Over
the past 18 months the Pilot Sustainability Project (PSP) has
investigated a wide range of issues concerning the pilot specialisation.
The review encompassed improvements to workforce management, professional
development and the conditions of employment.
Pilot sustainability is one of the most important factors impacting
on the future capability of Air Force. CAF and the Senior Leadership
Team are fully aware of the problems facing Air Force personnel
and instigated the PSP and other initiatives to effect meaningful
improvements.
The level of complexity of the problems and solutions has resulted
in relatively slow progress, however the review is now complete.
During the course of the review, the PSP Team concluded that many
“fixes” could end up masking, or even aggravating, the
more complex problems. Similarly, many of the more popular solutions
are bandaids that compensate, but do not address, the real deficiencies.
Pilots completed an on-line questionnaire that allowed the PSP
Team to look at the issues, their impact and the value personnel
place on the initiatives. This has led to the development of a
highly informative Career Decision Support System (CDSS). Essentially
the CDSS told us what pilots would do if given the choice of a
range of particular options. The early results are extremely promising
and remove many of the question marks that have plagued decision
making in the past.
As anticipated, remuneration has been confirmed as a major issue.
The CDSS also indicates that pilots, like all other Air Force
members, want to do their job to the best of their ability in
a supportive environment that allows them to excel.
The PSP analysis identified improved remuneration, increased opportunities
to fly, choice in employment and locational stability as key areas
to ensure a sustainable pilot specialisation.
While the CDSS will not necessarily result in an immediate pay
rise, it will be used in coming years to help determine remuneration
and other retention-related initiatives.
Another important initiative has been the trial delegation of
officer aircrew personnel management by DGPERS-AF to the FEGs.
The bulk of the managing will now be done by the areas that know
the pilots and the local staffing issues.
DPO-AF aims to develop a process of personnel management that
provides greater input by local commanders in career decisions
affecting junior aircrew officers.
This concept replaces the somewhat distant centralised personnel
management capability and is based on a network of local managers,
with DPO-AF acting as the network controller. Executive authority
is still retained by DPO-AF in order to represent broader interests.
Recent analysis of management processes and pilot workforce structure
tends to suggest a level of systemic dysfunction that has undermined
many of the elements of the pilot system. Investigations revealed
structural and process problems in training and FEG management
in particular.
For example, recent workforce modelling approaches clearly demonstrate
the impact that an unbalanced QFI population is having on the
overall pilot workforce. This is not to devalue the importance
of a robust QFI production process, rather Air Force needs to
gain a better appreciation of how to better balance its pilot
system. Only then will it ensure that its pilots have every opportunity
to reach their full potential while effectively developing operational
competency.
CAFAC has recently endorsed a new system of management for the
pilot specialisation. This is centred on a newly established Wing
Commander Pilot Systems Coordinator within AHFQ, who will support
DGPP-AF (as the new pilot sponsor) and a Pilot Council, chaired
by DCAF.
In essence, the pilot system will now be monitored using modern
performance management techniques to intercept issues before they
grow. This system will be further aided by the provision of external
market intelligence (airline recruitment) to ensure that proactive
measures can be taken in a timely and effective manner.
While considerable work has been done to assist pilots, Air Force
still faces difficult issues as we work through the structural
problems in this resource-constrained environment. All options
need to be considered.
In a broader workforce context, the new Air Force personnel management
strategy has the potential to carry through a number of initiatives
advocated by the PSP. So while the PSP disbanded at the end of
2002, the wheels are turning and the initiatives will start to
come.
