WE REALLY, REALLY NEED TO RECRUIT.

Anyone heard that the RNR is on the verge of extinction?

We're being told that if the RNR gets any smaller then it will no longer be financially viable to continue!

So shippers - what the **** are we going to do about it?

 

Ermmmm. So when are they going to widen the scope for membership? An upper age limit of 75 perhaps. Allowing ex-RN/RNXS bods to join up to 55 and make allowances for minor disabilities? When they do, please send me an application form. I won't hold my breath though... :wink:

 

This 'financial viability' point is the important component - the RTCs are hugely expensive unless they hit critical mass with regard to headcount.

If push really does come to shove is there an argument for Reserve & TA Training Centres where the 'Reserve Forces' per se share the real estate in those locations where there is no 'natural' single service host - and certain manpower costs as well (Security, Cleaning etc)?

This already happens in several parts of the country with the RNR, RMR and URNU sharing a building (eg HMS FORWARD in Birmingham) - bolting a TA unit onto it as well would damage the white ensign nature of the buildings but could ultimately be a saving grace (after all the buildings outside of Dockyard gates are all managed and maintained by RFCA regardless of colour of uniform)

 

How about opening the fcuking recruitment offices on weekends so that people my age can actually go to them?

 

BZ, HIP HIP, CORRECAMUNDO, GIVE THAT MAN A CIGAR.

Man the recruiting offices at weekends with Reservists that way we're recruiting for both.

 

This irritates me. The Furher bunker messes about with roles, career prospects without any real thought or planning and wonder why people get P**sed off and leave. Cancel training at the last minute and expect people to travel at all hours of the day and night to save a few pounds. They do F**k all to encourage Ex RN to join or even to make the transition anything like easy. Put AFCO in charge of processing new recruits when they will only work normal office hours and often don’t give a damm about the RNR .
Give us a pittance of a recruiting budget and then they have the cheek to say we need to recruit or die.

 

How about promotion based upon recruitment?
10 bods - AB1
25 bods - LH
50 bods - PO
100 bods - Lt
300 bods - Cdr
1000 - CPO(M)

 

I too am very perturbed by the general attitude especially of the powers to be....

The Commodore (Bless HIM) stood up recently and said that we all need to talk to family and friends about the RNR and get them to join if we all recruited a friend family member our shortage would be over..!!

HELLO..HELLO...Earth calling COMMarRES.!!!!!!

My friends know that I am in the RNR..my family know that I am in the RNR...many a night in the pubs has been taken up with my witty and jovial yarns about life at sea...if they were going to join they would have by now..!!

LISTEN VERY CAREFULLY IN THE IVORY TOWER!!

WHAT WE NEED IS MONEY TO RAISE OUR PROFILE WITH THE GENERAL PUBLIC ON RADIO/TV/PAPERS ETC. IF YOU HAVE MONEY TO PAY NEW RECRUITS YOU HAVE MONEY TO RECRUIT THEM IN THE FIRST PLACE

GET ON WITH IT AND STOP LAYING THE RESPONSIBILITY SOLELY AT OUR DOOR !!!

 

Do the general public know they exist..!!!

BRITISH ARMY....money spent on TV Ads, Papers, Radio......YES

ROYAL NAVY.....money spent on TV Ads, Papers, Radio........YES

ROYAL AIR FORCE...money spent on TV Ads, Papers, Radio......YES

TA....money spent on TV Ads, Papers, Radio............................YES

RNR.....Not a f**king penny spent...........................................NO!!!

YOU DONT NEED TO BE EINSTEIN TO WORK IT OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

i think you and me were sat pretty close to each other on that Sunday morning at Jupiter point and we didnt even realise it!

Ships that pass in the night eh? Or should that be shits that pass in the shite?

 

Shits being fed shite!!!

It would appear so...but dont get me started on that weekend!!!

The whole event bought me closer to my avatar than ever before..!!

(But thats another thread)

 

I was at that Sunday too! Only it was the third time this summer I have heard him spout the same twaddle!

As for Marketing & Recruitment. Is there a Communications Strategy in place? Does it link in with individual Units and the RN (I think probably not). Do we have a national team that heads up Marketing & Recruitment? What budget is set Nationally? What does each Unit have to spend on recruitment?

I'm trying not to put CAPS lock on and start shouting, because this topic really gets my goat!

I have seen many occasions in my Unit where money & time has been wasted on bad attempts of recruitment, and where money has been spent placing advertising in publications with poor readership and further to that, the readership doesn't even match the target market that we are aiming at! Who is making these decisions?!

 

Have a look a page 45 'Recruitment' September 2006 Navy News Top LH of sheet, that's the RNR advertising for full timers leaving the RN, only the only emblem on display is 'ROYAL NAVY' the only time RNR appears is in the web address - although IT DOESN'T EXPLAIN WHAT IT STANDS FOR & that civilians are able to join also. Who actually asked for this and wasted good money only.

 

I think WM has said it all in a nutshell. Does anyone fancy tipping COMMarRes off about this site - it might do them the power of good (Not to mention us) if they really saw the level of feeling from their people.

Do they really think we want to see the RNR disappear up its own ********? I'm sure we're all doing our level best to recruit (I know I am), but unfortunately the TA ads are much more glitsy and glamorous. To be honest the reason I didn't join the TA was because I didn't fancy running around in greens, SA80 in hand being shot at by various religious fundaMENTALists....What do you mean you're making a new branch called GSSR!!! 8O

In fact, at our unit, recruiting was looking up last week. We had at least half a dozen come through the gates. Only problem was all but one had a plum in their gobs (and a stick up their arse), and talked down their noses at you. The other one frankly didn't look like he'd come back.

What's all this sh1t about recruiting direct to the ward room anyway? In my day, if you had the quals to be an officer, you still had to go in through the rating structure. I'm academically (although probably not socially ) qualified to be drinking pink gins, but frankly I wouldn't ever want to.

As WM so eloquently said - dig deep, spend the money, raise our profile with the public - and JFDI :evil:

 

Paging MasterChief - isn't this one of the roles of the RNR CWO?

I agree with what has been said about the parlous state of recruiting (not to mention retention but that's a different matter). For most of us who've been in the RNR more than a dog watch the idea of recruiting friends or family is ridiculous - this tactic is only applicable to people in the early stages of their RNR lives. Similarly it won't work well with ex-matelots either - if they're such a good recruiting tool then all their friends and family will have joined up full time!

We need better visibility in the national media, whether print, TV or Pearl & Dean cinema adverts - if it costs money in the short term, COMMARES need to look on this as an investment for the future, theirs and ours.

 

I put this on 'bring along a friend' thread and i still stand by it -the civil service are the largest employers in the country what if we could harness 1-2% of there staff nationwide recruitment headaches would be partially relieved.
Same old problem with AFCO we go on stands/ employment fairs etc.. proclaiming what the RNR can offer individuals, one interview with AFCO who can't talk about the RNR and they're off again probably to join the TA. These people came to discuss joining the RNR, not to be persuaded to join the RN, time for RNR intervention !! we where quite capable of doing this years ago, has the ability disappeared totally ??

Over the years i have introduced several work colleagues including my older brother to the RNR !! Some are still here altho most have left.
We've also been asked to 'recruit a friend', since most of mine are around the 40's who would really want them, and i couldn't convince them to join either, they've known what i've done for years.

 

The other slight flaw in this plan is, of course, that trying to explain what we do on a drill night in a way that is neither entirely offputting nor exceptionally vague is somewhat difficult.

Not to mention the (possibly mistaken) perception that joining the Reserves is tantamount to volunteering for a lengthy holiday in Iraq/the 'Stan, neither of which appear to be popular prospects with those who might otherwise think about joining.

APN

 

We mainly drip on our drill nights (Well we've got to give our typing finger a break sometime) or do work that could/ should have been completed during the week by PSIs. So the training plan goes out the porthole again !!!! You could tell them you q all night at the slops only to be told it'll shrink to fit in the wash, only size availableetc....

 

Yep - drill nights are the definite killer. Never stick to program. That means less people attend regularly, which means the program goes to ratshite, means less people attend........get the picture!

I mentioned our half dozen or so new recruits last week. What do you think they did on their first night? Divisional re-invigoration lecture with about half a dozen JRs in the audience. Hmmmmm. How many of them d'reckon'll come back :roll: And the new recruits aswell :lol:

Still, if we recruited more, then we'd perhaps have more who are willing to stick it out.

 

Programme disruptions due to visits of VIPs, excessive programme content for non-core subjects, mandatory drug, alcohol, security lectures that are slotted in at the last minute, lots of guard-parctice for unit participation in local parades, marching practice for same, oh and occasional task-book training (for those few who still have valid task-books!).

If money is so tight we need to consider whether drill-nights are the right way to go. At the risk of being crucified by my dark blue brethren, we are soon getting JPA, which is going to necessitate a hell of a lot of expense to update the IT in all TA and RNR establishments - would it not be logical to follow the lead of the Regular Forces and be dragged kicking and screaming into a purple environment - Joint Service Reserve Units? This would then raise an interesting question (that in all honesty has needed asking for a few years) - what is the role of the Permanent Staff / XO and are what roles are really necessary?