IATA Reviews in Montreal, QC Area

Pros

Organization with international prestige, knowledgeable staff in general, good salary package, tax free status, 25 days vacation, good benefits in general

Cons

No promotions (in general), no career development, inefficient internal procedures, no adequate senior staff, no pay raise

Pros

The skill and knowledge level of employee that IATA locates is generally extremely high with much to contribute, with very relevant abilities within their field

Cons

Those highly skilled employees leave after a remarkably short time due to the realization of the extremely poor senior management abilities and skills

Advice to Senior Management

Human nature is such that you do not change your character and therefore to help the new DG make IATA become a more relevant organization for its airlines a complete clear out of top level management is required. Pack your bags and go.

Pros

IATA is an international trade association with a tremendous exposure to the full air transport industry. New hires not only have an international exposure but can rapidly be exposed to senior management given the size of the organisation.

Cons

The organisation is a disaster, lots of bureaucracy and has been running unefficiently with poor project management skills for quite some time. The implementation of an ERP system has tremendously increased the level of bureaucracy since there is no empowerment. Endless bottle necks to approve meaningless purchase orders and lots of frustration among staff generally and finance more specifically due to a failed attempt to implement what could have been a simple straight forward project.

Advice to Senior Management

Where to start from:
Empower your employees
Encourage more management by objective rather than management by fear
Stimulate your employees by setting tangible objectives and clear accountabilities
Create a real Project Management Office
Loosen your financial procedures
Remove bureaucratic procedures for meaningless purchases

Pros

IATA has a fantastic reputation to people outside the company, they see a solid reputation of good standing with a long history. Putting this on your cv goes a long way, it's like having worked for Apple, Google or Microsoft in the IT industry. The benefits are good and when you enter the company the salary is very decent.

Cons

The earlier postings describe it all, but I would sum it all up in a lack of two things; vision and humanity.

Let's take vision, ask any manager in the organization where they see their department/product or whatsoever being in five years and they will have no clue what to say. This years budget, quick fixes and quick gains are all that counts. The result is that no decision is ever thought through, long-term investments are never made (not because of current economical times, but the last 10 years I'm talking about) and most things then have to be done manually, after all why automate if you can force people to do overtime and fire them if they don't. All this was exemplified perfectly when the new boss at one of the departments said openly he was not interested in long-term issues, simply quick wins to look good and too bad about the consequences.

Humanity, almost every year there is a culling of staff in a preposterous manner. No explanation is given, just get out quickly. This is exactly why management wants expats as they have few rights and they are not interested at all in the consequences to anyone who is fired nor the additional workload to those left behind. One-liner management "do more with less" is the only response given if anyone dares ask just how the same amount of work is to be done sometimes 60% less staff.

Virtually no training at all and certainly no salary raise unless you are an A-player (this is a copy of the old GE-model, GE incidentally stopped working with this system as it proved not to work). The A-player status is at times seen as an urban myth, and when it does happen it has little if anything to do with competency, but more rewarded absolute loyalty to dictatorial management.

Advice to Senior Management

Listen to your staff as you have good people with good ideas. Just one thing, keep the HR department far away when you talk to your employees as nobody will open their mouths when HR is nearby. The HR department should be there to assist, mediate and develop the employees but instead act only as the local execution squad.

Pros

- Work with a high-caliber group of international professionals
- Learn about aviation industry and improve your technical skills
- International experience looks great on resume
- Make life long friends
- Generous vacation benefits even for interns

People like to complain about this company but this was probably the best company I have worked for and I have worked at other big companies in the world. You get to meet and work with some of the best individuals in the world who are international and come from top organizations. IATA people make amazing friends and its alumni have great opportunities after working here. Job security is not great but even in other companies there is no such thing as 100% job security.

Cons

- Not many opportunities for growth
- HR or senior management does not care
- Many scandals and vicious people exist within the organization
- People routinely leave and/or get fired
- A clock-in/clock-out system for all employees!
- 40-50hrs is norm a week so be prepared to work hard

Advice to Senior Management

Listen to your employees and reward employees for loyalty. Don't instill fear in them like insisting people wear ties when the DG visits.

Pros

from the outside, it is a very prestigious organization. You can count on a future position (in another company) once you have IATA on your CV just don't plan on moving up within IATA. You will feel like you can do anything once you survive a few years of IATA.

Cons

fearing fear itself and just waiting for someone from the HR department to show up at your door. constant stress and lack of leadership. The constant evaluation of your worth based strictly on financial targets.

Advice to Senior Management

why bother.....they don't listen or care. I am not sure what the master plan is: they don't bother to communicate it. IATA's concern years ago was its relavancy in the industry. They are quickly becoming irrelevant to many airlines because the people they have built relationships with are no longer there and the members are getting fed up with all the employee turn around and lack of succession planning. Here today, gone tomorrow.

Pros

Salaries at IATA are very good compared to other employers. All new employees receive 5 weeks of paid vacation. Also, the company is closed for all the holidays. Even get a few extra days off during X-mas and New Years. The people at IATA are also great too.

Cons

Rare room for advancement. IATA always tends to promote from the outside. Most senior employees have been there for many many years, without having moved up. No job security. Never seen anything like that this terrible before. IATA tends to dismiss positions on a monthly basis. Re-org done every year with the new Director General. Very corporate. Ask for as much money as you can when you get in because once your in, don't expect a raise. Even if you are promoted!

Advice to Senior Management

Become human. Realize that you're dealing with people. Try not to instill fear with your employees. How many re-orgs do you plan on having?

Pros

The nature of the organisation enables you to communicate with offices and colleagues around the world, and the staff come from every corner of the globe. The IATA brand used to be very strong and prestigious worldwide, but it's losing strength and word is getting out about how difficult things are inside the organisation. You learn a lot about your personal strength and tolerance for things you don't agree with -- in other words, IATA is a tough place to work and if you've survived IATA, you can probably survive any other employer. The pay is OK and time off is OK (5 weeks). People you meet at IATA will be your friends for many years to come, and once you leave IATA, there is an active group of former employees called the Alumni Club that gets together regularly for social events and your friendships last for decades.

Cons

1/Turnover is significant -- estimated at 80%+ in the past 5 years in Montreal, where there are only about 300 full-time staff.
2/Staff are routinely terminated without warning and without cause and offered generous buyout packages in exchange for their rights to pursue legal action for their terminations.
3/Company "values" appear on slick posters within the building, but yet they're contradicted every day by senior management in their actions and routine staff terminations, lowering staff morale.
4/Because of the high turnover, there is a significant knowledge gap. Staff leave, and their replacements either don't have the right skill set and/or airline experience/knowledge, forcing other team members to pick up the slack. This costs the company expertise, time and money, and gives existing employees a never-ending headache as if they're in a revolving door that won't stop.
5/The reputation for IATA within Montreal has unfortunately worked against people in their lives after IATA. Certain employers will not invite ex-IATA staff for interviews because of the poor local reputation of IATA. We employees are viewed as "spoiled milk" and considered "tainted goods" -- but we, the hardworking employees, truly don't deserve to be branded as such.

Advice to Senior Management

1/Realise that some day you may be working for us and we shouldn't be treated as a number or as an easily replaceable resource. Actually, given the issues with turnover and knowledge gaps, we really aren't easily replaceable... so for the good of the airline industry, stop terminating good employees who are knowledgable and productive.

2/Sooner or later the Provincial and/or Federal Government will take notice of the turnover and employee complaints -- and some employees won't sign away their rights for legal action when you terminate them without cause. Beware of that day because we've been voicing our concerns and dissatisfaction which has sadly fallen upon deaf ears within IATA.

3/Your employees may actually have more industry experience than you do. Value them and what they bring to the table. IATA is a non-profit organisation that serves its members (airlines) - it is not a Wall-Street for-profit company with shareholders to please... do what's best for your members, and only that.

Pros

The benefits at the time I started working at IATA were the best in the Industry. (Key word "were")
Great place to work for the first 3 years of my 9 year career there.

Cons

No place to turn to if employees have a problem with management.
No confidentiality between HR and Employee.
Management has been brainwashed.
New Employees are also brainwashed through "trainings"
Cost of Living? What's that?
Very rare that employees from within are promoted.
No motivation from management.
Very negative work environment.
Popular phrase employees say " I hope I get my package soon."

Advice to Senior Management

Get NEW management and FAST!

Pros

International Exposure
Lots of great talent

Cons

To much good talent without being able to take any decisions.
The DG "CEO" needs to review and approve every decision including all hires in the company must be approved by him

Advice to Senior Management

Get rid of your HR VP