RAAF Acts to Slow Service Resignations

High resignation rates were not, however, restricted only to officers. In other areas, particularly in the key electronics trades, wastage of personnel soon outstripped the ability of the service to train replacements. The RAAF suffered because although it is recognised as one of the biggest and indeed best training organisations in the region, it could not match pay incentives offered by civil employers. The private sector targeted trained military technicians for employment in areas where they themselves were experiencing shortages and were able to attract key personnel with often lucrative offers. The RAAF problem was – and indeed still is – exacerbated by recruiting difficulties caused by the higher proportion of high school students opting for tertiary education rather than trade training. Applications for what were once much sought after RAAF trade apprenticeships have dropped in number, and the recent rise in course failure rates has led to a suggestion that there were also fewer quality applicants to choose from. This of course ultimately undermines the very efficiency of the service.

The Air Force responded to the resignation and recruitment crises internally by forming a study team to identify measures which might reduce the growing officer resignations in the middle management levels and make the RAAF a more attractive career option. The Government, on the other hand, responded by offering pilots a monetary bonus to stay with the service. The success of this latter scheme can be questioned. It may have swayed some pilots away from resigning, but those who really wanted to leave still did so with the knowledge that airlines were still offering very good wage deals. Pilots who were not seriously considering leaving the service, or who were not really in a position to do so, found themselves suddenly offered a bonus to stay in the job they had little or no intention of leaving. Non-pilots considering resigning were not offered financial bonuses to stay on, even though the service does not operate with pilots alone. The Government simply did not recognise their value to the service.

The RAAF study team consequently produced the TuckwellFord Report in which some 19 proposed measures were suggested for reducing the officer resignation rate and its impact. The report identified key areas of personnel grievances and basically suggested organisational changes with improvements in recruitment, personnel management, pay and service conditions. RAAF management responded to the report by forming a team within the Directorate of Personnel Officers to actively address its recommendations and initiate change.

One key recommendation of the report was that the RAAF should recruit trained, experienced personnel overseas. In response, a recruitment officer was dispatched to London to recruit retired Royal Air Force personnel. The overseas recruitment campaign has had a marked degree of success, and the RAAF has received over100 applications from officers in Britain, Canada, New Zealand, the United States, West Germany and Sweden. At least eight applicants have been accepted into the RAAF – three as pilots – and other applications are currently being processed. The overseas recruitment scheme is considered cost effective, especially given the fact that it costs the service more than $1m to train a pilot up to operational status.

The recruitment of an already trained overseas pilot, obviously keen to be making the move to Australia, is certainly not a bad idea. Indeed, in this new era of improving international relations, particularly in Europe with East and West purportedly moving much closer together (both economically and politically), it is highly likely that the latest overseas recruitment drive will prove to be very successful. Certainly a move to Australia is an attractive proposition for NAT O personnel now experiencing the rapidly changing political situation which is affecting operations. Surely NATO aircrew must begin to wonder just what they are doing flying offensive operations in preparation for an attack by Warsaw Pact forces, and later being able to simply cross over a now friendly border to do some shopping or perhaps relax at the opera. Similarly in the USA, where military operations are to some degree being hampered by tighter financial budgets and major defence programs are being cut en masse, service pilots will become less satisfied with their work. There will certainly be those willing to change Air Forces – the RAAF only needs to ensure they choose the right people for the job.

Why make the move to Australia and the RAAF? The RAAF provides a very attractive alternative to operating in northern Europe or North America. It is a modern and well equipped service with, particularly in the case of the F-18 Hornet and P-3C Orion, state of the art equipment – superior, in fact, to that which many foreign pilots or groundcrew have been operating. Asia – for those less satisfied with flying operations in an apparently more peaceful environment – is not quite politically stable, but there. is the advantage that nuclear war is very unlikely to involve Australia. The RAAF may not be able to offer the payment incentives of, for instance, the Saudis when recruiting from overseas, but it perhaps makes up for this with climate, high standard of living, good education system, etc. With the relatively high value of most north western European and North American currencies, a change to Australian dollars would not be to the disadvantage of successful applicants (especially after selling up house, disposing of car, etc) and the RAAF provides adequate assistance when moving house. The next few years should show just how attractive the RAAF proposition is, and how successful the campaign will be.

This overseas recruitment scheme is, of course, just one measure that has been implemented in response to the TuckwellFord Report. The service has always suffered from the fact that it cannot offer the same rates of pay as the private sector, that personnel are often dissatisfied at having to change locations – and even jobs – with annoying frequency, and that it is often a long and quite difficult task to be commissioned from the ranks. These aspects of RAAF personnel grievances are only now really being actively acted on to make RAAF service life more appealing both to potential recruits and those already in the service.

The RAAF has already implemented policies to make service life more attractive. For instance, whereas aircrew officer retirement age was previously 4 7 to 50, this has been lifted to 55. It has also been made easier for desk bound aircrew officers to keep flying, or return to operational stations. Non flying aircrew are, for instance, able to utilise GA aircraft when flying on business to keep up their flying hours. Previously they could not do so, and the desire to get back into flying was often the reason for aircrew resigning and taking work in the airline or GA sectors.

More emphasis is also being placed on commissioning officers from the ranks to encourage prospective recruits to consider trade entry as a first step to becoming an officer. The often seemingly impossible task of earning a commission has long been a cause for discontent among trade personnel. The RAAF will also now place more emphasis on merit rather than seniority for promotion, and there will be greater ‘openness’ in personnel management, allowing personnel to be more aware of decisions affecting their careers. It is intended also to allow more freedom to resign from the RAAF, making this more in line with the private sector and taking pressure off decisions that previously really could only be made at the end of a serving period.

The RAAF is also acting to improve the quality of service life. A trial scheme allowing selected officers to remain in one location for up to six years has already been implemented, thus addressing in at least some small way what is a serious cause of complaint from RAAF service people – constant moving. Moves affect not only personnel, but their families, and this is often a significant factor in prompting a decision to resign. The Defence Housing Authority has also been established to redress deficiencies in the standard and availability of housing for service families, while many base facilities are being upgraded for the benefit of service people both on duty and off. This is particularly important given the recent move northward by many units to bases such as Tindal, where apparent remoteness does cause its fair share of problems.

The schemes implemented to improve the attractiveness of service life are recognised as a big step in the right direction, though RAAF management does realise that the inability to match private sector wages will remain a problem, and that the lure of higher pay will continue to take trained personnel away from the force. It is hoped, however, that efforts now being made to improve job satisfaction and the quality of RAAF service will be appreciated and result in higher personnel retention rates and better recruitment figures.

The Royal Australian Air Force has done well to implement reforms to service life that aim to slow down the rate of resignations and attract more applicants. It is indeed a step in the right direction, one which many would argue was well overdue. The reforms will not be a complete cure for the RAAF’s current personnel problems, however. The service cannot hope to equal the higher wages offered by the civil sector, and some aspects of personnel discontent, such as new postings and forced movements – will always remain necessary to some degree. The reforms and recruitment schemes currently being undertaken should, however, have some success.