Papillon Grand Canyon president Brenda Halvorson, Elling s daughter, says that pilot turnover is low. Most of the company s full-time pilots have been with the company for several years, and even the seasonal pilots return year after year. This poses challenges because the air tour business in the Grand Canyon is seasonal. During the winter, business drops off sharply, and Papillon uses this slack time to perform most of the major maintenance and inspections on its fleet. Brenda Halvorson says she places a great deal of importance on including all employees in the decision-making process.
Costs associated with high employee turnover can be substantial for large companies.
For small operators, they can be devastating. Even at companies with a good customer base and solid, predictable revenues, profit margins can be squeezed into negative numbers if recruitment and training costs soar unexpectedly. The increasing shortage of experienced pilots only aggravates this problem. Valuing employees doesn t always take the form of financial compensation, although competitive pay and benefits are important in attracting and retaining quality personnel. What is often more important is the way managers interact with their subordinates.