Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Economics, government & businessLatest NewsRecruitment & retention

Staffing plans to tackle border-control queues at Heathrow ‘doomed’, says expert

by Laura Chamberlain 2 May 2012
by Laura Chamberlain 2 May 2012

Government plans to reduce delays at Heathrow airport’s border control by overhauling the shift system and providing reinforcements are “doomed” because they ignore the performance and engagement of individual staff, a resourcing expert has claimed.

Yesterday, immigration minister Damian Green admitted that there had been “breaches of acceptable waiting times at Heathrow” over the weekend due to the severe weather.

He announced that, in order to tackle delays in future, the Government would put in place mobile teams that could be deployed rapidly across Heathrow airport, as well as new rostering and shift patterns for border staff that would allow workers to be used to meet unexpected surges in passengers.

However, Roger Philby, chief executive and founder of HR consultancy The Chemistry Group, claimed that the plans were “doomed” because they did not tackle the issue of individual staff behaviour and engagement.

Philby argued: “The roster won’t work, and, in some way, nor will overstaffing, as this will be an expensive and inefficient answer.

“If [the Government] believes a roster change is going to solve the queue problem, it is sorely mistaken. The reason why queues develop in any face-to-face service environment invariably isn’t because of staff shortages but the behaviour of the staff that are present.”

Philby added that the UK Border Agency would need to ensure that staff care about their jobs so that they take ownership of situations, and make decisions more quickly and effectively.

He explained: “The role of border control is a noble one, protecting Britain, and there is a huge opportunity to create a ‘high-level intent’ to engage employees. The way to solve the problem is to create an environment where employees feel valued, can work autonomously and the decisions on where to put resource and how to behave is made at the front line by the operational staff.”

Unions have also attacked the Government’s plans to tackle delays at border control, labelling them as a “sticking plaster on a serious injury” that would not solve the long-term problems caused by job cuts.

The latest figures from the UK Border Agency showed that total staffing had reduced by 22% in two years, from around 25,000 to just under 19,500.

Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the PCS union, commented: “Drafting in staff from other areas of an already over-stretched agency is like putting a sticking plaster on a serious injury, it will do nothing to stop the inevitable from happening.

“Everyone can see that the Government’s obsession with austerity isn’t working and that what UK Border Agency needs is more staff, not more cuts.”

Avatar
Laura Chamberlain

previous post
Young people want access to employers to improve career prospects
next post
Government confirms suspension of Sunday trading restrictions for Olympics is temporary

You may also like

Employment law changes for 2022 and beyond: update...

1 Jul 2022

BT workers vote for strike action over pay

1 Jul 2022

Chief financial officers now more involved in HR

1 Jul 2022

Top 10 HR questions June 2022: Former employees

1 Jul 2022

Pay all care workers a £10.50 hourly minimum...

30 Jun 2022

Royal Mail managers vote to strike over restructure

30 Jun 2022

Give wellbeing a board seat: Prof Sir Cary...

30 Jun 2022

One in five workplaces lack LGBT support policies

30 Jun 2022

Christian doctor loses transgender pronoun case, but beliefs...

29 Jun 2022

New chief workforce officer at NHS England

29 Jun 2022
  • NSPCC revamps its learning strategy with child wellbeing at its heart PROMOTED | The NSPCC’s mission is to prevent abuse and neglect...Read more
  • Diversity versus inclusion: Why the difference matters PROMOTED | It’s possible for an environment to be diverse, but not inclusive...Read more
  • Five steps for organisations across the globe to become more skills-driven PROMOTED | The shift in the world of work has been felt across the globe...Read more
  • The future of workforce development PROMOTED | Northumbria University and partners share insight...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2022

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2022 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+