Every business industry has so many jobs and positions on offer for the people, who have required skills, experience, and education. In this career path planning report, the focus will be on Emirates Airlines, one of the biggest organizations, not only in the UAE but also as one of the largest airlines in the world. In the airline industry, there are so many things to handle operations, and at each level, the airline needs specialist workers having the required skills, education, and experience to do the job. There are so many departments and work categories involved in the airline operations, and the majority of these operations require workers, who have relevant experience and technical skills. For instance, to handle flight operations, a skilled pilot and instructor will be needed to do the job.

Moreover, if the maintenance and repairing work of airplanes are concerned, then skilled and educated engineers and workers are required to handle the job accordingly. There are few jobs, which may not be too technical in nature like being a pilot or flight instructor, but still, those jobs need a certain level of education and experience. One important department or category for Emirates Airlines is handling the activities related to customer services. An airline company regularly deals with customers as they are the passengers, who choose to fly with Emirates Airlines, and it is the responsibility of the company to keep them happy and satisfied as much as possible.

It is vital to satisfy the needs of customers because they are the ultimate source of revenue, and if they will be dissatisfied with any operations, then they will opt for other competitors’ airline companies, which is never a good sign for any business organization. So, Emirates Airlines have a proper Customer Services Department, which manages all kinds of activities and issues related to customer services to ensure the best and state of the art customer services. This paper describing career path planning will be focused on the job position of “Customer Support Manager”. A detailed analysis will be done for this position like the job description, as well as, roles and responsibilities handled by the Customer Support Manager in Emirates Airlines.

Job Description of Customer Support Manager

It is important to understand that job descriptions can be different for every company as they want to use resources as per their planning and requirements; however, some of the things will remain basic for every company. The customer services department has an important responsibility to perform, which is to manage all customers’ related tasks, complaints, queries, etc. So, when it comes to Emirates Airlines, they look for Managers to handle the customer support/services department in the most efficient manner. The simple job description for a Customer Support Manager at Emirates Airlines is to plan, as well as, develop activities related to the customers. Once the strategy and planning are done, the next important part of the job is to implement strategy and manage it accordingly. The onsite customers' area has to manage so many activities, so different resources are deployed to perform those activities to provide support to the customers.

It is the responsibility of the Manager to make sure that proper resources are allocated at each position so that customers’ services are managed with high-level satisfaction. Different service level agreements are developed, and those SLAs should be ensured in any given circumstances. A Customer Support Manager handles more than 150+ employees and engineers to make sure that customers are getting the best support, which is important for their satisfaction from the company. All of these job descriptions should be met for a Manager, and it can only happen if customers are having enough experience, education and knowledge of this field.

Roles and Responsibilities of Career Path Planning of UAE Company Emirates Airlines

There are few main responsibilities, which should be handled a Customer Support Manager to enhance his/her learning, as well as, serving customers in best possible manner. So, here are some of the important responsibilities to handle:

· It is the responsibility of the manager to make sure that all services of the customer support departments are provided with full satisfaction for every specified category. All of those services, which are directly associated with customers.

· Planning to fulfill the capacity of manpower as per requirements so that all resources are allocated accordingly. Every allocated resource should fit in a customer support category with his/her experience, communication skills, as well as, knowledge. When employees are assigned to handle different tasks, they should be given brief about handling all matters. For instance, if there is a task of managing VIP kind of services for high-end customers, then it is should be ensured that such services are managed with high quality without compromising on anything.

· Providing feedback and recommendations so that customer service activities are cost-effective and customer-focused. If any customer comes with customized needs, then he/she should be handled accordingly.

· The Manager must make sure that deployment costs and support costs for assigned customer categories are well managed and maintained so that nothing goes beyond the available financial resources and approved budget.

· Remaining in touch with the IT department of Emirates so that any complaints and issues of the customers are resolved as soon as possible. There should be a proper communication channel between the customer support department and the IT department so that technical and IT issues are discussed and resolved accordingly.

· Providing input, as well as, feedback to the software teams, service request teams, and technical teams keeping efficiency and efficacy of measures in the context.

· Different technical and software issues can have a direct impact on customers, so there should be proper communication with these departments to resolve any kind of issues faced by the customers

· Making sure that proactive and high-quality management is conducted for all kinds of equipment and devices being used by customer service agents and officers. A proper review should be done to oversee and manage the maintenance of all devices, procedures, and standards

· The support and provision of services should be managed according to service level agreements for all kinds of service requests and incident management.

· There should be a liaison with all the managers of Business Technology so that input is provided for strategic planning, and services are also delivered accordingly.

· Identification of minimum standards should be done, and then those standards should be implemented accordingly to make sure that a high level of customer satisfaction is achieved.

· Development and planning of activities to manage the performance of staff. The measures should be taken to monitor performance. New Strategies should be innovated and implemented to keep employees motivated so that they work in line with the strategic objectives to provide the best customer services to Emirate Airlines customers.

Some Other Job Requirements of Career Path Planning of UAE Company Emirates Airlines

Every business organization can come up with different job requirements, which are needed to fill any position. Here are some of the job requirements to become a Customer Support Manager at Emirates Airlines:

· Several years of experience of technical nature, this is relevant to support management and IT services, as well as, having experience in handling customer services.

· Master’s degree will be the primary requirement to get the position as Customer Support Manager

· However, qualifications can be ignored in exceptional cases, where candidates are having 10+ years of knowledge and experience, along with great skills and a strong background in the field of customer services.

· The five years’ experience of managing large technical engineering teams will be a plus for the candidates applying for the role of Customer Support Manage.

· Having enough knowledge and hands on experience of using Microsoft, as well as, Windows technologies.

· Having knowledge and experience of managing a variety of operations.

· Providing a great level of user support.

· Doing incident management, along with service level management.

Any Mandatory Courses of Career Path Planning of UAE Company Emirates Airlines

It is vital to understand if someone wants to work as a Customer Support Manager at Emirates Airlines; if there is any requirement of passing any mandatory course, training or certification. Keeping the above career planning, it is evident that these kinds of courses or certifications are not required by the company. If there would be a job position of pilot, then there must be various kinds of certifications and training programs to pass. However, Emirates Airlines have not discussed or mentioned any of such mandatory course or training programs, which means that having strong knowledge, experience, background, and skills in the field of customer services can help a person to get the job as Customer Support Manager.

Conclusion of Career Path Planning of UAE Company Emirates Airlines

After analyzing the whole career path planning, as well as relevant information regarding job position of Customer Support Manager at Emirates Airlines, it can be said that Customer Support Manager is a high-level job, and if someone wants to achieve this job, then he/she will have to go through a long journey to reach there. The 10+ years of knowledge and experience in the field of customer service management will be a great plus point, and it will be more beneficial to have additional skills and capabilities. One will have to start as a customer services agent, and with the hard work and experience, the person can reach the career ladder of achieving the position of Customer Support Manager.