Soft-skills training has helped improve the quality ratings of IGI Airport

Updated on: Monday, February 06, 2012

In 2008, the management of the Delhi International Airport (P) Limited (DIAL), the concessionaire managing the IGI airport, focused on improving the service quality for flyers as per the mandate of the Airports Authority of India (AAI).

The AAI had mandated a minimum ASQ (airport service quality) rating of 3.5 and 3.75 respectively, out of a total score of five for DIAL in two phases - first, in the modernisation of the existing airport and second, after the construction of the new terminal (T3). The ASQ publishes a yearly rating of top performing airports across the world on the basis of passenger satisfaction surveys conducted every quarter in the participating airports.

"The ASQ rating takes into consideration the entire cycle, from the time a customer gets into a cab at his residence to the time he/she boards the aircraft. Courtesy, proactiveness and helpfulness, right down to language are all quantified and measured," explains Dinesh Bhrushundi, head, quality and service delivery, DIAL.

In 2008, out of the 130 international airports participating in the rating then, IGI was listed at the bottom. After a careful observation of over 2,000 passenger interactions, it was understood that a passenger views the airport and its services as a single entity and not as multiple agencies running the show. The service he/she expects, therefore, is equal from everyone he/she encounters . The authorities realised that a collective upgradation of service had to be undertaken. DIAL partnered with Centum Learning to develop a training curriculum and set up the DISHA Academy of Service Excellence to impart the training.

The full range of personnel deputed under various agencies in the airport were trained in the importance of manners both, while interacting with customers as well as in discussions amongst themselves. The methodology involved innovative methods like street plays, dramatisation , etc, to drive home the learning.

Goldie Srivastava, cashier at the multi level parking at IGI airport, who has undergone the Disha training says, "We were taught about customer care, and customer handling , which I did not have much confidence in earlier. Now, I am not only more confident, it has also instilled a sense of pride in working for one of the best airports in the country."

In the third quarter of 2011, the airport was placed at number 12 among 180 airports in the ASQ rating . As Bhrushundi says, "Now it is vision 2014 where we aim to be number one."

Times of India

Soft-skills training has helped improve the quality ratings of IGI Airport

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