Yours truly is glad that En Ahmad Jauhari Yahya (AJ as he is popularly known in and out of MAS) has heard the voices of MAS staffs loud and clear in his latest circular/e-mail below. It would appear from the said circular/e-mail that AJ wanted to instill a new spirit in MAS which should be supported by all.
In short, AJ has made his battle cry to all MAS staffs, that is to instil confidence in the staffs. However, after being taken for granted for so many years especially during the notorious MAS-AirAsia share swap hatched out by the little Napoleons in Khazanah, in May 2012 the morale of the staffs was boosted by YAB PM Datuk Seri Najib when he without hesitation reversed the said share swap on 2-5-2012 against the wishes of then little Napoleons in MAS. The said notorious share swap was reversed because the PM has heard the united voices of MAS staffs loud and clear in and out of Parliament.
Yours truly believes that this People Engagement Survey will also boost the confidence in MAS staff to move forward in this difficult time.
For a change, it is now very necessary for the top management to look after the well-being of MAS staffs. They are many loyal MAS staffs who have been with MAS since the day they left school. They are many who have retired or left MAS for whatever reasons and they all have MAS in a special corner of their hearts despite earning pittance if compared to the parachuted few. A few of them have left voluntarily, one or two more are holding on to their posts.
Yours truly still remember during the height of the said notorious share swap, a retired Captain of MAS, who is also a Harley Davidson biker, told yours truly that “YB, please look at my bike, do you know that all the bolts and nuts of my bike were bought with the salaries that I have earned whilst I was in MAS. How could I “tahan” to see MAS being cannibalized and staffs opinions being ignored right in front of my eyes?”
Yours truly believes that there were many retired MAS staff, who may not have been happy with the past managements, shared the same sentiment as the said Captain. Some of them have told yours truly that “my blood is of dark BLUE and chilli RED“! That is the spirit of MAS staffs.
MAS staffs must be made to feel that they are an important component of MAS. For example, better transport allowance for those working in KLIA, which is quite a distance from their homes, should be considered. Better subsistence allowance should also be given to the crews when they are on duty. When staffs are well looked after, they will no doubt return with the right working attitude and give all their best too. When that happened, MAS customers will no doubt benefit from the excellent services provided by MAS.
Despite the numerous complaints posted in this blog with regards to the welfare of MAS staffs, yet MAS cabin crews have been awarded with numerous awards like World Best Cabin Crew for so many years. Just imagine if their welfare has been properly taken care of, more international awards will be coming to MAS.
There are rooms for improvement for the other departments especially the engineering department, which is headed by En Azhari Dahlan, whose “vast” experience was restricted to running a very small engineering department of a low cost airline, AirAsia. Perhaps MAS staffs should not expect too much from En Azhari Dahlan as he was not the DCA or EASA approved Nominated Post Holder at the time when he was parachuted into MAS during the said notorious share swap!
We all want to see MAS back to its former glory.
Yours truly would like to take this opportunity to congratulate AJ for making another bold decision to instill a new spirit into MAS through his “People Engagement Survey”. For this Survey to succeed, there must be transparency and free flow of information within MAS on the major decisions made.
Below is AJ’s latest e-mail.
(STRICTLY FOR INTERNAL CIRCULATION ONLY)
CIRCULAR FROM GROUP CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
To : All Staff System-wide
Date : 01 October 2012
Ref : GCEO/CIR 028/12
Subject : MALAYSIA AIRLINES’ PEOPLE ENGAGEMENT SURVEY 2012
Dear Colleagues,
REACH OUT. MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
We are inspired by the ambition to create a Winning Organization that places people at the heart of Malaysia Airlines. To help us do this, we want to hear from you! This effort will improve our understanding of people and organizational issues, and in turn will go a long way towards making Malaysia Airlines a better performing Company and a better place to work.
The People Engagement Survey will be conducted company-wide. With your input and feedback, the Survey can be an essential management and decision-making tool. I invite all employees to take part, to reach out to leadership and make a difference to the way our Company operates, addresses challenges, and grows in these turbulent times.
Do take a few moments and participate in MAS People Engagement Survey, so that we can make concrete strategic actions towards becoming the Preferred Premium Carrier.
I am also aware that over the years, we have had numerous surveys done to get your feedback. In fact, it is important to have people engagement surveys done every 2-3 years. The last survey carried out in Malaysia Airlines was 5 years ago. So it is time that we have one now.
For the Survey, we are partnering with Aon Hewitt Malaysia, a global HR consulting firm with vast experience in conducting surveys. I would like to emphasize that responses to the Survey questions are completely confidential. Completed questionnaires will be sent directly to Aon Hewitt, which will tabulate and analyse the results, and assist us to translate the results into tangible and measurable Action Plans.
The Reach Out survey will be conducted in phases for different employee segments starting from 8 October 2012. Your divisional head will reach out to you with the Survey details. They will ensure that you are provided with adequate time to complete the Survey away from your normal day-to-day tasks. We target to get maximum participation from our employees because you can make a difference.