The Armed Forces are experiencing a recruitment and retention crisis with 7,000 more people leaving the military than joining it last year.
Sodexo believes that the lived experience, which can be defined as the experience of service personnel on the sites where they both live and work, plays a significant part in people’s decision whether they want to join, or continue to serve.
To address these challenges Sodexo convened 21 leaders from across the military community to explore the challenges of the lived experience and how we can address them. The three themes identified in the white paper titled ‘The Future Lived Experience and the UK’s Armed Forces in the 2030s’ are:
- Barriers between the armed forces and society: It is only through closing the gap between the military and the society it protects, that recruitment and retention will improve.
- The changing expectations of serving personnel: Satisfaction with service life in general has fallen for the second year running, dropping to 42%.
- Improving the lived experience through external partnerships: The Armed Forces will need to work with local communities, and other external organisations, to meet expectations.
Mark Baker, chief operating officer of defence at Sodexo UK & Ireland, said: “We see it as a core part of our business to work with partners and wider stakeholders to do all that we can to improve the lived experience for our Armed Forces, and help deliver a standard that they expect, and of which we can be proud.
“This is a conversation that is only just beginning. We will continue to bring together key players, to understand the challenges, offer options and identify solutions. But what is clear already is that, without the right lived experience, we will really struggle to maintain a capable military force that’s ready to face the challenges of the future.”