This was first such human resource (HR) exercise to gauge employee satisfaction after the merger between Air India and Indian Airlines in 2007. Integration of workforce has been a thorny issue and a cause of litigation and strikes. The survey also sought know what employees think about the merger.

About 21,000 employees were asked to give their feedback on 70 questions. Six of these related to the merger. Others related to performance evaluation, job recognition, salary package, etc.

Air India had roped in Ernst & Young to carry out the survey on its behalf and participation was optional.

An Air India executive said the decision to hire a consultant was to avoid complaints of bias.

While an Air India spokesperson did not respond to an email query on the topic, some employees said they’d skipped the survey, fearing reprisal for expressing honest opinion, although the process is meant to be confidential.

A senior pilot said the exercise was meaningless if the management was not interested in solving employees’ grievances.

“We write so many letters but we do not get a response. Our salary has been cut by 25 per cent. How can I say I am satisfied with my salary package?” the pilot added.

According to human resource consultants, while it is good that organisations conduct employee engagement surveys, these must be backed with actionable plans.

“Organisations do conduct surveys whenever there is an overlap of functions or portfolios. The first indicator of engagement is participation. The next steps for the Air India management should be communication of survey findings and work out an action plan to address issues highlighted by the survey. It should also create action groups comprising employees, which will interface between management and staff,” said Prasanth Nair, country head of Inhelm Leadership Solutions, an HR consultancy firm.

“Effective communication between management and employees is important and will help avoid industrial unrest,” said HR consultant Sudhir Goel, managing director of human resource firm GlobalHunt.