Y o u a n d t h e R A F You and the RAF
“For the first time in living memory, the entire agenda was devoted to People Issues’’.
T
his was the conclusion drawn by the Chairman of the RAF FF when she was invited to attend the CinC’s Study Period at
RAF Cranwell in October, and she was delighted.
As part of this people-focussed gathering of the ‘great and good’, attendees witnessed the launch of the RAF’s first People Campaign Plan (or PCP). What follows is a very brief overview of the PCP however, we promise to provide a more detailed article on this initiative in the next issue of Envoy as, by then, all commanders should have briefed their personnel on the implications of the Plan and we should be able to update our readers on the early stages of implementation.
So what is a PCP and why is it important?
The PCP sets out for the first time in an easily digestible format what the RAF needs to do for its people and when the RAF needs to do it.
For many years, Defence Planning has been equipment biased, largely because of the lead times and sums of investment involved. There has been an assumption that enough of the right people would always be available in support of that equipment. However, the significant gapping that is being experienced across the RAF is evidence that this assumption is clearly flawed. Consequently, attitudes and assumptions are changing and ‘people issues’ have risen high on the agenda for both the Defence Board and the Government.
www.raf-families-federation.org.uk
People are Top of the Agenda
The Air Force Board Standing Committee has endorsed 6 clear priorities that will guide the work in the Personnel & Training domains over the coming years:
• Sustain the right mix of Regular & Reserve personnel needed to support current operations.
• Achieve and maintain full manning within a robust and sustainable manpower structure of Regular & Reserve personnel matched to Defence requirements.
• Maximise RAF and Reserve Air Forces appeal to the available and suitable labour force, taking account of our evolving role.
• Retain the manpower base by preserving the competitiveness of the overall remuneration package.
• Develop and train the personnel contribution to enhance joint capability integration and delivery and protection of decision superiority (I know, you need to have done advanced staff college to get your head around that one!).
And, most significantly of all, we think: faces, now and in the future – and
• Improve Return of Service by: improving geographic predictability in career matters; optimising availability and access to services and amenities; proactive re-engagement of potential leavers into Regular or Reserve Air Forces; improving infrastructure; exercising maximum flexibility in setting local working patterns; improving performance in all aspects of accommodation services; and enhancing provision of through-life learning.
The Aim of the PCP is two-fold: 1. To ensure that the RAF structures its plans around the specific challenges it
2. To enable the RAF to cost and programme the things it needs to do – at the appropriate time.
The PCP is essentially a planning tool – looking out to 2020. It is a detailed and fulsome document which is a less than exciting read for anyone other than planners (they need to get out more!). Nevertheless, the staff at Air Command have been instructed to focus their effort over the next 2-3 years on delivering a specific programme of measures that support the 2 priorities. Some of these measures should deliver quite quickly, but others may take a little longer to develop.
Winter 2008 31
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