Defence Magazine

The Chief of the Defence Force, Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, speaks to the men and women of the 1^st Reconstruction Task Force in southern Afghanistan in October last year.

ACM Houston explained that retention and recruitment was a key issue for the Australian Defence Force (ADF), and that Defence was proposing and implementing a number of initiatives and strategies aimed at ensuring ADF capability well into the future.

“The Australian economy has been performing strongly for a very long time,” he said. “Australia currently has the lowest unemployment rate in 30 years.”

The CDF said that this trend across Australia meant that Defence was competing in a very hot labour market.

“There are many opportunities for skilled people, and we are a microcosm of the Australian economy. I travel around the country and talk to a lot of Chief Executive Officers of companies, who also have problems with retention and recruitment of people – Defence is no different.

“One of the problems for the ADF is filling critical and highly skilled trades. Fundamentally, what we are trying to do is bring our separation rates down below 10 per cent. Air Force has a separation rate of nine per cent and what we need to do is bring Army and Navy down to the same level. If we can do this, we will have to recruit less people and we will probably be able to achieve our recruiting targets.

“Having said that, we are seized with the need to go out there and compete in this challenging labour market and get our share of the people we need to take the ADF into the future.

“To do this we have put a lot more emphasis on recruiting and retention, and a comprehensive strategy launched by the Prime Minister last December should bring our recruitment target level from about 4700 to 6500 people each year.”

The CDF emphasised that retention and recruitment issues were both a short- and long-term challenge.

“In the short-term, the retention bonuses announced just before Christmas, and the reforms of the Defence Force Recruiting system, will provide a more coherent approach to recruitment,” ACM Houston said. “I think these strategies will assist us in going forward.”

According to the CDF, the long-term challenges relate to the demographic issues in Australian society.

“We target the 18–25-year-old demographic and numbers in this labour market will decrease in the future.”

One strategy to combat this is the recently-announced Military Gap Year scheme, which will allow young Australians to join the ADF for one year in order to, in the words of the CDF, “Try before you buy”. Being exposed to the workings of the ADF will provide young Australians with first-hand experience that they may not have otherwise considered. Undoubtedly, the aim is to encourage them to sign up at the end of the year, in turn, boosting recruitment numbers and contributing to the overall solution.

The Chief of The Defence Force, Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, discusses the way ahead with Ms Helen Paphitis, Principal of Salisbury High School in South Australia, at the recent Minister’s summit on retention and recruiting.

I asked the CDF what he thought made the ADF a career of choice for young Australians.

“I think it’s a great place to spend your career – I’ve been in the ADF for 37 years and had a number of different jobs, which have all been very challenging,” he said. “It is very rewarding and very enjoyable – it’s exciting stuff!

“ADF people get to work with state of the art equipment and there is also the chance to step into leadership roles.”

In response to being asked about his priorities for this year, the CDF said people remained his number one priority.

“People are what the leadership of the organisation should focus on. If we look after our people, empower and stimulate our people, they will continue to stay.

“Retention and recruitment is our number one challenge at the moment and having the right people to take the ADF into the future is something I am vitally focussed on.”

The CDF also said it was important that the right culture existed in the organisation.

“A values-based approach to leadership is fundamental – we must treat our people the right way.”

“With almost 4000 people deployed on operations, we currently have the highest level of operational tempo seen in a generation.

“Producing the right outcomes on operations, and preparing and equipping the ADF for operations, is also critical,” he said. “It is imperative that we have a full program of mission preparation and mission rehearsal before deploying – the three Services are very good at that.”

The CDF also said that good training and preparation was the best insurance against a non-effective operation, and that having the right level of preparedness and concurrency in the organisation would assist in delivering the outcomes sought in the Defence Capability Plan on schedule and on budget.

“I am also very focussed on ensuring that strategic guidance remains up to date and relevant, and that there is effective management of administration and governance,” ACM Houston said.

Focussing on the importance of people in the organisation, the CDF said all personnel, both military and civilian, were vital, particularly noting the current high operational tempo facing Defence.

“I regard the Defence organisation as one cohesive organisation. Many of the people enabling the operational tempo are civilian personnel providing the policy drivers, intelligence support, operational monitoring, logistics support, legal support and personnel support – the three Services are obviously very effective in this area as well. I don’t see any difference between ADF members and Defence civilians in this regard.”

“The last 12 months have been the most demanding time I can remember during my career in the ADF. I would like to thank everyone for their hard work, and ask that you keep delivering the great outcomes you have already been achieving.”

Defence

Cover Story

People number one priority for CDF

The value of people, both military and civilian, in achieving Whole of Defence capability and operational success, was highlighted by the Chief of the Defence Force (CDF), Air Chief Marshal (ACM) Angus Houston, in a recent and exclusive interview with Defence. Alisha Welch reports.