6.0 The Steady State

The Strategy will result in an evergreen process that engages in ongoing collection and analysis of attrition and retention data to assess and address current and upcoming attrition concerns. Adhering to the proposed principles, the CAF Retention Strategy will focus on retaining CAF talent and reducing unhealthy attrition by addressing dissatisfiers, investigating and addressing institutional factors that could contribute to the occurrence of miscon­duct leading to release and removing barriers, while main­taining operational effectiveness to achieve Canada’s defence mandate. It is essential to understand that the efforts guided by this Strategy are aiming for a long term impact and change which may take years to fully realize.

The CAF Retention Strategy will be successful when the CAF has reached a steady state of continually incorpor­ating forward thinking to govern, implement, adjust and promote people-focused policies and programs to address unhealthy attrition, such that attrition rates are predictable and manageable.