Aer Lingus 2012 Annual Report Download - page 38

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY STATEMENT Aer Lingus Group Plc
ANNUAL REPORT 2012
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do not accept gifts, entertainment or favours from customers or suppliers
which could compromise them. In addition, there is a specific procurement
policy, which governs the purchase of significant goods and services.
Supporting Businesses
Aer Lingus supports many organisations and initiatives focused on
promoting business and international trade.
Through the Aer Lingus Viscount Awards, now in their fifth year, Aer Lingus
promotes the economic ties between Northern Ireland and Great Britain
– in particular in the South of England. Aer Lingus is proud to provide a
gateway via Belfast City airport to London Heathrow and Gatwick routes
for those businesses to connect with their markets across the water.
Aer Lingus also supports the “Gateway to Europe Expo” initiative, giving
support in the form of flights for Irish businesses exhibiting in cities across
North America, in an effort to encourage US business to locate and invest
in Ireland.
Sports Sponsorship
The airline continued its support of community based sports initiatives
throughout 2012.
Aer Lingus was proud sponsor of Ireland’s Olympic Team and welcomed
Team Ireland on board its special homecoming flight from London to
Dublin, in August.
Travel assistance was provided for Ireland’s Paralympics team travelling to
Lisbon to a training camp in advance of the Paralympics Games.
Aer Lingus also supported Special Olympics and Celebral Palsy Sport
Ireland through their charitable fundraising initiative, the Paris2Nice cycle.
The six day, 700km cycle took placed in September 2012.
Aer Lingus is the official airline partner of Dublin GAA under a three
year sponsorship agreement, building on existing support for the Galway
Hurling Supporters Club and other local GAA initiatives.
In Northern Ireland, Aer Lingus signed a two year deal with Ulster
Rugby as Official Airline Sponsor. Aer Lingus provides Ulster Rugby
with air travel as well as supporting the development of travel and
accommodation packages for supporters to and from Northern Ireland.
In 2013, Aer Lingus will host the first ever International Hurling Festival.
The Hurling Tournament, in association with the Gathering and supported
by the GAA and Etihad Airways, will be staged at Pearse Stadium with other
festival events, including music and dance, taking place in venues around
Galway City. Teams from all over the world will compete in this unique
International Hurling event including teams from New York, San Francisco,
Canada, Buenos Aires, Asia, Europe and Australia.
Our People
We value people with the determination and passion to deliver great
customer service, and drive our business forward. We recognise the
importance of the contribution made by our people in delivering our “Great
Care, Great Fare” promise to customers. We believe that taking Great Care
in everything we do allows us to stand out from our competitors. Aer Lingus
supports learning and development of employees to ensure the safe and
efficient operation of the business and to ensure we deliver on our promise
to our customers.
Recruitment
We are committed to recruiting the best people and to developing their
careers throughout their time with Aer Lingus. As a result, our airline is
viewed as an employer of choice.
Through our recruitment policies and procedures we provide equal access
to all qualified candidates and avoid all forms of discrimination. Our
objective is always to select the candidate most suitable for each position,
on the basis of pre-set selection criteria.
The Group fills vacancies through the provision of opportunities for existing
staff to progress within the organisation, combined with the recruitment of
specific expertise and skills externally. Aer Lingus operates a highly effective,
low cost recruitment model, where over 95% of external recruitment needs
are sourced through the Group’s website, www.aerlingus.com.
Learning and Development
Aer Lingus is committed to providing high-quality learning to support the
safe and efficient operation of the business with the primary focus on
mandatory training requirements, in particular air safety, aviation security,
health and safety and operational training. In addition, there is a particular
focus on customer service training to ensure that a consistent, satisfactory
customer experience is delivered. The majority of cabin crew and pilot
training is designed and delivered in-house through dedicated facilities
on-site so as to ensure a consistent standard and quality of training.
In recent years we have re-activated Cadetship and Apprenticeship
programmes for the recruitment and training of Pilots, Aircraft Mechanics
and Engineers.
Finally, there is also an increased emphasis being placed on developing
our managers and supervisors to ensure we continuously develop the
competence of our management capability.
Equality and Diversity
Aer Lingus is fully committed to being an equal opportunities employer
regardless of nationality or ethnic origin, race, gender, sexual orientation,
marital status, disability, age and religious or political belief. The Group
proactively ensures compliance with all relevant equality legislation.
During 2012 a total of 36 different nationalities worked across the Group.