There is a lot of contention between airline working groups and management right now across the industry. Frustrated with the current state of affairs, many airline working groups are also looking to renegotiate their contracts as the industry recovers.
Unions will take different approaches to get what they want and I think something that’s happening right now at United’s cabin crew union is remarkable and kind of weird.
Airline management teams are generally obsessed with Net Promoter Scores (NPS) as a measure of customer satisfaction. This allows airlines to measure how customer sentiment changes over time depending on service changes, etc.
The Association of Flight Attendants (AFA), which represents United Airlines flight attendants, takes a book out of management’s playbook. The union is now creating the concept of a Flight Attendant Promoter Score (FPS), designed to measure how satisfied flight attendants are with the Chicago-based airline’s management.
This is how the union describes this concept:
As we all know, United is committed to providing exceptional customer service to its passengers. United regularly surveys and collects feedback on areas where they can improve in order to provide a better experience based on their Net Promoter Score (NPS). United have made it very clear that this is one of the most important metrics they use and put a lot of time and effort into explaining to flight attendants all the different ways we can have a positive impact on United’s NPS score.
In addition to its passengers, United also has another group of customers from whom they have not yet collected feedback in the same comprehensive manner: United Flight Attendants. It’s just common sense that in order to provide a great experience for United passengers, the people delivering the experience need to feel valued and supported.
As a problem solver that we are, we thought we would provide valuable insights into how management can improve this important internal flight attendant experience for customers. We are pleased to announce our new Flight Attendant Promoter Score (FPS).
United flight attendants will begin rating management
How this Promoter Score is measured
Each week, United Airlines flight attendants have the opportunity to fill out a survey that will be used to update the current FPS. This is intended to provide a strong visual indication of where management has improved or which areas need further work.
Flight attendants have the opportunity to provide feedback on the following statements:
Flight attendants can rate the management on a scale of 0 to 10, where zero means someone is very disappointed and 10 means someone is very satisfied:
- Flight Attendants with a rating of 9-10 are considered Promoters
- Flight attendants rated 7-8 are considered neutral or passive
- Flight attendants who score 0-6 are considered critics
The FPS is the percentage of supporters minus the percentage of detractors. I hope the results will be released as I’m curious to see how the values change over time.
The union is asking flight attendants to rate management
bottom line
The union, which represents United Airlines flight attendants, is now asking members to give their opinion on how they feel management on a weekly basis in order to create a rating for the flight attendant promoter.
If you ask me, this concept is kind of genius. Why? Simply because I can’t count the number of times I’ve spoken to someone in airline management and they justify something bad by saying customers love it based on the Net Promoter Score (“no, everyone loves our turkey sandwiches and lobster rolls !”).
With this concept, at least there is no confusion about how flight attendants think about management.
What do you think of the Flight Attendant Promoter Score concept?
(tip of hat to paddle your own kanoo)