Airports are the perfect storm for staffing challenges. They’re bustling 24/7, they require high levels of technical and operational knowledge, and they often operate with limited visibility from headquarters. Add in the extreme shift patterns that many airports face, and you’ve got the makings of a perfect environment for staff shortages. In any given year, about 12% of the world’s airports experience staffing shortages. These are serious problems that adversely affect operations at these facilities by limiting availability of skilled workers. The good news is that even if your airport is suffering from a shortage today, there’s hope on the horizon. With a little foresight planning and sound strategy implementation, your staff shortage can be eased in no time. Let’s take a look at what you can do to avoid this problem in the first place, as well as how to address it once it appears.
Staffing Requirements at Airports
Airports handle some of the world’s most complicated and specialized operations. While this level of complexity can create opportunities for innovative thinking, it can also exacerbate existing staffing problems. Airports face unique staffing challenges, given the 24/7 nature of their operation, the extensive expertise required, and the visibility from headquarters. While staffing issues at airports can originate from a variety of sources, one of the biggest causes is the growing complexity of airport operations. Over the years, the number of airlines and destinations has grown, along with the variety of services offered. This growth has caused an increase in the number of roles needed at airports. Moreover, technical advancements in the airline industry have increased the demand for highly specialized skills, further widening the staffing gap. For example, many airport workers now need to be able to perform a variety of high-level computer tasks. But as the volume of passengers and airports grows, so too does the demand for specialized staff.
Strategies to Avoid Staff Shortages
Airports face relentless growth in passenger volume and aircraft movements, as well as rising operational complexity and the demand for highly specialized skills. If a staffing shortage occurs at your airport, it’s likely that some of these factors are at play. To avoid a staffing shortage, you need to be aware of these issues and proactively take steps to prevent them from occurring. One way to prevent a staffing shortage is to anticipate its appearance. If you see that your airport is experiencing a shortage of staff, then you can take action to address it. This means stepping back and looking at why it’s happening. Once you have a better understanding of the issue, you can take steps to address it. To avoid a staffing shortage, you need to be aware of these issues and proactively take steps to prevent them from occurring. One way you can prevent a staffing shortage is to anticipate its appearance. If you see that your airport is experiencing a shortage of staff, then you can take action to address it. This means stepping back and looking at why it’s happening. Once you have a better understanding of the issue, you can take steps to address it.
Strategies to Address Staff Shortages
Once a staffing shortage occurs at your airport, you’ll need to proactively address it. This means stepping back and looking at why it’s happening. Once you have a better understanding of the issue, you can take steps to address it. Before jumping into addressing the issue, you should first examine where you stand and what’s currently happening at the airport. Take stock of the situation, and use the information below to gain a better understanding of your current situation and the factors that may be contributing to a staffing shortage. Take stock of your airport operations and see how they compare to your peers. Are your operations significantly more complicated than others in your peer group? Are there particular aspects of your operations that are significantly more complex than others? To get a better understanding of your operations, conduct an audit of the critical operations at your airport. This includes the operations that handle the most critical tasks, so you may want to start with the operations that handle wheelchairs, escalators, and baggage handling.
Proactive Approach
If your audit reveals that your airport is significantly more complicated than other airports in your peer group, then you need to take action. This means stepping back and looking at why it’s happening. Once you have a better understanding of the issue, you can take steps to address it. First, you need to get a better understanding of why your airport is experiencing a staffing shortage. What factors are causing the shortfall? What aspects of your operation are contributing the most to the problem? Next, you need to look at how you can mitigate the issue. What can you do to address the issues that are causing a staffing shortage? What can you do to mitigate the complexity of your operations? As you review your operations, consider how you can reduce the complexity of your airport operations so that you don’t experience a shortage of staff. You may want to get a better handle on your existing operations, see if there are areas where additional capacity is needed, or consider outsourcing some operations.
Crisis Management
If your audit reveals that your staffing shortage is caused by an operational complexity issue, then you need to take action. This means stepping back and looking at why it’s happening. Once you have a better understanding of the issue, you can take steps to address it. To mitigate the issue, you need to look at ways that you can address the issue and mitigate the complexity of your operations. What can you do to address the issue? What can you do to mitigate the complexity of your operations? To help address the issue, you might want to consider hiring more staff, scaling back operations, outsourcing some operations, or implementing better organizational processes.
Conclusion
Airports are the perfect storm for staffing challenges. They’re bustling 24/7, they require high levels of technical and operational knowledge, and they often operate with limited visibility from headquarters. Add in the extreme shift patterns that many airports face, and you’ve got the makings of a perfect environment for staff shortages. Fortunately, there are many strategies you can implement to prevent a shortage from happening and to mitigate its impact once it occurs. Staffing shortages can have serious consequences for your operations and for the guests who use your facilities. By planning ahead, you can strengthen your staffing structure and avoid a shortage before it happens.
