Chief Executive’s 100-Day Review areas of focus

Hello everyone,

I wanted to take a moment to update you all following my progress update last month and explain the next steps regarding my 100-Day Review.

Before I go into more detail, I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to all RNLI volunteers and staff for everything you have done to keep people safe over the busy summer period. This includes a sincere thank you to our lifeguards, the majority of whom have finished their season on our beaches. I have been hugely impressed by everyone’s commitment, fortitude, and courage in delivering our vital lifesaving service this summer.

I presented my 100-Day Review to RNLI Trustees at a Board Meeting on 19 September and I am pleased to report the proposed direction of travel was fully endorsed. The principles and recommendations of my 100-Day Review will now be taken forward into a strategy workshop with the Trustees on Tuesday 15 October for further discussion. The outcome of this will inform the next iteration of Our Watch and 5-Year Plan to ensure the RNLI can continue to save lives, as the demand for our service increases, along with the cost to deliver it.

What is in the 100-Day Review?

Having reflected on what I have learned of the RNLI since starting as Chief Executive in late June, I have offered a prospectus of change based on the fundamental shift in the nature of saving lives at sea, that has taken place in recent years. Previously, our vital operations were predicated on saving the lives of mariners that had been shipwrecked or were in distress at sea.

In the 50 years since we last determined our operational laydown, there has been an evident shift towards saving the lives of people closer inshore. 98% of the RNLI’s ‘services’ are within 10 nautical miles of the shore; 1.8% are between 10 and 25 nautical miles of the shore; and just 0.2% are in excess of 25 nautical miles of the shore. We have probably not been out to our declared operational radius of action of 100 nautical miles since the Fastnet Race of 1979. We should therefore consider carefully what that data tells us about the future shape and construct of the RNLI, and where we should invest our increasingly scarce resource, if we are to save every one in our third century of being.

For me, our purpose must be our headmark, we should have a clear-eyed focus on it. We must also constantly remind ourselves that we are a volunteer organisation, and that everything we do should be in support of our volunteers and frontline staff, ensuring that they are as well equipped, supported, trained and prepared as possible, to undertake whatever is asked of them, 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, and 7 days a week.

At the Board Meeting, I informed Trustees of my enormous admiration for what our dedicated, loyal and committed people deliver in common purpose. Our shared, collective passion for the RNLI and what we do defines us. However, I have identified six key areas of focus going forward: 

1. Operational efficiency and asset resource management.
2. Organisational support to the volunteer and adapting ways of working accordingly.
3. Estate and infrastructure management.
4. Whole life cost appreciation and through life capability management.
5. Governance, portfolio and project management.
6. Ensuring we implement decisions, close actions and track changes.

It is vital that we continuously evolve and look to improve our frontline services and ways of working. I believe by focusing on these six areas, we will put this treasured institution in the best possible place for the future as we strive to save every one.

What’s next?

On Thursday 24 October, I will provide further, more detailed information in a pre-recorded update to all volunteers and staff. If you would like to ask me a question to answer in the update, please submit these in advance to [email protected] by Monday 14 October.

Once 2025 budgets and plans are approved by Trustees, hopefully at the Board Meeting on Thursday 28 November, we will develop an interim document to bridge the gap between Our Watch 2020-2024 and the next iteration. Looking ahead, we plan to submit the next iteration and 5-Year Plan for Trustee approval in June 2025, with a view to launching in September 2025.

I ask that you please be patient – we need to ensure that the direction of travel is the right one and then communicate at the right time once all approvals are in place. I know many of you are eager to understand more about how we will be taking the charity forward into 2025 and beyond and I will keep you updated on progress. There is no doubt that we have challenges to overcome, but from what I have seen over the past few months, I know that together we will ensure the RNLI is ready to embark on its third century of lifesaving.

Thank you for everything you are continuing to do.

Sincerely,

Peter