Communication and engagement challenges within Jetstar have been tackled through the introduction of an intranet system and “weekly wrap” voicemails to all employees’ mobiles from the CEO or another executive.
Employees hearing information about the company from the media before hearing it from the company was one of the reasons behind Jetstar’s increased investment in communication. Perceived low accessibility to employees, the majority of whom are not office based, was another reason behind the strategy.
“Most of our employees are not in front of a computer every day, they are out in the field” said Tanya Southey, executive manager, people and culture. “They are in different places, in the air or in different airports. As a result our employees didn’t feel a connection to the leaders in the organisation or head office – they only really felt an attachment to the airport.”
One of the ways the low-cost airline, which was facing communication challenges in keeping their employees abreast of what is happening in the business, tackled the problem was by introducing an intranet system, Intranet DASHBOARD, which employees could access from home.
“This has been very successful,” said Southey. “Prior to that, employees could only access it from the airport and not from home.”
Another strategy which the airline has used is the “weekly wrap” – a short communication about what has happened in the business during the week. One of the executives or the CEO reads out a two page voicemail which is sent to all employees’ mobiles who subscribe.
“That’s really worked – people love that,” said Southey. “It creates a connection and solves the problem of how to talk to people when you never see them.”
