Staffing Challenges Remain Front and Center for Safe Operations – What’s Your Plan B? – SM4 Safety News from Global Aerospace

While the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic ripple through the aviation community and the global supply chain, one requirement remains critical to our full recovery—maintaining appropriate staffing levels of qualified employees. There’s no need, at this time, to attempt to hash out why we’ve lost qualified, competent employees. The reasons will become apparent when history writes the global response to a worldwide pandemic. For now, we are focused on providing pre-COVID service levels in the face of a tidal wave of demand.

Daily Reminders
You can’t miss it as it’s everywhere. From your local restaurant with reduced hours and long waits for tables, to empty store shelves as the supply chain attempts to catch up only to be snarled by a lack of truckers, to the recent global snag of airlines canceling flights due to a myriad of reasons, but primarily staffing shortages—pilots, cabin crew, ground workers, airport staff, etc.

The aviation community’s fixed-base operator (FBO) segment has been equally hard hit as CEOs, HR professionals and managers scramble to fill slots vacated by workers displaced or laid off at the height of the pandemic. Those displaced found opportunities elsewhere, possibly with more flexible hours and other/better employment perks. The path forward has been challenging for FBOs attempting to fill those vacant slots and return to adequate service levels.

One of the looming impediments to successfully regaining pre-pandemic service levels is the dichotomy between budgeted and qualified staff. Just putting bodies in slots to fill budgeted staffing buckets does little to promote excellence and integrity in the fulfillment of operations. Finding qualified, competent staff for those positions that affect the safety and security of an operation, and who are willing to work—yes, willing to work—has been the industry’s most noticeable challenge.

Pairing a new trainer with a room full of equally new employees that have little or no…