Continental Airlines (IATA: CO, ICAO: COA, Call sign: CONTINENTAL) is a major American airline based in Continental Center I in Downtown Houston, Texas. On October 1, 2010, the acquisition of Continental airlines by UAL Corporation (the parent company of United Airlines) was completed and on the same day UAL changed its name to United Continental Holdings, Inc. These airlines are in the process of merging their operations under the name United Airlines. During the integration period, both airlines will, for a time, run separate operations under direction of a combined leadership team of the new parent company based in Chicago.[5] The merger transaction is estimated to be worth (USD)$3.2 billion.[6][7]
At the time of its acquisition by United Continental Holdings, Inc., Continental was the fourth-largest airline in the US based on passenger-kilometers flown and the fifth largest in total passengers carried. Continental operates flights to destinations throughout the U.S., Canada, Latin America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific regions. Principal operations are from its four hubs at Newark Liberty International Airport, George Bush Intercontinental Airport, Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport in Guam.
The origin of Continental Airlines dates to the 1934 formation of Varney Speed Lines which operated airmail and passenger services in the American Southwest. The carrier was renamed Continental Air Lines in 1937 and expanded its domestic U.S. network in the 1960s with jet aircraft. International flights to Southeast Asia and South Pacific destinations began in 1978 following industry deregulation. Continental was embroiled in ownership struggles in the 1980s and entered bankruptcy in 1983 and 1990. The carrier exhibited a financial and operational turnaround after 1996,[8] and embarked on international route expansion in the 2000s.
Continental has ownership interests and brand partnerships with several carriers. Continental is a minority owner of ExpressJet Airlines, which operates under the 'Continental Express' trade name but is a separately managed and public company. Chautauqua Airlines also flies under the Continental Express identity, and Cape Air, Colgan Air, CommutAir, and Gulfstream International Airlines feed Continental's flights under the Continental Connection identity. Continental does not have any ownership interests in these companies.
Continental Airlines left the SkyTeam alliance on October 24, 2009, and joined Star Alliance on October 27, 2009.[9] Together with its subsidiaries, Continental has more than 2,423 daily departures, serving 130 domestic and 132 international destinations and has 42,210 employees as of December 2009. Since 1998, Continental's marketing slogan has been "Work Hard, Fly Right."
1. The Corporate Leadership Council has completed a global study of the engagement level of 50,000
employees around the world, based on a new, more precise defi nition of engagement and its direct
impact on both employee performance and retention.
2. Those employees who are most committed perform 20% better and are 87% less likely to leave the
organization—indicating the signifi cance of engagement to organizational performance.
3. While the majority of employees are neither highly committed nor uncommitted, more than 1 in 10
employees are fully disengaged—actively opposed to something or someone in their organizations.
4. There is no high-engagement or low-engagement “group”—commonly used segmentation techniques
based on tenure, gender, or function do not predict engagement.
5. Instead, dramatic differences between companies suggest that engagement levels are determined
more by company strategies and policies than any characteristics regarding the employee segments
themselves.
6. An analysis of both rational and emotional forms of engagement reveals that emotional engagement is
four times more valuable than rational engagement in driving employee effort.
7. Employee retention, on the other hand, depends more on a balance between rational and emotional
engagement—as illustrated by the importance of compensation and benefi ts in driving employees’
intent to stay.
8. While employees’ commitment to their manager is crucial to engagement, the manager is most important
as the enabler of employees’ commitment to their jobs, organizations, and teams.
9. Among the top 25 drivers of employee engagement identifi ed by the Council, the most important driver
is a connection between an employee’s job and organizational strategy.
The Benefits
WebEx significantly improved the quality of the sales and recruiting department’s telecommuting program, increasing employee satisfaction and maintaining a strong corporate culture. Before WebEx, the Denver contact center closed, requiring sales agents to relocate to other states that had brick-and-mortar offices. As soon as it started using WebEx, it was able to send its sales agents back to Denver to work remotely. “Thanks to WebEx, our remote employees can stay at home and receive all of the information and support they need to perform their jobs well,” says Colbert. “Frequent interaction ensures they feel completely connected to our corporate culture, and that helps increase employee retention.”
WebEx plays a key role in supporting Continental’s Eco-Skies initiative, the company’s award-winning sustainability program. According to the EPA, automobiles produce approximately 61 percent of transportation-related emissions. “As a result of transitioning 1095 sales agents to work at home, we’ve eliminated more than 10 million miles of car travel, saving 500,000 gallons of fuel and nine million pounds of emissions per year,” explains Roy Conn, Air Compliance Manager for Continental. He adds, “As a critical collaboration, training, and support tool for Continental’s home-based sales agents, WebEx ensures the success of this program—which has won us the EPA award for Best Workplace for Commuters in several states.”
By contributing to the success of Continental’s telecommuting and green program, WebEx has helped the
company reinforce its competitive edge and leadership position. “WebEx helped us create an incredible remote worker program which aids us in our recruiting practices. Our telecommuting program
is now a huge draw for potential hires,” says Colbert. The company also works closely with regional air-quality groups
that are part of the EPA. According to Conn, “Creating a strong telecommuting program with WebEx shows that we are proactive about reducing carbon emissions. As a green leader in the
airline industry, that’s an important responsibility for us.”
The high costs of excessive voluntary employee turnover include:
Separation costs for employees leaving (costs for exit interviews; administrative functions related to termination; separation/severance pay; and any increase in unemployment compensation)
Recruiting, training and development costs for replacement employees
Other replacement costs (entrance interviews; testing; travel/moving expenses; pre-employment administrative expenses; medical exams; and acquisition and dissemination of information)
Lower performance/productivity levels of new employees (learning curve costs)
Negative impact on customers while replacement employees are not yet in place and when they are not yet fully trained/proficient
Negative impact on employees that have to cover for staffing shortfalls due to turnover
Reputation for high employee turnover impacts ability to attract and hire high performing employees
Company's marketplace reputation is hurt by high turnover
At the time of its acquisition by United Continental Holdings, Inc., Continental was the fourth-largest airline in the US based on passenger-kilometers flown and the fifth largest in total passengers carried. Continental operates flights to destinations throughout the U.S., Canada, Latin America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific regions. Principal operations are from its four hubs at Newark Liberty International Airport, George Bush Intercontinental Airport, Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport in Guam.
The origin of Continental Airlines dates to the 1934 formation of Varney Speed Lines which operated airmail and passenger services in the American Southwest. The carrier was renamed Continental Air Lines in 1937 and expanded its domestic U.S. network in the 1960s with jet aircraft. International flights to Southeast Asia and South Pacific destinations began in 1978 following industry deregulation. Continental was embroiled in ownership struggles in the 1980s and entered bankruptcy in 1983 and 1990. The carrier exhibited a financial and operational turnaround after 1996,[8] and embarked on international route expansion in the 2000s.
Continental has ownership interests and brand partnerships with several carriers. Continental is a minority owner of ExpressJet Airlines, which operates under the 'Continental Express' trade name but is a separately managed and public company. Chautauqua Airlines also flies under the Continental Express identity, and Cape Air, Colgan Air, CommutAir, and Gulfstream International Airlines feed Continental's flights under the Continental Connection identity. Continental does not have any ownership interests in these companies.
Continental Airlines left the SkyTeam alliance on October 24, 2009, and joined Star Alliance on October 27, 2009.[9] Together with its subsidiaries, Continental has more than 2,423 daily departures, serving 130 domestic and 132 international destinations and has 42,210 employees as of December 2009. Since 1998, Continental's marketing slogan has been "Work Hard, Fly Right."
1. The Corporate Leadership Council has completed a global study of the engagement level of 50,000
employees around the world, based on a new, more precise defi nition of engagement and its direct
impact on both employee performance and retention.
2. Those employees who are most committed perform 20% better and are 87% less likely to leave the
organization—indicating the signifi cance of engagement to organizational performance.
3. While the majority of employees are neither highly committed nor uncommitted, more than 1 in 10
employees are fully disengaged—actively opposed to something or someone in their organizations.
4. There is no high-engagement or low-engagement “group”—commonly used segmentation techniques
based on tenure, gender, or function do not predict engagement.
5. Instead, dramatic differences between companies suggest that engagement levels are determined
more by company strategies and policies than any characteristics regarding the employee segments
themselves.
6. An analysis of both rational and emotional forms of engagement reveals that emotional engagement is
four times more valuable than rational engagement in driving employee effort.
7. Employee retention, on the other hand, depends more on a balance between rational and emotional
engagement—as illustrated by the importance of compensation and benefi ts in driving employees’
intent to stay.
8. While employees’ commitment to their manager is crucial to engagement, the manager is most important
as the enabler of employees’ commitment to their jobs, organizations, and teams.
9. Among the top 25 drivers of employee engagement identifi ed by the Council, the most important driver
is a connection between an employee’s job and organizational strategy.
The Benefits
WebEx significantly improved the quality of the sales and recruiting department’s telecommuting program, increasing employee satisfaction and maintaining a strong corporate culture. Before WebEx, the Denver contact center closed, requiring sales agents to relocate to other states that had brick-and-mortar offices. As soon as it started using WebEx, it was able to send its sales agents back to Denver to work remotely. “Thanks to WebEx, our remote employees can stay at home and receive all of the information and support they need to perform their jobs well,” says Colbert. “Frequent interaction ensures they feel completely connected to our corporate culture, and that helps increase employee retention.”
WebEx plays a key role in supporting Continental’s Eco-Skies initiative, the company’s award-winning sustainability program. According to the EPA, automobiles produce approximately 61 percent of transportation-related emissions. “As a result of transitioning 1095 sales agents to work at home, we’ve eliminated more than 10 million miles of car travel, saving 500,000 gallons of fuel and nine million pounds of emissions per year,” explains Roy Conn, Air Compliance Manager for Continental. He adds, “As a critical collaboration, training, and support tool for Continental’s home-based sales agents, WebEx ensures the success of this program—which has won us the EPA award for Best Workplace for Commuters in several states.”
By contributing to the success of Continental’s telecommuting and green program, WebEx has helped the
company reinforce its competitive edge and leadership position. “WebEx helped us create an incredible remote worker program which aids us in our recruiting practices. Our telecommuting program
is now a huge draw for potential hires,” says Colbert. The company also works closely with regional air-quality groups
that are part of the EPA. According to Conn, “Creating a strong telecommuting program with WebEx shows that we are proactive about reducing carbon emissions. As a green leader in the
airline industry, that’s an important responsibility for us.”
The high costs of excessive voluntary employee turnover include:
Separation costs for employees leaving (costs for exit interviews; administrative functions related to termination; separation/severance pay; and any increase in unemployment compensation)
Recruiting, training and development costs for replacement employees
Other replacement costs (entrance interviews; testing; travel/moving expenses; pre-employment administrative expenses; medical exams; and acquisition and dissemination of information)
Lower performance/productivity levels of new employees (learning curve costs)
Negative impact on customers while replacement employees are not yet in place and when they are not yet fully trained/proficient
Negative impact on employees that have to cover for staffing shortfalls due to turnover
Reputation for high employee turnover impacts ability to attract and hire high performing employees
Company's marketplace reputation is hurt by high turnover
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