A sight for saw eyes?

How a world leader grasps the ‘seesaw’ of excellence for customers verses costs.

This fascinating airline business discovered that a person’s palate depreciates in relationship to altitude. By the time your taste-buds reach ten thousand metres they are fatigued by about forty percent because of the dry air—more if you go higher. This company invested $700,000 to build a facility that enables flight chefs to taste their food while pressurised.  Their food thus tastes better and there is less waste and loss in experimentation—benefits to passengers and the bottom line.

This company since inception in 1972 has never recorded a loss; has almost no debt; mostly funds its growth through retained earnings; consistently pays dividends; participates in the most competitive industry world wide; has won the world’s best of their industry award 21 of the 22 times they’ve entered; is the most cost-effective operator; turns over more than NZ$12 billion; owns just under half of Virgin Atlantic and at one time 25% of Air New Zealand?

Some clues: Which company has the most modern aircraft at less than half the average age for the industry; spends more time in the air than industry average; has more cabin crew than any other?

Other clues: which company spends twice as much as industry average schooling new recruits; puts each of their 12,500 staff through 110 hours of retraining each year?

Another: Which company gives staff opportunity to earn 50% of their salaries depending on profitability; has the second most productive employees in the airline business; has the lowest labour costs?

A stab in the cabin?


Maybe                                                                                         fill in the gap—read on.

"How to compete with SIA?"- "Lets call a meeting"- "This is a meeting!"

They have a string of firsts in their industry. They were the first to offer free headsets and free drinks in economy class, satellite based in-flight phones, the use of world renown chefs, audio and video on demand, to fly the  ‘Gigantic’ Airbus 380 between Singapore and Sydney.

They have created that most thorny and slippery source of high performance —an effective culture. A culture that balances the airlines’ vision for a 'delighted’ customer experience, with keeping costs down. Their annual all person training programme focal-points on service and cost—services of the highest quality at maximised return for all stakeholders including employees. Staff have pride in working for the company and believe that ‘service is in our blood.’

By now you may have remembered your last flight on Singapore Airlines(SIA).

It hasn’t all been blue skies and ‘plane’-sailing (flying):  this company now the second largest airline in the world has been close to closure. Also for or a time it faced knotty union issues that were finally sorted with a pact between  involved parties in 2007.

The real story of Singapore Airlines is their achievement in being the leading edge of a remarkable balancing act—like surviving on a kindergarten-seesaw the company has kept in symmetry what some organisational psychologists thought was impossible: service excellence, continuous innovation and cost leadership.

How they do that is through the creation of magnificent culture. Jeremy Coney arguably New Zealand’s most successful cricket captain (1984-1987) described this ‘team spirit” perfectly: “it surges, ebbs and flows around a team. We know when it’s there but not quite the reason, or how long it will last.”  Customers too know when it is there, and respond with their open wallets. That is one half of the equation, but the other side of the balancing act is Singapore Airlines’ wallet which is closed.

How do we apply Singapore Airlines’ success to our businesses—make and save friends and make and save money. Maybe simply following the formula.

"When I want your opinions, I will give them to you!" 

Keep the BALANCE

Balance: unmatched service and matchless savings.

Allow staff to achieve through ‘balanced’ clarity, training, recognition, responsibility and appreciation. Happy staff stay longer, know the business better, can help customers at a higher level and can offer creative problem solutions.

Link technology to both service and savings. (SIA’s new Airbus 380s have more roomy seats that allow cost savings in parts and maintenance.)

Action attitudinal recruitment—get the right people on your flight.

Never invest without strategically studying ‘service’ and ‘savings’—often a customer benefit can save money. (SIA flights have more crew at a 5% cost but the resultant superior service can be sold at a premium.)

Culture, culture, culture=pride, satisfaction, delivery.

Encourage business networks of interdependence delivering service and savings. (SA does deals with other high value travel businesses and earns commissions from business generated while enhancing its own brand).

This business is one that others love being a customer of, love working for, love supplying to and love having in their community.  Is this your business also?

“Almost any business system will work if the people will.”
-ANONYMOUS

References upon request.