SriLankan seeks ideas from employees to reach profitability

13 October 2015 04:10 am

The top management of SriLankan Airlines has launched a company-wide interactive campaign titled ‘Red to Black’ to gain innovative ideas from its staff to bring the national carrier back to profitability.

“The campaign was initiated to foster closer relationship with the staff and make a collective effort to drive the company towards its financial targets,” a SriLankan Airlines statement said.

The latest available government figures show that the national carrier has incurred losses of up to Rs.131 billion in taxpayers’ money.

The statement said that a batch of staff has already shared ideas and thoughts which have been discussed and analysed by the senior management.
“They have shortlisted the most cost-effective and feasible ideas to be implemented in the near future,” it said.

The staff is rewarded with a certificate of appreciation for taking part in the programme.

“Credit should go to the airline’s staff as they are working with one purpose and one direction to realise the financial targets set by the senior management,” SriLankan Airlines Pro-Tem CEO Rakhita Jayawardena said in the statement.

SriLankan Airlines Human Resources Head Pradeepa Kekulawala said that the new programme has taken employee engagement to a higher level than last year’s theme of ‘Earn more, spend less, waste not’.

One of the biggest scandals that came into public focus this year was the manner in which the top management of SriLankan mismanaged the airline and abused their power until the change of regime this January.