People and Organizational Competency

According to the Harvard Business Review, every two seconds Southwest Airlines gets a job application even in this time of talent shortage (Weber, 2015). However, the organization is quite choosy in the hiring or selection process. The extreme selective mode can be witnessed in the yearly selection process. Contextually, in 2015, they reviewed 287,422 resumes and sorted 102,112 but hired only 6,582 candidates and that refers to only 2% of the total applications (Weber, 2015). Southwest Airlines explain that although they have a mission-driven culture, the hiring process is strictly dependent on the spirit of a warrior, the heart of a servant, and a cheerful attitude (Weber, 2015). So, the expectations are clearly declared in all the job descriptions (Weber, 2015). Considering the organizational culture and recruitment mindset, this paper recommends a set of appropriate recruitment sources, evaluation methods, PMS, and voluntary turnover minimization methods for Southwest Airlines highlighting the job roles of pilots. 

 The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has predicted that the global number of passengers will increase to around 8.2 billion by 2037 and that will further increase the demand for pilots (Neill, 2019). The current trend is not an adequate driver of the pilot recruitment process and in a 10-year prediction set, 250,000 new pilots will be demanded (Neill, 2019). Notably, the pilot recruitment process has major challenges. For instance, pilots with proper type-rating and standard hours are highly attractive for other recruiters (Neill, 2019). Too tight roaster scheduling also repels the applicants. Moreover, frequent traveling makes the pilots hungry for an attractive base (Neill, 2019). Thus branding, industry-standard salary, and benefits packages should be highlighted in the recruitment sources.