Retaining Pilots

Many surveys show that pay, by itself, is not the key to retention. It's part of retention, but not the only part. Feeling valued, feeling aligned with the company's goals, feeling fairly treated, etc are also a big part of retention.

The Gallup Q12 employee engagement survey was quite popular about 10 years ago, and Gallup claims that it can be used to understand the things that the company needs to do to aid retention. The questions in the survey may give you a feel for what people are looking for. I'm evidently a technological troglodyte, and therefore unable to post a link to the questions, but a quick Google search of "Gallup Q12 questions" will get you there.
 
hook_dupin said:
I am part of a planning team for a new 135 scheduled airline. The team is concerned with retaining pilots so we want to develop a plan for pilot retention. We will require 135 IFR minimums (sorry low-timers, we feel you -we just won’t have a need for SICs). We’ve decided not to require training contracts. This creates a potential dilemma for us. As we can only hire at 1200 hours, with the airlines hiring at 1500 it potentially means we will only have pilots for 300 hours before some pilots move on to the 121 world. We are also a small airline so paying significantly above industry rates is going to be difficult.


What suggestions or quality of life factors do you have to retain pilots beyond 1500 hours?
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It really all comes down to pay, benefits and QOL.

Pay for their training, pay them well above average, give them great benefits and 401k matches and give them good schedules. Yes it's understood that those all cost money, and you're average pilot is going to be more expensive than other types of employees. Pilots are, unfortunately for management, a commodity- especially if your flight department is a source of income.

I have a job right now that gives almost 6 months off a year and pays mid six figures... yet turnover was almost 50% the last year. why is turnover so high?

The biggest reasons are the company started skimping on travel and went from sending everyone around the world in business class to coach, have reneged on promised pay increases and and made arbitrary schedule changes for pilots all in an attempt to reduce personnel costs. Last, the company match on the 401k is only 4%. As a result the pilots have sought to go to other places where they see themselves treated as career employees.

Treat your pilots like they're at a career destination, and they'll act like they are, stick around and work. Treat them like a line item expense whose cost you're constantly looking to control, and they'll treat your company as a stepping stone until they find a place they feel they're respected for their skill set.
 
alaskadrifter said:
Money is great, QOL and time at home make life worth living however.
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This is how we see it. We can offer decent, livable money. More importantly, we think we can offer a scheduled that will allow pilots on the team to be home at night, have weekends, and we won't fly on holidays.

Troy McClure said:
So I would suggest asking a different question.
How can you live with the high turnover?
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We realistically expect some turnover -that's just the business. For those looking to move on to 121, we want to make them really ask "Should I stay here an extra year? I'm having fun, I make a difference, I get listened to, and I get treated well." We think Cape Air has it right.

I guess what we're really looking for is the less tangible stuff. We can pay decently (but not off the charts crazy money), we plan for CASS and non-rev benefits, but we think it's more than just a punch list on a benefits sheet. What can a small company do to really make a pilots believe they're part of the team and the work they do is important?

ClarkGriswold said:
Why on earth would you want to do this in this in todays market?
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Simply put: we see an opportunity that maybe others don't and we think we have the right team to chase it. We all definitely believe that figuring out how to keep talent should be a core competency for the company -we're looking hard for ways to do that.

Separate from the pilot risk, we think "today's market" is actually pretty good. Airlines have generally become more concentrated leaving smaller markets with less service than before. The economy continues to slowly improve and interest rates are still low. On the ground, road conditions aren't getting better and traffic is getting worse everywhere. That two hour drive to the airport with major airline service is now stretching to three or four in many places -we see a market for a small airline and we're chasing it.
 
Make sure that all employees (but pilots may be more exacting in their expectations) see management as partner-leaders who are open, honest and speak the truth. Send the managers to 'listening school.' Pay attention to your corporate culture and nurture a good one.

For many reasons, aviation has some of the worst labor-management relations in the country - right up there with the United Mine Workers. Both the aviation blogs I frequent are full of bitch-and-moan posts. Granted, this isn't new, but read 'em and do the reverse.
 
Fellas, Hook isn't just some schmoozy businessman who is trying to make a fast buck on the backs of pilots he knows need to build time and will work for slave wages.

He's asking here because he's looking for real insight, not just a bunch of cheap shots and slapsticky, coy answers.
 
hook_dupin said:
What suggestions or quality of life factors do you have to retain pilots beyond 1500 hours?
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Schedule flexibility might be the biggest thing you can do. I am guessing that there are more than a few folks like me that already have somewhat good careers, and don't necessarily want a full time gig flying. But would be happy with a part time arrangement. There are some benefits for you as well - if you have 3 part timers and one leaves, it is less of an emergency than having one full timer when he leaves. Plus, not many operators want part timers, so you not only have all of that market, you also have less risk of them leaving.

May not be feasible depending on what your training costs are, but at the same time, part timers probably don't care about benefits.
 
hook_dupin said:
I am part of a planning team for a new 135 scheduled airline. The team is concerned with retaining pilots so we want to develop a plan for pilot retention. We will require 135 IFR minimums (sorry low-timers, we feel you -we just won’t have a need for SICs). We’ve decided not to require training contracts. This creates a potential dilemma for us. As we can only hire at 1200 hours, with the airlines hiring at 1500 it potentially means we will only have pilots for 300 hours before some pilots move on to the 121 world. We are also a small airline so paying significantly above industry rates is going to be difficult.


What suggestions or quality of life factors do you have to retain pilots beyond 1500 hours?
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Find something in the future they can look forward to, once they build their lives around the schedule they won't want to leave unless it get bad or they feel disposable.

I have no solutions, I'm just an idea guy.
 
jynxyjoe said:
Find something in the future they can look forward to, once they build their lives around the schedule they won't want to leave unless it get bad or they feel disposable.

I have no solutions, I'm just an idea guy.
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Having meaningful career advancement is important at any job. If you know you've got a dead end job you'll eventually bail.

See: The United States Air Force.
 
jtrain609 said:
Having meaningful career advancement is important at any job. If you know you've got a dead end job you'll eventually bail.

See: The United States Air Force.
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Talked to and ex135 guy who was ex 121 and he liked is 135 a lot of had to bail because they lost people, couldn't get more, so he got stuck working 27 days a month just getting crushed with no qol. Money sounded like it was mostly there.

So i guess I'd ask frankly is staffing a 135 a carch 22? You can't keep guys if you can't give them the schedule they want and you can't give them the schedule they want unless they hire?

Lesson probably is, startups are tough.
 
What pilots want is completely subjective. Obviously we want good qol, good schedule, good pay and benefits, and a good work environment, but what is that to individual pilots?

I would say build your business according to how you wish to complete your objectives with the cliche pilot desires in mind and hire accordingly. Interview with your business model in mind. Ask what a pilot expects, if you can't offer that move to the next. If you're having trouble hiring then you'll need to reassess. Good luck!
 
hook_dupin said:
This is how we see it. We can offer decent, livable money. More importantly, we think we can offer a scheduled that will allow pilots on the team to be home at night, have weekends, and we won't fly on holidays.

Separate from the pilot risk, we think "today's market" is actually pretty good. Airlines have generally become more concentrated leaving smaller markets with less service than before. The economy continues to slowly improve and interest rates are still low. On the ground, road conditions aren't getting better and traffic is getting worse everywhere. That two hour drive to the airport with major airline service is now stretching to three or four in many places -we see a market for a small airline and we're chasing it.
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Are you targeting this business around a single location? If not, homebasing might be a QOL perk. If folks are out in trips, pay them govt rate perdiem so they don't have to pick between eating lunch or dinner that day. Encourage them to sign up for frequent flier/hotel/rental car programs and make reservations for them and let them keep the points.

The part time/ flex schedule aspect might be something of merit as well. A fair amount of us have decent chunks of time off (7/7, 8/6, 17/13, 60/60, 90/90 etc.) and jobs that don't necessarily restrict outside employment/ flying opportunities. If you came up with a flex scheduling option that truely allows people to be home at night etc. you may be able to find people willing to join the team. I know a lot of my peers are always looking for side jobs on their time off. Not necessarily because they need the money, but because they get bored when they're home for weeks on end.

For these type of folks, you could probably offer some sort of program where they give you X amount of days per quarter/year etc.availability on a flex status. In many cases their primary employers would cover a lot of the benefits that you would end up paying if they were a full time employee. For CASS/ non rev benefits for flex employees you'd probably peak the interest of most Rotational pilots who have other jobs.

Big things like profit sharing, performance bonuses etc motivate/ excite people to work, but little things make them feel wanted/ thought of. As tacky as it sounds things like Birthday cards, coupon books etc. make people feel appreciated. My company sent everyone a coupon for $X off of a holiday turkey... guess what, after the holidays everyone was talking about how they used their coupon. Have family days where people can socialize and see the airplanes etc. Treat them like they're extended members of the family not just an employee #.
 
drunkenbeagle said:
Schedule flexibility might be the biggest thing you can do. I am guessing that there are more than a few folks like me that already have somewhat good careers, and don't necessarily want a full time gig flying. But would be happy with a part time arrangement. There are some benefits for you as well - if you have 3 part timers and one leaves, it is less of an emergency than having one full timer when he leaves. Plus, not many operators want part timers, so you not only have all of that market, you also have less risk of them leaving.

May not be feasible depending on what your training costs are, but at the same time, part timers probably don't care about benefits.
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I'm reminded of Leonidas in 300 commenting on the Athenian's as part-time warriors...
 
In my humble opinion the key to retaining good associates starts with hiring the right people in the first place. The right people will stick around if they are treated well and feel like part of the team. The wrong people will leave no matter the schedule, equipment or how much money you throw at them.

Alternatively you could look for people who can't get hired anywhere else. (half sarcasm but I know companies that do this. It works but comes with a ton of baggage)
 
Two more things I haven't read here:

-Don't make pilots do non-pilot things. Like answering phones and loading bags. Run the operation with the correct amount of non-pilot employees for it to work right.

-Make sure you listen to pilots when they are concerned about comparing you to competitors. Whether it's schedule, iPads, etc, pilot really pay attention to whether they are listened to. I would highly recommend you start with good pilot management, the right boss makes all the difference in the world.

No matter what you do, some people want to be airline pilots and you can't avoid that. But without hesitation you can make it a great place to work where people will think twice about bailing for any jump they can find.
 
The only reason I left my last job was because it would not pay enough to retire from. They had other things right enough that I would have stayed a long time if I could have made enough money and retirement to stay.
 
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