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How to Integrate Veterans Into the Workforce
Kellye Whitney, 11-02-2009
The average age of veterans entering this particular war is about 30 years old, said Aline Williams, project director of veteran services for Easter Seals, and many had work experience prior to entering the military. Therefore, it makes good business sense to fully leverage this particular talent pool.
“With the economy being what it is, some people went into the military as a necessity, and it added to the training that they already had,” Williams explained.
Further, Williams said the military uses the most current trends in workforce development, and military personnel receive a great deal of training that can benefit potential employers.
“A lot of military members who have been in more than three years are responsible for personnel, so they have supervisory experience, and they’re responsible for budgetary management,” Williams said. “When you bring in someone from the military, you’re bringing in someone who has a great deal of experience and a great deal of diversity training. The military is actually 30 percent more diverse than corporate America right now. [Potential candidates] have dealt with many people on many different levels, so from that perspective, you’re actually getting someone who may be a little bit ahead of the curve.”
Hiring or on-boarding veterans can be different from employees from the general population. Part of the difference is because veterans typically speak a different language than traditional human resources managers. This makes it necessary for hiring managers to learn how to translate positions from military to civilian-ese, Williams said.
“For example, a lot of companies are asking that individuals come in with a four-year degree, which is perfectly fine, but if you have someone who’s returning from the Air Force and they attained the rank of staff sergeant, that’s not going to necessarily translate properly to a hiring manager. Make sure you compare apples to apples. That person coming from the Air Force has at least four years experience, so they’ve got a proven record of doing something positive in their life. It also says they have some supervisory experience; they’ve been responsible for a budget; they have a very diverse background.
“The question you have to ask yourself as a hiring manager is, are we asking for the degree because it’s necessary to do the actual function of the job, or are we asking for the degree so we can determine that this person has a record of four years of proven success?”
That level of inquiry may require that organizations examine their hiring practices, looking at job descriptions to determine if in fact a degree is necessary, or if they can give an opportunity to someone, whether it’s a veteran, a person with a disability or someone from the general population who has experience but wasn’t able to obtain a four-year degree.
Williams said HR managers also have to be sure their hiring processes aren’t inadvertently bypassing the very segments of the population they want to recruit from by omitting key phrases that population may be accustomed to, such as individuals with disabilities encouraged to apply, or individuals with military experience encouraged to apply.
“A person in the military definitely has a proven track record of success,” she said. “They are team players, because in some instances when they’re not team players, things happen that are very negative and have a great impact on a lot of people. And most important, they have learned to be leaders and followers, and [that] works very well in any corporation.”
She said it also can help to have a veteran as part of the recruiting team because many veterans feel more comfortable speaking with someone who talks the talk, possibly has been in a similar situation or understands protocol with regard to military culture.
“The same would apply for individuals with disabilities,” Williams explained. “Create an environment where they’re comfortable having open conversations with respect to disabilities they may have, seen and unseen.”
