theceomagazine.com | 69we do good, we’ll get promoted; if we do
something wrong, we’ll get disciplined’.
“In the Philippines, there are many
cliques, like the pilots in the Air Force
versus those in general aviation. But in this
company, that separation does not exist.
I try to make it fair for everyone and we
don’t focus on seniority because sometimes
seniority creates bullies... There is no
favouritism. We try not to promote people
just because they’re senior. In fact, there were
two co-pilots who became chief pilots.
“There are three things I tell new
employees, especially the pilots. First, I hate
bullies, so seniority does not exist here. Old,
prideful pilots are let go. We respect each
other. Second, no drugs and alcohol. Third,
no fraud. If I encounter a case of fraud,
there’s no appeal. But they know that if they
are charged with something, they are given
a fair trial by the board. So everything is just;
just for the individual, and for the company.”
Philippines AirAsia also maintains an
environment of fun and camaraderie,
ensuring that its employees maintain a high
level of morale and company loyalty. Dexter
describes AirAsia as the “only company
with a culture department”. The department
organises a number of events for the
company, like a dragon dance during
Christmas, along with New Year’s parties,
birthday parties and physical activities. During
Valentine’s Day, Dexter says, “the culture
department tells me, ‘Give all the ladies
flowers!’ So I have to go around and give out
many roses.”
AirAsia has a few core values; as well
as being conscious of safety, the company
endeavours to be caring, passionate, full of
integrity, hardworking and fun. It can be
a lot of work to get a large organisation to
exemplify such traits on a daily basis, but
Dexter’s solution to maintaining the company
values is to “live it as the CEO”.
“You have to practise what you preach,”
he says. “It should start with me, and then
my head executives. Every time we have a
core meeting, I remind them: ‘We devised
our core values for this, and this is now the
set of values we should espouse’. But for a
long time, it has been about keeping your
employees happy, because a happy employee
means a happy client.”
Ultimately, this approach comes from
Dexter’s days in the Air Force. He compares
the management of the armed forces with
that of employees; though there may be
sacrifices, keeping his soldiers or workers
safe is of primary importance.
“In the military, we manage resources and
lives,” says Dexter. “But here in the business,
we’re just managing money. The planes are
not important as long as I am able to keep
people safe and we obtain the objective.
Here in business, it’s very important that
I keep my team intact, happy and motivated,
so whatever task I tell them to do, they will
be able to do. It takes some form of expense,
but the objective is obtained.”“There is no
favouritism. We try
not to promote
people just because
they’re senior.”
Interview | INSPIRE