Report of the RMC Board of Governors By the Withers' Study Group
Balanced Excellence Leading Canada's Armed Forces In The New Millenium
4500-240 (ADM (HR-Mil))
24 September 1998
Cross-reference p. 31 of 63 of official printed copy of report
Retention is addressed in one way or another throughout all the analysis of the four pillars. Commitment to service and profession must be reinforced by actions taken in each of the four pillars. However, motivating an individual for a career in the armed forces begins at the recruiting centre. Therefore, the recruiting process must be a positive experience. Generally, the Study Group concluded that potential candidates do not have a good first impression of their recruiting contact. They believe that filling quotas is a primary consideration for recruiters. Furthermore, candidates suspect their concerns are not seriously considered, or are swept aside with responses such as "sign up to the MOC now and if you don't like it, you can easily change when you get to RMC". Equally damaging, many of the recruiting staff have little or no detailed knowledge of RMC and this is readily apparent to cadets after their first exposure to the College and the CF. Finally, the people employed in the recruiting function are rarely suited to acting as College recruiters or to carry out high school liaison in competition with other excellent universities.
The Study Group did not want to appear unduly hard on the recruiting organisation. It is a difficult task with limited resources. The important point being made is that retention is the responsibility of the CF. In the final analysis officers leave the CF not RMC.
We are convinced that an organisation aspiring to excellence must give the highest possible priority to recruitment of its members. Investigation of recruiting practices in the U.S. Army and Navy suggests approaches which could be profitably emulated by the CF. In a period of drastic downsizing, the U.S. Army effectively doubled the resources devoted to recruiting. In the case of the CF, the recruiting effort has been cut by approximately 47%.
To inform and recruit the very best candidates, the U.S. Naval Academy has its "Blue and Gold Officers". Distributed throughout every state and territory of the United States, these men and women, serving and retired, are the Agents of the Academy. They are all volunteers, there is no pay for their work. They are trained at Annapolis, write an examination to qualify and then get down to work where they live.
They know all the local leaders: the mayor and council members; the principals of the high schools; the Scout/Guide leaders and, the employers. Through these people they find out about potential young leaders. They start their information program at the junior high school level, make their contacts and follow through as the years go by.
The Blue and Gold Officers not only inform but also play a critical role in the admissions process. They make the assessment of potential and they create the file on the individual. The potential candidate is never interviewed at Annapolis. Everything depends on the tests, physical fitness, medical and academic (SAT) co-ordinated by the Blue and Gold Officer plus that officer's assessment of potential.
The files go to the Dean of Admissions at the Academy who convenes a weekly meeting of the most senior military and academic staffs to assess and rank them. Last year, over 9,000 had all the required attributes to be considered and the top 1,200 were admitted to the Academy. Thus Annapolis conducts a discrete recruiting process which has proven to be highly successful.
As it now stands, RMC itself has very little direct influence on who is selected to attend the institution. Essentially, candidates are routinely enrolled after only a review of files by College staff. Equally significant, the Board has no impact on recruiting or selection to the institution although, subsequently, they are expected to be accountable for its product. To improve this situation the College has to have a more effective role, including more oversight of recruiting, screening and selection methodologies by the Board and direct contact with applicants by College officials.
Finally, the current practice of having the candidate select his/her MOC at the recruiting stage is not sound. From a recruiting perspective, many potential candidates are deterred from "signing up" when they learn that their preferred choice(s) are not available. From a retention perspective, a number of problems derive from early MOC selection. Candidates are not sufficiently mature or knowledgeable to make informed choices. Once enrolled, they frequently discover first, that they have made the wrong choice, and then that changing is often very difficult. The end result is a high-level of dissatisfaction among many cadets, ill-motivated officers upon graduation, and three Services frequently unhappy with the RMC product. Indeed, the dominant model for quota assignment must have much shorter lags, as virtually all other recruiting, other than the 3.5% destined for the College will be in place in their occupations within two years. The six year MOC quota model, if it exists, must consist mostly of blank spaces to be filled in, four years later.
Consideration of the above conditions and factors leads to the following recommendation:
Recommendation 8: Attract more of the most suitable high quality candidates.
a. The theme of all recruiting for RMC should be "apply here to embark on a career as a real leader" rather than free education;
b. Encourage the CF to increase the specialisation of resources devoted to officer recruiting;
c. Separate the officer recruiting process from that for all other CF intakes;
d. Establish as was done in the past, a program of community and high school visits by select officers, RMC faculty members and cadets. Comment: This exposure of appropriate role models to potential candidates from the outset provides up to date information, and demonstrates a proactive attitude by the CF in their quest for the highest quality members;
e. Establish a "volunteer recruiting and mentoring system" across the Country. Comment: When suitable candidates are identified they would be put in contact with knowledgeable volunteers. Mentors would receive appropriate training to maximise their effectiveness;
f. Decentralise overall authority for recruiting advertising for RMC to CFRETS and RMC, including the RMC Board of Governors;
g. Establish a committee of the Board on the recruiting and selection process. Comment: This committee would determine the parameters by which potential candidates are approached, informed, screened and selected. The committee would have a continuing role in monitoring the overall process by which young women and men enter RMC;
h. There should be a Dean of Admissions at RMC;
i. Establish a RMC Selection Board for final screening of potential candidates. Comment: This Board would consist of military and civilian faculty, as well as representatives from ADM(Per) and/or the three environmental services;
j. Ensure that officer cadets are matched with MOCs in a fashion which better meets the needs of the CF and the individual. Comment: MOC selection must not be made at the recruiting centre. It should be an assignment based upon both preference and suitability, and should not occur until after an officer cadet has been exposed to some training and a variety of MOCs. There should be an allocation of MOC slots to RMC each year which would accord with the developed projections for critical officer needs 3.5 years after the allocation date. The CF should preferentially allocate MOC slots most likely to create full career tracks for the officers who fill them. RMC officer cadets would be selected for these allocated MOC slots on a competitive basis, in which both a candidate's overall performance and a candidate's suitability for a given MOC would influence the likelihood of getting his/her first choice;
k. Assign responsibility and authority for MOC management of RMC cadets to the Commandant. Comment: Such a MOC flow management system, controlled by the Commandant, will expedite MOC reassignment of RMC cadets required due to failure, or other exigencies of the Service. The Commandant would have authority to authorise all OTs.