Change and Transformation in the Public Sector
To help the UK’s military recruit and retain the skills needed to protect the nation, EY worked with the Ministry of Defence on the Haythornthwaite Review of Armed Forces Incentivisation (HRAFI) to transform how its recruits, retains and rewards service. The bold, sustainable solution will help to solve the British Armed Forces’ workforce crisis and has created a blueprint for sustainable workforce agility through the transformation of its People system.
Our Armed Forces must attract top talent to counter evolving threats that the world faces. To attract and retain talent, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) needed to address critical incentivisation challenges and transform how it recruited, retained and rewarded service personnel. The Haythornthwaite Review of Armed Forces Incentivisation (HRAFI) offered a once-in-a-generation opportunity to do precisely this, while providing a blueprint for sustainable workforce agility through transforming its People system.
Following HRAFI’s publication in 2023, the MOD turned to EY not just as consultants, but as trusted partners – given the EY track record of delivering real change – to help them redefine its workforce strategy, develop a new People Transformation Directorate and drive systemic HR transformation.
HRAFI made 67 recommendations to fundamentally change how the MOD enables, supports and manages its workforce. Despite a desire for change, the complexity to deliver was significant and there were few professionals to drive the transformation and implement meaningful recommendations. There were significant challenges to overcome, including:
- Worsening workforce crisis, budget limitations, plus governance arrangements dictated by Cabinet and Treasury rules
- Changes in government and their endorsements
- Lack of comprehensive people data
- Inconsistencies between systems and the impact of a general election
To overcome these, EY helped design and implement many measures from over 150 potential initiatives, such as evidence-based decision-making, robust risk management strategies and Agile Methodologies. EY didn’t just support the review; it also co-wrote the report and, more recently, helped design and implement the solution as a multi-year transformation, aligned to government missions and developed at immersive events for leaders and the people function. The scope was huge. Not only did it directly impact 140k+ service personnel, 500k spouses and dependents and 2.4 million veterans, but it was the first full-scale reassessment of Armed Forces’ incentivisation for 40 years.
Measurable results included:
- Quickly establishing a unified workforce strategy and mission focus – setting up a Transformation Management Office (TMO) in weeks and aligning 15+ major people programmes under scaled agile principles for greater coherence and efficiency.
- Building a Total Reward framework – a unique People Value Proposition framework that strategically targeted rewards for the right individuals within the MOD environment.
- An optimised policy and process – including a 10-year roadmap for digitally-enabled Total Reward optimisation and standardised reward structures across the army, navy and air force.
- Introduced agile execution and innovation – accelerating delivery through upskilling, Scaled Agile Design Sprints, testing, and trials.
- A more future-proofed workforce agility – identifying 11 recommendations for improving employment agility and simplifying legislation and culminating in the comprehensive 10-year roadmap.
The result of the EY team’s work is a redefined workforce strategy, systemic HR transformation and a new People Transformation Directorate. The EY support is helping the MOD secure the future of the UK’s military talent pipeline, ensuring it can recruit and retain the skills it needs to protect the nation.
Ultimately, the EY team provided the MOD with a bold, sustainable solution to help solve the British Armed Forces’ workforce crisis, which is critical to national security, global stability and economic prosperity.
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