Female flight attendants

The Hanoitimes – Social distancing measures will be applied on flights where middle seats are kept vacant and no meal would be served during flights.

Vietnam airports and airlines simultaneously tightened up the Covid-19 prevention and control given a recent string of outbreaks that have stricken 10 cities and provinces across the country.

A representative of national carrier Vietnam Airlines on February 3 said that the airline has further conducted disinfection on all of its aircraft upon reaching destinations.

Besides, the air carriers have also implemented social distancing measures on flights where middle seats are kept vacant and no meal would be served during flights. Attendants on flights must wear full-body protective suits.

Tightening many quarantine rounds at airports is necessary given the increasingly serious evolution of the Covid-19 pandemic. Photo: Le Thanh

Body temperature checks and mask wearing are also compulsory for both crew members and ground personnel, according to the aviation representative.

Vietnam Airlines also applied social distancing during check-in procedures and disinfected planes before boarding. Alcohol wipes are provided during flights, with even earphones disinfected after each flight.

Especially, all passengers and flight attendants must be aware of following the “5K” principles. 5K (in Vietnamese) means ” Khau trang ” (face mask) – ” Khu khuan ” (disinfection) – ” Khoang cach ” (distance) – ” Khong tu tap ” (no gatherings) – ” Khai bao y te ” (health declaration).

In light of the new Covid-19 infections, several airports have had their employees tested for Covid-19. Ho Chi Minh’s Tan Son Nhat Airport has been performing Covid-19 tests on all its staff since late last week until February 7. Lien Khuong Airport in Lam Dong province also took Covid-19 test samples from all its employees on February 2 and 3. Hanoi’s Noi Bai International Airport is asking all its 3,200 employees to take Covid-19 test.

Since the new Covid-19 wave hit Vietnam in late January, new coronavirus infections have been confirmed daily, mostly in northern provinces. Hanoi has recorded 21 community cases and Covid-19 regulations are being enforced.

Anti-Covid-19 rule offenders’ identity would be make public, Hanoi warns

Vice Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Chu Xuan Dung stressed at a meeting on February 3 that defying masking regulations in public, inaccurately reporting health status or evading quarantine are just some actions that could result in heavy fines or even a criminal charges.

Vice Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Chu Xuan Dung speaks at the meeting. Photo: Kinhtedothi.vn

The city’s authorities hope the fines will discourage people from going out unless for reasons deemed essential in order to curb the spread of the Covid-19.

The authorities will strictly handle cases defying face mask rules by making public the offenders’ names, ages and work places.

At the meeting, the Standing Vice Chairman of Hoan Kiem district People’s Committee Dinh Hong Phong said the weekend pedestrian street would be suspended from February 5 until another notice from the municipal authorities.

Meanwhile, in a document issued by Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Chu Ngoc Anh on measures to fight the Covid-19 pandemic in the context that some coronavirus virus carriers have complicated travel history, the municipal government has encouraged its local residents to refrain from going out and not to gather in crowds.

The Hanoitimes – The latest case is a flight attendant who served a flight from London which landed in Hanoi on March 9.

Hanoi has detected another person positive with the new coronavirus (SAR-CoV-2), taking the toll of infection cases in the city to six so far, Chairman Nguyen Duc Chung of the municipal People’s Committee said at a meeting on Friday morning.

Authorities block the neighborhood of the patient’s house in Thanh Xuan District. Photo: VnExpress

The sixth case is N.T.D, a 30-year-old flight attendant of Vietnam Airlines, who tested positive with the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) on March 12, three days after she served flight VN0054 from London to Hanoi, the national flag carrier has confirmed in a press release.

After landing at Noi Bai International Airport on March 9, the attendant took a leave and got symptoms of pneumonia like fever and cough on late March 10. Therefore, the number of people who made contact with her is small.

When receiving news on the sixth case, Hanoi’s authorities summoned a meeting during which Chairman Nguyen Duc Chung asked the municipal authorities to take drastic measures to curb the spread of the epidemic.

Local authorities blocked an area surrounding the patient’s house in Khuong Trung street, Thanh Xuan district, disinfected the places she stayed, and quarantined those who were in contact with her.

With this case, the caseload in Vietnam has risen to 45. The Ministry of Health has not confirmed this case at the time of writing.

Since March 6, 18 cases have been confirmed positive with the virus in relation with Vietnam Airlines flight VN0054 that departed London on March 1 and landed in Hanoi on March 2.

Vo Thuy Duong, deputy general director, FLC Group

The impact of the pandemic was felt acutely in the human resources (HR) field. How did the Board of Directors at FLC Group maintain the operations resources of the system during the social distancing period while simultaneously preparing recovery plans for the later period?

As soon as the first news of the pandemic came out in early 2020, FLC’s Board of Directors held an urgent meeting and under the straightforward directions from the Board of Directors and the Board of Management, we immediately applied several emergency policies to quickly respond to the new situation, such as comprehensively reviewing operating procedures, setting out an alternative working system, restructuring departments, as well as outlining a series of scenarios on HR policy with distinct undertakings for different levels of crisis.

We parsed through which departments could work online and which ones had to be present at the office, how many of our staff were essential to maintain operations, and other similar issues. All these questions needed to be carefully calculated in order to both ensure the interests of employees and the group’s daily operations. This is definitely no simple task, considering the diverse ecosystem, including the various industries and fields of operation of FLC Group.

What were the most significant challenges during this undertaking, especially with such drastic changes in policies?

The first few months of 2020 were probably the first time in a decade that we have truly experienced a short but relatively “slow” period at FLC.

However, this short breather has opened up many valuable opportunities, one of which was the chance to take time out to look directly at the things that have been done and to continue sorting and restructuring the system.

In order to succeed in this, enforcing policies from the top are a necessity, but it is more important to create a good flow so that both the heads and staff can understand how the system is operating, what goals should be achieved, and what needs to be changed.

This way, each individual can understand their role and how it aligns with the greater vision and strategies of the system of thousands of other people working towards the same goal.

What was your most profound impression about FLC staff during the social distancing period?

The most impressive thing was probably the connection and sharing from the team, who were always ready to join hands for a common goal.

Even in the most challenging times, we were still able to see Bamboo Airways pilots and crew members on the front lines showing undiminished pride and joy in operating repatriation flights, overcoming the fear of the pandemic.

At FLC hotels and complexes, while taking care of the guest’s health, meals, sleep, and experiences, the staff was constantly reminding each other to comply maximally with anti-pandemic regulations to ensure absolute safety for the community.

Leaders of FLC were also overwhelmed by thousands of shares and messages from managers and employees about encouragement, dedication, and supporting each other.

These are what made 2020 a remarkable year for FLC.

Looking back a year later, how would you summarise the HR policy of FLC in 2020 and the plans for 2021?

In a challenging year like 2020, FLC still increased employee count by nearly 2,300, with the aviation sector accounting for more than 700 employees.

It is expected that next year, we will recruit about 3,000 new employees across the system, 30 per cent of whom will be in the aviation segment due to the huge demand for pilots, engineers, and crew members to operate about 50 Bamboo Airways aircraft in 2021.

Thus, it is estimated that in 2021-2022, our HR network will reach about 15,000-17,000 people.

This is quite surprising news considering you are involved in many business lines that were severely affected, such as tourism and aviation where most companies had to cut down on human resources. How did you do it?

Since the end of the second quarter of 2020, FLC has managed to restore most of its production and business activities, while simultaneously launching many new projects, hotels, as well as opening new flight routes.

This means our demand for employees has continued to grow.

Counted separately in the field of resort and tourism, each complex with an active golf course requires 1,500-3,000 employees. In the field of real estate, we are researching to invest and promote more than 300 projects in nearly 60 provinces, so HR planning can only increase.

In the field of aviation, we currently have more than 2,000 employees, but this number will definitely increase drastically as Bamboo Airways expands its market share and flight network.

FLC Group will recruit for more than 30 units in approximately 10 areas and key industries, with international personnel accounting for 7-10 per cent.

In a challenging year like 2020, FLC still employed nearly 2,300 employees

In the professional and notoriously high-pressure environments where FLC Group operates, what do you need to retain HR – especially skilled and talented personnel?

In order to retain talented employees, I think the balance between the fundamental factors like remuneration, good promotion opportunities, and professional working environment is critical.

FLC has a diverse welfare system with about 24 policies. In particular, the salary system is built and applied flexibly according to the individuals’ competences and their position and is generally competitive in the labour market.

Even in an industry such as aviation, Bamboo Airways’ remuneration policy was rated as the best in the domestic market before the pandemic and even today, and is more lucrative than the market average.

One of the outstanding policies is to create opportunities for employees to enjoy high-quality products in the group’s ecosystem, from complimentary flights, free resort rooms, preferential house and share purchase policy, or access to products and services from FLC’s reputable domestic and foreign partners.

For example, in a real estate project, employees can buy products with a discount of up to 40 per cent on the land price, with preferential interest rates. I think this is quite an edge over other businesses.

You have just mentioned the salary, bonus, and incentives, but is physical treatment always the ultimate key to retaining talent?

Salary, bonuses, and incentives are of course the most important factors, but I think building a corporate culture that is similar to a family is also extremely important to attract talent. Not all businesses can do it successfully.

FLC Group’s chairman Trinh Van Quyet has been repeatedly calling the company the first home along with your own family, and he himself is an example of this. He goes home to meet his family at night, but coming to work the next morning also feels like coming home. Having that mindset, the company is a family, co-workers are brothers and sisters, and taking care of the company is also taking care of your own house.

At FLC, anyone has the right to share their views, employees can send their opinions directly to senior leaders, even to the chairman of the group.

This is where all employees, from the smallest positions, are given equal opportunities to learn, work, promote, nurture their passion, and develop themselves.

This is perhaps the real universal key to keeping talented employees in the FLC family.

Every employee is a brand ambassador

The faster the business grows, the bigger the HR challenge. How do you experiences this at FLC?

In fact, HR is always one of the most persistent issues for businesses, and this is doubly true for a diverse ecosystem like FLC.

For example, when operating a 5-star complex in a new province, we encounter many difficulties in recruiting high-quality personnel, as prior to FLC’s investment, the locality had almost no high-grade tourism infrastructure.

What we do is maintain a diverse recruitment network covering all channels, from linking with universities to recruiting high-quality human resources through prestigious domestic and international partners.

To recruit staff for Bamboo Airways, we also cooperate with more than 10 international pilot supply partners to be able to cover our extensive operation plans.

However, in the long-term, we are specifically focusing on training HR autonomously.

Can you share the specifics of the training plans of FLC and Bamboo Airways?

In recent years, FLC has invested hundreds of billions of VND in training including long-term training projects such as FLC University that provides international-standard education with the first “university town” model in Quang Ninh, or Bamboo Airways’ Aviation Academy in Quy Nhon which can welcome thousands of students, while another aviation training centre is planned to be opened in Vinh Phuc.

So far, Bamboo Airways have been actively arranging technical personnel and crew members, with the former assessed to have the best skills and service attitudes in the industry, equivalent to the standards of international 5-star airlines.

The pilot training programme is being implemented with great success, with nearly 50 pilots trained in 2020 and plans to train 150 more basic and cadet pilots in 2021. In 2023, the airline is expected to reach complete autonomy in pilot personnel.

What else would you highlight about your HR approach?

We have this view: every employee is a brand ambassador!

And in industries like tourism or aviation, employees are not only ambassadors of the business but sometimes also ambassadors of a locality and the entire country.

The flight attendants are the first point of contact with passengers who will then be welcomed by staff at complexes, resorts, and other accommodation facilities. Each FLC complex can accommodate 3,000-5,000 visitors at a time, and we constantly have to train and coordinate staff so that 5-star service quality is always maintained, delivering customers the finest experience.

And if the staff makes a bad impression on the guests, not only the corporate brand will be affected, but also the image of regional and national tourism. We always make sure to remind our staff of this.