Pawan Rochwani: Hello, everyone. Welcome to a new episode of people led show by inFeedo. My name is Pawan Rochwani , and I'm hosting people leaders and CHROs from the Southeast Asia region. I know I've it's the same host, but just with the classes. And I hope you continue to shower the same love that you have been doing to the past few episodes even if I have changed my look a little bit.

Pawan Rochwani: But in this episode, I have the opportunity to interview Kirk, who is the country director of people function at AirAsia Philippines. And we talked a lot about how the aviation industry in general is very demanding in terms of the schedule the way that it operates, and what are certain challenges that can come across with respect to work life balance of your employees, and at the same time, also as an HR leader. And very interestingly, when I asked him about what you do outside of work and when you are not working and when you're not thinking about work. He gave me a very interesting answer which talks a lot about the industry in general, and I'm glad that we were able to touch about multiple topics. And he has almost 2 decades or maybe more than that experience as a people leader, and he has previously been in manufacturing, health care, hospitality, and even in the BPO industry.

Pawan Rochwani: So it's going to be an interesting conversation. I hope you all enjoy this as much as you have enjoyed our previous episode. Once again, if you have any suggestions for us to improve upon the next episode or if you want to if you want us to interview somebody specifically, please feel free to comment their names, and we will try our best to host them on the show. But I hope you enjoy this, and this conversation was prerecorded. So some of the context might not be exactly when you're viewing this.

Pawan Rochwani: So I hope you enjoy it.

Pawan Rochwani: Thank you so much,Kirk, for giving us your time. I'm so happy hosting you. I'm I know we have been going back and forth about when to do this, but I'm so glad that we are doing this today. So thank you so much for giving us your time. .

Kirk Alimaza: Thanks too, pawan, and thank you for being so patient. 

Pawan Rochwani: Super. You know, I  start all my episodes by asking all the CHROs and the people leaders that what is something that you do outside of work? Because I know this conversation is gonna become a lot about your work. But to begin with, what is something that you do outside of work?

Pawan Rochwani: What are you doing on the weekends? Or just the time when you're not working? 

Kirk Alimaza: If well, Pawan, if the question pertains to when I am not working, well, I really don't know because I am always working. Well, from time to time, I've been receiving a lot of chats and then emails, and then I need to to respond. I need to reply.

Kirk Alimaza: But, anyway, kidding aside I'm more of a a homebody. So I'd rather stay at home, you know Netflixing, YouTubeing, sleeping. I need of sleep. Yeah. So that's basically outside of work.

Pawan Rochwani: Super. Okay. And getting into now with respect to work, what are, let's say, the top 2 dilemmas or challenges that you currently face as the country head of people at AirAsia Philippines? 

Kirk Alimaza: 2 dilemmas as the country head. Okay.

Kirk Alimaza: Number 1, I would say work life balance. Yes. As as an HR professional, you you know, we are tasked with finding effective strategies to support employees in achieving work life balance. It includes addressing issues like burnout, isolation, and difficulties in separating work and personal time. And then the other 1 although it has been, uh, it's being promoted by majority of the companies, the DEI, and diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Kirk Alimaza: Yeah. 

Kirk Alimaza: Well, I'm seeing this in terms of achieving the meaningful progress in DEI initiatives because there are still various factors such as unconscious biases systematic barriers. And, of course, some some of the employees would always resist the change. Yeah. You know?

Kirk Alimaza: Yeah. So I I I think we need to navigate complex issues regarding to some of the aspects in the human resources like recruitment retention and promotion practices to create a more diverse and inclusive workforce. 

Pawan Rochwani: Yeah. I'm I'm glad we started on the DEI topic because I know diversity is crucial for innovation and specifically within the airline industry.

Pawan Rochwani: Are there any specific measures that you are taking to you know, transform and ensure diversity and equity and inclusion? Like, is there something you specifically, like, are aiming as a policy or as as, like, an initiative at AirAsia? 

Kirk Alimaza: We are actually promoting diversity, this this DEI. But for me I think we have to or we need to give more focus, you know in in promoting this 1. So I think sorry.

Kirk Alimaza: What's the question again? I Are are we on number 3? 

Kirk Alimaza: Yes. 

Kirk Alimaza: Yes. Okay.

Kirk Alimaza: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So breaking the buyers. Right?

Kirk Alimaza: Yeah. Mhmm. Very practical practical, what do you call this, a practical solutions, I think. Mhmm. So number 1, most I I I think the most important thing is to listen and learn.

Kirk Alimaza: K? So in breaking down barriers by listening to others and learn from their experiences, that's very important. So I think we need to to try to understand their perspective and what they are going through. Okay. So and learn.

Kirk Alimaza: And then number 2 being open minded. It is really important to keep an open mind and be willing to learn and grow. So this? Perhaps don't be afraid to challenge your own assumptions and beliefs. Yeah.

Kirk Alimaza: Yeah. Yeah. And then respect differences. We really need to to keep this in mind and then speak up. So if you see something that's not right, don't be afraid to speak up.

Pawan Rochwani: Yeah. Yeah. He would like to email it. Yeah. 

Kirk Alimaza: Yeah.

Kirk Alimaza: So we actually need to use our voice to advocate for, well, for yourself and for others. Yeah. 

Kirk Alimaza: Then the 

Kirk Alimaza: last thing that we need to do is to take action. Yeah. Right?

Kirk Alimaza: So it means standing up for yourself and for others as well or taking steps to make, well, the the the the organization inclusive. 

Pawan Rochwani: Yeah. Yeah. Got it. Very valid point, actually.

Pawan Rochwani: Listen and learn and, you know voice out and all these things definitely are, like, very, very crucial. And moving on to my next topic, and this is something that I have been scratching my head about because the airline industry, everything is so much on a tight schedule. Right? And it has very demanding schedule, actually, I would I would rather say. So how do you prioritize and promote employee well-being?

Pawan Rochwani: And is there again something specific programs or initiatives that you have taken for, like, overall health and satisfaction of the workforce? Because I'm sure at least people who are on the on the ground, they it's very demanding work schedule for them. Mhmm. And for people who are in the offices as well. So just, like, curious about because we also spoke about work life balance.

Pawan Rochwani: So what what are something some initiative or programs that you have to take care of this? 

Kirk Alimaza: Yeah. So on a quarterly basis, we have this health and wellness activity. So we we have a lot of booth here. Some are giving massages.

Kirk Alimaza: All of those are are seminars regarding on on how to keep yourself healthy, body healthy how to maintain work life balance, blah blah blah. So it's on a quarterly basis. And we also include programs for for mental health. Mhmm. Yeah.

Kirk Alimaza: And then another thing, we also promote workplace safety. We because we need to ensure that the working environment is safe. And how do you call it? Conducive to employee well-being. Mhmm.

Kirk Alimaza: K. And we also have a regular recognition, yeah, recognition and appreciation, specifically for for cabin groups. So they have this incentive program. I I I think they call it change the game. Right?

Kirk Alimaza: So they incentivize, and they they recognize a hardworking cabin crew. Yeah. So, basically, the the top sellers of the month. Yeah. So there is a corresponding cash incentive.

Kirk Alimaza: Okay? And then we also we also take No. We also have a lot of training and development programs. 

Pawan Rochwani: Yeah. 

Kirk Alimaza: Yeah.

Kirk Alimaza: We we have the AirAsia Academy, and, also, we have the talent team in people and culture. And I I think number 1 is that we have a very supportive leadership. Mhmm. If you happen to know Tony Fernandez, he is really supportive, and he's actually our idol Yeah. And on a regular basis, we also conduct feedback and surveys.

Pawan Rochwani: Got it. Got it. We'll we'll talk about feedback and surveys a little later in this conversation. But Mhmm. The thing that I wanted to, you know, talk about was during COVID.

Pawan Rochwani: Right? Like, there was a lot of unpredictability across the aviation industry, and I think everybody had their own, like, crisis management and support that they were giving to their employees during that time. But I remember at at 1 given point when the rest of the world was still not outside, but but the aviation industry had already started. People were traveling because, obviously, certain necessary travels had to be done. So across that unpredictability, how did you, like, manage that crisis is maybe we can talk about it little bit for a for a few seconds or a minute to just, like, tell us about how did you manage that.

Kirk Alimaza: Yeah. When when COVID hit well, the world actually stopped. Right? And it's something new, and I'm not really familiar what to do during this lockdown, blah blah blah. So, basically, what we need what what we did we may we made sure that there's a clear communication.

Kirk Alimaza: We provide a regular and transparent communication to employees about the impact of COVID 19 in our industry, in the airline industry, and also organizational changes safety protocols, the available resources, blah blah blah. K. And and we always make sure that all communication channels are accessible, reliable, and very responsive to employees' questions and concerns. Safety measures. In terms of safety measures, we implemented vigorous safety measures to protect our employees for a possible exposure to COVID 19 in the workplace.

Kirk Alimaza: We provide PPEs, protective personal equipment, and then we enforce, you know, physical distancing. Mhmm. Yeah. So distancing, and then we enhance the cleaning and disinfection protocols as well, and then regular health screenings. Yeah.

Kirk Alimaza: When when we started reporting back for work sometime in June or July 20 20 on a regular basis on a weekly basis, we do what's what's this? 

Pawan Rochwani: My god. That's that's, like, so much in the past, I'm not able to remember it. Yeah. Yeah.

Pawan Rochwani: But the but the COVID test, like the The COVID test. Yeah. Correct. Yeah. 

Kirk Alimaza: Something, blah blah.

Kirk Alimaza: K. And then we also implemented flexible work arrangements. K. So we have the remote work, flexible hours, and we also have temporary temporary leave options to accommodate employees' individual circumstances and concerns. And then mental health resources as well.

Kirk Alimaza: Right? Because we we we also need to recognize the, what do you call it, psychological impact of the crisis of this crisis 

Pawan Rochwani: Yeah. 

Kirk Alimaza: On employees. And we also provided mental health headlines. We actually have this all star peer support.

Kirk Alimaza: Mhmm. So there is this channel wherein if you're, uh, if you feel something about yourself, if you feel sad or if you feel that you're Yeah. Emotionally challenged like that. So there are all stars. So we call ourselves all stars.

Kirk Alimaza: So there are dedicated staff who who who's willing to listen and give advice. Mhmm. Yeah. And then we also had a lot of employee engagement initiative. So we we had karaoke night.

Kirk Alimaza: So it's every Monday. Yes. So we encourage employees to join the karaoke night, so we play songs, and then everyone is everyone's singing, blah blah blah. 

Pawan Rochwani: Yeah. Got it.

Pawan Rochwani: In India, the test is called RT PCR. I'm not sure if it's in same in the Philippines or not. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Kirk Alimaza: RTPCR. But but there's another 1. The 1 I also cannot remember. I I feel like it's so back in the past that Exactly. But, yeah, I think for me as well during the COVID time, right, like that's when remote IT gen.

Pawan Rochwani: Auntie Jen. Yes. Yeah. So, yeah, I was I was just saying that during COVID, that was the first time when the possibility of remote work, like, came into picture. And everybody was installing Zoom or, you know, getting familiar with screen sharing, Google Meet, and all of those things.

Pawan Rochwani: And my biggest challenge at that time was how to, you know, make the entire workforce remote ready because nobody had worked in a remote setup. We, in fact, had our PCs in the office. So it was so difficult back then to, of course, purchase new softwares. Mhmm. Some people were living in a huge family.

Pawan Rochwani: So for them attending meetings from their living room was becoming difficult and all of those so many new things. So I I remember It's 

Kirk Alimaza: actually tiring. So you're working, and at the same time, you're also doing household chores. 

Pawan Rochwani: Yeah. Yeah.

Pawan Rochwani: Yeah. Especially in India, because the population is huge. Right? So it it was newer challenges that nobody had, like really thought about. But, yes, I'm I'm glad that's away now from the world.

Pawan Rochwani: And we we did touch upon and talk about employee surveys and making employees feel heard. And newer technologies, of course, have started coming up. And how how do you currently like, we did talk about this that you use Google Suite. But how do you apart from these surveys do you have, like, 1 on ones with the managers or employees? How exactly is that employee listening really happening at AirAsia?

Kirk Alimaza: Okay. Number 1 I call it active listening. Right? So the CEO and I we we actually encourage managers and leaders to practice active listening when interacting with staff with employees. They need to focus on what the staff is saying or when they ask asking clarifying questions and the and the likes.

Kirk Alimaza: K? And then we also have well, the office is actually, like a 1 huge office, and we don't have rooms. So even the CEO, you you can actually, approach him. Mhmm. K.

Kirk Alimaza: In in in this in this way, I I I think AirAsia is very successful in making employees feel comfortable approaching managers, giving feedback, concerns, and suggestions. Yeah. K. So is this actually ensure everyone that managers are accessible, approachable? And employees know that their their their voice, their opinions they I mean, they can actually voice out their opinions without fear.

Kirk Alimaza: Yeah. So that's 1 good thing that I really love about AirAsia. 

Pawan Rochwani: Yeah. I I'm I'm I'm finding your office really interesting. Like, the CEO does like, is very approachable.

Pawan Rochwani: There are cognitive massage happening. So all those things. So But 

Kirk Alimaza: you don't need to to make a schedule with the CEO if you want to talk to him. Or if you want to talk to HR, you don't need to. Oh, can I can I can I talk to you at 1 PM?

Kirk Alimaza: So as long as we're available, as long as we're not doing anything or we're not really busy, you can actually approach us. 

Pawan Rochwani: Wow. That's that's really interesting. Yes. I am I'm sure a lot of people who are going to listen to this and watch this, they they might start implementing this.

Pawan Rochwani: But, you know, 1 1 more question because your workforce is most of the times, on the move, especially people who are on the ground and they have different shifts. So how does your the the people team, the HR team, foster that sense of belonging or that connection with the organization especially with the roles that involve a lot of, like, extensive travel, like the cabin crew, the pilots and also the folks on the ground. So how do you have certain other metrics that you follow? And I'm going to club my 2 questions here together. Do you follow separate metrics for people who are on the move and separate metrics for people, let's say, who are in the marketing team or people who are, like, in the office working out of Manila or any of these other locations that you have. A simpler version would be so let's say your employee engagement metrics different for, let's say, people who are on the move, like the cabin crew and people who are at the airport. And are they different for people who work out of your office? Because, of course, like, that extensive travel probably creates a barrier sometimes with engagement.

Kirk Alimaza: Yes. Technically, they have different metrics and KPIs. Yeah. Like, for cabin crew and then also for pilots and then for marketing. Marketing sales and marketing are actually based on, uh, sales, right, in the commercial side.

Kirk Alimaza: And then for for cabin crew, pilots, engineers ground staff. Of course, they are on the operation side. So, technically, they have different KPIs. But if you're asking me the key metrics that we we think are insightful or to check the performance Yeah. Of of the company or the organization.

Kirk Alimaza: Perhaps we need to do regular employee engagement survey scores. So in there we can measure their level of satisfaction, engagement, as well as loyalty. 

Pawan Rochwani: Yeah. Yeah. 

Kirk Alimaza: If you're if you're familiar with eNPS Yep.

Kirk Alimaza:  Yeah. Employee net promoter score. Yeah. So also that and then 1 thing that as HR professionals need to also take a look at is the turnover rate, the retention rate, absenteeism rate, and also the employee well-being metrics and the likes.

Kirk Alimaza: Got it. And what I have discussed earlier, we have this social media platform, like workplace 

Pawan Rochwani: Yeah. 

Kirk Alimaza: By Facebook. So in there, we have 3 groups. So we have the announcements, the happenings, and the socials.

Kirk Alimaza: So for the announcements, we announce what's organization, what's new. Then for the happenings say, for example, we have an employee. We have a wellness program or we have someone to to we have a speaker that's going to inform us about financial well-being, emotional well-being. And then for the socials, you can just post anything. It's like it's it's like Facebook or Instagram.

Kirk Alimaza: You just post your photo, yada, and all those. 

Pawan Rochwani: Got it. Okay. My last few set of questions we've talked a lot about work in general. But my last few set of questions and this is more from a futuristic kind of an or maybe let's say a philosophical aspect as well.

Pawan Rochwani: What what do you think how is the people management or the HR function going to change in the coming few years. I know a lot of now CHROs are becoming I would say, technology first with with, let's say, AI coming in and all of them. And what do you think how is the future of the HR function going to look like in the coming few years? 

Kirk Alimaza: In talking about AI, so we have this recruitment platform. So it automatically what do you call this?

Kirk Alimaza: It screens. Automatically screens the candidates, and then yeah, I I think AI is a very helpful tool. Yeah. So this 1 can literally operate h some of the HR functions, I think efficiently. Got it.

Kirk Alimaza: Right? However, there's there's still well, I think there's still a need for human interaction. Mhmm. There has to be hard in the processes. Right?

Kirk Alimaza: But yeah, if I think this AI thing continues to evolve, then I hope the impact on the industry would be well, we're expecting to grow more. 

Pawan Rochwani: Yeah. 

Kirk Alimaza: Yeah. It will drive more innovation and transformation in the industry.

Pawan Rochwani: Got it. I think yeah, we should keep the heart also Yes. Within all the technology and AI that's been going around. Okay. Here's my last question, and this is also not this is also, let's say, how we started the beginning with what you do outside of work.

Pawan Rochwani: This is also something I would say, but interpersonal. If you could go back to your 20 year old person, what what is, let's say, a piece of advice that you would want to give to your 20 year old self? 

Kirk Alimaza: I think I would encourage my younger self to take more risks and then pursue ambitious goals and not be afraid to step outside of my comfort zone. I I I think I would emphasize the importance of resilience, perseverance, and the growth mindset in overcoming setbacks and turning failures into valuable lessons. Because when I was still young, I am really afraid or I hate failures.

Kirk Alimaza: Mhmm. Yeah. I think that would that that would be my my pieces of advice.

Pawan Rochwani: Yeah. That's great. I think lovely. Thank you so much, Kurt, for giving us your time. I I thoroughly enjoyed right from the beginning when where you talked about how sleep is so important for you and now, Yes.

Pawan Rochwani: Is there any doubt here? 

Kirk Alimaza: Yeah. 

Pawan Rochwani: We talked about work, of course, and technology and how the future of people function is also going to be. I loved how you really answered all my curiosity about the aviation industry because I I some I I really understand it has a very demanding work schedules, and everything is, like, running on a timeline. So, yeah, thank you so much for doing this.

Kirk Alimaza: Thank you too, Pawan. Yeah. I thoroughly enjoyed this.