Competing for the Best and Brightest: Recruitment and Retention in the Australian Defence Force
Authors: Keith Thomas and Steve Bell
Volume 3, Number 1 (February 2007), pp. 97-118.
Abstract
The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is facing considerable personnel challenges, as recognised in the Australian Defence White Paper 2000 and confirmed in two recent Personnel Environment Scans (2001, 2003). With a diminishing recruitment base of young Australians, the ADF will need to compete harder for high quality, skilled employees. This article examines the ADF’s human resource management strategies and practices in the light of research related to workplace attitudes and the relationship between selection standards and training in terms of the concepts of organisational fit, psychological contract and organisational commitment. The aim is to help the ADF achieve competitive advantage—a superior position in the marketplace relative to labour-market competitors—in a complex labour market.
About the Authors
Dr. Keith Thomas, who served some 25 years in the military, teaches on both the undergraduate and post-graduate programs at the Defence Academy. His research interests include issues related to HRM, Knowledge Management, and Leadership and Management. k.thomas@adfa.edu.au.
SBLT Steve Bell joined the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) in 2002 as a Seaman Officer. In 2006 he graduated from the Australian Defence Force Academy at the University of New South Wales with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree. His honours thesis addressed human resource management challenges confronting the Australian Defence Force. After graduation, SBLT Bell returned to the RAN as Junior Warfare Officer. Steven.Bell1@defence.gov.au.
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