenient transfer connections from Dhaka to regional destinations are easily available. Biman is reputed for its well-trained and dedicated crew with appreciable safety record.

The airline’s Reservation and Departure Control System and other communication systems are fully computerized. Biman is now striving to make the airline more attractive to its valued passengers by fixing priority on providing more comfort. Its main hub is Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka and also operates flights from Shah Amanat International Airport in Chittagong, earning revenue from the connecting service to Osmani International Airport in Sylhet. Biman provides international passenger and cargo service to Asia and Europe, as well as major domestic routes. It has air service agreements with 42 countries, but only flies to 16. The airline was wholly owned and managed by the Government of Bangladesh until 23 July 2007, when it was transformed into the country’s largest public limited company by the Caretaker Government of Bangladesh. The airline’s headquarters, Balaka Bhaban, is located in Kurmitola, Dhaka.

In addition to its own aircraft, Biman’s ground-handling unit also provides support to Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways, Malaysia Airlines, Qatar Airways, Emirates, Kuwait Airways, Oman Air, Saudia, Gulf Air, PIA, Indian Airlines, Dragon Air, Druk Air, etc.at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, Dhaka.

Though Biman has been facing huge amount of financial loss from last few years, the loss has been diminishing.2.2       Vision

To establish Biman Bangladesh Airlines Ltd. in the aviation market as a world-class airline.

2.3Mission

To provide safe, reliable, efficient, adequate, economical and properly co-coordinated air transport services and to satisfy customers’ expectations while earning sustainable profit and continuing to be a caring employer.

2.4       Main Objectives

To provide and develop safe, efficient, adequate, economical and properly coordinated air transport services, internal as well as international.

2.4.1 The core businesses/activities

  •   Air transportation of passengers,
  •   Air transportation of cargo.

2.4.2 The non-core businesses/activities

Ground and cargo handling services for own and foreign airlines

  •   Engineering services
  •   Bangladesh Airlines Training Centre (BATC)
  •   Biman Flight Catering Center (BFCC)
  •   Biman Poultry Complex (BPC)
  •   Motor transport
  •   Medical services
  •   Biman Printing Press
  •   Partnership Business with Abacus (National marketing Company

2.5 History

Biman Bangladesh Airlines was established on 4 January 1972 as Bangladesh’s national airline under the Bangladesh Biman Ordinance (Presidential Order No. 126). The initiative to launch the flag carrier was taken by 2,500 former employees, including ten Boeing 707 commanders and seven other pilots of Pakistan International Airlines, who submitted a proposal to the government on 31 December 1971 following the independence of Bangladesh. The airline was initially called Air Bangladesh International but was soon changed to its current name.

Fokker F-27 Friendship of Biman at Calcutta airport in 1974

On 4 February 1972, Biman started its domestic services, initially linking Dhaka with Chittagong, Jessore and Sylhet, using a single Douglas DC-3 acquired from India. Following the crash of this DC-3 on 10 February 1972, near Dhaka, during a test flight, two Fokker F27s belonging to Indian Airlines and supplied by the Indian government entered the fleet as a replacement. Shortly afterwards, additional capacity was provided with the incorporation of a Douglas DC-6, loaned by the World Council of Churches, which was in turn replaced by a Douglas DC-6B, leased from Troll-Air to operate the Dhaka-Calcutta route. On 4 March 1972, Biman started its international operations with a weekly flight to London using a Boeing 707 chartered from British Caledonian. The short haul fleet was supplemented by a Fokker F27 from India on 3 March 1972; the aircraft was employed on a daily scheduled flight between Kolkata (Calcutta) and Dhaka on 28 April 1972. Three additional Fokker F27s were acquired during March and September of that year. In the first year of operation, Biman operated 1,079 flights carrying just over 380,000 passengers.

A Biman Bangladesh Airlines Boeing 707-320C at London Heathrow Airport in 1981.

Four Fokker F27s joined the fleet in 1973, enabling Biman to double the frequency of the Kolkata flight to a twice daily service. A Boeing 707 was added to the fleet in September and the flight to London became twice-weekly, while a Chittagong–Kolkata flight also began operating. In 1974, operations were extended to Kathmandu (February), Bangkok (November) and Dubai (December). In 1976, Biman sold two of its Fokker F27s and bought another Boeing 707 to extend international services to Abu Dhabi, Karachi and Mumbai. Singapore was added to Biman’s list of international destinations, when a third Boeing 707 was purchased in February 1977, followed by Jeddah, Doha and Amsterdam the following year, which also saw the purchase of its fourth Boeing 707. In 1977, Biman was converted into a public sector corporation to be governed by a board of directors appointed by the government. The airline broke even for the first time in 1977–78, and made a profit the following year. International destinations expanded to include Kuala Lumpur, Athens, Muscat and Tripoli in 1979, followed by Yangon, Tokyo and Dhahran in 1980.

A Biman Bangladesh Airlines Airbus A310-300 at London Heathrow Airport in 2005.

In 1983, three Douglas DC-10s joined the fleet and the airline started to phase out the Boeing 707s. The flight network expanded further to include Baghdad (1983), Paris (1984) and Bahrain (1986). On 5 August 1984, Biman faced its worst accident ever when a Fokker F27 flying in from Chittagong crashed near Dhaka, killing all 49 on board. The long haul fleet was then supplemented by the purchase of two new Airbus A310s in 1996, followed by the addition of two more in 2000, from Singapore Airlines and Air Jamaica, and another in 2003.

In the 2005–06 fiscal year, Biman carried 1.15 million passengers, a growth of 70% over the previous decade. With the rise of private domestic carriers in Bangladesh, however, Biman’s market share for domestic passengers dropped by 35% over the previous ten years’ average, with only 162,000 passengers travelling with Biman in the domestic sector in the 2005–06 fiscal year. During the same period, Biman reported its biggest annual loss of over US$120 million (BDT 8.3 billion as of 2010), with a US$100 million (BDT 6.9 billion as of 2010) loss reported the following year. Biman also fell behind on millions of dollars in payments to its fuel supplier, the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation.

2.5.1 Privatization

Faced with growing losses from the late 1990s onwards, the government offered 40 percent of Biman to foreign airlines in 2004, hoping a buyer would take over the management of the carrier. However, the proposal demanded that many decision-making rights remain within the Bangladesh government, and the offer was ignored by outside airlines. A similar initiative in 1998 cost Biman $1.6 million in consultancy fees with no positive results.

A rebranding of Biman in 2010, scrapped after 2 months

In May 2007, the caretaker government approved plans to turn Biman into a public limited company with shareholdings split between seven public sector organizations. As a part of the restructuring, the government put in place a voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) to reduce the man-equipment ratio (MER) of 367:1 (ratio of manpower to aircraft). The industry average at the time was 200:1, and other Asian airlines operated with MERs of about 150:1. The VRS provided compensation based on length of service, at a cost to the government of over $40 million borrowed from the World Bank. Biman management expected to reduce its workforce by 1,600, but 2,162 applications were received, many from employees who expected to be dismissed with little or no severance pay if the quota was not met. Biman accepted 1,877 applications and affirmed that key personnel would not be allowed to leave the organization via VRS.

On 23 July 2007, Biman Bangladesh Airlines became the largest public limited company in Bangladesh. Earlier suggestions that the airline should be renamed Bangladesh Airlines were rejected. The government is the sole shareholder of the 1.5 billion shares, but intends to offer 49 percent to the private sector while retaining majority ownership. The previous managing director, Dr. Abdul Momen, was appointed as the chief executive officer (CEO) and managing director of the new organisation. The six directors were appointed from the ministries of energy, commerce, finance, civil aviation, foreign affairs, and the cabinet division, with the cabinet secretary taking on the role as chairman of the board of directors. The six secretaries and a joint secretary to the civil aviation ministry have been made the seven shareholders of the new PLC. In September 2008, the government appointed Air Commodore Zahed Kuddus (retd) to replace Dr. Momen as CEO. From 2002 to 2005 Kuddus had been chair of the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB), before which he had held various posts in the Bangladesh Air Force.

Following the privatisation, an initiative was launched by ex-Biman employees, who left the organisation via the VRS, to set up a competing airline. Names proposed for the airline included Air Bangla International, Biman Employees Airlines and Balaka. They were joined by previous managing directors of Biman, along with the former president of the Bangladesh Airline Pilots’ Association. However, nothing further was heard of regarding the proposed venture

2.6 Management

Biman Bangladesh Airlines Ltd. was wholly owned by the Bangladesh government through the Bangladesh Biman Corporation since its launch. In 1977, Biman was converted into a public sector corporation which afforded Biman limited autonomy, led by a government-appointed board of directors. Biman Bangladesh Airlines Ltd. has a huge manpower. Manpower status, as of May 31, 2010 is given below:

Employee LevelPermanent & ContractualCasualTotal
MD & CEO0101
Executive Director0505
Cockpit Crew146146
General Manager & Equivalent1414
Dy. General Manager & Equivalent3333
Manager/Asst. Manager/Officer & Equivalent72445769
Staff228014493729
Total320314944697

Table 1: Employee Level

So, a total of 4697 persons are working in Biman in different levels of which 2800 and 400 of them are working on permanent (holding P numbers) & contractual (holding G numbers) basis. 1494 persons are working on casual basis (holding C numbers).

So, the MER (Man-Equipment Ratio) is 392:1 which is a matter to be looked at as the industry standard is 200:1 and the other airlines in Asia has maintained it at around 150:1. However, there are some reasons behind this high MER. Compared to others Asia airlines which operate many regional flights by narrow body aircrafts in its fleet. So, number of aircrafts is poor compared to manpower although number of passengers is quite large. Also, many functions that other airlines outsource are done in house. For instance, Engineering, GSE, Ground handling, Motor Transport etc. noncore operations are not outsourced. These departments could be made subsidiaries that Singapore Airlines did long ago. Even the E-ticketing is not outsourced too. There would be a significant reduction in manpower if these services are outsourced and the MER would come within limit.

2.6.1    Management Hierarchy:

PositionAt Present
Managing Director & CEOAir Cadr. Muhammad Zakiul Islam
Director Customer ServiceA. M. Mosaddique Ahmed
Director Engineering & StoresWg. Cdr. MM Asaduzzaman
Director Flight OperationCapt. SK. Naseer Uddin Ahamed
Director FinanceKamal Uddin Ahmed
Director PlanningCapt. Sarkar Kamal Sayeed
Director Marketing & SalesMohammad Shah Newaz
Director AdministrationRajpati Sarkar

Table 2: Management Hierarchy

2.7       Service Values:

Trusted: It starts with a commitment to personal and corporate integrity.

Attributes: honest, fair, dependable, responsive and consistent.

Collaborative: Teaming with coworkers and our customers to provide services that are                                    better than what we can do individually.

Attributes: Respect, listening, learning, contributing, customized, scalable and robust.

Innovative: Applying technologies, processes and methods in new ways to provide quality services. Attributes: creative, unique, relevant, practical, proven and valuable.

Efficient: A focus on improving our own efficiency without decreasing the strength of our relationship and commitment to our customer.

Attributes: streamlined, economical and friendly.

Global/Local: The people and facilities that support the customers’ worldwide operations-global, regional, local.

Attributes: networked, coordinated, responsive and familiar.

2.8       A look on Operational and Financial Performance:

The Directors of Biman Bangladesh Airlines Limited observed that the company has made a consolidated loss of Tk. 80.14 crore during the year 2009-2010.

During the financial year 2009-2010, Biman has earned total revenue of Tk. 2,913.60 crore including revenue from Hajj Operation of Tk. 290.17 crore. During the previous year 2008-09, it was Tk. 3,012.82 crore including revenue from Hajj Operation of Tk. 298.82 crore.

Passenger revenue contributed about 77.87% of total operating revenue of the airline. Cargo and Excess-Baggage contributed 8.22% and 1.27% respectively. It may be mentioned here that due to capacity constraint, Biman could not fully exploit the cargo market opportunity, Biman has brought cargo under automation and other modern marketing mechanism has also been set to optimize revenue with the planned fleet enhancement.

Due to aged aircraft and fleet constraints even with leased aircraft during the 2nd half of the year, Biman failed to achieve satisfactory level of schedule regularity during the period under review. With a view to Fleet Modernization, Biman has signed agreement in April and May 2008with Boeing for procurement of 10 new generation fuel-efficient arcraft. Other strategies have been taken to remobve existing fleet constraint, efficiency enhancement and image building. One 777-200er and two 777-200 aircraft have joined to the fleet in January 2011.

2.9       Activities of the Company 

Directors would like to highlight some significant achievements during the period and a background and future plan of the activities of the company.

2.9.1 All Economy Class

Biman continued to earn additional revenue through all-economy operations of its DC10-30 fleet enabling to increase its Economy Class capacity by 15 percent. However, with the re-branding initiative presently under process to enhance Biman’s Image, operation of DC10-30 fleet will be restricted to selected routes only in the coming days.

2.9.2 Hajj Operation

Biman is honored to have to have the opportunity to serve the Hajj pilgrims. During the fiscal year, it successfully transported 31,700 Hajj pilgrims to Saudi Arabia through operation of 54 Hajj flights and also 32 scheduled flights from Dhaka and Chittagong. During the previous year, Biman had transported 29,604 Hajj pilgrims through 40 Hajj flights and 34 scheduled flights.

2.9.3 Direct Service DAC-LHR-DAC

Biman has introduced dedicated direct flights on DAC-LHR-DAC route since March 2010. It may also be mentioned that there is no direct flights from DAC-LHR-DAC by other Airlines.

2.9.4 Network 

Biman had 22 destinations in its network including 02 domestic destinations. Due to continuous losses, operation on some destination was suspended. This initiative decreased losses. With the induction of additional aircrafts, some of the suspended routes have been revived. Operation to NYC is expected to resume soon.

2.9.5 New Look of Marketing & Sales Team

As part of the re-organization plan, restructuring of the Marketing Department has been undertaken to prepare the airline for the highly competitive market environment. The reorganized Marketing approach places emphasis on revenues from income streams of Passenger, Cargo and other Businesses.

2.10 Introducing Intranet and Office Management Software

With the cooperation of Boeing, Biman has established a PC based intranet that would enable speedy decision-making. This state of the auto system would take help from different Office Management Software which will make routine decision making very user-friendly.

2.10.1 Migration of Reservation and SITATEX Services

Biman used Dumb Terminals for its reservation services for the last two decades. In addition, older version of SITATEX played an important role for messaging services, biman entered into New Generation Network and replaced Dumb Terminals and older PCs for entire network. For doing so, they have introduced IP-VPN (Internet protocol- Virtual Private Network) for network side and replaced desktops by branded PCs. This migration results to access high-speed data transfer. At present, they possess a world standard reservation and SITATEX services.

2.10.2 AIRLOGICA (DATA Mining Technology)

Working in partnership with GDS companies is very important. It is equally important to maintain GDS cost at a rational level. Biman has signed an agreement with AIRLOGICA. It uses sophisticated data mining techniques to assist airlines to fully appreciate Global Distribution System costs by allowing the user to choose reports and perform ad hoc queries.

2.10.3 Billing & Settlement Plan (BSP)

In 2008-09, Biman initiated efforts to bring its station under BSP. By the end of 2008-09, all Biman stations have been brought under BSP except Rome due to local market scenario. BSP is a system designed to facilitate and simplify the selling, reporting and remitting procedures of IATA Accredited Passenger Sales Agents, as well as to improve financial control and cash flow for BSP Airlines. A truly worldwide system, at the close of 2008, there were 88 BSPS, covering 160 countries and territories serving 400 airlines, while gross sales processed amount to USD 239 billion. BSP simplifies total distribution burdens of the airlines as agents issue on Sales Report and remit one amount to a central point, airlines receive one settlement covering all agents and most importantly agents’ sales are reported electronically. This has caused savings both for Biman and its agents. Biman not only participated in BSP but also made it mandatory to all its agents. Now agents are dealing with Biman in a more secured environment with reduced financial risk exposure.

2.10.4 Cargo Accounts Settlement System (CASS)

Biman has also been among the pioneering airlines to introduce Cargo Accounts Settlement Systems (CASS), designed to simplify the billing and settlement of accounts between airlines and freight forwarders. It operates through CASS link, and advanced global web-enables e-billing solution. CASS yields a two-fold solution as it replaces:

a)      Airlines’ traditional paper based invoicing.

b)      Agents’ manual controlling of those invoices, while all benefits from the enhanced financial control and improved cash flow as the CASS rate of success in collecting funds is virtually 100%.

CASS has been fully in operation in this year with 27 Freight Forwarders and 4 Airlines members. As per IATA Mandate, E-freight to be 100% implemented globally. Bangladesh needs to sign on Montreal Protocol 1999 or Montreal Protocol 2004 immediately to introduce E-freight in Bangladesh this year.

2.10.5 Passengers Intelligence Service (PaxlS)

At the beginning of 2008 Biman took the initiative of implementing PaxlS, a powergul and essential market intelligence tool for air travel analysis, which was finally implemented during May 2009. PaxlS, a product developed by IATA Business Intelligence Service, is the nost comprehensive airline passenger market intelligence database available today, with more accurate, reliable and affordable data captured through IATA Billing and Settlement Plan (BSP). PaxlS reports issued ticket information from more than 400 airlines carriers covering 82 BSP offices. The product is presently being extensively used for Network planning, Fleet planning Marketing planning and Agency monitoring and performance analysis.

2.10.6 E-Ticketing

After implementing E-ticketing in 2007-08, within the IATA dead line, Biman continued to achieve improvement in this area. Through implementation of Departure Control System in RLIH, JED and CGP, travels with e-ticketing from those stations were made smoother. Interline E-ticketing Agreements were signed with 9 more airlines.

2.10.7 Launching Internet Booking Engine

Biman introduced Internet Booking Engine (IBE) for the airline’s reservation and ticketing system. By introducing IBE to the airline’s ticketing system, passengers will now directly retrieve information about airline schedules and able to make booking.

Internet Booking Engine (IBE) is an application, which helps the travel and tourism industry support reservation through the internet. It helps the consumers to book flights, hotels, holiday packages, insurance and other services online. This is a much needed application for the aviation industry as it has become one of the fastest growing sales channels.

With the introduction of Internet Booking Engine (IBE), the airlines, has been able to make direct exposure to customers. Again IBE will help Biman to cut off extra expenses and to support instant booking and payment.

2.10.8 Improvement of Yields

Taking into consideration the practicality of different markets, passenger demands, seasonality and competitors’ activities, Biman’s fare have been re-fixed on many sectors on higher side, after proper review time to time, which yielded in positive revenue generations. In line with practice of reputed airlines, new RBD’s (Various fare structures in same class, depending on the time of making reservations), have been established/improved for augmenting revenue earnings.

2.10.9 Non-stop services by B-777

Introduction of non-stop services by B-777 on DAC-LON-DAC and DAC-ROM-DAC sectors has helped Biman retain/improve its ethic in the face of stiff competition from other indirect operators. Biman strengthened its position in UK market, as this non-stop service has been proved very popular to the Bangladeshi ethic community. Operation of B-777 to Singapore and Kuala Lumpur for 3 months in fiscal year 2009-10, before utilizing it on London and Rome sectors, helped Biman carry huge labor, tourist and business traffic from different points, especially from Katmandu.

3.0     Literature Review

Customer Satisfaction:         Consumers are individuals with likes and dislikes. When the preponderance of people in a particular group feel one way or another about a product, service, entity, person, place or thing, it is said to be a generalized consumer attitude that could affect the marketing of that person, product or entity in positive or negative ways. Marketers strive to influence consumer attitudes, and understanding the prevailing attitude is the first step to changing it if needed. For that reason it’s very important to know customer satisfaction in every sphere.

Service Quality:         Service quality affects customer satisfaction by providing performance (real benefits).Service quality is a focused evaluation that reflects the customer’s perception of specific dimension of service: reliability, responsiveness, assurance Empathy, tangibles. Satisfaction on other hand is more inclusive: it is influenced by perceptions of service quality, product quality, and price as well as situational factors and personal factors.

Importance of customer satisfaction in Foreign Exchange:          Foreign exchange is a process, which is converted one national currency into another and transferred money from one country to another country. Foreign exchange is that section of economic science which deals with means and method by which right to wealth in one country’s currency are covered into rights to wealth in terms of another country’s currency. It involved the investigation of the method, which exchanges the currency of one country for that of another, the causes which rented such exchange necessary the forms, which exchange may take and the foreign exchanges are affected.

Bank is playing a major role in our economy no matter whether inside or outside of Bangladesh. By foreign exchange bank can play a vital role in any economy. For that reason it’s very important to give proper service to the customer in this sector.

4.0 Analysis and Interpretation of the Data

4.1 Policies:

Biman Bangladesh Airlines Ltd. has a policy to expand its business in future. Because of this, Biman need more knowledge workers to establish it as a profitable organization. As I noted earlier that Biman is going to buy new aircrafts in the following years. In those aircrafts, more pilots and cabin crews are needed. At present, they have no exact planning that how many employees they will recruit but they have the plan to expand the workforce.

4.2 HR Planning: 

They have future plan to recruit people for their new aircrafts. The job of HR Planning is mainly done by the Organization and Method Section. The future recruitment plan is approved by the Board of Directors. To make future HR demand, Biman has to think of few factors. At first, they think at which sector they need employees. Is it official, manual or IT based job? They think the needed people in qualitative and quantitative perspectives. For example, they must have more pilots in order to run the new aircrafts coming within few years. Before that, Biman trains some internship cadets at its own training center and who passes the exam they will recruit them. Because of retirements, firing for less revenue, Biman will cut their labor force at few sectors but it will again increase workforce to the few sectors. To fill the vacant positions internally through promotion, The Organization & Method Section prepares succession planning. The Employment Section only recruits and selects people. During the labor demand, they think of the budget.

Biman has to think the possible sources where it can find the necessary candidates. If Biman gives the job vacancy advertisement only on on-line like www.bdjobs.com, www.A1jobs.com, www.prothomalojobs.com and its own website, it will get fewer candidates than giving advertisements on daily papers. Because at Upazilla level, there are many qualified candidates who are not still well acquainted with browsing on internets. So, Biman has to choose the medium of advertisement and the places from where it will choose the candidates. Because of Government quota system, Biman has to think of the whole country.

It has the planning that which types of candidates they will choose. Will they give preference candidates either from National Universities or Privates Universities? They think that. They think the labor market position. For filling Junior Traffic Assistant posts, Biman asks candidates who has at least one 1st division and has no 3rd division. Some years ago, it did not ask for at least 1st division. At present, people are more educated. So Biman asks for candidates with higher qualifications.

Biman makes the future HR demand so that there will be no shortage or surplus of employees. But sometimes the scenario of shortage or surplus can be seen. It happens because of the practicing nepotism at Biman. Many times, Biman has to satisfy the request of Ministers and Member of Parliaments. In that case, HR Department of Biman has to lose the independence to take decision.

4.3 Job Analysis

Job Analysis is a primary tool to collect job-related data. The process results in collecting and recording two data sets including job description and job specification. Any job vacancy can not be filled until and unless HR manager has these two sets of data. It is necessary to define them accurately in order to fit the right person at the right place and at the right time. This helps both employer and employee understand what exactly needs to be delivered and how.

Both job description and job specification are essential parts of job analysis information. Writing them clearly and accurately helps Biman Bangladesh Airline and workers cope with many challenges while onboard.

Though preparing job description and job specification are not legal requirements of Biman Bangladesh Airline yet play a vital role in getting the desired outcome. These data sets help in determining the necessity, worth and scope of a specific job.

4.3.1 Job Description

A job description is a list that a person might use for general tasks, or functions, and responsibilities of a position. It may often include to whom the position reports, specifications such as the qualifications or skills needed by the person in the job, or a salary range. Job descriptions are usually narrative in Biman Bangladesh Airline , but some may instead comprise a simple list of competencies; for instance, strategic human resource planning methodologies may be used to develop a competency architecture for an organization, from which job descriptions are built as a shortlist of competencies.

4.3.1.1 Creating a job description

A job description is usually developed by conducting a job analysis, which includes examining the tasks and sequences of tasks necessary to perform the job. The analysis considers the areas of knowledge and skills needed for the job. A job usually includes several roles. The job description might be broadened to form a person specification or may be known as Terms of Reference

4.3.1.2 Roles and responsibilities

Biman Bangladesh Airline job description may include relationships with other people in the organization: Supervisory level, managerial requirements, and relationships with other colleagues.

4.3.1.3 Goals

Biman Bangladesh Airline job description need not be limited to explaining the current situation, or work that is currently expected; it may also set out goals for what might be achieved in future.

Biman Bangladesh Airline job description is a written statement of what the jobholder does, how it is done, under what condition and why. Biman has job descriptions for its every designation. I have included two job descriptions in my Appendix. Before recruiting any employee, Biman outlines the activities of that particular job. For example, on the advertisement of a vacancy post of Manger at Employment Section, Biman says that the Manager has to regulate all activities related to recruit and select employees. The Manger has to ensure proper implementation of recruitment procedures adopted by the Management from time to time. He/she has to integrate the purpose of Employment Section with the overall mission of the Biman Bangladesh Airlines Limited.

4.3.1.4 Limitations

Prescriptive job descriptions may be seen as a hindrance in certain circumstances:

  • Job descriptions may not be suitable for some senior managers as they should have the freedom to take the initiative and find fruitful new directions;
  • Job descriptions may be too inflexible in a rapidly-changing organization, for instance in an area subject to rapid technological change;
  • Other changes in job content may lead to the job description being out of date;
The process that an organization uses to create job descriptions may not be optimal
4.3.1.5 Purpose of Job Description
  • The main purpose of job description is to collect job-related data in order to advertise for a particular job. It helps in attracting, targeting, recruiting and selecting the right candidate for the right job.
  • It is done to determine what needs to be delivered in a particular job. It clarifies what employees are supposed to do if selected for that particular job opening.
  • It gives recruiting staff a clear view what kind of candidate is required by a particular department or division to perform a specific task or job.
  • It also clarifies who will report to whom.

4.3.2 Job Specification

Also known as employee specifications, a job specification is a written statement of educational qualifications, specific qualities, level of experience, physical, emotional, technical and communication skills required to perform a job, responsibilities involved in a job and other unusual sensory demands. It also includes general health, mental health, intelligence, aptitude, memory, judgment, leadership skills, emotional ability, adaptability, flexibility, values and ethics, manners and creativity, etc.

4.3.2.1 Purpose of Job Specification
  • Described on the basis of job description, job specification helps candidates analyze whether are eligible to apply for a particular job vacancy or not.
  • It helps recruiting team of an organization understand what level of qualifications, qualities and set of characteristics should be present in a candidate to make him or her eligible for the job opening.
  • Job Specification gives detailed information about any job including job responsibilities, desired technical and physical skills, conversational ability and much more.
  • It helps in selecting the most appropriate candidate for a particular job.

Job description and job specification are two integral parts of job analysis of Biman. They define a job fully and guide both employer and employee on how to go about the whole process of recruitment and selection. Both data sets are extremely relevant for creating a right fit between job and talent, evaluate performance and analyze training needs and measuring the worth of a particular job.

4.4 MANAGEMENT RESOURCES PLANNING:

 A good human resource plan will almost always include a management resources plan.  The objective of such a plan is to provide strategies, tools, technology and expertise for the planning for and development of current and potential management human resources in order to allow for enhanced management of the Biman .See the figure below for a model of management resources planning of Biman Bangladesh Airlines.

The primary strategy is to acquire and develop tools and resources to meet the long-term management needs; consult on the development of group and individual strategies and development.  “The call for improved productivity from managerial professional and technical positions ultimately translates into improved individual performance.”

4.5 Job design

Job design follows job analysis i.e. it is the next step after job analysis. It aims at outlining and Biman tasks, duties and responsibilities into a single unit of work for the achievement of certain objectives. It also outlines the methods and relationships that are essential for the success of Biman. In simpler terms it refers to the what, how much, how many and the order of the tasks for a job/s.

Job design essentially involves integrating job responsibilities or content and certain qualifications that are required to perform the same. It outlines the job responsibilities very clearly and also helps in attracting the right candidates to the right job. Further it also makes the job look interesting and specialized.

There are various steps involved in job design that follow a logical sequence, those that were mentioned earlier on. The sequence is as follows:

  1. What tasks are required to e done or what tasks is part of the job?
  2. How are the tasks performed?
  3. What amount are tasks are required to be done?
  4. What is the sequence of performing these tasks?

All these questions are aimed at arriving upon a clear definition of a specific job and thereby make it less risky for the one performing the same. A well defined job encourages feeling of achievement among the employees and a sense of high self esteem.

The whole process of job design is aimed to address various problems within the Biman setup, those that pertain to ones description of a job and the associated relationships. More specifically the following areas are fine tuned:

  • Checking the work overload.
  • Checking upon the work under load.
  • Ensuring tasks are not repetitive in nature.
  • Ensuring that employees don not remain isolated.
  • Defining working hours clearly.
  • Defining the work processes clearly.

The above mentioned are factors that if not taken care of result into building stress within the employees.

4.5.1 Benefits of Job Design

The following are the benefits of a good job design of Biman Airlines:

  1. Employee Input: A good job design enables a good job feedback. Employees have the option to vary tasks as per their personal and social needs, habits and circumstances in the workplace.
  2. Employee Training: Training is an integral part of job design. Contrary to the philosophy of “leave them alone’ job design lays due emphasis on training people so that are well aware of what their job demands and how it is to be done.
  3. Work / Rest Schedules: Job design offers good work and rest schedule by clearly defining the number of hours an individual has to spend in his/her job.
  4. Adjustments: A good job designs allows for adjustments for physically demanding jobs by minimising the energy spent doing the job and by aligning the manpower requirements for the same.

Job design is a continuous and ever evolving process that is aimed at helping employees make adjustments with the changes in the workplace. The end goal is reducing dissatisfaction, enhancing motivation and employee engagement at the workplace.

4.5.2 Factors affecting Job Design

A well defined job will make the job interesting and satisfying for the employee. The result is increased performance and productivity. If a job fails to appear compelling or interesting and leads to employee dissatisfaction, it means the job has to be redesigned based upon the feedback from the employees.

Broadly speaking the various factors that affect job design of Biman that can classified under three heads. They are:

  1. Organizational Factors
  2. Environmental Factors
  3. Behavioral Factors
4.5.2.1  Organizational Factors

Organizational factors that affect job design can be work nature or characteristics, work flow, organizational practices and ergonomics.

  • Work Nature: There are various elements of a job and job design is required to classify various tasks into a job or a coherent set of jobs. The various tasks may be planning, executing, monitoring, controlling etc and all these are to be taken into consideration while designing a job.
  • Ergonomics: Ergonomics aims at designing jobs in such a way that the physical abilities and individual traits of employees are taken into consideration so as to ensure efficiency and productivity.
  • Workflow: Product and service type often determines the sequence of work flow. A balance is required between various product or service processes and a job design ensures this.
  • Culture: Organizational culture determines the way tasks are carried out at the work places. Practices are methods or standards laid out for carrying out a certain task. These practices often affect the job design especially when the practices are not aligned to the interests of the unions.
4.5.2.2 Environmental Factors

Environmental factors affect the job design to a considerable extent. These factors include both the internal as well as external factors. Biman include factors like employee skills and abilities, their availability, and their socio economic and cultural prospects.

  • Employee availability and abilities: Employee skills, abilities and time of availability play a crucial role while designing of the jobs. The above mentioned factors of employees who will actually perform the job are taken into consideration. Designing a job that is more demanding and above their skill set will lead to decreased productivity and employee satisfaction.
  • Socio economic and cultural expectations: Jobs are nowadays becoming more employee centered rather than process centered. They are therefore designed keeping the employees into consideration. In addition the literacy level among the employees is also on the rise. They now demand jobs that are to their liking and competency and which they can perform the best.
4.5.2.3 Behavioral Factors

Behavioral factors or human factors are those that pertain to the human need and that need to be satisfied for ensuring productivity at workplace. Biman include the elements like autonomy, diversity, feedback etc. A brief explanation of some is given below:

  • Autonomy: Employees should work in an open environment rather than one that contains fear. It promotes creativity, independence and leads to increased efficiency.
  • Feedback: Feedback should be an integral part of work. Each employee should receive proper feedback about his work performance.
  • Diversity: Repetitive jobs often make work monotonous which leads to boredom. A job should carry sufficient diversity and variety so that it remains as interesting with every passing day. Job variety / diversity should be given due importance while designing a job.
  • Use of Skills and abilities: Jobs should be employee rather than process centered. Though due emphasis needs to be given to the latter but jobs should be designed in a manner such that an employee is able to make full use of his abilities and perform the job effectively.

4.6 Recruitment StrategiesRecruitment is of the most crucial roles of the human resource professionals. The level of performance of Biman Bangladesh Airlines depends on the effectiveness of its recruitment function. Organizations have developed and follow recruitment strategies to hire the best talent for their organization and to utilize their resources optimally. A successful recruitment strategy should be well planned and practical to attract more and good talent to apply in the Biman Bangladesh Airlines.

For formulating an effective and successful recruitment strategy, the strategy should cover the following elements:

4.6.1Identifying and prioritizing jobs
Requirements keep arising at various levels in every organization; it is almost a never-ending process. It is impossible to fill all the positions immediately. Therefore, there is a need to identify the positions requiring immediate attention and action. To maintain the quality of the recruitment activities, it is useful to prioritize the vacancies whether to focus on all vacancies equally or focusing on key jobs first.

4.6.2 Candidates to target
The recruitment process can be effective only if the Biman Bangladesh Airlines completely understands the requirements of the type of candidates that are required and will be beneficial for the organization. This covers the following parameters as well:

    • Performance level required: Different strategies are required for focusing on hiring high performers and average performers.
    • Experience level required: the strategy should be clear as to what is the experience level required by the Biman Airlines. The candidate’s experience can range from being a fresher to experienced senior professionals.
    • Category of the candidate: the strategy should clearly define the target candidate. He/she can be from the same industry, different industry, unemployed, top performers of the industry etc.

4.6.3 Sources of recruitment
The strategy should define various sources (external and internal) of recruitment. Which are the sources to be used and focused for the recruitment purposes for various positions. Employee referral is one of the most effective sources of recruitment.

4.6.3.1 Trained recruiters
The recruitment professionals conducting the interviews and the other recruitment activities should be well-trained and experienced to conduct the activities. They should also be aware of the major parameters and skills (e.g.: behavioural, technical etc.) to focus while interviewing and selecting a candidate.

4.6.3.2 How to evaluate the candidates
The various parameters and the ways to judge them i.e. the entire recruitment process should be planned in advance. Like the rounds of technical interviews, HR interviews, written tests, psychometric tests etc.

4.7 Factors that Affect Recruiting Effort

The internal forces i.e. the factors which can be controlled by the Biman are:

4.7.1  RECRUITMENT POLICY
The recruitment policy of Biman specifies the objectives of recruitment and provides a framework for implementation of recruitment programmed. It may involve organizational system to be developed for implementing recruitment programmed and procedures by filling up vacancies with best qualified people.

4.7.1.1 FACTORS AFFECTING RECRUITMENT POLICY

• Organizational objectives
• Personnel policies of the organization and its competitors.

• Government policies on reservations.
• Preferred sources of recruitment.

• Need of the organization.
• Recruitment costs and financial implications.

4.7.2 HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING
Effective human resource planning helps in determining the gaps present in the existing manpower of the organization. It also helps in determining the number of employees to be recruited and what qualification they must possess.

4.7.3 SIZE OF THE FIRM
The size of the firm is an important factor in recruitment process. If the organization is planning to increase its operations and expand its business, it will think of hiring more personnel, which will handle its operations.

4.7.4        COST
Recruitment incur cost to the employer, therefore, organizations try to employ that source of recruitment which will bear a lower cost of recruitment to the organization for each candidate.

4.7.5 GROWTH AND EXPANSION
Organization will employ or think of employing more personnel if it is expanding its operations. Because of retirement, promotion, leaving jobs and firing employees, Biman Bangladesh Airlines Ltd. has to recruit and select employees frequently in consistent of previous planning. For example, few days ago Cadet Pilots and Junior Traffic Assistants were recruited and selected. Size of the organization is a very important factor to recruit and select people. Obviously, Biman is the biggest organization of Bangladesh compared to other Airlines. Employment condition of local community influence how much recruiting takes place. Usually, Biman gets lots of applications for jobs. Working condition affects the recruitment and selection process. Salary and benefits of the particular job also influence it.

4.7.6 Constraints Affecting on Recruitment in Biman Bangladesh Airlines Ltd.

The ideal recruitment effort might bring in a satisfactory number of qualified candidates/applicants who want the job, but certain realities can not be ignored. Biman as a big organization always wants to recruit the best candidates as much as possible. But really qualified applicants might not want to apply this organization for the job. This can be happened for few reasons. Let us examine those reasons in brief:

4.7.6.1 Organization Image

An actually eligible candidate may not be interested to apply at the particular organization for the particular position as I noted earlier. This can be happened because of the image of that organization. Declining revenue, engaging in practices that result in a corrupted organization, poor-quality of service or product and failing to meet the reasonable needs of employees are some of the reasons of an organization of having lower image toward the organization. Biman possesses most of those reasons to the people. Many people think that, if they can get a job to Biman they can be a rich person very easily through earning money in a corrupted way. This can be perceived from the junior Traffic Assistant (JTA) job. The image of Biman to people is not good. But if any announcement of recruitments is given by Biman, thousands of CVs can be got. It is contradictory that an organization which has a bad reputation gets much more CVs.

The main reason is, most of the people think that if they can get a job at Biman, they can become rich through taking bribes. Most of the cases, this is right. After becoming a Public Limited Company, the corruption of Biman has slightly lessened but not remarkably. The regulatory system of Biman is weak although it is becoming strong day by day. It will take time. Many times media publishes many negative things about Biman which has not occurred really. Media publishes more from the reality that has made an negative image of Biman.

4.7.6.2 Job Attractiveness

If the position to be filled is an unattractive job, recruiting a large and qualified pool of applicants can be difficult. The labor market of Bangladesh is transforming from manual workers to knowledge workers. Biman Bangladesh Airlines Ltd. has few manual job sectors like Engineering, Motor Transport and Ground Service Equipment. To persuade candidates, Biman has to offer good salary and benefits to them.

4.7.6.3 Internal Organizational Policies

Biman has no internal organizational policies to recruit people. But candidates who have very good relations with upper level personnel often get priority to get job. And it is well known at the outside of our country. That’s why many qualified people do not try at Biman.

4.7.6.4 Governmental Influence

The government’s influence in the recruiting process at Biman Bangladesh Airlines Ltd cannot be overlooked. Though Biman is now a Public Limited Company, government has a great influence on recruitment and selection of employees. If any request comes from the Ministers or MPs, employees of Employment Section cannot neglect him although he/she is not fully eligible for the job. The quota system that was made by government must be followed. Freedom fighter quotas, Area quota along with many quotas make employment section puzzled. Because of the quota system, many times eligible candidates have to be removed. Sometimes it has to break the rule of government. If Biman wants to hire only attractive females for flight attendance positions will find it breaking the law if comparably qualified male candidates are rejected on the basis of gender or female candidates are rejected on the basis of age. Biman follows the rules of Public Service Commission in case of quota to recruit candidates.

4.7.6.5 Recruiting Cost

Recruiting cost is an important factor of Employment Section. Biman had to scrutinize almost 1500 CVs against 130 post of Junior Traffic Assistant job. Scrutinizing CVs, sorting them, giving exams, hiring college rooms and giving wages of the teachers who guard the exam rooms’ etc activities cost a lot. Those activities cost almost 40,000 taka. Employment Section gets this amount from HR affairs. Biman has been facing great amount of loss for last many years and it has no way but to expend a lot to recruit people. Every year Biman has to expend lots of money because of recruitment and selection of employees.   

4.8 Recruitment Process

  • Identify vacancy
  • Prepare job description and person specification
  • Advertising the vacancy
  • Managing the response
  • Short-listing
  • Arrange interviews

Conducting interview and decision making

The recruitment process is immediately followed by the selection process i.e. the final interviews and the decision making, conveying the decision and the appointment formalities.

4.9 Employee Recruiting Sources

There are many employee recruiting sources to help you attract and hire the best employees. Everything from ads in your local newspaper to online postings to headhunters. Your options are limitless.

That’s both the good news and the bad news.

The question that you’re probably struggling with is, “What’s the best recruiting source of top candidates?” Unfortunately there is not a simple answer. No one solution fits every situation. There is a fair amount of trial and error when you are is trying to attract candidates to your business. Much of the decision will depend on your employee recruiting strategy which dictates budget, timing and other variables.

Let’s start with some strategic guidelines as you attempt to identify the best employee recruiting sources for your needs. First, make certain you have a clear picture of what the successful person is going to look like. The better picture you have of the ideal person, the easier it will be to find that person. Recruiting without a picture of your target employee is a waste of time and money.

Also as part of your research, identify where people with the skills you need are today. Look beyond just your competitors. What other organizations or industries might currently employ people with the specific skillset? By thinking “outside the box” you will gain a strategic advantage over your competitors who are stuck in their traditional thinking.

Another great technique is to work backwards. This means you always begin your search with the determination of where the people are now. When you know where they are, what they read, where they congregate, etc., then you can put together a plan to reach them. If you need someone for a sales position, you are better off advertising in a sales publication than in the classified ads. If you need someone to deal directly with customers, find out which organizations employ people who work directly with customers.

Just by spending a little time thinking about where the people might be, you can customize your employee recruitment activities and get a better return on your recruitment investment. And speaking of investment, it is a good idea to track the money, time you spend and the results of various employee recruiting activities.

Below is just a sample of proven employee recruiting sources:

4.9.1 Focused Advertising

The key to recruitment advertising is deciding where to place your add More than any other decision this will impact the results you get. Previously I mentioned working backwards. Work from your prospective candidates back to you. What does the person you are trying to recruit read? What publications do they get?

A good place to get answers to these questions is to ask your existing employees. What do they read? The answers will tell you the best place to place your ads. Once you have decided where to advertise, you have to create an ad that will attract the right types of people. There is nothing worse than getting hundreds of responses to your ad but none are the right people. To avoid this, your ad needs to contain several critical components. The first is the headline. Good headlines give the person a reason to consider working for you. Instead of a headline of “Sales Associate”, why not try, “Come Join the Fastest Growing Consulting Team in Ohio”. The difference is apparent.

Make your ads compelling. View your recruitment ad as a marketing opportunity. What is the best copy to attract the right prospect? Finally, make it easy to respond. Make it as easy as possible for them to give you the information you need.

4.9.2 Employee referral

This always has been and always will be one of the best employee recruiting sources. You should offer incentives to your existing employees to recommend the names of people they believe would be successful in your company. Encourage your employees to be on the lookout for candidates all the time. This significantly extends your employee recruiting efforts.

Create a form that new employees can complete listing people they know with their contact information. The best time to get this information is when they are brand new, hopefully their first day on the job. Also, make it easy for your employees to continue to refer prospective employees. You might consider having a contest for the most referrals to generate excitement.

It is important to remember that successful people tend to associate with other successful people. Make you employee referral program a priority in your employee recruitment efforts.

4.9.3 Recruiting Firms

There are two types of recruiting firms you might work with. Contingency firms, sometimes called headhunters, will try and place a candidate with you and are only paid if they are successful. Retained search firms you contract with and are paid regardless of the results. You work with retained firms mostly for executive positions.

Either type of recruiting firm can be very helpful but both are very expensive options. In either case, look for a firm that specializes in your industry for best results.

When you don’t have the time or resources to manage your employee recruiting internally, a recruiting firm can be the answer.

4.9.4 Customers

I am not suggesting that you recruit your customers. Instead, view them as a source for referrals. Let your customers know about your employee recruiting needs. You should reward them with a discount or something else of value for making the referral.

4.9.5 Flyers

A simple 8.5 x 11 flyer on the counter at your establishment or in a trade show booth can work wonders. Think of it as a one-page add Approach it like any other add Have a great headline, and compelling body copy as to why a person should consider working for your company. Encourage people to take a copy and give it to their friends. You might put a copy in every package. This is a very inexpensive technique that can produce big results.

4.9.6 Signs and Billboards

Here is an inexpensive and very productive employee recruiting strategy. A sign outside your front door that says, “Positions Available, Please Apply Within” can have great results. You never know who is going to drive by or visit your site. A sign in your lobby or at your reception desk listing open positions may generate results. Try to think of as many places as you can to post signs announcing your open positions. This is a strategy that can improve your employee recruiting efforts dramatically.

4.9.7Competitors

Your competitors are certainly a primary employee recruiting source for your business. Follow what is happening with your competitors. Be aware of changes in their business that might make talented people available. You need to visit your competitors and see how you are treated. See if any of the people strike you as being talented. Know who is good at your competitor.

4.9.8 Job Fairs

Job fairs can be a very economical source of candidates and should be part of your employee recruiting strategy. Look for job fairs that specialize in your industry or the types of individuals you are trying to recruit. If you are recruiting for local talent, try to participate in a local job fairs.

You can get information about job fairs from your chamber of commerce, the state employment development department and by scanning your local newspaper for advertisements of upcoming job fairs.

4.9.9 Retirement Groups

These organizations and facilities are a concentrated gathering of people who are potential candidates for your open positions. Something as simple as putting up a sign that lists open positions can generate some excellent, no-cost leads. Also, try having a flyer prepared to hand to anyone who expresses interest. And, make certain the people working at these organizations are prepared to discuss your employee recruiting opportunities with any interested parties.

4.9.9.10 Radio Ads

Radio can be very inexpensive and effective. Are there certain times or shows that your target group listens to on a regular basis? Another suggestion is to put a recruitment plug at the end of your regular radio ads. If you are running 60 second ads, shorten it to 50 seconds and insert a line like, “Biman  Company has immediate career opportunities for qualified people in HR. Call 111-111-1111 for details”

4.9.11Outplacement Firms

Large and small firms that are cutting employees work with outplacement firms to help the displaced employees find new jobs. You can register with these firms, at no charge, to get resumes of the available people. Check your local yellow pages under the heading of “outplacement firms” and get a list of both the local and national firms and contact and register with them all. There is no charge to you for this service and it can be very effective.

4.9.12 State Unemployment Department

Your state and local government are working with unemployed people to help them find jobs. You can post your open positions with them at no charge. This is a very economical way of attracting candidates. Historically this has not been the best place to find candidates but that has changed dramatically in the last few years. There are very talented people who have lost jobs due to no fault of their own and you just might find a real gem here.

4.9.13 Networking

You need to expand your sphere of influence all the time. You need to be talking to your contacts and letting them know you are recruiting. Many of you have heard of the 5 degrees of separation concept. It really applies when you’re recruiting. You know lots of people. They know lots of people. Somewhere in that mix just might be a perfect employee. So get the message out that you are looking for people.

4.9.14 E-Mail

It might be as simple as sending an email to everyone in your address book and letting them know you are recruiting for employees. This inexpensive strategy pays off time and again.

4.9.15 Alumni Groups

This can be a very effective source of inexpensive candidates. Find out if your alumni group has a newsletter or website where you might advertise your open positions. Play up the angle of working for a fellow alumnus for the edge over the competition. And, be sure to ask your employees about alumni groups they belong to.

 

4.9.16 Social Organizations

Are there any organizations in your community that have members who could be potential employees for your company? Would a cooking club have members who might work for your restaurant? How about a sewing or quilting guild for your clothing store? Do some research into the groups in your area and approach those that make sense.

4.9.17 Religious Organizations

Just as with social organizations, religious groups can be a good source of candidates. Make contact with the leader of the group and ask for assistance in making your positions known to the congregation. There might a newsletter or bulletin board where you can post your open positions.

4.9.18 The Business Pages

Be aware of what is going on in your community. Which companies are doing well and which are not. Is there some news that would lead you to believe good employees may come available? By staying current you will have the jump on the competition.

4.9.19 Company Webpage

Most of you have a website for your business. This is a great place to get the word out that you are looking for good employees … and at almost no cost. I tell my clients to have a button on your homepage that points them to career opportunities. Your webpage is the best place to tell your story. Why should they consider working for you? What are the job benefits? What are the career benefits? You have unlimited space to tell your story and should take advantage of the opportunity.

Give them multiple ways to get their information to you (online, fax, phone, in person, etc.). One final note on listing your openings on your website. Don’t ever say, “No positions currently available”. That is like putting a sign up in your store and saying we are out of stock on what you are looking for. You will have lost an opportunity to serve that person now and possibly in the future. Same with a candidate. Get their information no matter what.

4.9.20 Other Online Sources

There are thousands of online places to list your job. Monster.com and Hotjobs.com are just a couple of the large sites. My advice is to pass on the huge sites and instead see if you can find a couple of good local or niche job boards. A good way to find them is to search for employment and your city name. You should be able to find many options. These are relatively inexpensive and easy to test.

Once again, work backwards and see if you can figure out which sites might reach your target audience. A good strategy for these online sites is to drive them to your website so you can spend the time to educate them on your opportunity.

4.9.21 Past Employees

I am not kidding. Sure there are some past employees you would not want to re-hire but some can be a source of reliable, trustworthy employees. Also, let your past employees know what you looking for and see if they know anyone. They can be a great source of referrals.

The ABR Principle – ABR stands for Always Be Recruiting. The best companies have the best employees and the way to get the best employees is to approach employee recruiting strategically. Always be on the lookout for talented people. Make sure all your employees are always on the lookout for talented people. You never stop looking for new customers and you should never stop looking for employees.

Please view this list of employee recruiting sources as only a partial list. You are only limited by your imagination when it comes to finding employee recruiting sources.

You must approach employee recruiting as a strategic initiative. Putting together a strategy and developing a “recruitment mentality” in your organization is a must. Remember, if you want to win the battle for talent, you must

4.10 Recruiting Sources:

Recruiting is more likely to achieve its objectives if recruiting sources reflect the type of position to be filled. Some recruiting sources may be proved to be effective while others may be proved to be wrong. So, Biman recruits people from the most effective sources that are discussed below:

4.10.1 The Internal Search

Many large organizations attempt to develop their own low-level employees for higher positions. These promotions can occur through an internal search of current employees who have bid for the job. Sometimes, Biman prefer to recruit people from within. Because of internal search, Biman practices nepotism which results recruiting less qualified candidates. Employee referrals and recommendations are prevalent at Biman although Biman searches candidates from external sources.

For encouraging the internal candidates, job vacancies in Biman may be advertised through internal notices to all biman Bangladesh Airlines Limited employees. Recruitment from the internal source may be through Promotion or delegating individuals with new assignments. In case of internal sourcing, HR along with the concerned Division/Department will identify prospective candidates on the basis of individual Capability matching with competency/Role profile and will conduct appropriate tests to select the most suited person. In case of internal search, Biman collects CVs from employee referrals.

4.10.2 The External Search

In short, external sources mean collecting CVs from outside. Biman collects lots of CVs from outside. Most of the times, Biman searches candidates from external sources. Recruitment from external sources will be through:

  • Executive search- for Senior Managers and above positions.
  • Advertisement- for managers and below positions.

In case of external search, Biman collects CVs from following sources:

  • HR CV box.
  • Advertisement.

Few ways of external sources are given below:

4.10.2.1 Advertisement

Biman uses print media to advertise the job vacancies. The Daily Star, the Ittefaq, the Prothom Alo and the Daily Shongram are some of the newspapers on which Biman gives advertisements.

4.10.2.2 Recruitment of Contractual & Others

This policy governs the appointment of individuals on Contract/Casual basis and through third party service providers. Prior to the employment process, the Division/Department concerned must obtain approval from the Managing Director. The manpower requisition must contain the job specification with justification of the need along with the period.

4.10.2.2 Contract Appointment

Jobs which are temporary in nature and is likely to be for a limited period or need is for a long term but cannot be hired on a permanent basis due to restrictions. Biman Bangladesh Airlines Limited hires employees at temporary/Contractual basis for 3 years. After being employed for 3 years, employees become permanent. Within these 3 years, employees may be fired because of any misconduct or poor performance.

The division/department concerned will initiate the recruitment in concert with HR. Upon   finalizing the recruitment and selection, HR will issue the formal appointment letter. Employees hired on contract must go for pre-employment medical test and subject to satisfactory result the incumbent will be allowed to join.

Standard terms and conditions similar to permanent employee especially adherence of code of business ethics, confidentiality and full time engagement clauses must be included.

If a contract employee is made permanent (based on performance/capability/headcount) the service length of that individual will be counted from the first day of the joining provided the contract period. Salary & benefits will be fixed on the incumbents’ educational and professional background. A contract employee will be entitled to same level of salary and benefits if he/she hired in a poison that already exists in the permanent payroll.

4.10.2.3 Recruitment for Internship

Internship is one of the parts of graduation for student. In case of Bachelor of Business Administration and Master of Business Administration, it is obligatory. For this reason Universities and students send CVs of students to Biman Bangladesh Airlines Ltd. for internship.

Recruitment of interns is almost similar to the recruitment of contractual. The candidates have to face the interview and if they get selected then they will be appointed as intern. The requisition for interns is send by the department head or the employee who need intern. When requisition comes, the Manager and Asst. Manager of Employment Section of Biman arranges informal interview.

4.10.2.4 Recruitment Sources at Diagram:

In this diagram, we can see that Biman recruits and selects most of the employees from external source.

4.10.2.5  Recruitment Based on Contract and Internship:

They can recruit 10 % employee from the Internship program if there is any kind of vacancy and rest of the amount recruit as a contractual employee.

4.10.2.6  Summary of required educational qualification of employee in Biman

Table 3: Summary of required educational qualification of employee in Biman
FrequencyPercentValid PercentCumulative Percent
ValidMasters or MBA1260.060.060.0
Graduate630.030.090.0
S.S.C or Below210.010.0100.0
Total20100.0100.0

Figure 9: Summary of required educational qualification of employee in Biman

4.11.1  Strengths:

  • The experienced manpower that it is really a good strength of Biman to lead the market. This efficient manpower is mostly experienced in the field rather than the literary experts of present days. So, if Biman can utilize the potentiality of this force effectively it will be the emerging tiger of this arena.
  • Being the National flag carrier, Biman bears the symbol of our independence and sovereignty which is definitely strength of the marketing of Biman.
  • All of the departments of Biman Bangladesh Airlines Ltd. are at one building that is Balaka. This helps to take any important decision quickly.
  • During work load, employees come to complete the task from other departments

4.11.2    Weaknesses:

  • The main weakness of Biman is the miss management. The management of Biman could never work independently since the government owned the organization with having inevitable governmental influence in almost all sections and there is always pressure from outside to entertain personal interest.
  • Governmental quota system makes Employment Section puzzled to recruit and select people.
  • Biman Bangladesh Airlines Ltd. does not possess any Human Resource information System (HRIS) to recruit, select and make employee inventory. The entire database related jobs are done through Microsoft Excel.

4.11.3  Opportunities:

  • Biman Bangladesh Airlines Ltd. is the most reputed airline in Bangladesh. That’s why; people want to do job at this organization. It can select properly eligible employees from many numbers of employees. For example, there were130 posts of Junior Traffic Assistance. After giving advertisement, 15,000 applications were received from candidates. After securitization, almost 12,000 applicants were selected to take the exam. So, Biman can choose proper persons from a great number of employees.
  • Bangladesh government possesses most of the shares of Biman Bangladesh Airlines Ltd. For this, many people of Bangladesh prefer this job because of high security.

4.11.4  Threats:

  • People have a negative notion toward Biman Bangladesh Airlines Ltd. Many people think that it is a place where a person can become millionaire through corruption. So, honest people can hardly be found during recruitment and selection

Talented persons from these generations always try to find a job which gives handsome salary with respectable position. In this case, Biman lags behind. Sometimes, eligible candidates do not want to do the job because of not giving higher salary and frequent promotion.

5.0   Findings of analysis

From the overall output from my study work it is clearly stated that the recruitment and selection process of Bangladesh Biman is so much effective. I have found in my study that there are several important things that need to focus on for better performances.

It has been pointing out some focusing area from the respondent’s view according to my objectives that shows below:

  • Transitional form of HR Department: The Human Resource Department of Biman Bangladesh Airlines Limited is in transitional form because it was fully Bangladesh Government controlled organization previously and government had autonomy on this organization.
  • Internal Policy: Biman has no obligatory policy to recruit and select from internal or external sources.
  • Skilled Manpower: The employees of Employment Section are highly educated from IBA, AIUB, Dhaka University and Jahangirnagar University and skilled people who do all recruitment and selection related task proficiently.
  • Proper coordination: To do the recruitment and selection task, there needs a proper coordination among various departments of HR. Biman has a proper coordination among Employment Section, Organization & Method Section, Personnel Section etc. Employees from other departments help Employment Section during heavy workloads.
  • Lack of HRIS System: Biman is lagging behind in the IT Section compared to other multinational companies. The CMIS Department of Biman which is also known as IT Department has not still developed a HRIS system. That’s why, all of the recruitment and selection related tasks are done only through Microsoft Excel. Biman has not still launched on-line application system.
  • Hard Copy Based Database: All of the information about employees which is known as employees’ inventory is in hard copies. It has no soft copy in computer. So if any information is need, they have to look at those hard copies. It kills their valuable times.
  • Internal and External Request: Employees of Employment Section has to face lots of requests internally as well as externally to recruit and select. It annoys them greatly.
  • Complexity in Recruitment & Selection Process: Government quota system and other rules and regulations have made recruitment and selection processes more complex.
  • Huge Applications: When Biman gives any advertisements, thousands of applications can be got from labor market. It differs from job to job.
  • Image of Biman: Some people has positive where others have negative attitude toward Biman Bangladesh Airlines Ltd because of its corruption and nepotism.

5.1     Recommendations

I have found some problems that are very significant and causing poor performances of this section as well as of the entire organization. Here I have recommended some scope that might lead to increase the effectiveness of Bangladesh Biman-

  • A short-term training program can be arranged to the Managers and Assistant Managers of the different sections of HR to make them well acquainted with modern HR theories.
  • To launch Human Resource Information System, a training program on HRIS can be arranged for the Manager of Employment Section or Deputy General Manager of HR. Later, they will give instructions to CMIS/IT employees to develop a program.
  • A department of Regulatory Section can be launched to diminish any corruption and nepotism to improve the image of Biman Bangladesh Airlines so that honest eligible people can apply.
  • To strengthen HR Department, an environment must be created where HR employees can work independently but honestly.
  • Because of the quota system, many eligible candidates have to be ignored. In that case the Quota System can be relaxed somewhat.
  • Biman Bangladesh Airlines Limited can take the help of third party to reduce workloads and time.
  • Bureaucratic System makes any decision making process time consuming. To eliminate this system at Biman, few designations can be eliminated. Because of this, recruitment and selection process, many times, happens for long time.
  • Important positions must be filled based in the eligibility from outside not based on nepotism or relationship.
  • The Police Verification of selected employees should be more transparent.

5.2     Conclusion

Recruitment and selection is combined one of the most important issues for any organization. Recruitment and selection allows an organization to assess the vacancy and choose the best personnel who will lead the organization in future. Mainly, the precious resource for any organization is their knowledge based efficient workers. Biman always try to recruit and select the industrious and knowledgeable workers. It is a painstaking task for Biman. Because of having most of the shares of Bangladesh Government, Employment Section cannot recruit and select independently. But now the HR Department is stronger than before. If this development continues, Biman will have the most competent employees at every section.