Page 21 - AGC Journal 2018

AGC JOURNAL 2018

Staff and Out and About transferring to the Branch. Officer recruitment has

improved significantly over the past 12 months with 19 top
quality cadets having recently passed out from the Royal
Seeing so many of you at the various Brigade and
Personnel Divisional level seminars has been a particular highlight Military Academy Sandhurst. Applications for Late Entry
Commissions were also up this year with 16 successful

for me as has spending time with the Warrant Officers

candidates being selected out of the 63 who attended
Career, Leadership and Management Courses and I
Support Branch continue to be impressed by all the individuals that I the Late Entry Career Assessment Board in September
Support Branch

meet. The next Pushing Talent Opportunities Briefing Day
this year. I personally take a real interest in all the officer

courses and try to visit each of them during their time at
(North) will take place at Imphal Bks, York on 22 January
2019 and it will be another excellent chance to showcase
attract and retain the quality we need so please do pass
some of our more capable individuals who can’t help Worthy Down. We all have a part to play in continuing to
By Colonel Mike Sykes OBE but enthuse our junior Non Commissioned Officers and the word that a new career awaits for the brightest and

soldiers by exposing them to the myriad of possible career the best who would like to experience what the Branch has

opportunities available across the Branch. to offer.
When I take time to reflect on all the great things

that members of the Branch have achieved over Manning Endnote
the past 12 months, it is difficult to understand Manning levels across the Branch remain over the current Presenting awards and celebrating the contributions

how we have collectively had the time to fit workforce requirement. This means that we now have of our very best remains a key activity, but it is equally
a full complement of quality individuals delivering
as important to also take time to recognise the wider
them all in. outstanding levels of support in staff roles as well as in contributions made by all members of the team. Military

Detachments at unit level. However, soldier recruitment and civilians in Regular and Reserve units across the
remains a concern longer term across the Army and we Army as well as our families and veteran’s community all
must not allow ourselves to become complacent. 2019 play their part and I am grateful to you all for everything
Variety of Activities and informed end users. Only when soldiers feel promises to be particularly tricky in this regard. Voluntary that you do. Thank you for your continued enthusiasm,

confident and able to take responsibility for their own Transfers are a huge part of our current success and I commitment and passion for the Branch. I am so proud to

The action-packed pages within this Corps Journal pay administration will we be able to start to focus on the believe that the variety of wider Army experience that be part of the Staff and Personnel Support Branch and as
testament to the wide variety of activities that members other more value-add activities required of us. they bring really adds to the richness of capability that your Head of Profession I look forward to your continued
of the Branch have been involved in, which is great to we collectively provide. Please do your best to continue to support in securing a bright and rewarding future for us

see. The tempo of activity at unit level has continued Exploiting Technology encourage good quality soldiers and officers to consider all. Animo et Fide.
at a relentless pace with many individuals deploying
overseas in support of operations and exercises. I We will continue to look to exploit the latest
recognise that it is due, in the main, to the hard work technological advantage and our work to develop
and commitment shown by our detachment personnel mobile applications to access the Joint Personnel
who ensure that every individual, no matter what cap Administration functionality on smart phones and
badge, is administratively ready to deploy. tablets will start to be delivered in 2019. Current planning
will see the release of a mobile Leave App, enabled
Reviews through Robotic Process Automation technology,
in the New Year with more areas of Joint Personnel
Operations, and our support to deployed personnel Administration self-service targeted after that. I will
remains uppermost within the outputs of the Branch ensure that frequent updates are provided down our
and as we work through the programme of reviews as Functional Chain on all the latest developments as they
part of the Personnel Support Transformation Project - happen and will also look to continue to involve as
Personnel Administration. It is a complex business and many of you as I can at all levels to help determine the
we have rightly taken the time to ensure that all the future direction of the Branch. My aim is professionalise
recommendations made are the right ones, which will the Branch with a strong vision and identity, with
benefit the Branch and its future, as well as the wider better training and mentoring and greater breadth of

Army. One inevitability of this work will be a smaller Staff opportunity more closely aligned with professional
and Personnel Support Branch in future, but a broader accredited bodies that will make us a more modern and
remit to add greater value at every level. However, I capable administrative force ready to meet the needs of

remain absolutely convinced that there are efficiencies the Army in the future.
to be made and we should rightly look to help rebalance

the current levels of fighting and enabling forces within
the Army. Colonel Mike
Sykes briefing

Continued Success at the Pushing
Talent Event
The Branch Narrative – ‘Aligning the Branch towards our
continued success’, appears to have been well received
and I have been delighted to see the innovative ways
that the six R’s (Role, Relevance, Resources, Reputation,
Reporting and Recognition) have been used across many
areas of the Branch to get my message across. Our role
remains, as it always has been, to deliver Personnel
Administration capability as required in support of the
Army within single Service and Joint environments.
However, there is much more that can hopefully be
done to reduce the administrative burden at the lowest Members of
the Pushing
levels to allow our people to focus on adding even more. Talent
Improving greater self-service on the Joint Personnel Briefing

Administration system for end users as well as changing Team
the current culture from that of dependence to enabled
20 21