Case Study Review:

Singapore Airlines' Experience

Presented by: Joi Chadwick

January 24, 2010

Gonzaga University

About Singapore Airlines (SIA)

Launched in 1972
Voted best airlines company by Conde Nast Traveler in 2005

Voted world's best international airline by Travel + Leisure magazine 14 years in a row

Listed as one of Forbes magazine's 50 world's most admired companies multiple times

Received 280 international awards between 2002 and 2005

Respected for world class service, innovative offerings, and modern fleet (Chong, 2007, p. 204)

Mark Chong's Case Study

Prior to the 2006 study and subsequent report by Mark Chong, no one had conducted a systematic investigation on how the company's internal communication and training practices help it to consistently deliver on its brand. (Chong, 2007, p. 204)

Chong carried out his study, The Role of Internal Communication and Training in Infusing Corporate Values and Delivering Brand Promise: Singapore Airlines' Experience, exploring these practices because employees may be the most important audience for a company's organizational communication and corporate branding efforts. (Chong, 2007, p. 201)

Employee Communication
The People Networks is a department of SIA that uses an integrated communications network including:

Print materials Online communication channels Face-to-face meetings Bond building extracurricular activities Organizational climate survey

The People Networks focuses on people rather than functional processes. (Chong, 2007, p. 205) This department is responsible for employee communication which includes communicating strategic direction, the company's mission, and the six core values.

SIA Core Values

Pursuit of Excellence Safety Customer First

Concern for Staff

Integrity

Teamwork

Employees are exposed to these core values at four touch points throughout their tenure.

Touch Points
When they first join the company: During the induction program for non-cabin crew members During the four-month long basic training program for cabin crew members When they attend training programs: SOAR Program FUS3ION workshops Transforming Customer Service (TCS) When they attend corporate events: At company functions At major events such as the Long Service Awards

Through corporate communication channels: Printed on the second page of every issue of the company's Outlook magazine In pocket-sized copies of the core values statement given to every employee

SIA exposes employees to the core values via the touch points so that they live the values allowing customers a greater chance to experience the company in a way that's consistent with what you've promised. (p. 206)

Training to SOAR
The four-month basic training program for SIA cabin crew is the longest program of its nature in the industry.

In addition to functional skills, this program also emphasizes intercultural communication, personal poise, and negotiation skills involved in dealing with demanding passengers. (Chang, 2007, p. 207) New cabin crew members are only invited to join the company after a rigorous three-stage interview process during which they prove their values are aligned with the company's. (p. 207)

Trainees are expected to show these values from the beginning through such actions as making eye contact with everyone and smiling and taking care of passengers even when they are under duress. (p. 207)

Training to SOAR
SOAR Service Over and Above the Rest:

Training program that began in 2003 Goal is to provide in-flight service surpassing the competition

Implants values that align with the core values but are tailored toward cabin crew members. Customized message helps the core values resonate with that group.

Incorporates scenarios experienced by cabin crew in the past to help foster understanding of SIA core values in action.

Sessions exhibit a meticulous attention to details and communication

Trainees reported that the training was grueling but also that they noticed positive transformations in their attitudes toward people and service. (p. 208)

Other Programs
FUS3ION
These workshops includes role playing. Sub-segments of employees (for example, pilots, ground staff, and engineers) act out each other's roles in exercises meant to develop empathy and patience by putting employees in their colleagues' shoes. (Chong, 2007, p. 208)

Transforming Customer Service (TCS)

An equivalent program to FUS3ION but geared toward frontline employees including ticket officers and station managers. Fosters a similar understanding of core values and support of the SIA brand.

Corporate Identity
Through these internal communication and training practices, SIA helps employees build and contribute to its corporate identity in the following process:

SIA's professed identity (claims used to define the organization) is transformed into its projected identity (how it presents itself to specific audiences). Externally, this includes its image as having the best in-flight service. Internally, this is captured in the core values.

SIA's projected identity is transformed into its experienced identity (what members of the organization experience) and manifested identity (characterization over time).

From manifested identity the company acquires its attributed identity which is attributes that are ascribed to the organization by its various audiences. (p. 209) For instance, SIA's manifested identity as innovative and providing world-class service over the past two decades contributes to its attributed identity that is reflected in the hundreds of awards the company has received.

Feedback Loop of Corporate Identity

These facets of corporate identity form a feedback loop with internal communication and training programs providing the crucial conduit. (Chong, 2007, p. 210)

Conclusion
Singapore Airlines' internal communication and training ensures healthy relations within the company and with stakeholders. Through constant exposure to the core values, emphasis on these in action, and attention to employee needs, SIA provides the tools to deliver on the organization's brand promise - A Great Way to Fly. (Chong, 2007, p. 209) Chong's study takes a necessary approach to help organizations understand how internal practices infuse values and affect corporate branding.

References
Chong, M. (2007). The Role of Internal Communication and Training in Infusing Corporate Values and Delivering Brand Promise: Singapore Airlines' Experience. Corporate Reputation Review, 10(3), 201-212. Retrieved January 20, 2010, from http://proquest.umi.com.proxy.foley.gonzaga.edu:2048/pqdweb?index=75&sid=8&srchmode=1&vinst=PROD &fmt=6&startpage=1&clientid=10553&vname=PQD&RQT=309&did=1337538581&scaling=FULL&ts=1264343680&vtype=PQD&rq t=309&TS=1264343721&clientId=10553 Singapore Airlines. (2010). Retrieved January 21, 2010, from http://www.singaporeair.com/saa/en_UK/content/company_info/index.jsp Travel Leisure. (n.d.). Retrieved January 21, 2010, from http://www.travelandleisure.com/worldsbest/2009 World's Most Admired Companies 2009: Singapore Airlines snapshot - from FORTUNE. (2009). Retrieved January 21, 2010, from http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/mostadmired/ 2009/snapshots/8155.html