Research Project

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 Contents

Abstract ................................................................................................................................................... 2
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 3
Title: Labour turnover in air travel industry; A Study of Ananya Travel ................................................. 3
Aims and objectives of the research ....................................................................................................... 3
Background to the study .......................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Significance of study ................................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
Plan and procedure ................................................................................................................................. 4
Outcome of the research ........................................................................................................................ 7
Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................... 8
References ............................................................................................................................................ 10

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Abstract

Ananya Travel is an airline ticketing agency started functioning in 2005. It serves passengers
in Asian sectors and is one of the leading air travel agency approved by IATA specialising in
the Asian air travel sector especially to Indian destinations in London. The company has its
office in London with six full time staff members currently and five other staff members in
their call centre in India. The company patronises airlines like Jet Airways, Emirates,
Srilankan Airways and Air India and has won several awards for highest sales in tickets by
various airlines. The present study aims to find out the reasons for these issues and suggest
solutions from the management point of view.

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Introduction

Air travelling has advanced in the modern period; hence, the importance of the travel
agencies also increased tremendously. Ananya Travel which is one of the highest
performing travel agency in London that serves Asian sector shows a low record of its sales
for the year 2010-2011. This research will help to find the reasons for the lower performance
level of the firm and whether high labour turnover rate is a contributory factor in it.

Title: Labour turnover in air travel industry; A Study of Ananya Travel

Aims and objectives of the research

The aim of the research is to find out the reason for the low ticket sales and its relation to
high labour turnover rate in Ananya travels and suggest possible solutions for it.

Objectives: The objectives of the research are:

Examine the reason for high labour turnover rate in Ananya Travel
Examine the reason for low sales rate of tickets in Ananya Travel
Examine whether the high labour turnover rate is the reason for low ticket sales
Make recommendations and solutions for the problem of high labour turnover rate
Make recommendations to solve the issue of low ticket sales

Factors contributing to research

Ananya Travel has for the last one year has been facing high labour turnover and a
decrease in its ticket sales. This has considerably affected the performance of the company
and lost its privileged status of most favoured by Jet Airways and Air India. This study
examines the reasons for low sale performance of the company according to the principles
of management. The proposed aims and objectives of this research project are to examine
the reasons for low performance in the airline ticket sales of Ananya Travel and in the
context of high labour turnover rate. The project aims to find out the reason for this issue and
suggest the best possible solution for it.

The rationale for choosing this topic is that the firm Ananya Travel is undergoing a major
issue in its sales performance and the issues of high labour turnover and low ticket sales is
evident in it (Griffeth, 2000). Both these issues are a topic of research among management

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experts, hence worth of study. Being a service based industry, the success of an air travel
agency, depends on the number of tickets sold. The decrease in the sales of the tickets
given other external and internal environmental factors being static shows the low
performance of the firm. Further, high labour turnover rate is nevertheless, a good indicator
of performance in any organisation. An efficient and experienced labour force is always an
asset for a service based industry. Hence, it is always worth to analyse the relationship
between labour turnover and low firm performance which will help to gain more insights into
the HR management in the firm. The scope of the research project is the labour turnover rate
of Ananya Travel and the decrease in the turnover of the firm. The research encompasses
the topic of Human resource management focussing labour turnover and marketing
activities.

Key references

The proposed project reviewed several books and articles on the topic. High sales
performance in service sector is an important factor that determines the success of the
business (Armstrong P, 2006). The literature on the topic of labour turnover in organisations
and low level of sales indicates that there have been several previous studies conducted on
the subject though those specifically related to the air travel industry are quite few. Mobley et
al (1979) and Lum et al, (1998) found that there is a great amount of relationship between
the intention to quit and turnover. The studies of Elengovan (2001) revealed that there is a
great link between stress, job satisfaction and turnover. According to Martin (2003) and
Griffeth et al (2000) the salary and benefits is a major motivational factor for labour turnover.
Boxall et al (2003) found that there cannot be a single factor for labour turnover hence an
individualised approach is necessary to understand the causes of labour turnover in each
case.

Plan and procedure

The research aims to examine an issue and find out the solution for it; hence, the nature of
the study will be exploratory and inductive in nature. The research project is aimed to be
conducted according to agreed plan using scientific methods of research. The research is
based on an exploratory study with the aim to find the reasons for an issue and find solutions
for it.

The overall strategy of the research is to examine the theoretical aspects of the topic and
then collect data from Ananya Travel. After, collecting the data, the data is sorted and
analysed, findings recorded and discussed. Finally conclusions and recommendations are
made based on the data collected and discussed.

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The duration of each stage of the research project is planned and charted in the Gantts
chart. Each stage of the research is divided into different tasks with target dates to be
completed. This is specifically mentioned in the Gantts chart. The research results are finally
recorded and the final draft is prepared using word processor. The results are presented in
the form of a research report.
Time: Time is a crucial factor in conducting the research. The time for this research is
managed though a proper timescale which is prepared with the help of a Gantts chart. The
project is assumed to be completed within two months. The progress of the research is
monitored and evaluated according to the timescale in the Gantts chart. The quality and
progress of the project is evaluated and advice sought from the tutor who supervises the
project. The whole research project is completed through the guidance provided by the
supervisor.

Resources for data collection

The data collected includes those from primary and secondary sources. The primary sources
for data collection were interviews and questionnaires. The secondary sources of data
collection were financial reports of the firm and books and journals. The books referred are
related to HR Management and marketing. The area referred in HRM is mainly related to
labour turnover and in marketing, the topic is related to sales.

Data was collected through the sampling process. The participants in this research were the
ex-employees of Ananya Travel who left the firm in the year 2010-2011, manager of the firm,
current employees of the firm and a few customers. As it was difficult to collect data from
whole population, a sample population was selected using the quota sampling process. The
current employees were chosen from the head office of the firm as it was difficult to contact
those staff from the call centres. The customers who were approached in this research were
the loyal customers of Ananya Travel for the year 2010-2011. They were selected in the
random order. All the ex-staff who left the firm for the year 2010-2011 were contacted and
most of them cooperated to participate in the research project.

The data was collected from this sample population using different methods. The manager of
the firm was interviewed and he provided the financial reports and sales reports. All other
sample population were sent questionnaires by email. The questionnaires were in the
structured format.
Data analysis: Data collected is analysed by way of both quantitative and qualitative
techniques.

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Hypothesis: The possible hypotheses for this research project are whether high labour
turnover rate is the reason for low ticket sales of Ananya Travel.

Evaluation

According to the agreed plan, this research is conducted by firstly reviewing the literature on
the topic of labour turnover. The research is piloted towards answering the hypotheses
which is: `whether the high labour turnover is the reason for low rate of ticket sales in
Ananya Travel`. Towards this goal of answering the hypotheses, data was collected from
Ananya Travel. The details of those staff that left the firm for the year 2010-2011 was
collected and their permission was obtained in collecting the data. The details collected from
them were regarding the reasons for leaving the firm. Further, the current employees were
interviewed using a structured questionnaire regarding the job satisfaction. The manager of
the firm was interviewed regarding the sales performance of the staff who left the firm and
the current staff. This was a semi-structured interview as it is more flexible. The performance
report of the staff and the sales report of the firm for the year 2010-2011 is analysed for
interpreting the quantitative data. These data collected were reliable and valid as they were
matched against the data collected from the manager of the firm and the sales statistics.
With the help of a word processing application, it was easy to record, save, sort and
evaluates the data. An access database was helpful in saving the details of the sample
population and generating quantitative and qualitative report. The data collection is done by
using reliable tools and there is no chance for bias in this research regarding data collection.

The research on the topic is conducted without causing any bias or prejudice. The data
collected and analysed are done on the basis of validity and reliability. No data is collected
based on bias or prejudice. The research was able to be conducted within the agreed time
limit and using planned resources and tools. The hypotheses of the research are correctly
answered and there was no problem with the data interpretation and analysis.

Data collection was very easy using the IT facilities. It was helpful in preparing word
processed questionnaire template and sends it through email to the sample population. Most
reports were available in the electronic form and this helped in the data collection, sorting
and analysis very helpful. The computer based processing of data made it very easy and
accurate. The success measure of this research rests upon the fact that it is able to prove
the hypotheses.

The manager of the firm gave details about the sales performance of the ex-staff who left the
firm in 2010-2011 and the reasons for their exit. The reasons for the exit of these staff were
obtained from analysing the exit interview report. The manager also provided data about the

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sales performance of the current employees that their inexperience and sales skills are the
cause of low ticket sales. This information from the manager was authenticated by the
information provided by the customers. It was found that the current staffs have no
knowledge of handling customers or retaining the existing customers.

The ex-staff gave information about the reason for leaving the firm, their skills in selling etc
and their current jobs. All the ex staff stated that they worked long hours without proper
break time. They were allowed break only for 15 minutes all the day even this is against the
employment laws. Further, all the staff were unhappy about the low rate of payment. 80 % of
the staff answered that the facilties for the staff in the rest room and toilet facilities were not
satisfactory. 12 % of the ex staff stated that they left the company without getting any new
job and 88 % of the ex staff stated that intended to leave the company very early but waited
till they manage to get a new job.

Current employees: The current employees of the firm provided information on their
experience in the job and they agreed that they are inexperienced in sales promotion. All the
current staff agreed that the training provided to them in the company is insufficient. 57 % of
the current staff reported that they are not happy with the long working hours.
Customers: The customers of the firm, answered to the questionnaire that they felt
comfortable with the ex-staff and the current employees who are inexperienced were not
comfortable to deal with.
Outcome of the research

According to the qualitative and quantitative analysis methods used to interpret the data, it is
found that the high labour turnover rate is the reason for the low ticket sales rate in Ananya
Travel. The data collected show that only the sales staff who works in both London and
Indian call centre left the firm for the past one year. The exit interview shows that there were
employee stress and strained labour relations, poor working conditions and low wages and
long working hours are the reasons mentioned by the employees who left. Data collected
from the present staff also reveals the same opinion of the left employees.

The analysis of the number of tickets sold by each employee in the year 2009-2010 and
2010-2011 shows that all these employees are experienced for a period of minimum two
years in the firm and were good in sales. The sales report during their term of employment
and after leaving the firm shows that the sales of tickets was decreased due to the absence
of experienced employees and many loyal customers who frequently bought tickets from the
firm were looking for the sales staff who served them previously. This shows that good

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customer service coupled with experience and skill in the job is an integral part of good sales
performance in the service industry.

Limitations:

The limitation of the proposed research projects are the difficulty to collect data from those
staff that left the firm. Further, there is difficulty in obtaining literature that specifically deals
with the labour turnover rate in air travel industry. The proposed research also faces some
ethical issues that are related to the privacy of the staff who left the firm. The major ethical
issue in the research is to collect data from confidential sources which come under the Data
Protection Act. Hence, permission from a few staff that left the organisation is requested to
obtain data. Informed consent of all participants in the research is obtained according to the
formalities of the firm.

Conclusion

Labour turnover is an important issue in firms and when this coupled with low sales
performance as its effect is bad for any organisation (Griffeth, 2000). The case of Ananya
Travel is that the firm faced high labour turnover for the year 2010-2011 and this affected the
sales performance of the company.

The aim of this research is to examine the reason or high labour turnover and its relation to
low sales performance afterwards. The relevance of this research lies in the fact that it
helped to find the reason for labour turnover and also found that the labour turnover is the
reason for the low sales performance (Armstrong P, 2006). This helped the firm to examine
the defects in its HR policies and take appropriate measures.

The findings of the research showed that the ex-staff who left the company were
experienced in ticket sales and they know how to handle the customers. The current staffs
that were inexperienced were not good at handling customers and this was the reason for
low ticket sales. The data analysed reveals that a firm should have an HR policy to recruit,
and retain staff however small it may be. Ananya Travel faced low sales performance due to
its wrong HR policies in retaining the experienced staff who were an asset to the firm. Hence
it is recommended that the firm should train new staff in sales skills and formulate a good HR
policy towards recruiting, training and retaining skilled staff.

Recommendations: The research findings show that there is a high relation between the
labour turnover rate and sales performance of the firm. The major recommendations are:

The firm should maintain good employee relations to maintain the staff

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 The firm should have a specific HR policy
The firm should try its level best to retain the employees
The firm should maintain a proper HR accounting system and a performance
appraisal system to evaluate the employees.

Areas for further considerations: There should be specific research regarding the
relationship between employee performance and sales performance rate in airline industry.
The firm should develop long term HR policies and emphasise on employee retention who
exhibits good performance level.

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References

Armstrong P (2006). Human Resource Management, London: Kogan Pate

Pentaniville.

Bernstein, A. (1998). We want you to stay. Really. Business Week, 22, 67.

Boxall P., Macky K. & Rasmussen E. (2003), Labour turnover and retention in New
Zealand; the causes and consequences of leaving and staying with employers, Asia
Pacific Journal of Human Resources, vol.41(2), pp.196-214.
Costello, D. (2006) Leveraging the Employee Life Cycle, CRM Magazine, 10(12), 48-
48. Retrieved February 23, 2009, from Academic Search Premier Database.
Elangovan A. R. (2001), Causal ordering of stress, satisfaction and commitment, and
intention to quit: a structural equations analysis, Leadership & Organization
Development Journal, vol.22(4), pp.159-165.

Griffeth, R. W., Hom, P.S., & Gaertner, S.(2000). A meta-analysis of antecedents and
correlates of employee turnover. Update, moderator tests, and research implications
for the next millennium, Journal of Management, 26, 463-488.

Lum L., Kervin J., Clark K., Reid F. & Sirola W. (1998), Explaining nursing turnover
intent: job satisfaction, pay satisfaction or organizational commitment?, Journal of
Organizational Behavior, vol.19(3), pp.305-320.

Maertz, C.P., & Campion, M.A. (1998). 25 years of voluntary turnover research; A
review and critique. In C.L. Cooper & I.T. Robinson, (Eds), International Review of
Industrial and Organizational Psychology: London, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. 49-86.

Mobley W. H., Griffeth R. W., Hand, H. H. & Meglino, B. M. (1979)Review and

conceptual analysis of the employee turnover process, Psychological Bulletin vol. 86
(3), pp.493-522.
Tett, Robert P; John P. Meyer (1993). "Job Satisfaction, Organizational Commitment,
Turnover Intention, and Turnover: Path Analyses Based on Meta-Analytic Findings".
Personnel Psychology 46 (2): 259- 293.
Calculating Employee Turnover http://www.employee-retention-guide.com

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