A Study On Hiring and Onboarding Process at Airasia (India) Limited

INTERNSHIP REPORT ON
AirAsia (India) Limited

RESEARCH ON
A STUDY ON HIRING AND ONBOARDING PROCESS AT AIRASIA
(INDIA) LIMITED
Summer Internship and Research Report Submitted to CMS Business School, Jain
(Deemed-To-Be-University) in Partial Fulfilment of the requirement for the award of
Master of Business Administration (MBA)
Submitted by
Prasad Raghuveer Pai
Regn. No. 17MBAR4459
Under the Guidance of

Dr. Sahana Madan
Associate Professor
CMS Business School
#17, Seshadri Road, Gandhi Nagar, Bangalore 560009

Phone: 080-46840400
E-mail: bschool@cms.ac.in, Website: www.bschool.cms.ac.in
November 2018
DECLARATION
I, Prasad Raghuveer Pai, hereby declare that the summer internship report entitled
A STUDY ON HIRING AND ONBOARDING PROCESS AT AIRASIA (INDIA)
LIMITED, has been undertaken by me for the award of Master of
Business Administration.
I have completed this study under the guidance of Dr. Sahana Madan, Associate
Professor (OB & HRM), CMS Business School, Jain (Deemed-To-Be-University),
Bangalore.
I also declare that this dissertation has not been submitted for the award of any
Degree, Diploma, Associateship or Fellowship or any other title in this University or
any other University.
Place: Bangalore Prasad Raghuveer Pai

Date: Register No: 17MBAR4459
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I am indebted to many people who helped me complete this dissertation.

First, I thank the Registrar, Dr. N V H Krishnan, CMS Business School, Jain Deemed-
To-be-University for giving me the opportunity to do this research.
I thank Dr. Dinesh Nilkant, Dean, CMS Business School and

Dr. Harold Andrew Patrick, Professor & Dean - Academics for their kind support.
I thank Dr. Sahana Madan for her support and guidance during the course of my
research. I remember her with much gratitude for her patience and motivation, but for
which I could not have submitted this work.
I thank Mr. Sivasamy Subramanian, Senior Manager - AirAsia India and

Mr. Ravikiran Turaga, former Talent Acquisition Manager - AirAsia India for their kind
support. I am extremely grateful to AirAsia (India) Limited for their invaluable
contribution towards conducting this study.
I thank my family for their blessings and constant support, without which this
dissertation would not have seen the light of day.
Prasad Raghuveer Pai

ABSTRACT
Onboarding is the process of integrating a new employee into an organization. When

done right, organizations enjoy better outcomes like high job satisfaction, higher
productivity and lower turnover. The aviation industry is growing, despite rising fuel
and labor costs, especially in the Asia-Pacific. AirAsia, having a unique and successful
low cost carrier business model in the region, is growing fast to several countries.
AirAsia ranks no.1 in Skytrax rating on world’s low cost airlines for 10th year in a row.
My work in the organization was mainly assisting during induction, creating and
maintaining employee files and assisting in recruitment for various departments.
From the wide variety of literature that I have reviewed for this report, I see that
onboarding best practices can be very useful for employee retention in organizations,
especially in LCCs who are concerned about cost. However it is dedicatedly done in
few organizations. Onboarding starts from selection of a candidate to the first 90 days
of the new joiner in the organization that ensures success to both the employee and the
organization.
This research is an attempt to understand the satisfaction level as seen by new joiners
on their onboarding and induction process at AirAsia India and suggest ways to improve
the onboarding. The candidate experience from hiring stage to the induction was the
point of my focus. For my research, I have used primary data collection methods like
questionnaire and focus group discussions. I have used secondary data from company
website and news articles.
My respondents were good mix of male and female across various age groups and
multiple departments such as flight operations, cabin crew and engineering. The
onboarding experience of all employees was good and even exceptional in some of the
cabin crew hiring. The company is now faster in the compliance aspects of onboarding
due to the launch of Workday HRIS system. It has little recommendations required from
my side: induction of small number of employees who are spread across other locations
outside headquarters should be aided by other audiovisual means. However some
aspects of the hiring process have been an inconvenience. Some hiring has taken up a
lot of time. The company can leverage its digital platforms like workplace, workchat,
workday to speed up the work process and successfully reduce time taken in the hiring
process. Team work can be enhanced. An additional recruitment round can be
introduced to test candidates on how well they work in teams.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SR NO DESCRIPTION PAGE NO.
i. TITLE PAGE
ii. CERTIFICATE FROM COMPANY GUIDE
iii. CERTIFICATE FROM FACULTY GUIDE
iv. DECLARATION
v. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
vi. ABSTRACT
vii. TABLE OF CONTENTS
viii. LIST OF TABLES
ix. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS / GRAPHS
x. LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ADOPTED
1. CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF SUMMER INTERNSHIP PROJECT 1
1.2 INTRODUCTION TO CONCEPTS 1
1.2.1 RECRUITMENT 1
1.2.2 SELECTION 2
1.2.3 ONBOARDING 3
1.2.4 INDUCTION 5
1.3 INDUSTRY PROFILE 6
1.3.1 GLOBAL OVERVIEW 6
1.3.2 FUTURE OF THE AIRLINE INDUSTRY 6
1.3.3 GLOBAL COMPETITORS 8
1.3.4 BUSINESS MODELS IN THE INDUSTRY 8
1.3.5 INDIA SPECIFIC 9
1.4 COMPANY PROFILE 12
1.4.1 BACKGROUND OF COMPANY 12
1.4.2 VISION 12
1.4.3 MISSION 13
1.4.4 VALUES 13
1.4.5 BUSINESS MODEL 13
1.4.6 PRODUCT PROFILE FOR INDIA 16
1.4.7 INDIA SPECIFIC 16
1.4.8 ORGANISATION STRUCTURE 18
1.4.9 FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE 19
1.4.10 FUTURE OUTLOOK FOR AIRASIA INDIA 20
2. CHAPTER 2: WORK DONE IN COMPANY

2.1 TASKS CARRIED OUT IN THE COMPANY 21
2.2 DETAILS OF FEW ACTIVITIES 22
2.2.1 CABIN CREW RECRUITMENT DRIVE 22
2.2.2 INDUCTION SESSIONS 22
3. CHAPTER 3: REVIEW OF LITERATURE 24
4. CHAPTER 4: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

4.1 INTRODUCTION 47
4.2 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM 47
4.3 TITLE OF THE STUDY 47
4.4 OBJECTIVES 47
4.5 SCOPE 48
4.6 SAMPLING 48
4.7 METHODS OF COLLECTING DATA 48
4.7.1 PRIMARY 48
4.7.2 SECONDARY 49
4.8 TECHNIQUES OF DATA ANALYSIS 49
4.9 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY 49
4.10 SCOPE FOR FUTURE RESEARCH 50
5. CHAPTER 5: DATA ANALYSIS AND

INTERPRETATION
5.1 QUESTIONNAIRE 1 51
5.1.1 DEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLES 51
5.1.2 VARIABLES RELATED TO THE 52
INDUCTION: DATA ANALYSIS OF THE
QUESTIONS FROM THE QUESTIONNAIRE
5.2 QUESTIONNAIRE 2 57
5.2.1 DEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLES 57
5.2.2 VARIABLES RELATED TO THE 57
INDUCTION: DATA ANALYSIS OF THE
QUESTIONS FROM THE QUESTIONNAIRE
6. CHAPTER 6: FINDINGS AND

RECOMMENDATIONS
6.1 QUESTIONNAIRE 1 (BEFORE WORKDAY LAUNCH) 64
6.1.1 FINDINGS FROM PARTICIPANT 64
RESPONSES
6.1.2 SUGGESTIONS BY RESPONDENTS 64
6.2 QUESTIONNAIRE 2 (AFTER WORKDAY LAUNCH) 65
6.2.1 FINDINGS FROM PARTICIPANT 65
RESPONSES
6.2.2 SUGGESTIONS BY RESPONDENTS 65
6.3 MY OBSERVATIONS 66
6.4 MY RECOMMENDATIONS 67
6.5 CONCLUSION 68
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ANNEXURE
QUESTIONNAIRE 1
QUESTIONNAIRE 2
FINANCIAL STATEMENT 2015
GLOSSARY
LIST OF TABLES
1.1 AirAsia India- Financial performance 2015-17 20

2.1 Week-wise tasks carried out in the company 22
2.2 Documents required in the induction at AirAsia induction 23
5.1 Question 4 for Questionnaire 2 59
5.2 Question 6 for Questionnaire 2 59
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS / GRAPHS
Fig 1.1 4Cs of Onboarding (Bauer, Onboarding: The Power of 3

Connection, 2013)
Fig 1.2 Benefits of a good onboarding (HighflyerHR, 2015) 4
Fig 1.3 Global performance of aviation industry- 2018 vs 2017 6
Fig 1.4 Indian aviation sector FY17-18 9
Fig 1.5 Aircraft traffic statistics in India by AAI for FY17-18. 10
Fig 1.6 CAGR of passenger traffic in India 10
Fig 1.7 Key trends showing CAGR and freight traffic for India 11
Fig 1.8 Government schemes to boost aviation industry 11
Fig 1.9 AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes (left) and AirAsia 12
Logo (right)
Fig 1.10 AirAsia values 13
Fig 1.11 AirAsia Global share price trend 14
Fig 1.12 AirAsia major revenue sources 14
Fig 1.13 AirAsia’s fuel costs per available seat km in comparison 15
with other players
Fig 1.14 AirAsia India shareholders (left) and Board of Directors 17
(right) (AirAsia, n.d.)
Graph 1.1 Market share as of January 2018 17
Fig 1.15 Indian cities AirAsia operates in 18
Fig 1.16 Departments at AirAsia India 18
Fig 1.17 People and Culture (PAC) team 19
Graph 1.2 AirAsia India- Financial performance 2015-17 19
Graph 5.1 Age analysis for Questionnaire 1 51
Graph 5.2 Gender analysis for Questionnaire 1 51
Graph 5.3 Department analysis for Questionnaire 1 52
Graph 5.4 Question 1 for Questionnaire 1 52
Graph 5.12 Department for Questionnaire 2 57
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ADOPTED
SR NO DESCRIPTION PG NO.
1 HR – human resources 1
2 SHRM – society for human resource management 3
3 4Cs - compliance, clarification, culture, and connection 3
4 i.e. - That is 4
5 HIV - human immunodeficiency virus 7
6 SARS – severe acute respiratory syndrome 7
7 CO2 – carbon dioxide 7
8 US – United States 8
9 ULCC – ultra low cost carriers 8
10 Brexit – British exit 9
11 UK – United Kingdom 9
12 AAI – Airports Authority of India 10
13 FY – financial year 10
14 CAGR – compound annual growth rate 10
15 ASEAN – Association of SouthEast Asian Nations 13
16 Km - kilometer 15
17 ICT – information and communications technology 18
18 HOD - head of department 19
19 PAC – people and culture 19
20 ID – identity document 21
21 UI – user interface 21
22 IT – information technology 21
23 PAN – permanent account number 23
24 NM – nautical mile 36
25 ADKAR - awareness, desire, knowledge, ability, and 40
reinforcement
26 OD – organization development 45
27 OCC – Operation Control Centre 52
28 AEP – airport entry pass 59
29 AVSEC – aviation security 66
30 HRIS – human resources information systems 68
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF SUMMER INTERNSHIP PROJECT
This internship has been carried out at People & Culture department, AirAsia (India)
Limited, Alpha 3 building, Bengaluru International Airport. This study is aimed at
understanding the employee experiences throughout their hiring and onboarding
process.
Purpose of the internship:

1. To get hands on experience into HR function of the company
2. To gain insights into the level of satisfaction of employees with hiring and
onboarding
3. To make improvements in the total onboarding process at AirAsia
1.2 INTRODUCTION TO CONCEPTS
This section of the chapter looks at concepts in the study relevant to the project such
as recruitment and selection which has a brief note followed by onboarding and
induction, which has a more detailed note.
1.2.1 RECRUITMENT
Recruitment is the process of attracting individuals at the time of requirement, in

sufficient numbers and with appropriate qualifications, to apply for jobs with an
organization. Job posting is a procedure to inform employees or external environment
that job openings exist (Gusdorf, 2008). According to company’s budgets, the
recruitment and selection process has to be decided. It could be private agencies, walk-
in interviews, job portals and so on. Equal employment opportunity legislation ensures
1
that there is no discrimination based on race, color, gender, national origin, religion,
disability and age.
1.2.2 SELECTION
Selection is the process of choosing from a group of applicants the individual who suits
the best for a particular position and for the organization. A screening test is any
instrument used to make a decision about a potential employee. Selection tests are used
to identify the skills of an applicant that cannot be determined in an interview process.
Through a variety of testing methods, applicants are rated on aptitude, personality,
abilities, honesty and motivation. Properly designed selection tests are standardized,
reliable and valid in predicting how successful an applicant will be on the job. After the
selection decision is made, one must verify the information provided by the candidate
and check the candidate’s references. This is called background verification. The job
offer is sent out by the HR department. Salary and benefits are discussed and the
prospective employee is told of any further conditions that must be met. If need be,
physical examination or a drug screen, arrangements should be made to complete the
process. The candidate needs time to think over the job offer, so a time should be
established for notification. Most organizations keep at least minimum statistical
information on their recruitment and hiring processes:
1. Are your methods cost-effective?

2. Did you stay within the budget?
3. Did your recruitment generate a large enough applicant pool to make a good
selection decision from?
4. Were your applicants qualified as per the job requirement?
5. How many applicants must you generate to get a good hire next time?
6. How much time did it take to fill the position?
7. How much time does it take for a new employee to get up to speed?
8. What about turnover? Do new employees stay with the organization?
2
1.2.3 ONBOARDING
Onboarding is the process of bringing new employees into an organization. Engaged

employees are the most valuable resources that organizations have. According to
SHRM, employee onboarding (also known as organizational socialization) is the
“process of helping new hires adjust to social and performance aspects of their new jobs
quickly and smoothly, and learn the attitudes, knowledge, skills, and behaviors required
to function effectively within an organization.” (What is employee onboarding, 2018).
Organizational leaders are spending a lot of time and money trying to attract and retain
the best talent on the market. One of the ways to focus on employee retention is to offer
a 90 days onboarding program (Ndunguru, 2012). What components of onboarding do
employees expect to be present in the first year of employment in order to increase
employee retention? The answer may offer positive outcomes for organizations. An
effective onboarding process can result in organizational profitability by attracting the
best candidates, decreasing employee time to productivity, giving new employees the
tools and knowledge they need to do their jobs, increasing employee retention rates and
acculturating new employees into the organization. (Harmon, 2011)
Fig 1.1 4Cs of Onboarding (Bauer, Onboarding: The Power of Connection, 2013)
3
Employees are disengaged at work, which means they are doing the minimum of what
is required and not offering anything extra i.e. no creativity, caring, or responsibility.
Effective, committed employees are the most valuable resources that organizations can
have. An effective onboarding that covers all the 4 Cs such as compliance, clarification,
culture, and connection (Bauer, Onboarding: The Power of Connection, 2013) helps
new employees to succeed much early on after they join. It positively affects their
perception of the company. Formal onboarding encompasses the organized tasks and
procedures that help a new employee adjust to his or her new position. Under formal
onboarding, new hires are often segregated from existing employees to experience
coordinated activities for orientation, in-classroom training, and socialization. Informal
onboarding refers to the ad hoc and semi-organized activities by which a new employee
learns about his or her new job. Informal onboarding can include job shadowing and
impromptu one-on-one coaching or meetings with management and new colleagues, as
well as the details of getting started at a company, such as receiving badges and
equipment.
Fig 1.2 Benefits of a good onboarding (HighflyerHR, 2015)

4
There are many benefits of an onboarding well done. Some important outcomes are
(Bauer, Onboarding: The Power of Connection, 2013):
 High job satisfaction

 Higher productivity
 Higher employee retention
1.2.4 INDUCTION
Induction is the process of admitting a person formally to a post or organization, which

could be 1 day or even 1 week. It consists of familiarizing the new joiners with culture,
company, benefits and employment related basic information to get employees started
with a clear information of the company’s expectations. An induction programme
(Chand, n.d.) is designed to achieve the following objectives:
1. To reduce the initial anxiety that new entrants feel when they join a new job in
a new organization.
2. To familiarize the new joiners with the job, people, work-place, work
environment and the organization.
3. To facilitate the outsider-to-insider transition in an integrated manner.
4. To reduce exploitation by the unprincipled co-workers.
5. To reduce the cultural shock faced in the new organization and accept the new
culture faster.
5
1.3 INDUSTRY PROFILE
1.3.1 GLOBAL OVERVIEW

Robust passenger and cargo demand has led the global aviation industry towards
stronger earnings in 2018. Fuel and labor costs are rising and this is squeezing the
operating margins. All geographical regions are expected to perform better in 2018,
including the Asia Pacific (2018 outlook for the global aviation industry, 2017). Air
travel is expected to reach 7 billion passengers by 2034.
1.3.2 FUTURE OF THE AIRLINE INDUSTRY

Future of the Airline Industry 2035 (Association & Futures, 2018) provides 11 themes
affecting air traffic demand: geopolitics, data, Africa and Asia-Pacific, government,
security and borders, privacy and trust, business models, economy, values and
communities, environment, and technology. There are four potential scenarios:
eastward shift of power, successful sustainability, war over resources, and World
dominated by elite agendas.
Figure 1.3 Global performance of aviation industry- 2018 vs 2017

6
Drivers of change in the aviation industry:
a) Alternative fuels and energy sources: such as bioenergy or fuel cells

b) Cybersecurity: Increased connectivity between real-world devices (planes, cars,
robots) will blur the boundaries between virtual and physical security.
c) Environmental activism: The public, the workforce, shareholders and
governments may pressurize companies towards a less-carbon future.
d) Extreme weather events: Extreme weather events (wildfires, droughts, extreme
temperature, storms, snowfall) are expected to increase in both frequency and
severity due to climate change that lead to infrastructure destruction.
e) Geopolitical instability: Individual acts of violence and terrorism, terrorist
groups, warlords, mercenaries, militias and cartels have increased.
f) Infectious disease and pandemics: The emergence of new threats such as HIV,
SARS, Zika virus show how new diseases come up even though old ones are
eradicated and it limits people’s desire to travel to such locations.
g) International regulation of emissions and noise pollution: The airline industry
contribution to overall CO2 emissions are expected to rise very high by 2050
and improvements in technology will not be able to counter this much emission.
h) Level of Integration along air-industry supply chain: Increasing complexity and
demand volatility will make it difficult to maintain an integrated supply chain.
i) New modes of consumption: There is a backlash against one-size fits all
technology, since there are increased demands for personalized experiences.
j) Price of oil: Fluctuations in crude oil prices affect countries in many ways.
Hence there must be other substitutes.
k) Strength and volatility of the global economy: Economic shifts from West to
East and an increase in South-South trade will have a significant impact on
international politics, governance and increasing inequality.
l) Tensions between data privacy and surveillance: Privacy and surveillance are
likely to be high on the list of government concerns over the next two decades.
7
m) Terrorism: Terrorists have shown the ability to adapt to the techniques and
methods of counter-terror agencies and intelligence organizations.
1.3.3 GLOBAL COMPETITORS
New entrants are an issue for many of the established players. In 2017, the long-haul,
low-cost travel model dominated by Asian carriers like AirAsia X was brought to the
western world with Norwegian flying to the US for the first time in June. This added
pressure on the established transatlantic airlines in the US and Europe. (KPMG, 2018)
For Ethiopian Airlines, the main challenge is from new entrants into the African market,
specifically from the Middle East and Asia. There has been a lot of penetration from
the Middle Eastern carriers: Turkish, Emirates, Etihad, Qatar and less from European
carriers. In the future, more Chinese carriers coming to Africa will be a game changer
on the continent because their cost-base is almost unbeaten. Until now, the Chinese
carriers are very busy in the domestic market, but now there has been significant
pressure from the government for the Chinese carriers to enter new markets. For the
time being they are busy in Europe and America, but eventually they will come to
Africa.
1.3.4 BUSINESS MODELS IN THE INDUSTRY
Airlines continue to juggle their business models to transition from mainline, full
service carriers, to low-cost and ultra-low-cost carriers. Some full service carriers are
expanding their product offerings to offer a more hybrid model to include the ULCC
customer and premium carriers. Ancillary revenues are more essential than ever to
continued profitability. Changing business models are going to begin to create some
areas of stress where carriers may need to reinvent their business models. Some
examples are the number of twin aisle aircraft flying out of China directly to Europe
8
and the US, which means the hub carriers on the East of Asia will need to rethink their
strategies because they are being overflown.
European airlines will be affected by Brexit, with most preparing for a doomsday
scenario UK-owned airlines would automatically lose existing flying rights to Europe,
and vice versa for European airlines flying to the UK. Low-cost airlines like EasyJet
and Ryanair have both set up parallel companies in Europe and the UK, respectively,
to ensure they can continue operations from new hubs if the worst happens. Most see
consolidation in the airline industry continuing but with more emphasis in Europe and
South East Asia, with little happening in the Americas. Little impact on North or South
America, and therefore little consolidation. Many consider the airline bankruptcies in
Europe as a positive development, and expect the slow consolidation of airlines in the
region to continue, potentially with more insolvencies among financially weak airlines
that will lead to more mergers or consolidation.
1.3.5 INDIA SPECIFIC
There are major 7 players in the domestic aviation market such as Indigo, Jet Airways,
Air India, SpiceJet, GoAir, AirAsia and Vistara. The below figures depict market size,
aircraft traffic, key trends of aviation traffic. (IBEF, 2018)
Fig. 1.4 Indian aviation sector FY17-18
9
The above figure shows the total market size of Indian aviation industry consists of
308.75 million passengers. The below figure shows aircraft traffic in terms of aircraft
movement, passenger traffic and freight traffic both domestic and international.
Fig 1.5 Aircraft traffic statistics in India by AAI for FY17-18.
Fig 1.6 CAGR of passenger traffic in India
10
Passenger traffic grew at a CAGR of 12.39 per cent in the country between FY06 to
FY18, as compared to global aviation industry which grew at CAGR of 4.7% from
2005-2018. (Statista)
Fig 1.7 Key trends showing CAGR and freight traffic for India
The above figure shows CAGR is 5.37% for aircraft movement from FY07-18 and
freight traffic is also on an upward trend with 3.36 million tonnes in FY17-18
The below figure shows the government initiatives regarding airline sector.
Fig 1.8 Government schemes to boost aviation industry
11
1.4 COMPANY PROFILE
1.4.1 BACKGROUND OF COMPANY
AirAsia Berhad, headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, is the largest airline in Malaysia by

fleet size and destinations, flying to 165 destinations in 25 countries. It is the pioneer
of low cost travel in Asia and has won awards for it 10 times in a row (2008-2018). It
was founded by Mr. Tony Fernandes (Tune group) who is the group CEO of AirAsia
group. The affiliate companies are AirAsia China, AirAsia Vietnam, AirAsia India,
AirAsia Japan, AirAsia X, Indonesia AirAsia, Indonesia AirAsia X, Philippines
AirAsia, Thai AirAsia and Thai AirAsia X. Its slogan is "Now Everyone Can Fly"
(Wiki, n.d.)
Fig 1.9 AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes (left) and AirAsia Logo (right)
1.4.2 VISION
To be the largest low cost airline in Asia and serving the 3 billion people who are
currently underserved with poor connectivity and high fares
12
1.4.3 MISSION
 To be the best company to work for whereby employees are treated as part of a
big family
 Create a globally recognized ASEAN brand
 To attain the lowest cost so that everyone can fly with AirAsia
 Maintain the highest quality product, embracing technology to reduce cost and
enhance service levels
1.4.4 VALUES
People Make it
First Happen
One
AirAsia
Safety Dare To
Always Dream
Fig 1.10 AirAsia values
1.4.5 BUSINESS MODEL

Budget airlines are about cheap flights but AirAsia Berhad really brings new meaning
to this term (Fickilng, 2018). AirAsia shares have also performed well.
13
Fig 1.11 AirAsia Global share price trend
AirAsia's cost edge is due to multiple factors, one reason being it’s strategy on purchase
of aircrafts. It buys just one type of aircraft, the Airbus SE's A320 series 1, and in vast
numbers. AirAsia’s cost benefits are from:
a) Customization: one in 13 of the orders for the new version of the A320 are made by
AirAsia, which allows AirAsia's co-founder Tony Fernandes to influence the design
b) High discounts
c) Synergies: Two-fifth of the revenue comes from operating lease income i.e. renting
planes to other airlines in the AirAsia group and ancillary revenues.
Fig 1.12 AirAsia major revenue sources
d) No need to train/equip separate maintenance and flight crews for different models
e) Quick turnaround multiple times a day
14
f) Reduces costs for staff overnight stay if required
g) Single-class cabins filled with passengers who pay handsomely for their airport
check-in, seat allocation and warmed-through nasi lemak dish which means that
complexity is minimized. It also maximizes ancillary sales, which make up roughly
another fifth of revenue.
h) Infrastructure: Just 15 percent of AirAsia's operating costs in 2017 went on user
charges (like airport fees, ground operations and air traffic control) as compared to
EasyJet Plc- 40 percent and Ryanair- 30 percent.
Fig 1.13 AirAsia’s fuel costs per available seat km in comparison with other players
15
i) Geographic: Fuel efficiency is achieved due to longer airtime. The average AirAsia
passenger flew about 1,300 kms last year, compared to EasyJet- 1,100 kms and
Ryanair- 1,200 kms. At just 0.95 cents per available seat kilometer, AirAsia's fuel
costs are among the lowest in the industry. EasyJet pays about 1.4 cents, while
Ryanair's array of short-haul destinations give it so much as 2.14 cents.
Issue with this business model: Sustainability
AirAsia's employee costs are relatively high for a budget carrier, making for about 14.4
percent of revenue. Non-cash expenditure i.e. depreciation charges were almost 13
percent of revenue in the 12 months through September, more than double the median
among the 91 airlines studied under this survey (Fickilng, 2018). At present, its profits
depend on airports which are not charging higher rents (tier II/III) which will be affected
should they become costlier.
1.4.6 PRODUCT PROFILE FOR INDIA
AirAsia India provides no-frills air travel tickets, inflight meals and AirAsia
merchandise. It is also bundled with tour packages, hotel bookings, car rentals, air travel
insurance through company ventures and third party tie-ups
1.4.7 INDIA SPECIFIC
AirAsia India is an Indian low cost carrier headquartered in Bengaluru, India which
commenced operations on 12 June 2014. AirAsia is the first foreign airline to set up a
subsidiary in India as a joint venture and the company marked Tata's return to the
aviation industry after 60 years, having ceded Air India in 1946. AirAsia is 6th in India
with 4.3% market share. (DGCA, 2018).
16
S Ramadorai Tony Fernandes
R
PK Ghose
Venkataramanan
Tharumalingam
Kanagalingam
Fig 1.14 AirAsia India shareholders (left) and Board of Directors (right) (AirAsia, n.d.)
Competitors of AirAsia in India are Indigo, Jet Airways, Air India, SpiceJet, GoAir,
and Vistara, where AirAsia has 4.3% market share.
Market share in India (DGCA, 2018)

Vistara, 3.6% Others, 2.6%
AirAsia, 4.3%
Indigo
GoAir, 9.6% Jet Airways
SpiceJet, 12.6% Air India

Indigo, 39.7% SpiceJet
Air India, 13.3% GoAir
Jet Airways,
14.3% AirAsia
Vistara
Others
Graph 1.1 Market share as of January 2018
17
Bangalore Delhi (second Kolkata (third
Bhubaneshwar Cochin
(Headquarters) main hub) main hub)
Guwahati Goa Hyderabad Indore Imphal
Bagdogra Chandigarh Ranchi Jaipur Chennai
Nagpur Pune Srinagar Visakhapatnam Surat
Fig 1.15 Indian cities AirAsia operates in
As of August 2018, AirAsia India operates 19 Airbus A320s. It plans to increase its
fleet to more than 20. By satisfying the 20 aircraft-5 year rule of the government,
AirAsia will be able to go international.
1.4.8 ORGANISATION STRUCTURE
It is a flat organization structure. The major & minor departments are as follows:
Corporate Corporate
Ceo's office Administration Commercial Marketing
Affairs Quality
Customer Ancillary
Sales Social Media Cargo Catering
Experience Revenue
Operation Flight
Cabin Crew Engineering Flight Deck Flight Safety
Control Centre Operations
Ground People And Training &

ICT Legal Finance
Operations Culture Standards
Network
Security Medical IDC Route Revenue
Planning
Fig 1.16 Departments at AirAsia India

18
Compensation
HR & Benefits
Operations/ Culture
Payroll
People And
Culture
HOD
Talent
Administration
Acquisition
Fig 1.17 People and Culture (PAC) team
1.4.9 FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE
Depicted below in Graph 1.2 is the financial performance of Air Asia in India from
2015-2017 followed by the table
AirAsia India- Financial performance 2015-17

Revenue (Malaysian Ringgits) Profit/Loss (Malaysian Ringgits)
1,200,000,000
1,012,888,000
1,000,000,000
800,000,000
600,000,000 508,314,000
400,000,000 318,967,000
200,000,000
0
2015 2016 2017
-200,000,000 -106,859,000 -89,107,000 -46,250,000
Graph 1.2 AirAsia India- Financial performance 2015-17
19
Particulars 2015 2016 2017
Revenue RM 318,967,000 RM 508,314,000 RM 1,012,888,000
(~ INR 559.5 cr) (~ INR 891.6 cr) (~ INR 1776.7 cr)
Profit/Loss RM 106,859,000 RM 89,107,000 RM 46,250,000
(~ INR 187.8 cr) (~ INR 163.3 cr) (~ INR 81.31 cr)
Table 1.1 AirAsia India- Financial performance 2015-17
Since losses are seen to be reducing over the last 3 years and revenues have been
increasing year on year, AirAsia is moving towards profitability and will see profits in
the near future. It has seen a profit of Rs 970 crores in the quarter October - December
2017. By starting international by the end of this year its revenues will grow even faster.
1.4.10 FUTURE OUTLOOK FOR AIRASIA INDIA
AirAsia India has currently 19 aircrafts. By end of this year or early next year, the
company will have more than 20 aircrafts to its fleet. This fulfils the 5/20 norm of the
Indian Aviation Ministry under which national carriers are required to have 5 years of
operational experience and a fleet of minimum 20 aircrafts to fly oversees. By mid-
2019, the company can start international flights and increase its revenues. The
company expects to breakeven by early 2019 (Economictimes, 2018). The company
plans to triple its head count to over 4,800 by 2020 from 1,612 in 2017 (Murugiah,
2018)
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WORK DONE IN COMPANY
2.1 TASKS CARRIED OUT IN THE COMPANY
# Time Period Description of activity I did Remarks/ Learning

1 Week 1 Prepared videos for onboarding, I empathized with the
(16th May studied literature on onboarding for new joiners on their
onwards) better understanding first day
2 Week 2 Prepared questionnaire for induction, Face ID to replace ID
Ensured smooth process of photo cards in the future
sessions regarding facial ID project
3 Week 3 Assisted in onboarding, started Verifying and
creating and maintaining employee maintaining
files, Started collecting feedback on documentation
questionnaire 1.
4 Week 4 Assisted in Recruitment drive for cabin Recruitment screening,
crew. Started calling selected Communicating
candidates regarding background information to
verification, offer letters. candidates
5 Week 5 Started sourcing candidates for lead IT sourcing
software engineer, senior software
engineer UI, Mean and Python
6 Week 6 Sourcing candidates for android, iOS. IT sourcing
Communicating with candidates
regarding job description and
scheduling their tests
7 Week 7 Called selected candidates regarding Department
background verification, offer letters, requirements and
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and other procedures for various procedures regarding
departments, assisting induction onboarding
8 Week 8 upto Verified invoices from hotels in Maintaining correct
15th July finance department. Continued with IT records of expense on
sourcing, calling and maintaining hotels
employee files
Table 2.1 Week-wise tasks carried out in the company
2.2 DETAILS OF FEW ACTIVITIES
2.2.1 CABIN CREW RECRUITMENT DRIVE
I supported the PAC team in their cabin crew recruitment drive on 9th June 2018 at Taj
Vivanta, Yesvantpur. 550 candidates applied for the positions out of which 25 were
selected. The following were the screening rounds followed:
 Height and weight check (should comply with Body Mass Index requirement)
 Submission of required documents
 Catwalk round
 Team activity and performance
 Personal Interview
2.2.2 INDUCTION SESSIONS
I supported the PAC team with their onboarding and induction sessions on 1st June, 4th
June (cabin crew), 18th June, 2nd July, and 4th July (cabin crew). Every onboarding
process has a certain checklist of documents that must be collected to ensure smooth
processing. Documents that were required in the induction are mentioned as below
checklist:
22
# Description of the document Status (by Status (by
employee) PAC)
1 Candidate information form
2 Job application form
3 Offer letter
4 Staff ID form
5 Declaration form (ID90)
6 Updated resume
7 Passport copy
8 Passport correction page
9 Passport size photograph
10 PAN card
11 Aadhaar card
12 Marriage certificate / wedding invitation
13 Spouse passport / PAN / birth certificate
14 Children passport / birth certificate
15 Father and mother passport / PAN / birth
certificate
16 Highest qualification mark sheets and certificate
17 Relieving letter / resignation acceptance from
previous organization
18 Last 3 months pay slips from previous
organization
19 Airport Entry Pass surrender certificate
20 Flying hour certificate
21 Fit to Fly (CA-35) issued by Class II medical
doctor
22 SEP card copy
23 Valid Class I medical certificate
24 Copy of all licenses and ratings maintained
25 Incident and accident free certificate for the last
5 years
26 PF nomination form - form 2
27 PF nomination form – form 11
28 Gratuity Act – form F
29 Non-disclosure and Non-compete agreement
30 Consent form for background verification
Table 2.2 Documents required in the induction at AirAsia induction
23
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
1. GLOBAL AVIATION HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT:

CONTEMPORARY RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION AND DIVERSITY
AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITY PRACTICES (Appelbaum & Fewster, 2002)
“The commercial airline is an extremely competitive, safety-sensitive, high technology

service industry. People, employees and customers, not products and machines must be
the arena of an organization’s core competence. The implications are vast and pervasive
affecting no less than the organization’s structure, strategy, culture and numerous
operational activities. Completed by 13 respondents (executives), this audit presents a
series of a human resource management audit carried out in 2001-2 and contains
extensive data on airlines from 9 countries around the globe.”
“The conclusion drawn from these three bodies of work is that, with the exception of a
handful of high performing airline, the industry as a whole continues to function as per
a traditional, top-down, highly divisionalised, industrial model of operations and
governance. This model is manifestly inappropriate in such a highly knowledge-based
service market as the airline industry. HRM expertise in general recruitment and
selection and diversity and equal opportunity in particular are required now, more than
ever, to spearhead the strategic development of a customer centric learning oriented
workforce that is capable of adapting quickly to the strategic goals and change
imperatives facing the airline industry,”
RESEARCH GAPS:
The airline survey done in the above study covers traditional, hierarchical airline
management style and does not talk about how modern flat organizations like AirAsia
affect human resource practices.
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2. GLOBAL AVIATION HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT:
CONTEMPORARY EMPLOYEE AND LABOUR RELATIONS (Appelbaum &
Fewster, 2003)
“The commercial airline is an extremely competitive, safety-sensitive, high technology

service industry. People, employees and customers, not products and machines must be
the arena of an organization’s core competence. The implications are vast and pervasive
affecting no less than the organization’s structure, strategy, culture and numerous
operational activities. Completed by 13 respondents (executives), this audit presents a
series of a human resource management audit carried out in 2001-2 and contains
extensive data on airlines from 9 countries around the globe.”
“The most obvious conclusion to be drawn from the results of the audit is how poorly
understood the concept of ‘internal marketing’ is in the airline industry. Airlines cannot
offer optimal service to external customers because they do not know their ‘internal
customers’ opinions and insights. HRM and its practices and techniques can be
extremely beneficial to optimize this objective.”
RESEARCH GAPS:
The study conveys that airlines with a traditional organization structure do not focus on
internal marketing. It does not talk about how employees in the modern flat-structured
aviation brands provide insights as customers to the company and help the company
offer optimal service to external customers.
3. HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES IN AN AIRLINE

INDUSTRY: THE BRITISH AIRWAYS GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE (Bertillo &
Salando, 2013)
“This paper aims to highlight the management strategy of the British Airways aims to
redirect its short, medium and long-term strategic plans along enhancement of its
25
customer service through a rationalized recruitment, selection, training and promotion
processes. British Airways is one of the largest, most progressive and quality-based
airline in the world servicing primarily Europe and the North American continent. One
of the strongest components of the airline is its human resource management practices,
considered among the best practices in recruitment, selection, training and promotions
systems. People look up to this system to generate one of the most intensive trainings
in customer service.”
“The strength of the training program of the British Airways is the intensive standards
required in the hiring processes, contributing to the distinct British Airways quality of
customer service unequalled in the industry. However, this proves to be at great cost to
the airline. Excellent training brings a better competitive edge of the human capital, but
this triggers transfers to competitors with better offers.”
“Moreover, the British Airways need to look deeper in its pockets to subsidize the rising
cost of training, development and promotions systems. However, the strategic direction
in these areas will likely focus on the diversification of the pool of candidates among
the most preferred feeder countries. This will provide relatively cheaper manpower but
with equally strong character-based standards of qualifications. Searching can be
expanded to other Commonwealth countries and host countries with flight reciprocities.
Diversification is expected to gain benefits for the workforce and the company itself.”
“Hence, British Airways is in the thick of its journey towards its expanded existence
through the human resources management strategy in an airline industry globally.
Enhancing the human resource management processes is a road map towards this end.”
RESEARCH GAPS:
The paper tells us that recruitment and training at British airways is very costly and
suggests that the airline can get employees from commonwealth countries to reduce its
labor costs. This paper does not talk about modern low cost recruitment rounds and
training methods to conduct equally effective recruitment rounds and training.
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4. PRESSING PLAY IN ORGANIZATIONS: USING VIDEO GAME
ELEMENTS IN ORDER TO INCREASE OVERALL ORGANIZATIONAL
ONBOARDING EFFECTIVENESS (Torres, 2016)
“The main objectives of this study were merging educational and psychological theory
into the study of gamification, aiding the understanding of outcomes of using video
game elements to enhance training programs and create a framework of understanding
for gamification that can serve future studies”
“The multiple perspectives from the different areas of study came together in the
analysis to create a better understanding of the use of video game elements in
organizations. It’s not just an interplay with making boring learning processes more
fun, but the inner workings of how video game elements capture the attention and create
learning outcomes in organizations is better explained by using educational,
psychological and video game theories.”
“Interacting with video game elements in gamified programs creates a sort of

autonomous learning environment, where the individual is the owner of the learning
process. By default, the interaction creates an active learning environment that is user
centered which provides the employee with a personalized experience where his skills
are related to the challenges presented. The matching of skills and challenges creates
the environment for experiencing flow, and thus being captivated by the program.”
“Flow is also the determinant in video games for defining enjoyment and is what
gamers usually look for in mainstream gaming. Engagement and flow are also
dependent on the video game design and narrative. The narrative is the order in which
the challenges are presented, which creates learning progressions and is how the
program presents problem-solving activities that serve as simulations and realistic job
previews. The motivation to keep on playing is determined by the reward cycle that
includes the player’s need for achievement, challenge and consequent reward.
27
Feedback systems in video games encourage players and serve as monitoring tools that
create metacognitive learning and are needed for autonomous learning. Other positive
reinforcements, like scores, satisfy player’s need for competition”
“Game elements in programs created with the employees in mind must ultimately look
for total system quality. By focusing on the employee, satisfaction and quality of
product will be determined by the fulfillment of the employees’ psychological needs
for competence, relatedness and autonomy. Therefore, video game elements work by
satisfying employees’ psychological needs effectively. Effectiveness will depend on
how well the game delivers each of the elements proposed.”
RESEARCH GAPS:
The paper explains the effectiveness of using video game elements through simulation,
game setting in the recruitment and onboarding and training process. This method can
be costly and this paper does not tell us how to apply video game elements in the
recruitment, onboarding and training process of low cost carriers like AirAsia.
5. GETTING MANAGERS ON BOARD (Brodie, 2006)
“Many businesses have found that automating processes for employee onboarding --
especially for management level employees -- can improve employee retention, reduce
turnover, and increase compliance with internal policies and regulatory requirements.
According to Bob Damon, president of North America for Korn/Ferry International, a
Los Angeles-based personnel recruiting firm, a thorough onboarding process can
dramatically reduce the amount of time a new executive needs to reach full capacity
and ultimately increase their chances of success within an organization. One of the
toughest problems new managers face is not knowing what they are supposed to know.
Some companies are addressing this knowledge gap by creating intranet portals and
Web-based tools to give managers access to a centralized site to find key information.
28
Health care provider Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts also is supporting new
managers by deploying an online onboarding module this year. The module moves
much of the organization's onboarding process to the Internet.”
RESEARCH GAPS:
This study has highlighted that online onboarding process helps in better access to
information for managers and helps in compliance aspects and retaining managers.
However this paper does not show the pre and post study of making onboarding online.
6. ONBOARDING: THE POWER OF CONNECTION (Bauer, Onboarding: The

Power of Connection, 2013)
“Those organizations that can harness the power of their new talent faster can create a
significant competitive advantage. Specifically, firms that focus on onboarding, versus
those who consider themselves to be ‘laggards’, reported these results:
 First-year retention rate: 91 percent versus 30 percent
 First-year goal completion: 62 percent versus 17 percent
“The white paper ‘Onboarding New Employees: Maximizing Success’ breaks down the
onboarding process into four core aspects (the four Cs): compliance, clarification,
culture, and connection.”
“Organizations that effectively coordinate these four aspects enjoy better outcomes for
new employees than organizations that don’t, including consistently higher job
satisfaction, higher productivity, and lower turnover.”
“Research has established that new employees who feel connected and accepted by
their new colleagues have less initial anxiety upon entering the new organization”
“When new employees feel more accepted, they take more risks, ask more questions,
and are more open to learning about their new job, role, colleagues, and organization”
Some of the best practices:
29
“Create seamless transitions between your recruiting processes, individuals, and
messaging to the onboarding process. Technology can be an invaluable aspect of this
transition.”
“Identify who is responsible for making sure each new employee is welcomed on his
or her first day.”
“Consider which of the connection mechanisms discussed may work within your own
organization, and use one or more of them (e.g., assigned mentors, stakeholder check-
ins, “buddies,” or effective use of technology).”
“Facilitate and encourage ongoing networking.”
“Reinforce the value of each new employee’s authentic self as he or she enters the
organization.” ( “Research indicates that focusing onboarding around what the new
employee can bring to the organization instead of how great the organization is can
result in large gains for onboarding success.”)
RESEARCH GAPS:
The paper is backed by study on large number of new joiners. This paper does not give
industry specific insights for onboarding.
7. ONBOARDING: ENHANCING NEW EMPLOYEE CLARITY AND

CONFIDENCE (Bauer, Onboarding: Enhancing New Employee Clarity and
Confidence, 2013)
“This is the second of three papers in the SuccessFactors onboarding best practices
series. The first white paper focused on the role of connection within onboarding. This
white paper focuses on organizational practices designed to help maximize role clarity
and role confidence for new employees. Examples for how to accelerate both role
clarity and confidence for new employees and organizations employing these practices
are described here.”
30
“Role clarity refers to the what, when, where, who, and how of getting one’s job done.”
“new employees who have clarity regarding their roles and feel confident in their roles
have greater onboarding and organizational success than those who do not.”
“Clarification gives new hires a firm grasp of the expectations of them and their role
within the organization to draw upon as they encounter new challenges during their first
year with the organization.”
Some mechanisms for this:

“Proactivity training: designed to get new employees to play an active role in their
onboarding process,
• Sharing realistic job previews: both during the recruiting and onboarding processes,
• Orientation programs: geared toward clarification and confidence building,
• Training: both formal and informal,
• Leveraging technology to make it easy for new employees to access information, and
• Connect onboarding to long-term development: integrate the onboarding processes
with long-term development processes to create a seamless transition from one to the
other.”
RESEARCH GAPS:
8. ONBOARDING: THE CRITICAL ROLE OF HIRING MANAGERS (Bauer,

Onboarding: The critical role of hiring managers, 2013)
“This is the third of three papers in the SuccessFactors onboarding best practices
series.”
Hiring manager best practices:
31
“At Google, managers were sent a list of five things they could do to help new
employees be successful.”
These included the following behaviors:

1. Have a “role & responsibilities” discussion.
2. Match the new employee with a peer.
3. Help the new employee build a social network.
4. Set up onboarding check-ins once a month for the first six months.
5. Create open communication.
“This simple change was so effective that Google has subsequently incorporated this
into their onboarding process around the world.”
Other practices:
“It is better for hiring managers to make investments of time in new employees up front
in order to secure long term success. But, effective organizations make onboarding new
employees a valuable part of a hiring manager’s job- they don’t just pile it on top of
everything else.”
“Tools can help busy hiring managers integrate time and effort into helping new
employees be successful. It isn’t that they don’t care but rather that they need support
along the way to do this well.”
“Provide managers with the right information at the right time.”
“Leverage technology.” (“Information sharing, reminder emails, and social networking
technology”)
“Measure how well hiring managers are doing at onboarding new employees.”
“Train hiring managers on how to support new employees (and not undermine them).”
RESEARCH GAPS:
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9. EXECUTIVE ONBOARDING: HOW TO HIT THE GROUND RUNNING
(Ndunguru, 2012)
“Onboarding programs—the acquiring, accommodating, assimilating, and accelerating

of new leaders into the organizational culture and business—need to be tailored
specifically to the needs of the organization and individuals. Executive onboarding
should be strategic, so that it not only prevents executive derailment, but also expedites
the executive’s contribution to optimizing strategic achievement”
“Continuous engagement is important for new executives to learn their new agencies.”
“Agencies should give senior executives ‘permission’ to take time to ask questions and
learn the organization. “
“Agencies should help new executives obtain agency-wide perspective by supporting
their participation in cross-agency events.”
“Agencies also may learn from private industry’s successful executive onboarding
practices.”
“Johnson & Johnson, Canada, tailors its onboarding program to the specific needs of
each new employee. For example, new hires from outside the company enter a different
onboarding track than those hired from within the company. Internal hires also are
onboarded differently according to their key skill gaps, which the company has
previously identified through its performance management process.”
“On the first day of employment, American Express provides each new hire with a
human resources partner, hiring manager, and external assimilation coach to formulate
a 100-day transition plan and to provide continuous support during the onboarding
stage.”
“There are key components to which every agency should give special prominence.
During the first few days, agencies should support new executives’
Emphasis on:”
 “learning the protocols and processes of the agency”
 “Obtaining clarification of Expectations”
33
 “Engaging in timely and accurate communication with key stakeholders”
 “Devising regular and effective communication processes with peers, superiors,
and other stakeholders.”
 “This process starts on the first day and improves on an ongoing basis.
During the first 30 days, new executives should emphasize:

 understanding cultural issues obtaining consensus on top strategic priorities
 devising a 90-day plan
 becoming familiar with senior leadership relationships and determining
potential risks and problem areas in the new environment”
RESEARCH GAPS:
This study explains costly methods of executive onboarding which may not be suited
for cost leader company strategy.
10. HOW TO DO CONTINUOUS ONBOARDING THE RIGHT WAY (Leaman,

2018)
“Case Study Northgate Gonzalez Markets, for example, struggled with safety training
for its employees for the usual reasons: lack of a consistent message, employees
forgetting what they’d learned, onboarding that kept new hires off the shop floor for up
to four weeks, and older employees who believed they already knew everything they
needed to know.”
“Here are the methods that we have seen employers use to create successful strategies:
 Make your expectations clear.
 Integrate learning into the regular workday
 Gamify your learning
 Keep your employees engaged
34
 Personalize the learning experience
 Reinforce content
 Be proactive instead of reactive (reactive: “A major accident occurs and,
suddenly, everyone is brought in for additional safety training”)
 Make resources available on demand”
These are the benchmarked “verified 11 components of onboarding that were

commonly used in higher education institutions. These components are common
components offered at all five institutions:
1. Mentors or buddies
2. Networking opportunities
3. Organizational/Departmental orientation
4. Compliance training
5. Organizational leadership, culture, history, and values of institutions
6. Line of sight goals (individual employee goals that are directly linked to
organizational goals, values, mission, and vision)
7. New hire checklist
8. Performance management
9. Classroom learning
10. Online learning
11. On the job training”
RESEARCH GAPS:
The above research has not been tested in a corporate setting.
11. ISOLATION AND ONBOARDING: GENDER BIAS IN AVIATION

TRAINING DOCUMENTS (Hart, 2018)
35
“This study revealed that there were gender-specific terms used throughout the
curriculum. If gender identifications were for fact only, then consistency would be
expected or, at least, a pattern of increased gender-neutral pronouns over time. As
framing scholars have found in communication studies (Entman, 2007), the gender
reference and the associated contexts tell the reader what and how to think about the
gender of aviation professions.”
“Stereotypes of women as stress-inducing and not physically compatible with piloting

a plane emerged from the analysis. These samples were used to explain scenarios where
pilots must make decisions and choose safety over disappointing a spouse. These
stereotypes have the ability to create conflict amongst staff members, instructors,
students and pilots.”
“Changing sentences can create inclusive writing and still have the same desired
outcome for the reader:
Example 1:
“You are a 32-year-old, 325-hour, non-instrument-rated private pilot. You have about
75 hours on long cross-country flights including one less than 3 weeks ago. You and
your wife are planning to leave after work for a 400 NM flight to attend your wife’s
best friend’s 11:00 AM wedding the next day. You will take off about 30 minutes before
sunset” (Risk Management Handbook, 2009, p. B-1).
Revised 1:
“You are a 32-year-old, 325-hour, non-instrument-rated private pilot. You have about
75 hours on long cross-country flights including one less than 3 weeks ago. You and
your spouse are planning to leave after work for a 400 NM flight to attend your spouse’s
best friend’s 11:00 AM wedding the next day. You will take off about 30 minutes before
sunset” (Risk Management Handbook, 2009, p. B-1).
By removing ‘wife’ from the example and adding ‘spouse’, the statement removes
gender bias and creates an inclusive scenario where spouse can equal husband or wife.”
36
RESEARCH GAPS:
The research does not extend inclusion and diversity to recruitment.
12. ONBOARDING SELF-INITIATED EXPATRIATES: THE CASE OF

ICELANDIC EMPLOYEES WORKING FOR THE NORDIC COOPERATION
(Guomundsdottir & Lundbergsdottir, 2016)
“The purpose of this paper was to explore how Icelandic employees experienced the
onboarding process when they started working for the Nordic co-operation. The results
indicate that the Nordic co-operation could do better in relation to onboarding their new
employees, particularly, in relation to the practical aspect of relocation. The expatriates
reported to be satisfied with the work related onboarding and found a value in having a
mentor or assigned individual who would take responsibility of introducing the new
employee to work-related aspects.”
“Local and global human resources refer to the accumulated knowledge, skills and
abilities that individuals possess. Organizations need to know how to maintain and
leverage their potential, and some multinationals have established their own schools or
in-house training centers (Stanek, 2001). Newly hired employees generally undergo
some form of training following the selection process.”
“However, according to the Global Mobility Trends Survey (Brookfield Global

Relocation Services, 2015), about half of companies that operate internationally and
utilize expatriates, provided training for their employees. Research has further
emphasized on the importance of preliminary visits to the host location (Dowling et al.,
1999). Respondents reported the lack of practical assistance, not only in relation to local
registration but also in relation to family and spousal affairs. Some reported to have
received support from locals, particularly if they had children in school. When asked
about work-related training, some of the respondents reported that their jobs were so
37
narrow in scope that a general training program would not have been beneficial.
However, those who had a mentor or were assigned a co-worker to help them become
familiar with the organization’s culture and other co-workers reported to be happy with
the arrangement.”
RESEARCH GAPS:
Many onboarding elements can affect the satisfaction of expatriate onboarding that
have not been covered by the research
13. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ONBOARDING EXPERIENCE AND

TURNOVER INTENTION: INTERVENING ROLE OF LOCUS OF CONTROL
AND SELF-EFFICACY (Gupta, 2018)
“The purpose of this paper is to find industry wise differences in relationship between
onboarding experience (OE) and turnover intention (TI). An attempt has been made to
find the intervening role of psychological variables such as locus of control and self-
efficacy.”
“Inverse relationship was found between perceived OE and TI. There is a significant
positive relationship between motivation-based self-efficacy and TI which is mediated
through OE. Affective self-efficacy moderates the impact of OE on TI, such that for
individuals with low efficacy the inverse relationship between OE and TI is strong, but
for individuals with high self-efficacy the relationship between the two variables is
direct.”
“The OE in automobile manufacturing industries is significantly higher than other

industries. TI is significantly higher in IT and hospitality industries. Exploratory factor
analysis of the instrument on OE led to extraction of four factors. Based on socialization
resource theory, they were termed as orientation, socialization, task characteristics and
leadership. Aspects of socialization and leadership are most significant factors in
38
determining TI across industrial sectors, whereas in case of the hospitality and
automobile manufacturing sector it was found that better the task characteristics higher
is the chance of TI.”
“Efficacy is the way individuals think, feel, act, and get motivated. Self-regulated
dimension of efficacy is called self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is evident through four major
processes: cognitive, motivational, affective, and selective.”
“Self-efficacy or belief directly impacts self-regulation of motivation. Individuals form
belief of what they can do, perceive perspective outcomes of their action, set out goals
and align their efforts and actions in achieving the goals.”
“Individual’s beliefs on whether situational outcomes are due to his or her own efforts
or whether the outcomes are the result of luck, chance, fate, or the intervention of others
determines her/his locus of control. Individuals who attribute the social outcome to their
own efforts are categorized to have internal locus of control, and those who attribute
the social outcome to chance and other are believed to have external locus of control.”
RESEARCH GAPS:
The research only covers one aspect of psychological capital affecting lesser turnover
intentions.
14. ONBOARDING IS A CHANGE: APPLYING CHANGE MANAGEMENT

MODEL ADKAR TO ONBOARDING (Karambelkar & Bhattacharya, 2017)
“Onboarding is a crucial step for an employee, as well as an employer, but it is often

neglected by both. In some organizations, onboarding is viewed as the training of a
newcomer or induction or a checklist to tick for the completion of joining formalities
or onboarding may go overboard with information overload. These approaches will not
be helpful either to a new employee or to an organization. It can impact the bottom-line
of the organization by causing a delay in making a new employee productive and by
creating a low level of engagement and retention. The better approach can be treating
39
onboarding as a change and applying the change management process. There is a big
change for the new employee when he or she joins any organization. For the
organization or department or team, it is an adopting of a new person. An onboarding
process smooths the experience for both.”
“Awareness, desire, knowledge, ability, and reinforcement – change management

model. The change management model ADKAR (awareness, desire, knowledge,
ability, and reinforcement) developed by PROSCI is a popular model. For organization
level change, there is a need for project or program management to address technical
and logistic requirements and change management to address human aspects. ADKAR
gels well with project management. The model can be applicable to make a successful
change for one person or 20 people or 1,000 people or for the whole organization. This
can be used for onboarding of one person or several new employees.”
“The first phase is to make new staff aware of how the organization is great to work
with and how the role of new staff is important. The line manager should be aware of
the new staff joining him or her in terms of skills as well as background.”
“At the time of joining the organization, new staff will have high motivation owing to
successful selection and may have a fear of the unknown because of being in a new
workplace.”
“During the desire phase, the manager should highlight opportunities and support
Knowledge. This is a confidence building phase. New employee picks-up knowledge
about processes and products. This can be a mix of online courses, mentoring, formal
classroom training, and coaching.
Ability. This is a capacity building phase. New employee needs to apply knowledge
and demonstrate capability to take up the role and responsibilities of the job.
Reinforcement. This is a sustainability building phase. The new employee realizes his
or her accountability toward the job. Performance management system and rewards and
recognition program help the reinforcement.”
40
RESEARCH GAPS:
The paper uses theory of ADKAR change management model to onboarding but does
not say so from a practically proven situation.
15. NEW EMPLOYEE ONBOARDING – PSYCHOLOGICAL CONTRACTS

AND ETHICAL PERSPECTIVES (Caldwell & Peters, 2018)
“The purpose of this paper is to identify the ethical implications of treating new
employees with high consideration and respect for their needs and to explain how this
expectation honors the psychological contract between employers and their incoming
employees. By providing a specific model for improving the onboarding process, this
paper also provides helpful information for practitioners in addressing this important
task.”
“The paper confirms that onboarding is not done well by organizations, that employees
expect that they will be treated with appropriate concern for their interests as part of
their assumptions in coming into a new organization, that onboarding new employees
is fraught with ethical implications, and that the process can be greatly improved by
following the ten-step model provided.”
“Human resource professionals (HRPs) who incorporate highly effective onboarding

programs honor the perceived but unwritten psychological contract expectations of
their new employees (Snell, 2006) and fulfill their strategic role as ethical stewards in
achieving organizational mission (Huselid et al., 2009; Caldwell et al., 2011).”
“The following is a ten-step model for quality onboarding, including steps prior to the
actual arrival of a new employee in addition to assimilating the employee after (s)he
has arrived on site:
(1) Establish the relationship online immediately after hiring: Initiating an online
relationship via Skype, e-mail, Go-To Meeting enables an organization to create an
immediate personalized relationship with a new employee
41
(2) Appoint a trained and committed mentor coach for each new employee: the
empirical evidence indicates that the type and quality of mentoring for new employees
can make a significant contribution to new employee socialization and learning (Ragins
et al., 2000). This mentoring can begin online before employee arrival and can be highly
effective at helping employees (Bierema and Hill, 2005).
(3) Focus the onboarding on relationships and networks: assisting new employees to
create relationships with key organization personnel
(4) Prepare a well-developed and complete new employee orientation booklet:
integrating all of the many and diverse pieces of information that every new employee
needs in relocating
(5) Prepare physical location, office, and staffing support prior to onboarding:
acknowledging that new employees need an office computer or laptop, a properly
equipped office, and appropriate staffing support in order to get off to the best possible
start
(6) Assist in transitional logistics: because a large percentage of the work force changes
jobs on a regular basis (Adkins, 2016), recognizing that a new hire may have had to
relocate, sell or buy a home, arrange for schooling for children, etc
(7) Clarify and affirm priorities and expectations: immediately upon the new
employee’s arrival to the organization, the employee’s supervisor should meet with the
new employee, clarify job responsibilities and key outcomes
(8) Engage, empower, and appreciate the employee: employees actively engaged as
owners and partners in an organization are more likely to contribute creative ideas, add
organizational value, and improve organization productivity (Adkins, 2016;
Smith et al., 2016; Beer, 2009; Saks, 2006).
(9) Involve upline in onboarding training and orientation: actively involving top
management team members and supervisors in the new employee orientation process –
particularly in explaining organizational values and cultural factors
(10) Create an ongoing coaching process: as part of the new employee orientation, the
employee’s mentor and supervisor should both identify the resources available to assist
the employee to become a highly productive contributor and the checkpoints that will
42
be used to help the new employee to be assimilated into the organization and to achieve
time-targeted performance results (Bachkirova et al., 2011).”
RESEARCH GAPS:
The study does not tell us how to motivate managers to help new joiners with their new
setting.
16. PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE. LEARNING TO BE A PROGRAMMER IN

A COMPLEX ORGANIZATION A CASE STUDY ON PRACTICE-BASED
LEARNING DURING THE ONBOARDING PROCESS AT GOOGLE (Johnson
& Senges, 2010)
“This paper seeks to analyse the effectiveness and impact of how Google currently
trains its new software engineers (“Nooglers”) to become productive in the software
engineering community.”
“Here we summarize our findings and reveal how Google uses online identity trainee
programs, expectation management, and practice-based learning to indirectly support
cognitive apprenticeship tools. In addition, we point out dormant potentials for further
development.
 Online identity: Developing an online identity and more concretely a reputation
is necessary to allow for social and professional match finding. Social reprisals
and rewards like the virtual Badge of Shame and their antipode Kudo(s) – both
displayed on the employee’s Google profile page, are good first steps to build a
culture that values reputation.
 Trainee program: Bjørnson and Dingsøyr (2005) report excellent reception of a
training program that enables employees to follow more senior peers to
participate in their meetings and project activities.
43
 Expectation management: Begel and Simon (2008) identify the following
misconceptions as major hindrances to productivity of new software engineers
at Microsoft-
‘I must do everything myself so that I look good to my manager’; and
‘I must be the one to fix any bug I see – and I should fix it the right way, even if
I do not have time for it’.
While setting expectations and transmitting the elements of the Google mindset is
a core aspect of the orientation lectures, there seems to be zero material available to
prepare the Nooglers before their first day.
 Practice-based learning: Practice-based learning depends on the extent to which
learning is made a formal part of the role and everyday practices.”
The following factor that influences practice-based learning has been identified:
“Role models: In modern information technology companies the problem seems less
“to have access” to practices and information, but to have trusted peers
Communities of practice. With this regard the insight from Lave and Wenger
(1991) regarding the knowledge socialization among apprentices comes to mind. Their
situated learning approach puts much less emphasis on the formal one-on-one mentor-
mentee relationship but rather stresses the community of practice – in the observed case,
the project team, the practice area, and the programming language community. The
place of knowledge is thus not one individual but the collective competence and
expertise of the peers.”
RESEARCH GAPS:
The study talks about IT employees being able to attend senior employees’ meetings to
learn a great deal. This is not possible for management across many industries to include
any employee in senior level discussions and meetings.
44
17. TALENT ACQUISITION DUE DILIGENCE LEADING TO HIGH
EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT: CASE OF MOTOROLA INDIA MDB (Srivastava
& Bhatnagar, 2008)
“To meet the demands for talent with a specific skill set in a given timeline, the
organizations are adopting innovative recruitment practices to find the correct skill sets
and competencies. The purpose of this paper is to discuss some of these practices and
also to investigate talent acquisition and its relationship to levels of employee
engagement.”
“By reflecting recruitment and culture need fit, an environment is created at the
workplace where employees feel more passionate about their work and exhibit the
behaviours that organizations need to drive better results.”
Employer branding: “According to Knox and Freeman (2006) consumers are potential
recruits and the employer brand is the augmentation of recruitment services provided
by recruiters as they espouse the firm’s attributes and values during the recruitment
process.”
“Networking is also a preferred method of recruiting top job candidates today” for
better team work.
Motorola went in for the employee brand for managing a business challenge and that is
what made the difference.
“Towards the end of 2006, MDB established a Sales Academy to train and hone their
skills, conducted three day workshops, carried out OD focussed functional
interventions and diagnostic exercises with leaders to find out the vision they had for
their team, the various tools of engagement they need to employ, how they wanted the
execution to happen. Reddam challenged them and incited their direction setting on
vision, interaction, group dynamics, execution etc. The leadership team was taken away
to Jaipur’s Sumodh Palace for a three day vision building exercise and to finalise the
business strategy for MDB. The organization Development diagnostics were probed
into by a leading OD consultant of India.”
45
“Whole organization is mapped to find out the critical talent for MDB through a robust
risk assessment model and a robust risk analysis format. Still the present dilemma
before the HR at Motorola India-MDB is to keep on providing the challenges keeping
in mind their hunger for challenges and to sustain their passion and energy. Some other
issues like career planning and management and capability building of the employee
also need attention.”
RESEARCH GAPS:
The research talks about mapping of critical talent, OD interventions with leaders to
enhance better use of talent. The study does not explain the choice of certain
interventions and whether it is applicable to other organizations to manage their talent.
46
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
4.1 INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this chapter is to discuss the research methodology of this study. The
research design and procedures followed for this exploratory study were used to answer
questions concerning the objectives of this study. The chapter contains the sections
explaining problem, objectives, scope, methods of data collection & analysis,
limitations and future scope. Exploratory research is used to gain an understanding of
underlying reasons, opinions and motivations on a particular topic. Such qualitative
research can be done using unstructured or semi-structured data collection techniques
such as focus groups, individual interviews and participation or observations. The
respondents are selected on a specific criteria and the sample is small. (DeFranzo, 2011)
4.2 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
The company AirAsia India wanted to understand the satisfaction levels of their current
onboarding and induction process as well as program. They requested for
recommendations on how they could improve the same.
4.3 TITLE OF THE STUDY
A Study on Hiring and Onboarding Process at AirAsia (India) Limited.
4.4 OBJECTIVES
1. To understand the satisfaction level as seen by new joiners on their onboarding

and induction process
2. To suggest improvement measures for the total onboarding experience
47
4.5 SCOPE
The internship was carried out between June and July 2018 in Bangalore office. The
data collection for questionnaire 1 on induction has responses from Jun-Jul 2018. This
was carried out before the launch of Workday HRIS tool. The data collection for
questionnaire 2 on onboarding experience covers new joiners from July-Sep 2018. This
was carried out post Workday launch.
4.6 SAMPLING
The non-probability sampling technique (Kothari, 2007) used for questionnaire 1 was
convenience sampling as the responses collected were from those new joiners who were
inducted during June-July 2018. The employees included in the sample are those who
responded and agreed to share data. The total sample consisted of 66 responses across
eight major departments.
The non-probability sampling technique used for questionnaire 2 was judgement

sampling where the respondents were selected by the company as those employees who
joined after the launch of Workday HRIS tool. The total sample consisted of 30
responses across four major departments.
4.7 METHODS OF COLLECTING DATA
4.7.1 PRIMARY
1. Structured questionnaires using 5 point Likert scale- Two questionnaires were

constructed for each of the objectives. The questionnaires are available in the
Annexure.
48
Questionnaire 1 was regarding the induction experience. This was collected
offline. This was collected before launch of the new HRIS system ‘Workday’.
Questionnaire 2 as regarding onboarding and hiring experience of new joiners.

This was collected online. This data collection was done after the successful
launch of ‘Workday’ HRIS system.
2. Focus group discussion

After the questionnaire formation, ideas were taken from various employees
including People & Culture team.
4.7.2 SECONDARY
1. News and articles

2. Company website
3. Magazines
4.8 TECHNIQUES OF DATA ANALYSIS
The study is an exploratory research. Two structured questionnaires have been

administered to two sets of sample respondents based on company requirements. The
data obtained had complete information from all respondents which was organized and
tabulated with the help of Microsoft Excel. It was further statistically analysed using
graphs such as bar graph, column graph, line graph, scatter plot, percentages, tables and
pie-charts.
4.9 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
 The study was limited to induction conducted in June and July 2018 only.
49
 The study on onboarding was limited to the judgement sampling respondents as
selected by the company. The base could have been wider to include more
respondents to eliminate the possibility of bias associated with judgement
sampling.
 Questionnaire 2 could have been administered pre and post Workday launch to
enable a comparison.
4.10 SCOPE FOR FUTURE RESEARCH
Future research can look at the follow possibilities

 Understand the satisfaction levels of employees several months after their
joining. This will give an idea of how many will stay back in the organization
after 1 year experience.
 Wider sample base using probability sampling techniques, especially stratified
sampling method to understand responses across departments to understand the
points of improvement.
 Implement the recommendations of this study and then measure the impact. For
example recommendations such as realistic job previews, testing the team
player trait during selection process and so on
50
DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
5.1 QUESTIONNAIRE 1
Induction Feedback at AirAsia India. Collected before Workday HRIS launch (Jun-
Jul). Hereby presented is the demographic analysis of the respondents followed by the
data analysis.
5.1.1 DEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLES: Age, Gender, Department
AGE
40
32
30
20
20
10 5 7
2
0
18-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40 and above
Graph 5.1 Age analysis for Questionnaire 1
Interpretation: There were 32 respondents from age group of 20-24, 20 respondents

from 25-29, 7 respondents from 40 and above, 5 respondent from 30-34, 2 respondents
from 35-39.
Gender
18, 27%
Female
Male
48, 73%
Graph 5.2 Gender analysis for Questionnaire 1

51
Interpretation: 48 respondents were male, 18 respondents were female
Department
Security 1
OCC 9
Marketing 1
Ground Ops 1
Flight Ops 7
Engineering 14
Cabin Crew 31
Ancillary Revenue 1
Administration 1
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Graph 5.3 Department analysis for Questionnaire 1
Interpretation: Maximum representation is from Cabin crew (31) and Engineering (14)
followed by 9 from OCC, 7 from Flight operations and 1 respondent each from security,
marketing, ground operations, ancillary revenue and administration.
5.1.2 VARIABLES RELATED TO THE INDUCTION: DATA ANALYSIS OF

THE QUESTIONS FROM THE QUESTIONNAIRE
I have a good understanding of all the conditions, benefits, policies

and culture applying to my employment and all relevant
information
50
15
1 0 0
STRONGLY AGREE NEUTRAL DISAGREE STRONGLY
AGREE DISAGREE
Graph 5.4 Question 1 for Questionnaire 1
52
Interpretation: The above graph shows the new joiners having a good understanding of
all employment related information with 50 strongly agree, 15 agree and 1 neutral.
I AM SATISFIED WITH THE FOLLOWING ASPECTS:

Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree
56
56
49
13
10
9
3
1
0
0
C OM M UNIC ATION E M AILS VENUE CONTENT
Interpretation: The above graph indicates that most employees were satisfied with the
1. communication emails sent to them: 49 respondents strongly agree, 13 agree, 3
are neutral
2. venue of induction: 56 strongly agree, 9 agree, 1 neutral
3. content of sessions: 56 strongly agree, 10 agree.
Relevance of the below session with me
57 59
49 50 47
60
50
40
16 14
30 9 12
7 Very relevant
20
2 Relevant
10 0 0 1 1
Not relevant
0
[Benefits] [History & [Airport [Bank [Safety
Culture] Entry Permit account set Briefing]
Briefing ] up]
Not relevant Relevant Very relevant

53
Interpretation: The above graph indicates a good degree of relevance of sessions
1. Benefits: 57 respondents found it very relevant, 9 respondents found it relevant
2. History & Culture: 59 found it very relevant, 7 found it relevant
3. Airport entry permit briefing: 49 found it very relevant, 16 relevant, 1 neutral
4. Bank account set up: 50 found it very relevant, 14 relevant, 1 not relevant.
5. Safety briefing: 47 found it very relevant, 12 relevant, 2 found it not relevant.
I am satisfied with my Induction experience

Strongly Agree 57
Agree 8
Neutral 1
Disagree 0
Strongly Disagree 0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Interpretation: The above graph indicates how satisfied the new joiners are with the
induction. 57 respondents strongly agree that they were satisfied with their induction
experience, 8 agree, 1 is neutral.
What I liked a lot in my Induction

The welcome you received
40
30 30
The presentation and
40 20 Complete documentation done
communication
26
10
32
38 Benefits session (ID90,
History & Culture session
ecoupons)
31
AirAsia Values session

54
Interpretation: The above graph indicates the factors that have been liked a lot by new
joiners. 40 respondents liked the Presentation & Communication, 38 liked the History
& Culture session, 32 liked the benefits session, 31 liked the AirAsia values session, 30
liked the welcome they received, 26 liked that complete documentation was done with
on first day.
The flow of the sessions was at a comfortable pace
Strongly Agree 56
Agree 10
Neutral 0
Disagree 0
Strongly disagree 0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Interpretation: The above graph indicates that respondents were comfortable with the
pace of the sessions. 56 respondents strongly agree that the pace of sessions was
comfortable, 10 agree.
THE PRESENTER KNOWS WHAT ACTUALLY YOU

MIGHT FACE AT STATION
54
11
0 0 0
Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree
55
Interpretation: The above graph indicates how well aware was the presenter with the
issues employees might face at work. This shows the ability of the induction presenter
to be able to relate to the new joiners and give relevant examples. 54 respondents
strongly agree that the presenter was aware, 11 respondents agree.
I FEEL THIS INDUCTION WILL HELP ME IN MY

JOB
Disagree
Neutral
0%
1% Strongly disagree
Strongly disagree Disagree
0% Agree
25% Neutral
Agree
Strongly Agree
74%
Strongly Agree
Interpretation: The above graph indicates that 48 respondents strongly agree with the
usefulness of the induction, 16 agreed that this induction would help them in their job,
1 is neutral
56
5.2 QUESTIONNAIRE 2
Onboarding and hiring experiences at AirAsia India (30 responses) after the Workday
HRIS launch Induction. Hereby presented is the demographic analysis of the
respondents followed by the data analysis.
5.2.1 DEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLES: Department
3%
Department
Flight Operations
47%
IDC
43%
ENGINEERING
People and Culture
7%
Graph 5.12 Department for Questionnaire 2
Interpretation: The above graph indicates that maximum respondents were from Flight
Ops and Engineering followed by IDC and People & Culture.
5.2.2 VARIABLES RELATED TO THE INDUCTION: DATA ANALYSIS OF

THE QUESTIONS FROM THE QUESTIONNAIRE
H O W W E R E Y O U R E C R U I T E D AT A I R A S I A
14 43.3%
Company Website
12
10 30%
26.7%
8 Referred by an employee
6
4 Social Media ( Facebook,
2 LinkedIn)
0
How were you recruited to AirAsia?

57
Interpretation: The above graph indicates that most employees joined through referrals
followed by company website and social media
Your recruiter was very professional?
STRONGLY AGREE 83.3%
AGREE 16.7%
NEUTRAL 0
DISAGREE 0
STRONGLY DISAGREE 0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Interpretation: The above graph indicates that all respondents agree/strongly agree that
the recruiter was very professional
PLEASE RATE YOUR OVERALL INTERVIEW

EXPERIENCE WITH AIRASIA
20
53.3%
46.7%
15
10
0 0 0 0
Highly satisfied Satisfied Neutral Dissatisfied Highly dissatified
Interpretation: The above graph indicates that 100% respondents were satisfied with the
overall interview experience.
58
What could we have done differently to improve the Recruitment Process?
Suggestions Frequency
No complaints, it was great 17%
A faster selection process 37%
AEP pass could be made ready for new joiners by joining date. 20%
Add a recruitment round that tests candidates on how well they can work in a team 10%
Updates to candidates regarding status of selection process 17%
Table 5.1 Question 4 for Questionnaire 2
Interpretation: The above table indicates regarding suggestions for recruitment:

candidates would like a faster process of selection and AEP pass. Other suggestions
were to have a team working test during the selection round and also to communicate
to candidates on their selection stage progress
REASONS FOR JOINING AIRASIA
Good brand image 23.3%

different industry than past experience 6.7%
Good work culture 23.3%
Career growth 30%
Better Flying opportunities 16.7%
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Interpretation: The above table indicates that candidates value career growth followed
by brand image and work culture while joining AirAsia.
Have you received induction / orientation?
Response Percentage Status
Yes 100%
No 0%
Table 5.2 Question 6 for Questionnaire 2
59
Interpretation: All respondents have undergone an induction session
WHAT IMPRESSED YOU ON YOUR FIRST DAY?

The welcome received
63.3%
73.3%
Induction venue 50% Orientation sessions
63.3%
Presenter's delivery
Interpretation: The above graph indicates that the candidates liked the orientation
sessions best out of the various factors we saw. Participants were allowed to select
multiple options.
You found your Induction/Orientation useful?
Strongly Agree 56.7%
Agree 40%
Neutral 3.3%
Disagree 0
Strongly disagree 0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18
60
Interpretation: The above table indicates that most respondents (~97%) found their
induction useful.
HOW QUICKLY DID YOU GET YOUR ACCESS CARD/ID

CARD?
In 3 Days, 27%
Day of Joining
In 3 Days
In 1 week
More than 1 week
Day of Joining,
73%
Interpretation: The above table indicates all new joiners received ID cards within 3 days
What you love about this company:
Fun work culture

67%
Your connections working at Ease of communicating with
AirAsia 73% any department/person
40%
Go Green environment
60% 67% Opportunities for your
friendly initiatives growth
50%
The digital presence
(workplace,workchat,70% Joining Kit
Workday) 70%
The AirAsia Brand
61
Interpretation: The above table indicates regarding what respondents love about this
company. Participants were allowed to select multiple options. The top parameters are
Ease of communication, digital presence and AirAsia brand (>= 70%). This is followed
by a close second Opportunities for growth and fun work culture (67%)
I would recommend AirAsia as an #AwesomePlaceToWork?

53.3%
46.7%
0 0 0
STRONGLY AGREE NEUTRAL DISAGREE STRONGLY
AGREE DISAGREE
Interpretation: The above table indicates how strongly an employee would recommend
AirAsia as an #AwesomePlaceToWork. 100% respondents would recommend it
I F E E L W E L C O M E D AT A I R A S I A
Strongly Agree 57%
Agree 43%
Neutral 0%
Disagree 0%
Strongly disagree 0%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
Interpretation: The above table indicates how welcome employees feel at AirAsia.
100% employees feel welcome at AirAsia
62
7 8 9 10
36.70%
33.30%
20%
10%
ON A SCALE OF 0-10, HOW LIKELY ARE YOU TO RECOMMEND AIRASIA TO

YOUR FAMILY OR FRIENDS?
Interpretation: The above table indicates how likely are employees to recommend
AirAsia to their family and friends on a rating scale of 10. The outlook looks positive
with the following results: 36.7% respondents give a 10 rating, 33.3% respondents give
a 9 rating, 20% respondents give an 8 rating and 10% respondents give a 7 rating.
63
FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
6.1 QUESTIONNAIRE 1 (BEFORE WORKDAY LAUNCH)
6.1.1 FINDINGS FROM PARTICIPANT RESPONSES
1. The induction was generally found to be well organized and a great experience
for almost all of the new joiners. Some best aspects were history & culture
session, way of communication and presentation.
2. The induction sessions stretched from 9 am to 6 pm. Even as it was good, it was
also tiring for cabin crew batches since they have a lot of procedures to be
briefed about before they left for the day.
3. Travel benefits were found to be confusing. This is due to the various conditions
and details regarding industry travel benefits ID90 and company travel benefits
of e-coupons.
6.1.2 SUGGESTIONS BY RESPONDENTS
1. Documentation should be made fully digital.

2. More slides on travel benefits could help new employees understand them
better.
3. Availing benefits through Employee Self Service should be shown.
4. There should be a bigger room available for induction.
5. Updates should be communicated to the new joiners on their successful
completion of the online background verification process and other processes.
6. A schedule of the induction should be given to new joiners before joining day.
7. Audio-visual content can be added in the onboarding process
64
6.2 QUESTIONNAIRE 2 (AFTER WORKDAY LAUNCH)
6.2.1 FINDINGS FROM PARTICIPANT RESPONSES
1. Some good reasons for candidates to join AirAsia were career growth, brand
image and good work culture
2. Big improvement in distribution of access cards / ID cards to new joiners from
15-20 days to now 3 days.
3. Documentation process has become faster since it has been digitized. Hence
paperwork has been reduced in the onboarding.
4. Huge time is taken in the process of recruitment. Some respondents had
difficulties on joining day regarding pre-joining documents that were already
submitted online.
5. There was no provision of transport during training period for Flight Ops joiners
6.2.2 SUGGESTIONS BY RESPONDENTS
1. A faster selection process is required

2. Information updates from HR team are required in case of delay at any step in
the recruitment process.
3. Awareness level of job postings and brand has to be increased on the web and
social media
4. Interviews should be taken on a mutually convenient date and time (candidate
suggested interview to be taken on a holiday)
5. Airport Entry Pass for new joiners should be ready on first day for departments
like Engineering. It eliminates waste of time and inconvenience to new joiners
and they can start working on the airside soon after joining.
6. Leverage technology for first level and second level interviews rather than
candidates coming to the office location.
65
7. There could be and interactive session with candidates on AirAsia work culture
before interview
8. In the recruitment process, candidates should also be tested on how well they
can work in teams
9. Some sort of appreciation/memento should be given to the rejected candidates
so that they strive to join AirAsia again in the future (better idea would be to
explain the candidates the reason for not selecting them)
10. There should be a much more refined process to reduce delays in processes.
11. There could be laptops allotted to new joiners on the first day itself
12. Need to give training to new joiners to get them familiar with the job profile
6.3 MY OBSERVATIONS
1. The focus on candidate experience has been very high. My study finds that after
attending induction, the satisfaction levels of employees are high. The belief is-
Any person who is not an employee, is at least a prospective
customer/passenger.
2. Big improvement in documents collected on induction day - has been reduced
to 3, down from big checklists
3. There are good and relevant induction sessions.
4. There are many employees across locations in India who do not receive
induction on their first day. They receive induction when they come for AVSEC
training at Bangalore.
5. Referrals were used to recruit 90-95% of the candidates. The talent acquisition
team is left with few choices that come to them and the company suffers from
not having the best of the talent from the job market
6. Although there is workplace, workchat, and the newly launched workday, the
hiring process is still slow.
7. Retaining employees, who can work in any industry and whose jobs are not
aviation specific like flight operations, is difficult for the following reasons:
Work-life balance is affected the most; Employees are in office for 9-10 hours;
66
The location of work is very far from the city; There are trainings only for those
employees working on the airside hence other employees may not learn new
skills at the pace required. These employees can easily shift to other industries.
6.4 MY RECOMMENDATIONS
In the below mentioned points I have clubbed relevant suggestions given by candidates
plus my recommendations based on observations during the internship period
1. The candidate experience is already very good. It should be ensured that there
is no big gap between the new joiner’s experience and the satisfaction levels
several months after. A 90-days milestone program can be rolled out to cover a
broader perspective of onboarding that ensures an early success of a new joiner
at AirAsia
2. There could be audio-visuals shown along with the slide presentation. These
audio-visuals should also guide those new joiners who are scattered across
different locations in India since they don’t always get induction on their first
day.
3. Availing benefits on Employee Self Service should be demonstrated during the
induction.
4. Temporary AEPs should be ready to be distributed on first day, if possible, so
that seamless work can be carried out immediately after induction.
5. A ‘cheat sheet’ must be given to all new joiners. It can be ensured that whether
or not all new Allstars have received their induction on their first day, they will
at least have a ‘cheat sheet’ of crucial information as part of their welcome kit.
It can include all the contact persons relevant to the new joiner and what is
expected of him/her.
6. Leverage digital tools (like workplace, workchat, and the newly launched
workday) in the hiring process to make the hiring lead time shorter. The various
departments that are required to help with the recruitment of candidates can
work faster if these digital platforms are used well.
67
7. Since work is not completed in the 9-10 hour spent in office, the meetings
should be made short and frequent. Particular days in every week should be
declared ‘work from home’ to avoid burnout among Allstars. The company can
make use of the digital technologies in this way. This also takes care of the
work-life balance of employees.
8. Candidates should be tested on how well they can work in teams. This can be
done through usage of psychometric test or a unique round to test the same.
9. Realistic job previews should be given to candidates to give them a practical
insight on what the actual job entails.
6.5 CONCLUSION
A well carried out onboarding process ensures an early success of an employee in one’s
first 90 days in the organization. It increases the new employee’s job satisfaction,
productivity and lower turnover. The satisfaction of employees with their hiring and
onboarding experience is high, highest being for cabin crew. Launch of Workday HRIS
tool has aided in increasing the pace of activities, including ease of onboarding
documentation. Induction has been constantly improved. However there are some
improvements required to ensure that newly joined employees are receiving the
knowledge and support to succeed:
A faster process of recruitment is required. One could use different platforms for
recruitment and have more options to choose from. Update candidates regarding status
of the selection process. Leverage digital technologies to coordinate hiring decisions
with departments quickly. Add a recruitment round that is suited to recruit better team
players. Audiovisuals across all locations ensures a uniform first day experience.
Temporary AEPs should be ready as soon as possible. Cheat sheets of crucial
information should be provided on joining. Setting of milestones for new Allstars for
the first 90 days will help them to have an early success. The company may even
involve incentives for team performance.
68
REFERENCES
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Contemporary recruitment and selection and diversity and equal opportunity
practices. Equal Opportunities International.
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Contemporary Employee and Labour Relations . Management Research News.
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www.iata.org.
Bauer, T. N. (2013). Onboarding: Enhancing New Employee Clarity and Confidence.

SuccessFactors Whitepapers.
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Whitepapers.
Bauer, T. N. (2013). Onboarding: The Power of Connection. SuccessFactors Whitepapers.
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Industry: The British Airways Global Perspective. SSRN electronic journal.
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Caldwell, C., & Peters, R. (2018). New employee onboarding – psychological contracts and
ethical perspectives. Journal of Management Development.
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Programme. Retrieved from www.yourarticlelibrary.com.
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www.dgca.nic.in.
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The case of Icelandic employees working for the Nordic Cooperation. Jounal of
Workplace Learning.
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www.highflyerhr.com: http://www.highflyerhr.com/project/top-4-benefits-better-
onboarding-process/
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a complex organization. A case study on practice-based learning during the
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management model ADKAR to onboarding. Human Resource Management
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ANNEXURE
QUESTIONNAIRE 1: Induction feedback
1. Name
________________
2. Age
a) Upto 24
b) 25-29
c) 30-35
d) 36-39
e) 40 and above
3. Gender
a) Male
b) Female
4. Department: ____________________________
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. I have a good understanding of all the conditions, benefits, policies, and culture
applying to my employment and all relevant information
a) Strongly Agree
b) Agree
c) Neutral
d) Disagree
e) Strongly Disagree
2. I am satisfied with the following:;
Strongly Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly N/A

Agree Disagree
Communication emails
that we sent you
Venue
Content ( culture,
history, benefits, safety
briefings )
3. Relevance of the following sessions with me
Very Relevant Not N/A

Relevant Relevant
Benefits session
History & culture session
Airport Entry Permit briefing
Safety briefing
4. I am satisfied with my induction experience

a) Strongly Agree
b) Agree
c) Neutral
d) Disagree
5. What I liked a lot about my induction

 The welcome you received
 Complete documentation done
 Benefits session
 AirAsia values session
 History and Culture session
 The presentation and communication
6. The flow of the sessions was at a comfortable pace

a) Strongly Agree
b) Agree
c) Neutral
d) Disagree
7. The presenter knows what actually you might face at station

a) Strongly Agree
b) Agree
c) Neutral
d) Disagree
8. I feel this induction will help me with my job

a) Strongly Agree
b) Agree
c) Neutral
d) Disagree
9. How could we improve the induction process?

___________________________
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
QUESTIONNAIRE 2: Hiring and onboarding experiences
1. Name
___________________
2. Date of joining at AirAsia
___________________
3. Department
___________________
4. Your job location / station
___________________
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. How were you recruited to AirAsia?

a) Company website
b) Social media ( Facebook, linkedIn )
c) Job portal ( Naukri )
d) Referred by an employee
e) Referred by an agency
f) Walk-in drives
2. Your recruiter was very professional?

a) Strongly Agree
b) Agree
c) Neutral
d) Disagree
3. If you have marked neutral, disagree or strongly disagree for the above
question, please elaborate your reason
____________________
4. Please rate your overall interview experience with AirAsia
a) Highly Satisfied
b) Satisfied
c) Neutral
d) Dissatisfied
e) Highly Dissatisfied
5. If you have marked neutral, dissatisfied or highly dissatisfied for the above
question, please elaborate your reason
__________________
6. What are the things we could have done differently to improve the recruitment
process?
__________________
7. Please tell us your reasons for joining AirAsia

__________________
8. Have you received induction / orientation?

a) Yes
b) No
9. What impressed you on your first day?

 The welcome you received
 Orientation sessions ( Benefits, History & Culture, Safety, AEP,
documentation etc)
 Communication & presentation
 Location ( ERP room )
10. You found your induction / orientation useful?

a) Strongly Agree
b) Agree
c) Neutral
d) Disagree
11. How quickly did you get your access card / ID card?
a) Day of joining
b) In 3 days
c) In 1 week
d) More than 1 week
12. What you love about this company?

 Fun work culture
 Ease of communicating with any department / person
 Opportunities for your growth
 Joining kit
 The AirAsia brand
 The digital presence
 Go Green environment friendly initiatives
 Your connections working at AirAsia
13. I would recommend AirAsia as an #AwesomePlaceToWork

a) Strongly Agree
b) Agree
c) Neutral
d) Disagree
14. I feel welcomed at AirAsia

a) Strongly Agree
b) Agree
c) Neutral
d) Disagree
15. On a scale of 0-10, how likely are you recommend AirAsia to your family or
friends?
_________________
16. How could we help you settle in?

_________________
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE 2015
GLOSSARY

A Study On Hiring and Onboarding Process at Airasia (India) Limited

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A Study On Hiring and Onboarding Process at Airasia (India) Limited

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INTERNSHIP REPORT ON

AirAsia (India) Limited

Under the Guidance of

#17, Seshadri Road, Gandhi Nagar, Bangalore 560009

Place: Bangalore Prasad Raghuveer Pai

I am indebted to many people who helped me complete this dissertation.

I thank Dr. Dinesh Nilkant, Dean, CMS Business School and

I thank Mr. Sivasamy Subramanian, Senior Manager - AirAsia India and

Prasad Raghuveer Pai

Onboarding is the process of integrating a new employee into an organization. When

SR NO DESCRIPTION PAGE NO.

2. CHAPTER 2: WORK DONE IN COMPANY

3. CHAPTER 3: REVIEW OF LITERATURE 24

4. CHAPTER 4: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

5. CHAPTER 5: DATA ANALYSIS AND

6. CHAPTER 6: FINDINGS AND

SR NO DESCRIPTION PAGE NO.

1.1 AirAsia India- Financial performance 2015-17 20

SR NO DESCRIPTION PAGE NO.

Fig 1.1 4Cs of Onboarding (Bauer, Onboarding: The Power of 3

1.1 BACKGROUND OF SUMMER INTERNSHIP PROJECT

Purpose of the internship:

1.2 INTRODUCTION TO CONCEPTS

Recruitment is the process of attracting individuals at the time of requirement, in

1. Are your methods cost-effective?

Onboarding is the process of bringing new employees into an organization. Engaged

Fig 1.2 Benefits of a good onboarding (HighflyerHR, 2015)

 High job satisfaction

Induction is the process of admitting a person formally to a post or organization, which

1.3.1 GLOBAL OVERVIEW

1.3.2 FUTURE OF THE AIRLINE INDUSTRY

Figure 1.3 Global performance of aviation industry- 2018 vs 2017

a) Alternative fuels and energy sources: such as bioenergy or fuel cells

1.3.3 GLOBAL COMPETITORS

1.3.4 BUSINESS MODELS IN THE INDUSTRY

1.3.5 INDIA SPECIFIC

Fig. 1.4 Indian aviation sector FY17-18

Fig 1.5 Aircraft traffic statistics in India by AAI for FY17-18.

Fig 1.6 CAGR of passenger traffic in India

Fig 1.8 Government schemes to boost aviation industry

1.4.1 BACKGROUND OF COMPANY

AirAsia Berhad, headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, is the largest airline in Malaysia by

Fig 1.10 AirAsia values

1.4.5 BUSINESS MODEL

Fig 1.12 AirAsia major revenue sources

Issue with this business model: Sustainability

1.4.6 PRODUCT PROFILE FOR INDIA

1.4.7 INDIA SPECIFIC

Market share in India (DGCA, 2018)

SpiceJet, 12.6% Air India

Graph 1.1 Market share as of January 2018

Guwahati Goa Hyderabad Indore Imphal

Bagdogra Chandigarh Ranchi Jaipur Chennai

Nagpur Pune Srinagar Visakhapatnam Surat

Fig 1.15 Indian cities AirAsia operates in

1.4.8 ORGANISATION STRUCTURE

Ground People And Training &

Fig 1.16 Departments at AirAsia India

Fig 1.17 People and Culture (PAC) team

1.4.9 FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE

AirAsia India- Financial performance 2015-17

Graph 1.2 AirAsia India- Financial performance 2015-17

1.4.10 FUTURE OUTLOOK FOR AIRASIA INDIA