When will they offer us a bonus? Plenty of surveys coming out of DP, but no doubt nothing will happen until late next year after the mass exodus!
Yes, plenty of the same surveys asking the same questions about the same problems. Must be a standard survey template in the DP computer system by now!
As for the bonus.............another unimaginative solution by unimaginative people who refuse to look even a small distance outside the box.
In the vast majority of cases RAAF pilots do not leave because of the money. By the time their ROSO (a bit like the bonding system in the airline world) is up they are senior FLTLT's and therefore on pretty good money. They
will take a significant pay drop for the first few years if they go to QF as an F/O.
The vast majority of RAAF pilots leave the service to keep flying. They would dearly like to stay in and fly the flash aircraft doing interesting and exciting things, however the system has probably earmarked them for promotion. In the RAAF, promotion above FLTLT = significantly reduced opportunities to stay flying.
The bonuses do not do a good job of swaying those whom are undecided. Invariably those whom are going to stay anyway will take them. The net result is a cost to Defence for very little gain.
The RAAF needs to think outside it's very constrained little box and squarely face the
real reasons their pilot's leave.
There will always be a small proportion of pilots who will go to the airlines. Let them go, and thank them for their time rather then making them feel like rats deserting a ship.
I will guarantee if every squadron pilot was asked what they wanted to do ( i.e.
given a say in their career), initially a significant proportion would elect to stay in their current flying jobs for the medium to long term. This will instantly preserve unit corporate experience. Very soon after that the demand for new pilots will reduce, significantly reducing the strain on an already under funded and understaffed training organisation.
Around the early 90's the demand for pilots reduced, but the RAAF training system was still producing a relatively high output. This was chiefly because the training system responded to the large numbers of pilots who left in the mid/late 80's, but was significantly out of phase. This resulted in lots of pilots in the RAAF whom weren't going anywhere. The answer was to establish lots of ground positions for pilots. To the best of my knowledge these positions are still established. The RAAF needs to have a good hard look at what ground positions are so important that they actually require trained, experienced pilots to man them. Do we really need experienced pilots as aides to senior officers and Governors, for example?
With our already high operational tempo and new types coming on line, why not pull some of these guys and gals out from behind desks and put their experience to good use?
The RAAF still persists with the outdated notion that every pilot who joins wants to be Chief one day. Granted, there are those that aspire to such heights, but I will wager that many do not. Those that do not want promotion should not have it foisted upon them. Let those that want the stripes and the associated BS have it.
As time goes on a proportion of those pilots who opted to stay in rank and stay flying may change their minds and elect to go for promotion. Should that be the case, these people should then be considered for promotion.
In conclusion, give more control of pilot's careers back to the individual pilots. Review all ground positions established for pilots with a view of releasing those pilots back into the flying work force. Watch the training work load and cost decrease. And no bonuses will be required!