News
May 31st 2024
Reserves Day: how to show your support for our Armed Forces
Once a year the country celebrates Reserves Day – a moment to honour our often unrecognised Reserve Forces who balance their civilian life with a military career – during Armed Forces Week.
For those unaware, Reserves play a critical role in national defence and security, from countering threats, peacekeeping and humanitarian efforts abroad, to supporting communities and national resilience at home. You can read some of their incredible stories on our website.
Whether you have already joined the Employer Recognition Scheme or not, read on for inspiration on how your organisation can mark Reserves Day on Wednesday, 26th June 2024.
1) Social media shout-out
One of the best ways a company can publicly recognise the valuable contributions of Royal Naval, Army and RAF Reservists is to publicise their support on social media. Using your platform to advocate, show gratitude and promote your Forces-friendly credentials encourages others to do the same.
This handy toolkit can give you some ideas if you’re stuck on where to get started.
2) Spread awareness on internal channels
Do you have a staff intranet or newsletter? Take a moment to raise awareness of Reserves Day in your workforce.
Earlier this year we outlined why Reservists are worth their weight in gold to an employer, and celebrating our Reserve Forces on this special occasion may encourage some of your staff to consider joining. If they do, they would receive training which could cost your organisation at least £8,000 a year to implement.
3) Encourage Reservists to wear their uniform at work
Where appropriate, wearing military uniform to work can be a striking visual and prompt questions, conversations and general awareness of the role of Reserve Forces, especially when combined with a planned workplace talk.
4) Profile your Reservists and the incredible contributions they make
If you have Reservists within your workforce and they’re happy to share their story, take the time to capture it in a video or blog post – you will be amazed at their adventures and achievements. For example, take this case study of a critical care nurse from King’s Mill Hospital who recently mobilised to Cyprus.
5) Sign up for our monthly newsletter
Keep up to date on the biggest stories impacting the Reserves and the Cadet Forces each month by subscribing to our newsletter.
