According to the Department of Labor, there are 9.2 million veterans in the American workforce as of 2021, less than 6% of the total workforce. The same data shows that veteran unemployment rates have been consistently lower than non-veteran unemployment rates.
Syracuse University's Institute for Veterans and Military Families shows a business case for hiring veterans. Veteran employees are in high demand for their leadership ability, creative problem-solving skills, adaptability and integrity, just to name a few traits. By and large, veterans also receive training in handling high-stress situations, their technical military career function and critical "soft skills," like customer service, ethics and leadership.
If this sounds like the kind of employee your business is looking to recruit and retain, here are six of the best practices recommended by the Department of Labor for hiring and keeping a veteran workforce.
1. Get the Entire Company on Board with the Focus on Veterans.
When creating a veteran hiring program, it's important that everyone in the hiring process understands the goals of the program. It begins with the human resources department (or hiring manager) that first screens the applicants.
Ensure that everyone in the business' leadership and hiring process believes in the veteran hiring program and does what they can to support it.
2. Create a Company-wide Employee Resource Group.
Employee Resource Groups (ERG) are employee-led organizations that support underrepresented communities within a workplace. They can be based on gender identity, ethnicity, religious affiliation or, in this case, veteran status. ERGs are intended to build a community of that group and foster inclusiveness, and they are open to employees who are not necessarily members of that community.
The only requirement for entry to a veteran ERG is the interest to interact positively with the veteran community in the company. An ERG for veterans will help recruit more veterans, aid them in the transition process when necessary and allow for collaboration between employees with the same affinity.
3. Create a Mentorship Program.
If the company isn't large enough to support ERGs or doesn't want to create them for whatever reason, a mentorship program is also a good way forward. A mentor is still a strong support system among veteran employees, can support a successful transition and help teach the ropes of a job, company or industry.
4. Empower Veteran Employees to Recruit Other Veterans.
There's no more powerful way to get the word out about a veteran-friendly company or hiring process than through word of mouth. If the company's aim is to hire more veterans, there's no better recruiter than the company's existing veteran employees. They have access to that community, know who is in need of work and can help new hires understand the company and their role in it.
Veterans are naturally team-oriented. A veteran hire who is happy with their job and the way the company works will inevitably share their good experiences with their community and may even actively help fill the roles a company needs most.
5. Learn to Speak a Little Veteran Lingo.
This doesn't mean the HR department suddenly needs to learn the slang used by troops on the battlefield, but it is helpful to understand the military occupational specialty (MOS) codes, Air Force specialty codes (AFSC) or the Navy's rating system. Tools are available for civilian companies to learn the career codes and what they mean to understand what their hires did while serving in the military.
While not all veterans are looking to do the same work they did in the military, some are. For those who are not, understanding their military occupation will help employers learn what their core competencies are and help them along their way.
6. Use Veteran-Friendly Job Descriptions.
The Department of Labor recommends using "competency-based" job descriptions, as opposed to years of experience. Requiring a certain number of years in specific functional areas will disqualify some veterans who might otherwise be ideally suited for the job.
There are skills and competencies that veterans have been working with for years, such as written and verbal communication, working among and between diverse teams, and creative problem-solving.
With these competencies, getting a veteran to a more specific function like external sales would require minimal training and supervision, so making the job description friendlier and taking the time to conduct that training would get the company more competitive veteran talent.
-- Blake Stilwell can be reached at blake.stilwell@military.com. He can also be found on Twitter @blakestilwell or on Facebook.
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