Why veterans make good employees

Creating the overall concept for a potential program, initiative, policy or benefit to present to the CEO or leadership team requires careful thought combined with a clear, outlined vision. Regardless of whether the vision is conveyed during brief, casual conversations or a formal presentation complete with slides, the message must clearly demonstrate critical thinking and address the following key elements:. Once an employer has a well-defined vision and concept, they can determine who among senior leadership can provide the visible support needed for the initiative, program or policy.

A thumbs-up from proactive and prominent leaders helps secure buy-in throughout the organization. Programs that have the ongoing support of executive "champions" are more likely to gain traction.

Support means more than lip service; it means dedicating key resources—time, talent, budget, equipment or space—to the program. Without such visible and tangible support, initiatives either fail to launch or fall flat and dissolve over time. To identify appropriate individuals to champion the vision and the emergent action plan, employers should:.

When seeking executive or senior leadership champions, employers should be aware of the perceptions of military-connected talent in their organizations and pursue those who demonstrate an understanding of the value of this talent pool. For the most part, perceptions of military-connected talent are positive due to their highly coveted key attributes, but unfavorable reactions are not unheard of. Addressing these misconceptions is about educating others on the realities of veteran employment, including research on the return on investment and employer success stories.

The military has more than 7, jobs across more than functional areas. Many of these jobs have a direct civilian-job equivalent. Understanding the job design and the knowledge, skills and abilities KSAs required for each function within the organization is the starting point for the process of identifying the closest military equivalent.

It allows searching by military occupational code MOC or job title and cross-referencing MOCs to civilian equivalents, or vice versa. This exercise translates military skills to roles within nonmilitary employers. Many organizations regularly correlate the KSAs for each job to MOCs and brief anyone who could be a part of the interview team before meeting with a military applicant.

This process also facilitates job redesign if job sharing, transfers, relocations or flexibility needs arise. When planning to reach out to military-connected candidates, employers should consider which resources make sense for their organization.

Think in terms of accessibility, budget, response rate, time-to-hire, candidate skills and so on. Suggestions to tap into this talent pool include:. See Want to Hire Veterans? Behavioral and situational interview styles are the most effective with candidates who have a military background.

These styles provide the best opportunities for the interviewer to engage applicants in conversations that invite them to shift out of the military's polite and respectful mode, which may involve applicants' giving short responses.

Military members are trained to be a part of a team. They generally do not elaborate on or boast about their accomplishments, scope of authority or responsibility. In addition, if the transport came under fire and experienced any injuries, he was responsible for ensuring those wounded received medical attention. There were several other duties he performed—all in a most grueling environment. These responses indicate the true scope and depth of that soldier's role and responsibilities—far greater than simply driving a truck.

To ensure the most-effective interviews with individuals who have served in the military or their spouses, hiring managers should be trained on interviewing techniques that include the following key points:. The Work Opportunity Tax Credit WOTC is a federal tax credit available to employers for hiring individuals from certain target groups who have consistently faced significant barriers to employment.

A qualified veteran for this program is any of the following:. Many states offer tax credits for hiring veterans that can be claimed in addition to the federal tax credit.

An organization's branding is as important to attracting military talent as it is to attracting customers. A consistent messaging strategy should underlie all communications. An employer should consider the organization's policies, programs and initiatives, as well as its reputation for positive employee engagement. As employees, veterans find camaraderie and support across 33 Boeing Veteran Engagement Team chapters.

Since , Boeing has hired more than 13, veterans. More than 15 percent of its U. Salesforce is another enterprise sold on the value veterans can bring to any job. Ann Weeby, vice president of workforce innovation and head of the Salesforce Military program, cites her own active-duty experience with the Michigan National Guard, which included a tour of duty in Iraq.

In terms of 21st century skills, military veterans represent a population that has a jumpstart and offers a unique opportunity for corporate America, Weeby says. Since , with Trailhead, Salesforce Military has upskilled and reskilled a growing community of more than 30, military Trailblazers with high-demand technology skills and certifications that help them launch meaningful careers in the Salesforce ecosystem.

Air Force veteran Stephanie Brown is one of its success stories. After being laid off as a banquet chef at the start of the pandemic, Brown threw herself into the Trailhead program and earned multiple certifications. Brown was selected for the inaugural Salesforce Fellowship Program, a paid week internship under the umbrella of the U. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the world of employment; Steve Thornton is a veteran who founded Forces Cars Direct, a business whose ranks are populated by military veterans.

He spoke to us about just why exactly veterans make for the best employees. Asides from anything else, though, tardiness demonstrates an inherent lack of respect from an employee towards their employer.