Singapore Airlines taps workers for ideas to boost efficiency

SIA is turning to its employees for ideas. The carrier is setting up a lab and encouraging workers across its group -- including SilkAir and Scoot -- to submit proposals that would help boost efficiency in its operations, CEO Goh Choon Phong said Monday in Singapore. The company is also working with research agencies to use big data to meet the goal. “The whole idea about creating a digital innovation lab is an important step,” Goh said. “We want our staff to be able to experiment with those ideas and try to see whether we can get some concrete result out of it. The mindset change here is that we as an organization must also be willing to accept that many of this may not work.” Selected proposals will receive funds of US$3,800 to test their suggestions further with help from internal or external parties, including startups. After reporting a surprise loss in the quarter through March last year, the first in five years, Goh kicked off steps to tackle costs and announced in June that the transformation plan may include job cuts. While he has revealed few details of the revamp, he is seeking to better position the group for “long-term sustainable growth.”<br/>