What kind of resources should a company dedicate to veteran recruitment programs?

Capt Brandon Charters — Mon, 07 Nov 2016 21:34:25 -0500

I've always wanted to hear RallyPoint's opinion here. This blog offers is a nice breakdown and comparison on how companies staff other hiring initiatives like college & campus recruitment. What key resources do you think are needed to launch such an important talent acquisition program?
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-much-should-my-company-budget-veteran-recruiting-lisa-rosser

how-much-should-my-company-budget-veteran-recruiting-lisa-rosser

Response by SFC George Smith made Nov 7 at 2016 10:05 PM

SFC George Smith — Mon, 07 Nov 2016 22:05:07 -0500

their best efforts...

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 7 at 2016 10:32 PM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 07 Nov 2016 22:32:58 -0500

I'm not sure that companies should; certainly all of them can't. There are certain companies known for actively seeking out veterans and we all can name some but a company is going to go where they get the best people for their needs. It may not necessarily be the military.
Now a veteran who is that classic self starter that doesn't require prolonged oversight will use that to his advantage during the interview process. But those people are just like that no matter if they served or not.

Response by CPL Scott Haas made Nov 8 at 2016 11:06 AM

CPL Scott Haas — Tue, 08 Nov 2016 11:06:14 -0500

From my perspective as both veteran (USMC) and recruiting manager, you need buy-in from the executives to support the initiative. Building out a veterans council within the organization from peers in all roles is also important to the success. This committee will be able to expand upon from their experiences on what is best for the organization. Once support is in place, rally the veterans in the organization to be a part of recruiting process (either through mentoring, joining networking/recruiting events, participating in local base programs, or as a hiring manager). While it is important to build out a job transition map from what the military does to civilian counterpart, it is also critical to train the hiring managers who have no connection to the military as to why our military produces some high quality talent. I believe it is important to note on a careers page for the website (with testimonials from veterans in the company), a company LinkedIn page with a group page that existing company veterans participate in and reach out to their peers that they served with, along with targeted recruiting on a site like Rallypoint. For us, we have niche specific roles that make a site like this invaluable for what we are looking for. Additionally, we target our open roles to the closest base in an effort to create a talent pipeline from that location. That is my 2 cents...and what I am currently building out.

Response by SFC Chad Sowash made Nov 8 at 2016 2:16 PM

SFC Chad Sowash — Tue, 08 Nov 2016 14:16:07 -0500

Let's first boil this down to where companies have been getting veteran hiring wrong for a decade.

1) Translation - Companies need to understand the profile of the military/veteran candidate before they start searching or better yet declaring themselves "veteran friendly".

2) Identification of their own veteran employees - Companies far and wide disclose they do NOT have an understanding of the types or even number of veterans working at their company. Why? Because there is little to no reason to disclose. Even best-in-class veteran hiring companies have problems EVERY.SINGLE.DAY.

3) Genuine engagement - Veterans do NOT believe the "veteran friendly" hype, which means companies need to DEMONSTRATE they hire veteran, not just talk about it.

That's a start. I agree with Lisa's comments, although without the points above NONE OF IT MATTERS.

After you get points 1-3 rolling you can start talking about training, heightened outreach, and infrastructure.

I've built veteran hiring programs which more triple the rate of the federal hiring benchmark and I did it through trenchwork and partnerships. Leveraging platforms like RallyPoint is like taking a well-needed short cut :)

Response by SMSgt Terrence Gonzalez made Nov 10 at 2016 1:26 PM

SMSgt Terrence Gonzalez — Thu, 10 Nov 2016 13:26:34 -0500

First off it depends on the size of the company as well as the industry that it belongs to. After working at several different companies since retiring I've had the opportunity to put together a veteran hiring program at my current job. Companies like to say they are hiring veterans, however, they all usually lack several steps in supporting the initiative:
1. They don't allocate a sufficient portion of the budget for veteran hiring.
2. The current talent acquisition partners and hiring managers are unfamiliar with the terms we use in the military.
3. They expect immediate results as soon as their program starts.

I'm fortunate in that in my current position I was given a budget and the leeway to build the program in order to avoid the 3 pitfalls I listed above. By having a veteran on the talent acquisition team it has allowed the other team members to funnel veteran candidates over to me so that I can translate their skills to the hiring managers prior to the interview as well as giving me the opportunity to coach the veteran on the interview process. Being able to engage the veterans during the interview process allows me to tackle any potential problems in the hiring process before they occur and hopefully result in a successful veteran hire. There are times when the veteran isn't the best candidate and in that case I'm there to explain to the candidate why they weren't hired and what they can do to make themselves more competitive for their next interview whether it's with us or another company.

Response by SPC James Harsh made Nov 10 at 2016 1:38 PM

SPC James Harsh — Thu, 10 Nov 2016 13:38:14 -0500

try looking into local schools that have vet centers?

Response by Mike Mathew Allen Colpitts made Mar 7 at 2017 1:01 PM

Mike Mathew Allen Colpitts — Tue, 07 Mar 2017 13:01:33 -0500

Evrrything possible

Response by SSG Arron Daniels made Mar 14 at 2017 6:15 PM

SSG Arron Daniels — Tue, 14 Mar 2017 18:15:59 -0400

There has been some really great comments from this conversation, and SFC Chad Sowash hit home on one thing that I think is pure gold: Genuine Engagement. I like to use Guy Kawasaki's translation. "Make meaning not money." When a company looks to hire Veterans for the wrong reasons (waive the flag syndrome, take advantage of tax credits, etc) it's typically money motivated in some form. When a company hires Veterans because they truly want to move the needle and do their part (however big or small) it's not forced, and will be received well. To answer the question: Companies should invest and leverage whatever resources they can afford. Work hours, recruiting campaigns, job fairs, or a ton of cash can result in a hill of beans if done improperly and for the wrong reasons. It only takes one person in any organization to start making a difference.

Hypothetical example 1: Company A is a large corporation with over 100,00 employees and invests $200,000 in career fairs, advertising, and targeted recruiting campaigns. As a result, they hire 100 Veterans. They slap a Veteran Friendly logo on their site, and checked the box for Veteran recruitment, and then it's business as usual.

We've seen this before. How long will those Veterans stay (natural attrition aside). Most Veterans have a high turn over rate when they leave the service. Why? Because of Chad's first point. They won't feel like they have made the right choice and will look for something else. Quite frankly the Veterans find out that company doesn't really care, it's just a fashion statement to them.

Hypothetical example 2: Company B is a small but emerging company with 50 employees and they invest $2,000 in a couple career fairs that are most likely to have the military skill-set they need. There aren't any Veterans in their workforce, and they believe it's time for a change. They end up hiring 2 Veterans, and make sure they have what they need to succeed, and help them transition into their company (sound like a sponsorship program, anyone?).

Those Veterans will probably stick around for a while, and maybe even tell their buddies about how great the company is.

What's the moral of the story kids? The type of resource and the amount doesn't make a difference in the long run. The meaning behind what/how your company engages Veterans does. The same can be said for diversity and inclusion, but that's a book for another time.

Response by Robert Lewis made Mar 19 at 2017 12:13 PM

Robert Lewis — Sun, 19 Mar 2017 12:13:51 -0400

More then they do