Cassidy, Laureen (SEN)
From:	Peter.Arkell@swanngroup.com.au
Sent:	Friday, 20 April 2001 4:41 PM
To:	Paul Barsdell
Cc:	geoff.schmidt@swanngroup.com.au
Subject:	The Swann Group - Senate Inquiry Into Recruitment & Retention of Defence Personnel
g'day Paul,
I refer to the Senate Inquiry Into Recruitment & Retention of Defence
Personnel.  Thank you for your time on the telephone on Tuesday, 17 April
2001. Following our discussion, I have decided that there would be some
value in presenting some thoughts for consideration by the Committee. I
have provided below some background on Swann, which is an executive search
practice that has built a specialty in defence and aerospace. I have also
drawn attention to some of the issues as they have become apparant to us
and some views on how we think that they could be addressed.

Background

The Swann Group is an international organisation dedicated to the provision
of the complete range of human resources services to industry and
government bodies.  We do this through the provision of global executive
search, recruitment, interim management and contracting, Internet based
services and general human resource consulting. Swann has its Head Office
in Melbourne, with offices in Canberra, Sydney, Perth, Auckland and London.

With particular expertise in the defence, aerospace, telecommunications,
energy, finance, engineering, and mineral resources sectors, we have a
solid background in Australian and international assignments, both in the
provision of permanent and contract employees.  Our experience extends to a
number of industries in Europe, New Zealand, South Africa, South and North
America, Asia and the Middle East.

                                                                  
 Swann's growth into the defence and aerospace industries was a   
 logical extension of its long-term impressive track record in    
 the resources sector. There we had successfully been placing     
 highly skilled professionals and executives around the world,    
 often into locations that are remote from capital cities. The    
 challenges that these search assignments presented have proved   
 to be excellent preparation for building our Defence practice.   
                                                                  
 Since its inception Swann has been successfully placing defence  
 personnel into the broad commercial world, utilising their very  
 particular skill sets to the advantage of our commercial         
 clients. In recent years, Swann has built a considerable         
 presence in the specialised and highly technical defence and the 
 related aerospace sectors, with clients such as Boeing           
 Australia, Raytheon, Qantas, Tenix and others. We have searched  
 out outstanding people, often with rare skills, to fill key      
 positions in these complex fields. In the majority of cases, the 
 talent that has filled these roles has come from the ranks of    
 former military personnel.                                       
                                                                  
 This is a specialised field and the stakes are high.             
 Appointments are key and the success of projects and             
 partnerships will depend on the quality of those appointments.   
 Swann has dedicated itself to be the preferred supplier to the   
 defence and aerospace industries by appointing people who know   
 the industry and who are respected throughout. Furthermore,      
 Swann's office in Canberra is close to the decision-makers and   
 is managed by a former RAAF Wing Commander.                      
                                                                  
 Contacts                                                         
 Peter Arkell - General Manager.                                  
 L2, 22 William Street Melbourne. Vic 3000.                       
 Ph: 03 9649 7466                                                 
 Mobile: 0408 090 251                                             
                                                                  
 Geoff Schmidt - Manager ACT                                      
 L4, 10 Moore Street Canberra. ACT. 2600                          
 Ph: 02 6257 1728                                                 
 Mobile: 0418 210 526                                             
                                                                  
 Issues                                                           
 1. While it is recognised that the focus of this Inquiry is on   
 the identification and recruitment of talented people to the     
 defence forces and the subsequent retention of these people,     
 Swann's value for the Inquiry might be in shedding light on the  
 labour market post military as well as concurrent career paths   
 in private sector defence supplier organisations.                
                                                                  
 2. There is a concerning growing trend of professional expertise 
 in short supply as the Defence Department outsources more of the 
 service provision to the private sector. Where the skilled       
 workforce has been developed over years in structured military   
 careers, outsourcing is creating something of a talent vacuum in 
 many specialised fields. There are many roles in the private     
 sector that require a detailed appreciation of the defence       
 environment and culture in order to deliver the desired outcome. 
 Therefore, following the outsourcing of projects it is not a     
 simple transfer of responsibility for training from the ADF to   
 the commercial operator, because that will not necessarily       
 provide the expertise of what "the customer" (read Department's) 
 expectations will be. It seems that experience inside the        
 military or the Department and the consequent inside knowledge   
 of the people and issues facilitates the ongoing dealings.       
                                                                  
 3. In other industry sectors that have experienced skill         
 shortages, our practice has searched offshore for the best       
 talent. Because the Defence contracts are generally sensitive    
 and most of the workforce requires security clearances, this     
 option is not as easily explored. For instance, we had examples  
 of highly qualified submarine experts from the USA who should    
 have been attractive to Australia during the Collins Class       
 Submarine difficulties, who could not be found jobs because of   
 the difficulties in getting them security cleared.               
                                                                  
 4. On departure from the ADF, there is often a high personal     
 expectation of an individual's worth. Particularly departing     
 officers who have held very responsible positions look forward   
 to transferring to the private sector into roles of comparative  
 seniority. While their skills and experience are generally in    
 demand, there is a downside. Experience in the ADF is usually    
 regarded, even by former military officers who have attained     
 senior management positions in the private sector, as lacking    
 the commercial edge. Invariably, these departing personnel are   
 expected to "take a couple of steps backwards" in order to find  
 an entry point in the commercial workforce. While this           
 perception is probably flawed, with officers usually having      
 considerable ADF financial accountabilities, nonetheless there   
 is a perception that needs to be worked through.                 
                                                                  
 Some Thoughts                                                    
                                                                  
 By and large, this practice has found the personnel who are      
 leaving the military to have qualities that are very strong.     
 They have good management and business sense. The people with    
 specialist training in aerospace professions are generally in    
 high demand. So it can be fairly asserted that the contribution  
 of the ADF made to the broad defence/aerospace industry is       
 invaluable. It can also be asserted that there is a skill vacuum 
 being created as the military functions are being taken over by  
 the private suppliers.                                           
                                                                  
 In order to address the skill vacuum there would appear to be a  
 couple of options. First option would be to shift the training   
 responsibility to the outsourced providers. Of course this would 
 not come without a cost, that would need to be passed on to the  
 Department. In order to ensure that Australia develops its       
 talent pool, the department might consider stipulating a         
 training component in their RFTs. Alternatively, it could be     
 more beneficial for the local defence/aerospace industry to      
 continue to have this talent developed in the military. This     
 would have the benefit of addressing your Inquiry's objective of 
 attracting and retaining personnel. Career paths would be seen   
 as a continuum, beginning in the military, developing to skills  
 to maturity with a transgression to the commercial sector at ADF 
 career's end. Of course this "end" will be different for each    
 individual, but it would mean that the "macro" industry did not  
 loose talent in the process. It would be seen as a total career  
 path and one where the various sectors were partners in not only 
 product output but also talent development. It would allow for a 
 "filter" process to identify the best and most suitable talent   
 to be promoted to the senior ranks of the ADF. Others would exit 
 at their most appropriate career stages into commercial          
 positions that benefited the overall objective of a skilled      
 Australian defence/aerospace workforce, but the transition would 
 be smooth and there would not be a pressure to depart            
 prematurely. Many departing the ADF today feel that they must    
 start a new career rather than continue the path that they have  
 already laid, and this daunting perspective contributes, no      
 doubt, to premature departure from the military.                 
                                                                  
 The issue of "commercialising" the military talent, while        
 wanting to retain the best for the military itself, could also   
 be addressed in this partnership. It is understood that there is 
 already some exchange or temporary placement of military         
 personnel into commercial operations. That program could be      
 enhanced so that there was real interaction between the          
 workforce of the outsourced contractors and the military         
 personnel. In this way the issues of "understanding the          
 customer" would be diminished and there would be the spin off    
 benefit of the ADF people gaining commercial experience. This    
 would be to the Commonwealth's advantage in giving its people    
 better appreciation of commercial realities, to the contractors' 
 advantage in giving them real time military insights and to the  
 exchanged officers' advantage in preparing them for their career 
 move outside of the ADF. Win, win, win.                          
                                                                  
 Conclusion                                                       
 It is appreciated that perhaps these observations could come     
 from somewhere beyond this Inquiry's area of interest.. However, 
 Swann has established itself as one of a very limited number of  
 specialist executive search practices in the world that          
 concentrates on the defence/aerospace industry sector. From this 
 perspective, we have gained insights into the broader industry   
 workforce requirements, the experience of military personnel     
 making their transition to new career paths in the commercial    
 sector and of the value of military training and experience.     
 From that point of view, we might be able to bring a unique      
 perspective to the Inquiry.                                      
                                                                  
 We would be pleased to meet with you, your Chairman, Senator     
 John Hogg and the Committee to share our experiences and views.  
                                                                  
 Kind regards,                                                    
 Peter                                                            

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The Swann Group,
Located at
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Phone: +61 (0)3 9649 7466,  Fax:  +61 (0)3 9621 2181
Mobile:  +61 (0)408 090 251
www.swanngroup.com.au

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