Cathay Pacific – helping employees to fly high through e-learning

Airline Cathay Pacific asked us to devise a career development programme that would enable employees to take control of their careers, their life and their world. Staff retention rose by 12%.

The brief

Not only is Cathay Pacific, based in Hong Kong, is one of the most successful airlines in the world, it is also one of the safest. Its highly skilled employees are valued by the company, and retaining them is a top priority. That’s why it is important for the airline to give its several thousand staff the power to achieve work-life balance while also developing their careers. We were asked to create a flexible, self-service career development programme that employees could access at their convenience.

The challenges

The company not only required a learning package that demonstrated proactive support of its highly regarded customer-facing staff and other employees, it needed an immersive, action-orientated learning tool that would provide real guidance and thought-provoking materials. It had to be available online or on CD-Rom.

The solution

We came up with a uniquely creative career help package, launched across the organisation on the intranet and on CD.

The execution

The programme takes learners from their successes to date through to their vision, personal action plan and progress. By profiling the learner, the course adapts to their learning style.A range of online tools support users’ learning, from interactive exercises to a library of resources.

The verdict

Employees found the programme both inspirational and practical as a personal development tool. It was universally well received.The overwhelming objective of the e-Learning package was employee retention. In helping employees address their work-life balance, employee retention improved by over 12%.

• Cathay Pacific is a market leader in the turbulent aviation industry –and knows its staff are a vital part of maintaining that position.
• Flexible access to the career development programme was a priority to serve employees who often work in potentially pressured environments.
• Take up was high across all levels and functions.
• Employees could make the programme their own, choosing their own design and font.
• Users could keep a full record of their careers in an easily accessible format, recording everything from progress notes to poignant quotes.
• A truly action-oriented support programme for employees.