Explaining early exit patterns from the HM Royal Navy

Retention is a crucial issue, especially in the all volunteer HM Royal Navy. Naval manpower planners need to consider appropriate measures to improve retention in the service. The paper considers a number of factors that affect the likelihood of early exits from the navy. We classify these factors as external (macroeconomic, and labour market conditions) and internal (job specific) factors. The paper uses a Cox proportional hazard approach to measure individual naval ratings’ propensity to leave early from the navy. The results show that gender is a significant factor affecting propensity to leave the navy. Females are more likely to leave when compared to their male counterparts irrespective of age. The results also indicate that married females are more likely to leave (around 1.1 times more likely to do so) when compared to their unmarried counterparts indicating that marital status transitions are very influential in explaining separations from the navy. Overall the empirical results suggest that the navy should concentrate more on the needs and requirements of high-risk exit groups, with particular emphasis on 'work/life' balance. In addition, appropriate mechanisms need to be put in place in order to inform naval ratings of the relative financial benefits of staying within the navy as compared to civilian life. Naval manpower planners should also promote aggressively the non – pecuniary benefits (medical care, subsidised accommodation, job security etc.) offered by the navy to their personnel.