Best Practices Guide for Employers in Recruiting and Hiring National Guard Members, Veterans and Reservists

Transcription

1 Lead National Corporate Sponsor Best Practices Guide for Employers in Recruiting and Hiring National Guard Members, Veterans and Reservists Large Employer Edition May 27, 2015 Download Additional Copies of this Booklet or Updates at: A less extensive version for smaller employers is also available on this web page. Register to Post Jobs for Veterans, National Guard members and Reservists at:

2 Now You Can Post Your Open Jobs at No Cost for Highly Trained Unemployed National Guard Members and Veterans! Register Free to Post Jobs at: American Jobs for America s Heroes is a nonprofit alliance with the National Guard to help unemployed National Guard members, veterans and spouses find skilled jobs in the private sector. Thousands of Guard members in state commands are unemployed and more reductions are coming. Free for Employers and Candidates! Direct Access: Your job postings are plugged directly into the National Guard Employment Network, the flagship employment initiative of the National Guard. State National Guard employment counselors are waiting to match your posting with qualified job candidates! Ongoing Program: This is not a limited-time event. You can post jobs at no cost as openings arise throughout the year. World-class Case Management: A secure internet-based case management system enables the state National Guard and nonprofit employment counselors to work collaboratively to track and fill postings. This enables higher quality control and helps to ensure prompt support. Hands-on Support to Fill Your Jobs The first step is for you to register using the link below. It takes 5 minutes. Case Manager: Your case manager will contact you by to set up a short phone appointment to answer questions and receive your job postings. These will be uploaded into the National Guard Employment Network case management platform. Guard employment counselors will actively match Guard candidates with your job requirements. Members of all military branches can view them in addition to Guard counselors and members. Personalized Support: At your option, you will receive tailored help in screening candidates and understanding how military training experience relates to your job requirements. You Are in Control: You can contact each applicant or have them contact you. You will continue to receive selected resumes until you fill your open positions. Postings will be live for 30 days or longer if you wish. Job posting help: Training in 107 Occupational Specialties National Guard members are valuable employees. As example, only one in four applicants are accepted into the Army National Guard. They receive the same training as the U.S. Army. Guard members train continously in areas relevant to the civilian workplace, from leadership, administration and logistics to electronics, operations, maintenance and scores more. They demonstrate readiness for learning, responsibility for good teamwork and reliability, and they understand how to perform in a disciplined organization. Watch the 5 minute video: or contact Steve Nowlan, President, Center for America, at SNowlan@CenterForAmerica.org or

3 Best Practices Guide for Employers in Recruiting and Hiring National Guard Members, Veterans and Reservists Large Employer Edition Table of Contents Foreword by Jeannine Rivet, UnitedHealth Group... i Introduction... ii List of Best Practices Profiled in this Guide... iii Best Practices and Summary Statements... iv 1. Organizing Your Military Hiring Program Recruiting and Interviewing Military Candidates Providing an Environment that Supports Career Growth Sharing Information with Others...38 Appendix A: Corporate America Supports You (CASY)...42 Appendix B: North Carolina National Guard...43 Appendix C: California National Guard...44 Appendix D: Society for Human Resource Management...45 You Can Help by Evaluating This Guide! After you have reviewed this Guide to check out what is included, please take a few minutes to give us your feedback. You can complete the online Survey Monkey questionnaire anonymously or give us your contact information so we can tell you about upcoming free webinars and other resources on military hiring Center for America. This publication may be freely distributed in PDF form provided this copyright notice remains present and author s credit is given. For more information, please contact Steve Nowlan, President, Center for America. SNowlan@CenterForAmerica.org

4 Foreword To be successful in today s changing environment, employers need to focus on recruiting high performing people who will support their organizations culture by consistently demonstrating the behaviors that the organization values most. Like many other employers, we at UnitedHealth Group recognize that National Guard members, veterans and military spouses are among the most valuable people to recruit because they readily meet these criteria. They are committed to achieving goals, developing their capabilities, and contributing to our culture. We invest a good deal of time and effort in military recruiting, and it is worth it because our employees with military experience are excellent performers. We have learned a great deal in pursuing our goal of being a military-friendly company. We ve learned that working closely with the military and military support organizations can provide real advantages in identifying talented people. We ve learned that understanding more about military training, skills and experience is key to our ability to recognize the capabilities and potential that each military candidate offers. We ve learned that demonstrating our respect for military service goes a long way to attracting candidates who want to be part of a great team that values the very best of what each person brings to achieve our goals. We can always learn more about what works best in recruiting great employees who will help build success. Men and women with military experience have proven their abilities, often well beyond their age, and often in hostile environments. Now, as tens of thousands of Guard members and veterans seek jobs in the civilian sector, employers have a tremendous opportunity and responsibility to help them transition successfully so they can develop good careers that reflect their full potential. We owe it to our organizations and to our volunteer military to make sure that we pursue our recruiting goals using proven techniques that lead to successful hiring. This Best Practices Guide, compiled by the Center for America, represents an excellent collection of effective techniques being used by leading employers to achieve success in hiring military candidates. I encourage you to use this as a source book of good ideas to consider as you pursue your organization s military hiring goals. Jeannine Rivet UnitedHealth Group has been recognized as one of the leading military-friendly companies in the U.S. As executive vice president of UnitedHealth Group, Jeannine M. Rivet, R.N., M.P.H., F.A.A.N., works with and on behalf of all business segments in areas focused on strategic business relationships, customer relations, and nursing advancement. Previous roles at UnitedHealth Group include CEO of UnitedHealthcare, CEO of Ingenix and CEO of Optum. She is a driving force in challenging the industry to enhance health and well-being through information, collaboration and advancement of optimal healthcare. Ms. Rivet brings her authentic and astute leadership to the boards of many nonprofit, academic, business and industry organizations. i

5 Introduction Recruiting and hiring veterans, National Guard members, Reservists and military spouses presents both opportunities and challenges for employers of all sizes. We have prepared this Guide to provide managers and HR staff in organizations with an easy-to-use compilation of the most effective policies and practices being used by employers to achieve greater success in recruiting, hiring, and retaining military candidates. (In this booklet, we use the term military candidates for convenience, referencing National Guard, veterans, Reservists and military spouses.) Our goal is to help you easily spot policies and practices that will help your organization achieve your hiring goals more effectively and more efficiently. We hope this will be a springboard for your own creativity and innovation to develop ways to adapt these ideas to your organization. This Guide can be a resource to help all the people in your organization who have some involvement in the military hiring process to have a common understanding of the policies and practices that will lead to success. You and your team are in the best position to decide whether to tailor and implement the ones that make the most sense for your organization, so share this with colleagues and use it as a source book for ideas. Print some extra copies from the PDF and go through it with a highlighter to pick out the ideas that you think will help you most. copies of the Guide to your colleagues in other organizations and associations, too. Each practice profile spells out a few bullets presenting the rationale for applying the practices. Perhaps these will help you convey to colleagues why they are beneficial to implement. Each profile also presents some -- not all -- of the primary action steps you can take to put the ideas into practice. You will probably think of additional action steps and see ways to tailor these steps to your organization. Many of the action steps can be adapted easily to smaller organizations on a less formal basis than is required in larger organizations. We at Center for America owe a debt of gratitude for the many good insights provided by countless experienced recruiters and placement counselors all over the country and in many types of companies, organizations and military units. We are especially grateful to Stacy Bayton and Erin Voirol, leaders of Corporate America Supports You (CASY) and Military Spouse Corporate Career Network (MSCCN), whose teams have helped literally thousands of military candidates find jobs, and whose insights are included throughout this booklet. Don t hesitate to your suggestions and questions to BestPractices@CenterForAmerica. org! If you have a best practice, or action steps for implementing a best practice, that works well for your organization and we have omitted it from this version of the Guide, please let us know. This Guide will be updated periodically and we plan to incorporate feedback from readers. Please feel free to share this Guide at no cost with anyone who may have an interest. Steve Nowlan, President, SNowlan@CenterForAmerica.org Center for America and ii

6 List of Best Practices Profiled in this Guide (page #) 1. Organizing Your Military Hiring Program 1.1 Develop and communicate the business case for hiring military candidates. (2) 1.2 Designate a person with military experience to lead the military hiring program. (3) 1.3 Designate an executive sponsor for your military hiring program. (4) 1.4 Designate or hire HR recruiters who have military experience. (5) 1.5 Involve employees or retirees with military experience in your program. (6) 1.6 Form a dedicated military hiring team or unit to coordinate organization-wide military hiring. (7) 1.7 Use your website and social media effectively to attract military candidates. (8) 1.8 Leverage the resources of nonprofit organizations to help you. (9) 1.9 Leverage the resources of military employment counselors to help you. (10) 1.10 Contribute financially to the nonprofit organizations that provide substantial assistance to your employer. (11) 2. Recruiting and Interviewing Military Candidates 2.1 Streamline your process for making hiring decisions. (13) 2.2 Assign experienced HR recruiters to recruit military hiring. (14) 2.3 Update and confirm the job description and posting. (15) 2.4 Upgrade your skills in interpreting military resumes. (16) 2.5 Prepare your team for recruiting military candidates. (17) 2.6 Determine before interviews what you need to learn about the candidate. (18) 2.7 Conduct effective interviews. (19) 2.8 Debrief as a team after interviews. (20) 2.9 Follow-up with candidates and referral sources in a timely way. (21) 2.10 Conduct tailored orientations for newly hired military candidates. (22) 3. Providing an Environment that Supports Career Growth 3.1 Offer military candidates a compelling value proposition. (24) 3.2 Review internal four-year college degree credential job requirements. (25) 3.3 Offer professional development opportunities to employees with military experience. (26) 3.4 Create or support apprenticeship programs relevant to your organization. (27) 3.5 Support work-study programs for employees with military experience. (28) 3.6 Support a military-friendly organization culture and work environment. (29) 3.7 Build your organization s respect for people who serve in the military. (31) 3.8 Establish a mentorship program for employees with military experience. (32) 3.9 Support the formation of veterans-only network within the organization. (34) 3.10 Form a Veterans Employee Resource Group (VERG) to support veterans in your organization and the external military community. (35) 3.11 Expand the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) to include a component for employees with military experience. (36) 3.12 Provide orientation about post-traumatic stress (PTS) and other combat injuries to veterans. (37) 4. Sharing Information with Others 4.1 Collaborate with other employers to share information about military candidates. (39) 4.2 Share your best practices and experiences in recruiting military candidates with other employers and military placement organizations. (40) 4.3 Use your recruiting data to pinpoint the most effective approaches to use going forward. (41) iii

7 Best Practices and Summary Statements 1.1 Develop and communicate the business case for hiring military candidates. Summary: Clarify and communicate the sound business reasoning for seeking out and hiring military candidates as excellent potential contributors to help the organization grow and prosper. This will help employees in the organization have a common understanding of the employer s commitment, recognize the value veterans bring to the workplace, and understand that military hiring makes good business sense. 1.2 Designate a person with military experience to lead the military hiring program. Summary: Hire a veteran or designate a veteran employee to lead your employer s military hiring efforts. If possible, select a military candidate who has some recruiting or training experience. 1.3 Designate an executive sponsor for your military hiring program. Summary: Designate a member of senior management to act as the corporate sponsor for your employer s veterans hiring program. Select an executive who has a military background or is a military spouse, if at all possible. Although the executive sponsor does not have day-today responsibility for recruiting and hiring, it is crucial to the success of the program that the executive sponsor help to make the case for hiring veterans to as many audiences as possible to build awareness and broad support for the program, and to demonstrate the employer s commitment to the veteran community. 1.4 Designate or hire HR recruiters who have military experience. Summary: Hire veterans or designate internal candidates with military experience as HR recruiters. If possible, select candidates with prior recruiting or training experience. 1.5 Involve employees or retirees with military experience in your program. Summary: Involve employees or retirees with military experience who are willing to help with the identification, recruiting and interviewing of military candidates to expand your recruiting network and your perspectives on how candidates qualify for and may fit with your organization. 1.6 Form a dedicated recruiting team or unit to coordinate organization-wide military hiring. Summary: Larger organizations that hire employees for many facilities or units around the country may want to consider a dedicated team to support and oversee military recruiting. Depending on the size of the employer and the diversity of its operations, it may be more practical to create this as an organization-wide task force or committee and have facility or unit hiring managers participate as members, meeting periodically to review policies and practices. 1.7 Use your website and social media effectively to attract military candidates. Summary: Give greater prominence to your military hiring efforts by using your employer s social media and website to make it easy for military candidates and their friends and families to learn about your commitment and your policies to be military-friendly. iv

8 1.8 Leverage the resources of nonprofit organizations to help you. Summary: There are many experienced and effective nonprofits that are eager to help you identify, screen and hire military candidates at no expense to your employer. Take advantage of their help to achieve greater success more quickly with your hiring efforts. 1.9 Leverage the resources of military employment counselors to help you. Summary: Most military branches have some type of counseling or placement team to help service members find employment. Some of these counseling services, especially in the National Guard, are set up to work directly with employers at no cost to help make job matches Contribute financially to the nonprofit organizations that provide substantial assistance to your employer. Summary: Offer some level of financial assistance and/or in-kind services to the military hiring nonprofits that you rely on to assist with your military recruiting and hiring efforts on a continuous basis. 2.1 Streamline your process for making hiring decisions. Summary: Organize your hiring process so that it can be completed in two to three months or less. If this is not possible, take steps to release military candidates who are not going to be hired so as to not keep them waiting for decisions for unreasonable periods. 2.2 Assign experienced HR recruiters to military hiring. Summary: If possible, hire or designate experienced HR recruiters to select and interview military candidates. This level of experience is especially important if the recruiter has no military background, or if an employee with military experience will not be reviewing resumes or participating in the interview process with the recruiter. 2.3 Update and confirm the job description and posting. Summary: Before providing a job description or job posting to job boards, military employment counselors or nonprofit candidate referral sources, make sure to review and confirm these materials in detail with the business managers who have the final hiring decisions. 2.4 Upgrade your skills in interpreting military resumes. Summary: If you do not have an expert on staff with experience in interpreting military resumes, invest the time in enrolling in a seminar on the subject or seek out an expert who will ensure you have the professional skills you need to make good decisions when reviewing resumes. 2.5 Prepare your team for recruiting military candidates. Summary: Military candidates have been successful in the military culture but have little or no understanding of the civilian employment culture. If recruiters and business hiring managers do not take this into account, they can too easily reject excellent candidates for the wrong reasons. v

9 2.6 Determine before interviews what you need to learn about the candidate. Summary: Before actually interviewing military candidates, it is important to fully understand what it is you need to learn from them and prepare for the interviews so that your time and the candidates will be fully productive and support your decision making. 2.7 Conduct effective interviews. Summary: Focus the interview on learning whether the military candidate has the knowledge, skills and capabilities to perform the job responsibilities successfully, and has the personal attributes that will fit in your organization s culture. 2.8 Debrief as a team after interviews. Summary: Debriefing as a team can help to ensure that qualified candidates are not rejected for the wrong reasons or because one of the interviewers misinterpreted the candidate s qualifications. 2.9 Follow-up with candidates and referral sources in a timely way. Summary: Invest in your relationships with candidates and referral sources by following-up with them in a timely way after interviews. Even if you are unable to communicate final decisions, candidates and referral sources will maintain their enthusiasm for helping you when you maintain a continuous relationship Conduct tailored orientations for newly hired military candidates. Summary: New employees transitioning from a military culture will benefit from quickly learning about your civilian working culture, customs and traditions so as to help the transition go smoothly. This orientation would be a supplement to the standard orientation for new employees. 3.1 Offer military candidates a compelling value proposition. Summary: Ensure that military candidates understand the full scope of benefits, career development opportunities, and personal and professional support your employer offers to them. 3.2 Review internal four-year college degree credential job requirements. Summary: Review your organization s credentialing requirements -- especially any requirements for a four-year degree -- for military candidates who have the equivalent training or appropriate experience to meet the job requirements. 3.3 Offer professional development opportunities to employees with military experience. Summary: Identify and provide meaningful career paths and professional growth opportunities to employees with military experience. When you do offer such programs, be sure to include this in your job postings. vi

10 3.4 Create or support apprenticeship programs relevant to your organization. Summary: Certain types of jobs require unique skills that are developed primarily through on-the-job programs that enable employees with relevant basic skills and aptitudes to learnwhile-doing under the supervision of accomplished faculty. Apprenticeship programs enable talented military candidates to refine their existing skills to meet employer or state-mandated certification requirements. 3.5 Support work-study programs for employees with military experience. Summary: Support work-study programs for your employees with military experience that enable them to gain degrees and certifications necessary for career advancement in your organization and industry. 3.6 Support a military-friendly organization culture and work environment. Summary: Establish a working environment that welcomes and supports employees with military experience, and acknowledges the contributions of veterans, National Guard members, Reservists and military families. 3.7 Build your organization s respect for people who serve in the military. Summary: Help your employees understand the service veterans have given to our country and the value they bring to the workplace through their skills, results-orientation and other personal attributes that help your organization succeed. 3.8 Establish a mentorship program for employees with military experience. Summary: Implement a mentoring program for those employees with military experience who would like to participate, with successful senior people from inside and outside the organization serving as mentors. 3.9 Support the formation of a veterans-only network within the organization. Summary: Encourage the creation of an internal network of employees with military experience as a forum for networking, information sharing, and mentoring Form a Veterans Employee Resource Group (VERG) to support veterans in your organization and the external military community. Summary: Develop and support the formation of a VERG within your organization as part of your inclusion and diversity strategy. Typically these groups include veterans and civilian employees. They can also include retired employees and/or family members of employees with military experience Expand the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) to include a component for employees with military experience. Summary: Expand the scope of your traditional EAP by adding health and benefits services likely to be especially relevant to employees with military experience. vii

11 3.12 Provide orientation about post-traumatic stress (PTS) and other combat injuries to veterans. Summary: Offer orientation and education about PTS, traumatic brain injury, and other combat injuries and disabilities to all employees. Orientation can be offered as part of an employer s diversity and inclusion program or employee assistance program. 4.1 Collaborate with other employers to share information about military candidates. Summary: Work together with other employers to place military candidates with employers with the best matching position. If a veteran candidate is not a good fit for a position with one employer, his or her resume can be shared with other employers in the group in order to identify a better opportunity for the candidate. This networking can be done by industry or by geographic location. 4.2 Share your best practices and experiences in recruiting military candidates with other employers and military placement organizations. Summary: Expand the dialog among employers about the most effective ways to recruit and hire military candidates so as to increase the interest in hiring military candidates, share techniques that work best, and help less experienced employers achieve greater success. 4.3 Use your recruiting data to pinpoint the most effective approaches to use going forward. Summary: If you are hiring many military candidates, perhaps in more than one location, the data you record and analyze about your hiring can provide excellent insights as to how to achieve greater success more efficiently. viii

12 Section 1: Organizing Your Military Hiring Program 1.1 Develop and communicate the business case for hiring military candidates. 1.2 Designate a person with military experience to lead the military hiring program. 1.3 Designate an executive sponsor for your military hiring program. 1.4 Designate or hire HR recruiters who have military experience. 1.5 Involve employees or retirees with military experience in your program. 1.6 Form a dedicated military hiring team or unit to coordinate organizationwide military hiring. 1.7 Use your website and social media effectively to attract military candidates. 1.8 Leverage the resources of nonprofit organizations to help you. 1.9 Leverage the resources of military employment counselors to help you Contribute financially to the nonprofit organizations that provide substantial assistance to your employer. 1

13 1.1 Develop and communicate the business case for hiring military candidates. Summary: Clarify and communicate the sound business reasoning for seeking out and hiring military candidates as excellent potential contributors to help the organization grow and prosper. This will help employees in the organization have a common understanding of the employer s commitment, recognize the value veterans bring to the workplace, and understand that military hiring makes good business sense. Employers typically articulate some or all of the following reasons for hiring veterans: patriotism, good will, moral imperative, tax credits or legal requirements, yet they often fail to acknowledge that they purposely recruit veterans for sound business reasons. Too little attention is focused on the real reason it makes good business sense to hire veterans: Research from a number of academic disciplines links behavior typically characteristic of veterans to superior performance in the business context. 1 The rate of military hiring is likely to increase once people throughout the organization understand that it is not only patriotic but is highly likely to ensure that many highperforming employees join the organization. Prepare a written statement explaining why your employer is committed to hiring military candidates, how the candidates skills and experience contribute to the organization s success, and what the employer aspires to do to fulfill its commitment. Share this statement with all employees through whatever employee communications channels you have available, such as newsletters, flyers on cafeteria bulletin boards, employee websites, and as part of presentations by managers and executives. Create a webinar or other training tools for HR recruiters and business hiring managers that explain the commitment to military hiring and how the capabilities and experiences of service members support the employer s strategy and mission. This will increase their awareness and commitment to doing their part to hire military candidates. Share your employer s rationale for hiring military candidates with suppliers your employer buys from, the community, other employers, and professional associations. This will enhance your employer s reputation and encourage people to suggest to military candidates that they should look into jobs you may have available. 1 See The Business Case for Hiring a Veteran, Beyond the Clichés, Institute for Veterans and Military Families, Syracuse University, March 5, 2012, page 31. 2

14 1.2 Designate a person with military experience to lead the military hiring program. Summary: Hire a veteran or designate a veteran employee to lead your employer s military hiring efforts. If possible, select a military candidate who has some recruiting or training experience. An employee with military experience brings credibility to your hiring efforts, particularly in the eyes of military candidates considering whether to accept your offer. A veteran is very likely to be -- or to be viewed as -- a very effective advocate for a military hiring program through his or her ability to bridge the military and business cultures. He or she can help coach other recruiters and business managers who are not familiar with military culture to relate more effectively to military candidates. Because he or she is a member of the veteran community, a veteran will have a good perspective as to how to ensure that recruiting and hiring practices will be as effective as possible. He or she may also help to spot subtle problems with the recruiting effort that would turn off good candidates. A veteran is likely to have contacts within the military community that will prove very helpful in finding and recruiting other veterans who may not be easily identified through non-military sources. If you do not have a full-time position available, consider arranging for an employee with military experience to work with you as an advisor. You might also find that one of your employer s retirees is a veteran who could be a good advisor on a part-time basis. Explore whether there are any appropriate internal veteran candidates to fill this position, including members of your veteran affinity group if you have one. An internal candidate may be advantageous because he or she brings an understanding of the military as well as first-hand corporate knowledge and experience. You can also check with other sources to find qualified candidates. These include the National Guard employment counseling team in your state and Corporate America Supports You (CASY) which provides free help to employers that are eager to recruit military candidates. (See pages ) 3

15 1.3 Designate an executive sponsor for your military hiring program. Summary: Designate a member of senior management to act as the corporate sponsor for your employer s veterans hiring program. Select an executive who has a military background or is a military spouse, if at all possible. Although the executive sponsor does not have day-to-day responsibility for recruiting and hiring, it is crucial to the success of the program that the executive sponsor will help to make the case for hiring veterans to as many audiences as possible to build awareness and broad support for the program, and to demonstrate the employer s commitment to the veteran community. There is a strong correlation between the success of veteran hiring programs and the level of commitment of their executive sponsors. The most successful programs are led by executives who become actively engaged in the program. Research has shown that an engaged executive sponsor helps to create a culture that is supportive of veterans. Organizational resources essential to the success of the program are more likely to be committed if the program is led by a senior executive. Designate or hire an executive sponsor who is a veteran, Guard member, Reservist, military spouse, or has a family member who is currently serving in the military. If it is not possible to identify a senior executive with a strong personal or family connection to the military, designate a member of senior leadership who has the interest, enthusiasm and ability to actively support the program. Look for opportunities to feature your sponsor through by-lined articles in the employee newsletter, on your website and through presentations at company meetings. Help your sponsor succeed in his or her advocacy mission by providing updated information about your program and examples of successful employees who have military backgrounds. The executive sponsor should be a visible and vocal advocate, advancing the case for veteran hiring to HR recruiters and business hiring managers throughout the organization, and at industry meetings and community events. Example: Several years ago, defense contractor BAE Systems 1 (BAE) launched a military hiring initiative geared toward disabled veterans, and recruited a veteran to fill the newly created role of Vice President, Strategic Acquisitions. This position reported directly to the CEO and the Board of Directors, insuring broad-based acceptance of and support for the program by BAE employees. It was the role of this newly appointed executive to advocate for veterans and advance veteran issues, reinforcing the value veteran employees offer the company because of their military experience, talent and capabilities. 1 See Guide to Leading Policies, Practices & Resources: Supporting The Employment of Veterans & Military Families, Institute for Veterans and Military Families, Syracuse University, March 5, 2012, page

16 1.4 Designate or hire HR recruiters who have military experience. Summary: Hire veterans or designate internal candidates with military experience as HR recruiters. If possible, select candidates with prior recruiting or training experience. Recruiters with military experience can help to improve and accelerate your military hiring efforts in many ways because of their ability to help bridge between the civilian and military cultures and their alertness to military training and experience. Likely benefits include: More effective review of military resumes to spot connections with job requirements which may be overlooked by recruiters without military experience; Better understanding of how Military Occupational Specialities (MOS) training may qualify candidates for positions; Ability to identify and properly evaluate attributes of military candidates gained through mission experience such as leadership, results-orientation, ability to work well in a team setting, ability to adapt to rapidly changing circumstances, and the ability to perform well under pressure, among others; Ability to conduct effective interviews with military candidates who are not accustomed to civilian interviews or talking expansively about their skills and experiences. Recruiters with military experience can help to coach and educate their civilian colleagues on how to effectively understand and evaluate the attributes, skills and experiences of military candidates, and how these relate to job requirements and the civilian work culture. Smaller employers can seek out veterans who are on staff already or who are retirees and ask for their informal help in reviewing and hiring military candidates. Employers with full-time recruiters can designate a current employee or hire a recruiter with military experience. Many veterans and Guard members have experience while in the military as HR staff, trainers, and employment counselors. Make sure your new recruiter has a thorough orientation to your organization and operations, particularly if the person has not worked previously in a civilian environment. Nonprofit organizations that specialize in working with military branches to place candidates in jobs are very good sources of candidate referrals. If you cannot have a recruiter with military experience on staff, work with military hiring nonprofits such as Corporate America Supports You (CASY) and Military Spouse Corporate Career Network (MSCCN) that are staffed by veterans and military spouses who can help you tremendously in bringing their perspective to your military hiring effort. (See page 42 for more information about the free services they offer.) 5

17 1.5 Involve employees or retirees with military experience in your program. Summary: Involve employees or retirees with military experience who are willing to help with the identification, recruiting and interviewing of military candidates to expand your recruiting network and your perspectives on how candidates qualify for and may fit with your organization. Employees with military experience often have extensive informal networks that complement the more formal networks that you develop. Through their military service, they can bring good insights about the resumes you review and possibly, help a great deal in conducting productive interviews by building bridges with military candidates. Often they can bring out aspects of a candidate s background and attributes that would not be readily obvious to those who have not served in the military. Employees or retirees with military experience can also help to prepare and coach colleagues in the hiring process, including business managers, for screening and interviewing military candidates. Smaller employers who don t have employees or retirees with military experience may find that their outside suppliers and consultants do have employees with military experience who would be glad to pitch in on a volunteer basis to help with your recruiting. You may have already created a veterans network or Veterans Employee Resource Group (VERG) and if so, talk with these employees to learn who would be willing to help in your recruiting efforts. Invite your employees -- and perhaps your retirees and outside suppliers -- to tell you if they have military experience and if they would be willing to help with your efforts. Through your discussions with any who are willing to help, you can determine how to match them with the host of ways they can help, depending on their skills, personalities and the time they have available. This may include helping you to: 1) contact their network of military colleagues to invite applicants; 2) review and interpret resumes from military candidates; 3) interview candidates; 4) represent your organization at military job fairs and events; 5) develop relationships with employment counselors at military bases and the National Guard; 6) coach business managers on how to appropriately consider military candidates; 7) write or be featured in articles about the organization on your website or social media; and, 8) meet informally with candidates who you really want to hire so as to help the candidates understand the virtues of accepting your offer. Example: EY 1 (formerly Ernst & Young) asked their employee veterans to promote their Veterans Network that began as an informal, grassroots effort in one practice group, and has subsequently expanded to include members from other offices and geographic locations. The group now supports EY s recruiting and onboarding efforts, including networking and professional development opportunities and work in support of the external veteran community. 1 See Guide to Leading Policies, Practices & Resources: Supporting The Employment of Veterans & Military Families, Institute for Veterans and Military Families, Syracuse University, March 5, 2012, page 61. 6

18 1.6 Form a dedicated recruiting team or unit to coordinate organization-wide military hiring. Summary: Larger organizations that hire employees for many facilities or units around the country may want to consider a dedicated team to support and oversee military recruiting. Depending on the size of the employer and the diversity of its operations, it may be more practical to create this as an organization-wide task force or committee and have facility or unit hiring managers participate as members, meeting periodically to review policies and practices. Establishing a dedicated military hiring unit or highly visible task force emphasizes the employer s commitment to the initiative, and can ensure that hiring efforts are robust, consistent across the organization and effective in achieving desired results. This step also helps to proactively identify any policies or procedures that may be found to be counterproductive to the military hiring effort so they can be addressed. Example: Several years ago, JPMorgan Chase 1 (JPMC) established the Military Human Resource (MHR) group as a centralized HR practice responsible for all veteran-focused employment matters. Organizationally distinct from the firm s numerous HR practices, MHR oversees all aspects of veteran employment at JPMC regardless of the veteran employee s location or line of business. MHR uses integrated, regional teams to support the recruitment, onboarding and assimilation, and professional development of its veteran employees. Select high-performing employees (or new hires) with military backgrounds to become part of the unit or task force. Candidates should be able to work effectively as leaders and advocates for the military hiring program and be role models in working with diverse employees at all levels in the organization. Smaller organizations may consider creating a virtual task force comprising a manager in each location, with a senior manager or executive as the leader. This team may draw on business managers as well as HR staff. Appropriate agenda items would include: Developing military hiring goals for each unit or location and tracking ongoing progress; Reviewing policies and procedures to be sure they are military-friendly; Developing relationships with military support organizations and military employment counselors in the National Guard and other military branches that can help increase the flow of qualified applicants; Coordinating the organization s commitments to military hiring events, such as job fairs; and, Ensuring that HR recruiters and managers have adequate training for their roles. 1 See Guide to Leading Policies, Practices & Resources: Supporting The Employment of Veterans & Military Families, Institute for Veterans and Military Families, Syracuse University, 2012, page 58. 7

19 1.7 Use your website and social media effectively to attract military candidates. Summary: Give greater prominence to your military hiring efforts by using your employer s social media and website to make it easy for military candidates and their friends and families to learn about your commitment and your policies to be military-friendly. Many military candidates and their families are especially proficient at using the internet to seek out good career opportunities. The easier you make it for them to find you, the more likely you ll have a good flow of applicants. The more you describe the career opportunities you are offering, the more you will attract military candidates whose skills and backgrounds will be a fit for your jobs and your culture. This will also help candidates who will not be a good match to realize this and not waste your time or theirs with applications that won t be considered. Military candidates are looking for indications that employers are serious about respecting military training and giving full value to military experiences. Comments and articles by and about your employees with military experience will help attract good candidates. Detailing your military-friendly policies and featuring role-model employees with military experience enables candidates to better consider what to tell you in their resumes, applications and interviews that will help you understand how they might be a fit. Solicit input from veteran employees on the website content likely to attract high quality veteran recruits and invite them to be featured or help create the content, such as a periodic blog or updates to your social media. Consider advertising your website and social media features for veterans in military magazines and newsletters -- your employees with military experience can help you learn about these publications. Consider adding conspicuous menu links on your website to take visitors to your military recruiting pages. Make these pages easy to find and navigate. Use your website to offer additional information to make the job search more fruitful: ways to improve resumes, tips on interviewing, identifying which Military Occupational Specialities (MOS) are most relevant to your jobs, and your upcoming job fairs. Facilitate the search process for veterans by matching military occupations with available job openings online. Example: Walmart s 1 dedicated military hiring website offers an online search capability that matches military occupations to available positions within the company, and identifies the military skills that are applicable to the civilian role. Veterans can access the site directly to search for opportunities they may be interested in, and determine if they have the requisite skills for the job. 1 See How Companies Can Capture the Veteran Opportunity, McKinsey & Company, retrieved from Walmart Careers With a Mission website, 8

20 1.8 Leverage the resources of nonprofit organizations to help you. Summary: There are many experienced and effective nonprofits that are eager to help you identify, screen and hire military candidates at no expense to your employer. Take advantage of their help to achieve greater success more quickly with your hiring efforts. Whether you are hiring one or two candidates or scores, drawing upon the contacts and placement expertise of these groups, especially at no cost, is a powerful and effective way to accomplish your hiring goals more efficiently. Most such groups are staffed by counselors with military experience which can be especially valuable to you if you don t have veterans within your organization to draw upon. The best of these organizations will know where to most quickly find the candidates who match most closely to your jobs by virtue of their culture, training and experiences. The more specialized your jobs are, the more valuable it will be to look in the right military branches and bases that have very similar types of specialties and culture. Some of these groups -- those that offer full service direct placement assistance -- act as surrogate HR recruiters for smaller employers that lack a dedicated HR department or HR recruiters who have military experience. Talk with counterparts in other employers to learn what organizations are most effective in helping them. Then, talk with the organizations to review their performance metrics, candidate network, funding sources and employer and military references. The best organizations will welcome this due diligence -- be wary of ones that make this difficult. Include CASY and MSCCN on your list of organizations to review. (See page 42.) Designate a staff member to be the primary point of contact with each of the organizations you work with and task them with providing timely and complete feedback. Make it easy for the nonprofit organizations to work with you and to learn about your organization: provide them with good briefing material, complete and reliable job descriptions and postings, and make sure to do your share in keeping the dialog with them going. Like you, they have no time to waste trying to track you down. Consider using the new federal website free posting service, ebenefits, available through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the U.S. Department of Defense. The federal government is making a major effort to consolidate the myriad of federally-funded job posting websites into this one website. See: CFA American Jobs for America s Heroes LinkedIn Group: Discuss HR issues and initiatives and dialog with CASY and MSCCN 9

21 1.9 Leverage the resources of military employment counselors to help you. Summary: Most military branches have some type of counseling or placement team to help service members find employment. Some of these counseling services, especially in the National Guard, are set up to work directly with employers at no cost to help make job matches. A military employment team that works one-on-one with service members to help them find jobs can be an especially good resource provided they are set up to work with employers too. (Not all military employment teams are set up in this way -- some provide only general help.) Most of the counselors can quickly identify candidates their team is working with who match with your job criteria and organizational culture. Once the counselor team becomes familiar with your organization s needs, and assuming you do a good job of developing a relationship with the team, the counselors will often alert you to candidates they meet who would be a good fit even before you ask. Identify the military bases and commands in your hiring locations. In each state, there is a National Guard command that has some type of employment outreach team that may range from one or two counselors to as many as 20. CASY can help you identify some of the military bases and commands in your area you may want to work with. (See page 42.) See also, for military contacts in your state. Example: In 2013, the North Carolina National Guard established its Education and Employment Center to assist service members and their families with education and employment placement. A 20-person team of trained employment counselors, located throughout the state, works one on one with employers to match the skill sets of service members with your jobs. It has placed more than 1,020 soldiers, airmen and family members and veterans in jobs since July 1, It is a no-cost talent resource for North Carolina employers. (See page 43.) Example: The California National Guard established the Work for Warriors Program in 2012 and now has 14 currently-serving National Guard members as trained counselors. Since inception, the program has placed more than 3,100 service and family members in civilian jobs. Work for Warriors provides many free services to Guard members, veterans and family members, including help with resumes, career counseling, interview preparation and help with job applications. They partner with more than 300 employers, many of which also provide volunteer services to Guard members through Work for Warriors to supplement the program s services. (See page 44.) When you contact these counselors, be prepared to give them a succinct and accurate description of what your interests are. Most are overworked and understaffed, which means they are eager to get your details, provide some basics about what they can do to help, and move on. Similarly, materials you provide to them via should be succinct. Look for opportunities to meet personally with the counselors and attend their events. Personal relationships with these teams can make a big difference in the help they provide. 10

22 1.10 Contribute financially to the nonprofit organizations that provide substantial assistance to your employer. Summary: Offer some level of financial assistance and/or in-kind services to the military hiring nonprofits that you rely on to assist with your military recruiting and hiring efforts on a continuous basis. Nonprofits often dedicate scores or hundreds of hours to help individual employers identify qualified military candidates. Most nonprofits do not charge for their services and yet certainly need to have income to support and expand their operations. The bottom line is that the nonprofit needs contributions to continue. Many nonprofits are not very good about asking for contributions from the employers who use their services. Fundraising is often managed by people other than the placement counselors who work with an employer, and these counselors are usually preoccupied in providing services, not asking for contributions. Once you are receiving effective services from the organization, consider asking to talk with the person in the nonprofit that handles fundraising to explore how your employer can help. Most major donors to these military service organizations find it very important for the nonprofits to demonstrate that employers support the organization through financial contributions. Encourage your employer s corporate contributions program or charitable foundation to contribute to the military hiring nonprofits you work with on a continuing basis. If your employer does not have a separate corporate giving program or foundation, talk with senior leaders about how your employer can consider making charitable gifts to the nonprofits. If you have an employee matching gifts program, consider asking your employer to include the military support organizations you work with in the program. Then look for ways to publicize the organizations through newsletters, your internal website, and cafeteria events to generate employee interest. Smaller employers with limited financial contribution budgets can consider whether it can provide in kind support, such as computers, office space or furniture, used vehicles, graphic design support and printing, and other useful forms of support. Similarly, there may be employees who would be effective volunteers, working either with the nonprofit itself (such as on IT or PR projects) or with the military candidates the organization is trying to place in jobs, helping with resume writing or interview preparation, and so forth. Consider sponsoring a fundraising event, such as a golf tournament or a silent auction, perhaps along with other employers, with the proceeds going to the hiring nonprofit. 11

23 Section 2: Recruiting and Interviewing Military Candidates 2.1 Streamline your process for making hiring decisions. 2.2 Assign experienced HR recruiters to recruit military candidates. 2.3 Update and confirm the job description and posting. 2.4 Upgrade your skills in interpreting military resumes. 2.5 Prepare your team for recruiting military candidates. 2.6 Determine before interviews what you need to learn about the candidate. 2.7 Conduct effective interviews. 2.8 Debrief as a team after interviews. 2.9 Follow-up with candidates and referral sources in a timely way Conduct tailored orientations for newly hired military candidates. Click on the graphic or go to Presenters: Stacy Bayton, Chief Operating Officer and Erin Voirol, Executive Director Corporate America Supports You (CASY) and Military Spouse Corporate Career Network (MSCCN) Brigadier General (Ret) Marianne Watson, former Director of Manpower and Personnel, National Guard Bureau 12

24 2.1 Streamline your process for making hiring decisions. Summary: Organize your hiring process so that it can be completed in two to three months or less. If this is not possible, take steps to release military candidates who are not going to be hired so as to not keep them waiting for decisions for unreasonable periods. Employers who take longer than two months to extend an offer of employment are likely to lose qualified military candidates, either because the candidates will lose enthusiasm for an employer who can t make up its mind or because another employer acts more quickly to hire the candidate. Military employment counselors and nonprofit placement organizations continue to present candidates resumes to other employers while your team is deciding on offers to make. Their job is to help the candidate find a good career job as quickly as possible, so your recruiting effort can lose the candidate if you take too long to decide. Many military candidates have families and other financial obligations, and cannot afford to be unemployed for extended periods of time, so they are eager to get to work and are generally not able to wait when recruiting decisions take many months. In many industries there is stiff competition for military candidates with particular skills and experience. Employers without an expedited hiring process are likely to lose qualified candidates to employers who arrive at decisions and offers quickly. When you start a candidate search, make sure that your colleagues who are involved in recruiting for the job are entirely on the same page as to what the job requirements are and what the timing is for an expedited process. Try to iron out any misunderstandings or disagreements about the attributes of the ideal candidate and prerequisites in advance. Make sure your candidate referral sources -- military employment counselors, nonprofit organizations and others -- have complete and reliable information about the needed candidate(s) at the outset so they can provide the best matches without having to come back to you for more information. Plan to review resumes or applications for the position without delay so you can follow up with desirable candidates as soon as possible. When possible, complete telephone screening discussions within a few days of receiving the application or resume. After you interview candidates, arrange for your business managers to interview the finalists over a one or two week period with a team debriefing and decision-making meeting immediately afterwards. Prior to beginning any recruiting process, identify potential impediments in the hiring process e.g., hiring freezes, staff downsizings or corporate reorganizations. Consider whether it might be preferable to temporarily defer veteran hiring until these issues are resolved, leaving military candidates free to pursue other options. 13

25 2.2 Assign experienced HR recruiters to military hiring. Summary: If possible, hire or designate experienced HR recruiters to select and interview military candidates. This level of experience is especially important if the recruiter has no military background, or if an employee with military experience will not be reviewing resumes or participating in the interview process with the recruiter. Veterans are often inadequately prepared for their job searches, and their resumes may present their qualifications in a way that can be easily misinterpreted or undervalued by less experienced recruiters. The more experience a recruiter has, the more effectively the recruiter will be able to see how the qualities and experience of a military candidate can be a good match for the job, even if the resume is not easy to interpret and the candidate is not fully at ease in describing his or her skills and workplace attributes. Most military candidates have not been exposed to civilian-type job interviews while in military service and are often nervous and reserved during interviews. With experience, a recruiter can create a positive environment for the interview and put the candidate at ease so that he or she will be more expansive in answering questions. When possible, use an experienced recruiter who has served in the military when you recruit military candidates. If the experienced recruiter lacks a military background, have veteran employees provide a list of interview questions focusing on the candidate s role and responsibilities in carrying out projects and missions so as to identify parallels between the candidate s military role and the job for which he or she is interviewing. Consider having a veteran employee partner as an in-house consultant with the recruiter in the review of resumes and subsequent interviews. This can help accelerate the recruiter s learning curve and help to ensure that good candidates are not overlooked or rejected as a result of not fully understanding their qualifications. Draw upon veterans already in the organization to develop a list of the types of military training, skills and experiences they feel would lead to good matches between military candidates and the types of open jobs in your organization. A group discussion with your recruiting team to explore and understand these factors can help even experienced recruiters have a much better understanding of what they should be looking for in resumes and candidates. Recruiters with less experience in identifying and interviewing military candidates can enroll in local workshops and seminars on the subject with organizations such as the local chapter of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). (See page 46.) The AJAH website offers free webinar recordings and other resources on the Center for America website at 14

26 2.3 Update and confirm the job description and posting. Summary: Before providing a job description or job posting to job boards, military employment counselors or nonprofit candidate referral sources, make sure to review and confirm these materials in detail with the business managers who have the final hiring decisions. Much time and effort can be wasted for many people if the job description or posting given to outside resources are in any way incomplete. When last year s version of a posting that does not give the outside referral sources a complete and reliable set of job qualifications to use in matching candidates, problems can ensue. Problems become acute when you have screened candidates based on an outdated or incomplete list and presented candidates to the business manager who turns them down because they fail to have qualifications that were not even included in the posting or job description. Military employment counselors and nonprofit support organizations are generally very disciplined in thoroughly reviewing the qualifications you provide and take your requirements at face value. It is not their role to supplement your stated job requirements. If your team develops a reputation with these counselors and nonprofits for providing incomplete and unreliable job requirements, they will assign a lower priority to spending their time working on your behalf, and instead, give their limited time to helping employers whose postings and job descriptions are complete and reliable at the outset of the search. An employer s reputation among military candidates is also important to ensure that your organization becomes known as a good employer. When an employer churns through many military candidates without making offers, the veterans community takes note of this through its informal communications channels. This will discourage some veterans from bothering to apply. Of course, you ll want to meet with the final hiring decision-makers to review the posting and job description before you share these with referral sources and review them line-byline. If possible, meet informally with other employees in the unit, particularly those with military experience, to ask for their comments about the job description and posting. They may be able to identify things that come up in their work that should be taken into account in the documents. Also, they may be able to identify ideas or information to add to the posting that will help military candidates find the job to be more attractive. If possible, ask the military counselors and nonprofit organizations you are working with to review your posting document before you make it official. Quite often, these counselors will spot statements you make that will be too ambiguous to be effective, or key ideas that are missing altogether. Because military candidates are typically interested in real career opportunities, if there are opportunities for promotion or further training, you ll want to be sure to describe these. 15

27 2.4 Upgrade your skills in interpreting military resumes. Summary: If you do not have an expert on staff with experience in interpreting military resumes, invest the time in enrolling in a seminar on the subject or seek out an expert who will ensure you have the professional skills you need to make good decisions when reviewing resumes. When serving in the military, service members are not expected to prepare documents similar to civilian resumes. Instead, the military relies on standard military records that document every assignment, training achievement, promotion and personnel action, such as awards or disciplinary procedures. As a result, military candidates who struggle through their first civilian resume often provide just the facts and imitate the terminology and constraints of military records. Typically, they leave out details civilian employers like to see, such as what were the job objectives and performance results. Unless a civilian volunteer has helped prepare a military resume, the resume is likely to leave out key experiences, such as management responsibilities for a significant number of people and high-value equipment or activities. Too often, civilian recruiters will overlook very qualified or excellent candidates during the resume review process because of the cryptic and opaque nature of the resumes. However, after gaining experience and perhaps tutoring, recruiters will be able to identify clues in the resumes that indicate there is a good deal more to learn about the candidate s qualifications. Seek out seminars offered by the local chapter of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), nonprofit military placement organizations or the state National Guard team. Corporate America Supports You (CASY) offers webinars on this subject that you can attend free of charge. (See page 42.) Seek out employees, retirees or suppliers to your organization who have military experience who can be good ongoing resources in reviewing and evaluating military resumes. There may well be such a person within your network who would be very enthusiastic to help you. On a basic level there are web-based tools that will help you to translate so-called Military Occupational Specialties (MOS) referenced in a resume into civilian skills. Do keep in mind that many military candidates complete many MOS programs, but they may not list all of them or have the space in your computerized application process to list them all. So, don t assume you are provided with a complete list of their training accomplishments. Example: The Department of Labor s CareerOneStop website offers an online tool, Military to Civilian Occupation Translator, which matches military skills and experiences with a range of civilian jobs that require similar capabilities. See: 16

28 2.5 Prepare your team for recruiting military candidates. Summary: Military candidates have been successful in the military culture but have little or no understanding of the civilian employment culture. If recruiters and business hiring managers do not take this into account, they can too easily reject excellent candidates for the wrong reasons. Civilians involved in military hiring are more effective when they understand that military candidates often demontrate the behaviors that have made them successful in the military until they learn the ropes of your culture. Compared with civilian candidates, military candidates are often reluctant to talk about their skills and successes and often show very deferential behavior toward people at a higher rank. Hiring team people who understand this and who respectfully put a military candidate at ease -- whether on the phone or in-person at employer events or in interviews -- generally learn more that is salient to deciding whether to make an offer. Given the wide variances in the personalities of people within your organization -- some may be naturally outgoing and others may be more reserved and less approachable -- it pays dividends to have at least an informal discussion if not a more structured orientation session with supervisors and interviewers about the effort to hire military candidates. Military candidates are often very alert to the culture they encounter through the interview process. They are looking for indications that your culture will respect their military experience and take them seriously as results-oriented team members. So, consider that your team is being evaluated by the candidate too and you certainly want to ensure that your team is aware of how to start developing good relationships with your candidates. If you have employees or retirees with military experience, consider asking one or more to talk with your recruiters and hiring managers about their experiences in transitioning from military to civilian cultures. Focus your discussion on what made it unnecessarily difficult and what made it easier so that your team will be alert to how they can make candidates feel most comfortable and interested in your organization. If you re in a smaller employer with no employees with military experience, consider asking your counterparts at other employers if they have such employees who would be willing to have lunch with your team to talk about their experiences. If you are in a larger organization, consider taking the further step of turning one or more such discussions into recorded webinars or video programs so you can easily share the learning with all the employees and managers involved with military hiring. You may want to consider inviting a National Guard employment team leader to join you for the recording to add more perspective about what other employers are doing to make the transition from military to civilian as smooth and productive as possible. 17

29 2.6 Determine before interviews what you need to learn about the candidate. Summary: Before actually interviewing military candidates, it is important to fully understand what it is you need to learn from them and prepare for the interviews so that your time and the candidates will be fully productive and support your decision making. It is especially easy for interviews with military candidates to fail to cover all the relevant topics because of discussion that comes up when you and the candidate try to help each other understand military vs. civilian work cultures. Because of their military training, veterans behavior during an interview may be perceived of as awkward and ill at ease; this may lead hiring managers to draw unfavorable and incorrect conclusions about the candidates suitability for the job. This may be the first job interview for many veteran candidates because civilian-style job interviews are very uncommon in the military. So, it is likely to require a special effort to draw a military candidate into a more expansive discussion than would be required of a civilian candidate. Military candidates may tend to offer less in the way of expansive comments than civilian candidates, but this does not mean the candidate has less experience to describe if appropriate questions are asked. Develop a list of the learning objectives you have for the upcoming interview. This will vary, of course, by job and by candidate. However, consider what the skills, personal attributes and potential for training are that are preferred or required for the position. Then, inventory what you know based on the candidate s resume. Chances are, there will be several areas where your knowledge of the candidate is incomplete. For example, the candidate s resume may explain that he or she completed several Military Occupational Specialty training programs, but do you need to know more about the specific training he or she had to make a valid judgment as to whether that training is truly relevant to the position you have open? Consider reviewing your list of topics at the start of the interview so your candidate can help fill in the blanks and feel more at ease. If you decide to recommend the candidate to your hiring manager or other colleagues to interview, be sure to share your questions and notes, perhaps in a pre-interview meeting. Consider helping to focus their interview by providing questions they can ask that will keep them focused on the most relevant aspects of the match between the candidate and the job. The goal is to be sure they ask questions that help to reveal how well the candidate will perform in the job at hand. To help the candidates you interview, you can anticipate the questions they will ask about the job, its potential and the organization. This is a great opportunity to prepare this information in advance for the candidate. Even if this candidate is not a fit, perhaps he or she will pass this information along to his or her military friends who may be a very good fit leading to a very good applicant. 18

30 2.7 Conduct effective interviews. Summary: Focus the interview on learning whether the military candidate has the knowledge, skills and capabilities to perform the job responsibilities successfully, and has the personal attributes that will fit in your organization s culture. Interviews with military candidates can sometimes spend disproportionate time focusing on aspects of military life that have little bearing on the job -- What s it like being deployed in Afghanistan? -- and without fully addressing whether the candidate will perform well in the job. This may be interesting, but may not result in a productive interview. Being at ease during the interview process may not come naturally to most veteran candidates. Military training places a high premium on professional bearing and respect for authority, so initially some military candidates may be very formal, not very expansive and not quick to make eye contact during the interview. This behavior is part of the military culture and is not a predictor of the candidate s qualifications or fit in the organization. The more you share about the nature and requirements of the job, the more opportunity you provide for the candidate to explain how the candidate s training and experience equips him or her to fulfill the requirements. Questions about How did you get into the National Guard don t provide a basis for evaluating his or her job qualifications. Pick a location for the interview that will help to put the candidate at ease and contribute to a more open dialog. The cafeteria, for example, would set a better tone than would a small conference room that has no windows. Start by letting the candidate know what you would like to learn about his or her qualifications so the candidate knows what to expect during the interview. Invite him or her to ask questions about the job and the organization. Tell the candidate about the organization, the job and what career opportunities there are. Focus on describing each of the key responsibilities of the job so the candidate understands what is expected. For each, ask the candidate to describe the training or experience he or she has had that enables him or her to perform the activity. Ask the candidate to describe how he or she has performed similar activities while in the military. Describe your organizational culture -- We expect people to take the initiative without waiting for direction or We expect people to follow the compliance manual without exception -- and ask the candidate to describe examples of how he or she has performed in similar environments. Describe the level of responsibility of the job in terms of managing others, projects or equipment. Ask for examples of when the candidate had similar responsibilities. Avoid prohibited questions, such as type of discharge, current military status, nature and extent of physical or mental disabilities, or likelihood of future deployments. 19

31 2.8 Debrief as a team after interviews. Summary: Debriefing as a team can help to ensure that qualified candidates are not rejected for the wrong reasons or because one of the interviewers misinterpreted the candidate s qualifications. In the real world, all interviews are not uniformly effective in revealing that military candidates are qualified for a given position. Some interviews may be cut short by unexpected business interruptions. Some will wind up in interesting but irrelevant industry or military stories. Some will get off on the wrong foot because of the interviewer s inexperience or nervousness. Qualified candidates also can be turned away when one of the interviewers decides in peremptory fashion that he or she isn t a good fit. By pooling the knowledge and insights gained by all the interviewers about the candidates, there is a greater likelihood that qualified candidates will not be turned away. If there is a lack of consensus about a candidate, a second interview may be a good next step. When meeting to discuss candidates, it may be helpful to have an employee or retiree with military experience participate in the discussion even if he or she didn t participate in the interviews. He or she may be able to ask good questions about topics that came up in the interviews and help interpret the answers given, or challenge whether an opinion formed on the basis of the answer is based on accurate facts. For example, the candidate s training on some aspect of the job may have been discussed only cursorily, and the interviewers may not be fully informed about the depth and scope of training in the MOS. Focus on understanding specifically why a candidate is not qualified now and whether there are remedial steps the candidate can take after being hired. For example, if a candidate has experience but not a civilian certificate, could the candidate complete the certificate program, as a condition of continued employment, within a reasonable period of time after being hired? If a candidate is going to be rejected for not meeting some of the requirements, were these requirements adequately specified in the job description and posting? Should the description and posting be revised to include the requirements so that future applicant matches can be made taking these into account? In some cases qualified candidates are rejected because one of the interviewers simply has the feeling that the candidate will not fit in. Respectful discussion can help to identify whether the candidate s military culture background may be unnecessarily giving the impression of a bad fit. Nearly all military candidates make the transition to civilian workplace culture smoothly and over a short period, and even more quickly when they are helped by other employees with military experience to learn the ropes. Rather than rule out qualified candidates whose culture fit is not clear, consider inviting them back for another discussion that would focus on discussing the behaviors that employees are expected to demonstrate and the candidate s readiness to meet these expectations. 20

32 2.9 Follow-up with candidates and referral sources in a timely way. Summary: Invest in your relationships with candidates and referral sources by followingup with them in a timely way after interviews. Even if you are unable to communicate final decisions, candidates and referral sources will maintain their enthusiasm for helping you when you maintain a continuous relationship. The enthusiasm and active support you receive for your military hiring program from candidates and referral sources depends to a very great degree upon your efforts to maintain prompt and continous communications with them. Candidates who have interviewed with you want to know that you valued the time and interest they invested in preparing for and meeting with you for the interview. They realize that it may take you some time to make a decision, but they also want to know that they are not just a number in the queue. Even if eventually turned down for the position, some candidates who recognize why they did not qualify for the position will encourage friends with military experience to apply to your organization because they felt so positive about the respectful and open way they were treated. Referrral sources -- military employment counselors and nonprofit placement organizations -- are all overworked and understaffed. They literally don t have time to chase down reactions from recruiters to whom they have referred candidates after investing time to find the best candidates. It is very meaningful to these referral sources when you and your team take the initiative to follow-up with them to report on the progress of the candidacy. When you promptly provide updates or suggestions about ways to improve future matches, this strengthens their commitment to keep you and your team at the top of the list for the best candidates. Conversely, if you appear to be taking them for granted, the best candidates are likely to be referred to other employers. Action Steps After interviews, make it a habit to send s, make phone calls or even leave voice messages for candidates and referral sources to thank them for their time and share whatever news you can appropriately provide. Even if you are only able to report that the process is ongoing, or that you expect to make decisions in a certain number of weeks, this will sustain the enthusiasm and add to the relationship. If at any point you realize that the job description or posting have been refined or changed, be sure to provide these to your referral sources along with an update on where the current hiring process stands. For example, if you need to fill the job within a limited time, be sure to tell them so they understand there is urgency. Be sure to report to your referral sources any unexpected problems that come up. For example, if a candidate did not come for the interview, let the referral source know. This may help to resolve any misunderstandings, such as incorrect addresses or the wrong dates for the interview. If you hire a candidate from one of your sources, be sure to tell the source promptly. 21

33 2.10 Conduct tailored orientations for newly hired military candidates. Summary: New employees transitioning from a military culture will benefit from quickly learning about your civilian working culture, customs and traditions so as to help the transition go smoothly. This orientation would be a supplement to the standard orientation for new employees. There are issues, unique to new employees with military experience, that warrant a special session. These include gap training opportunities, training and mentorship programs, the coordination of GI benefits with employer benefits, assistance in acclimating to the organization s culture, and accommodations for physical and mental disabilities. Employers can use this session as an opportunity to provide information, answer questions, clarify misconceptions, and set expectations, all of which will help new employees with military experience to acclimate more successfully and quickly to a new and unfamiliar work environment. Ask your employees, retirees or outside suppliers with military experience to recommend topics to be covered in a special orientation session. Invite employees with military experience to participate in the orientation session and share their observations, experiences and recommendations with the new employees. Consider matching new employees with tenured employees who can serve as informal mentors to help explain and interpret the work environment. If you have a Veterans Employee Resource Group (VERG) or other employees with military experience, ask them to host a welcome reception following the orientation session to give new employees the opportunity to start meeting their new colleagues in an informal setting. If you have the resources and a sufficient number of military hires coming into the organization on a continuing basis, consider developing a tailored handbook for new military employees. This would describe the important aspects of your organization s culture and values. It would also describe any veterans affinity groups, special networking opportunities for veterans as well as any training or mentoring opportunities available to veterans. It would also describe any health, disability, insurance or educational benefits that are offered to veteran employees. You can describe any special efforts your oganization makes to celebrate special holidays such as Veterans Day, Memorial Day and the 4th of July, and ways your organization works with military support organizations. If you have the resources and a continuing number of incoming employees with military experience, consider recording a webinar discussion featuring employees with military experience describing their experiences after joining the organization and their recommendations for incoming veterans. 22

34 Section 3: Providing an Environment that Supports Career Growth 3.1 Offer military candidates a compelling value proposition. 3.2 Review internal four-year college degree credential job requirements. 3.3 Offer professional development opportunities to employees with military experience. 3.4 Create or support apprenticeship programs relevant to your organization. 3.5 Support work-study programs for employees with military experience. 3.6 Support a military-friendly organization culture and work environment. 3.7 Build your organization s respect for people who serve in the military. 3.8 Establish a mentorship program for employees with military experience. 3.9 Support the formation of veterans-only network within the organization Form a Veterans Employee Resource Group (VERG) to support veterans in your organization and the external military community Expand the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) to include a component for employees with military experience Provide orientation about post-traumatic stress (PTS) and other combat injuries to veterans. 23

35 3.1 Offer military candidates a compelling value proposition 1. Summary: Ensure that military candidates understand the full scope of benefits, career development opportunities, and personal and professional support your employer offers to them. Some employers have the mistaken impression that military candidates are so hungry for jobs that they will pursue just about any type of position. Actually, military candidates are increasingly alert to finding jobs that provide good career opportunities and benefits. Many civilian jobs actually pay less than comparable positions in the military where housing, medical care and other benefits are provided. Veterans facing pay reductions to have civilian jobs are very keen to learn about opportunities for further training and promotion so as to gain pay increases back to their military levels. Many employers do themselves a disservice by issuing job postings that provide only minimal information about the current job and little about the company. Such postings rarely attract military candidates. Many niche industries are not well understood by military candidates and employers in these industries have a need to help military candidates understand why it would be exciting and rewarding to work in the industry. Action Steps Ensure that your job postings include rich information about your organization, your industry and the career opportunities and benefits that come with a job. Test your posting statement with employees or retirees with military experience and/or with military counselors and nonprofit placement organizations. Having effective postings makes a huge difference in your hiring efforts. Include in your job postings links to pages on your website that explain the benefits of having a career with your organization, including training and promotion opportunities. Use these pages to spell out career progressions and any opportunities for bonuses, stock options, and profit sharing. If you don t have specifics, feature your current employees with military experience who are willing to comment on the military-friendly aspects of your culture and work environment. Provide succinct briefing materials to your military counselors and nonprofit placement organizations that spell out the specific career paths, training and development programs, and other opportunities and benefits that are available to military candidates. These referral sources can tell candidates about these when you provide this information. Create opportunities for candidates you are interviewing to meet informally with other veterans as well as non-veteran employees already in the organization so they can get a well-rounded understanding of your organization. Highlight the careers of several employees with military experience in a recorded webinar where they discuss their careers and the reasons they chose to join your organization. You ll be able to then easily share this with military candidates. 1 For further discussion, see also How Companies Can Capture the Veteran Opportunity, McKinsey & Company, page

36 3.2 Review internal four-year college degree credential job requirements. Summary: Review your organization s credentialing requirements -- especially any requirements for a four-year degree -- for military candidates who have the equivalent training or appropriate experience to meet the job requirements. Many employers impose a 4-year college degree as a prerequisite to employment because they consider it to be a surrogate for maturity, critical thinking and sound judgment. Military service offers veterans many opportunities to develop these same attributes, and unlike college students, service members lives often depend on how well they master them, often in hostile environments. While serving, members of the military are engaged in continuous classroom and on-thejob training that often rivals conventional college education. Yet employers rarely validate military training, experience or skills by using them as proxies for a college degree. Very often, an employer s college degree requirement bears little relationship to the skills and training required in his or her current job. Many military candidates without college degrees have real world experiences that enable them to significantly out-perform civilians with degrees. Employers who arbitrarily apply degree requirements to nearly all jobs are doing themselves a disservice by eliminating these military candidates from consideration, particularly in light of today s widespread skills shortage. If you need to make a rigorous case to management about using military equivalencies, consider meeting with the National Guard leader for training and education in your state to be thoroughly briefed on military training. us at BestPractices@CenterForAmerica. org for a referral. Select and review certain jobs to determine whether a four-year degree is required. Identify the military training and work experience that would constitute a reasonable substitute for a college degree. Establish a pilot program with those jobs where you have determined that military training and capabilities are sufficient to satisfactorily complete the performance dimensions of the job and include reference to this in your job descriptions and postings so that military candidates without degrees but having extensive experience will know to apply. Reach out to other employers that have modified their credentialing requirements for veteran employees to determine what their experience has been since implementing the change. 25

37 3.3 Offer professional development opportunities to employees with military experience. Summary: Identify and provide meaningful career paths and professional growth opportunities to employees with military experience. When you do offer such programs, be sure to include this in your job postings. Career paths and growth opportunities are obviously attractive and relevant to all employees, not just those with military experience. That said, employees with military experience are accustomed to continuous learning programs and many have a greater appetite for such programs than employees who have not served in the military. Employees with military experience are accustomed to understanding the paths to promotion and steadily pursuing growth objectives. The more explicit you can make career paths and development activities, the more likely you are to attract and retain employees with military experience. Action Plan: You can work with an individual employee with military experience, or all employees in a given business unit, to develop an outline of upward progression through the positions in the organization. The key is to identify the performance objectives, skills and levels of responsibility that need to be mastered in order to qualify for each promotion. This outline is not a promise of promotion, but rather, a way to tell employees what they need to do to be considered for promotion. Providing this outline increases the likelihood that the employees will develop the skills and performance that the organization will really value, instead of developing in directions that the organization does not believe are relevant to promotions and raises. This development outline might include rotational opportunities through several business units or different positions in a single unit or location. Creative opportunities for development can include management support for employees to serve in leadership or teaching roles in volunteer community service organizations where the experience will contribute to the individual s readiness for promotion. Another creative opportunity, even for smaller employers, is to appoint a working group to develop recommendations for solving one or more of the problems holding the employer back from success. Figuring out how to solve such problems helps the organization while also empowering employees to get engaged in a project that fosters personal growth. Collaborate with a local college, the National Guard or nonprofit coalitions to develop a work-study program for veterans focusing on skills relevant to your line of business. Help your employees learn about training and career development programs offered by local community colleges, workforce development groups, veteran assistance programs or the VA, as well as programs offered by professional societies and trade associations. Offer employer-paid time off or tuition reimbursement for college or advanced training programs that are relevant to the employees readiness for growth in the organization. 26

38 3.4 Create or support apprenticeship programs relevant to your organization. Summary: Certain types of jobs require unique skills that are developed primarily through onthe-job programs that enable employees with relevant basic skills and aptitudes to learn-whiledoing under the supervision of accomplished faculty. Apprenticeship programs enable talented military candidates to refine their existing skills to meet employer or state-mandated certification requirements. While there is an acknowledged skills shortage in many occupational categories, many military candidates who are currently left out of the workforce have skills that come very close to meeting employer requirements. Employers and trade associations can make progress on the skills shortage by creating or supporting apprenticeship programs that attract military candidates to the industry less expensively than training civilian employees whose skills are not as advanced as those of military candidates. The extra effort required of employers to widen their search to find military candidates suitable for their apprentice programs is likely to pay-off in having highly performing employees who meet skill requirements precisely and have high loyalty to the organization. Through such programs, perhaps in collaboration with other employers or the National Guard in your state, you will be able to create a continuous flow of qualified employees that will reduce or eliminate your organization s skills shortage. First, identify existing apprenticeship programs that already may be available to military candidates you hire. Start by talking with any trade associations, professional societies or chambers of commerce to which your organization belongs as well as the National Guard employment team for your state. The U.S. Department of Labor, your state s department of labor or workforce development agency are also good sources of information. BestPractices@CenterForAmerica.org for a referral. Learn about the vocational training programs and financial resources that are available to veterans through the Veterans Administration. Then, if you need to consider starting your own apprenticeship program, perhaps in collaboration with other employers in the area with similar needs, talk with local community colleges and trade schools to see if they would be willing partners. Experience around the U.S. suggests that they are generally very collaborative and helpful. In collaboration with local partners, develop an approach through which military candidates can receive interim income through work while completing training and certification where necessary. Few military candidates can afford financially to enroll in study programs that do not provide some level of income to meet necessities. Provide gap training to those veterans-employees who are nearly qualified or whose skills and experience are easily transferable from the military to the private sector. 27

39 3.5 Support work-study programs for employees with military experience. Summary: Support work-study programs for your employees with military experience that enable them to gain degrees and certifications necessary for career advancement in your organization and industry. Many military candidates who are proven high performers are very good candidates to achieve leadership positions in your industry but currently lack the necessary advanced degrees or certifications to get a start in the industry. They also need a starting position to provide the income necessary to support themselves and their families. Employers who have an ongoing need for high potential employees can hire such candidates in starting roles while enabling them to enroll in the advanced programs through time off and some reimbursement for tuition costs. With proper guidance and support, such military candidates can bring very significant talent, energy and loyalty to the employer. Many employers with a need for employees with specialized skills and expertise find that enabling current employees to boot strap their way to advancement in these fields is an excellent and economical way to mitigate the skills shortage. Military candidates who have proven themselves to be high performing individuals who take continuous learning seriously are especially good candidates for their employers to invest in. Smaller employers can consider hiring high-potential military candidates in starter roles while allowing them to attend college or advanced training programs with GI tuition reimbursements. The employer gains a productive part-time employee who can later assume a full-time role with greater responsibility. Larger employers can work individually with military candidates to tailor a work schedule to the relevant college or training programs best suited to the candidate and the organization. The key goal is to work out an approach that enables your employer to attract high-potential employees at moderate expense who will later be able to fill key positions in the organization. Success lies in understanding your longer-term needs and alertness to successfully attracting the right military candidates. Example: Prudential Financial 1 introduced its VETalent Program in 2010 as the centerpiece of its education and employment initiative for post 9/11 veterans. A collaboration between Prudential, Workforce Opportunity Services, a 501(c)(3) organization, and a local university, VETalent is a work-study program that prepares veterans for employment in the technology sector as they transition from military service. It offers veteran candidates nine months of classroom training subsidized by Prudential coupled with on the job experience that leads to a certification. Prudential also provides each veteran with a $500 per week stipend so they will not have to work outside the program during this period. Upon completion of the program, Prudential partners with other employers to identify employment opportunities for program graduates. 1 See Guide to Leading Policies, Practices & Resources: Supporting The Employment of Veterans & Military Families, Institute for Veterans and Military Families, Syracuse University, 2012, page Additional information retrieved from Prudential website, 28

40 3.6 Support a military-friendly organization culture and work environment. Summary: Establish a working environment that welcomes and supports employees with military experience, and acknowledges the contributions of veterans, National Guard members, Reservists and military families. Employers need to attract and retain high-performing employees who will help to achieve its objectives. Candidates and employees with military experience bring added dimensions of results-orientation, loyalty, maturity and leadership to the organization making them highly valuable to attract and keep. (Federal contractors falling under the provisions of the VEVRAA regulations 1 have an obligation to hire qualified veterans.) A military-friendly environment provides additional reasons for military candidates to seek employment and continue as employees when hired, recognizing that the employer is putting policies and programs in place to make the transition easier from military to civilian work environments. A respectful environment enhances productivity and satisfaction for all employees. Creating a welcoming and supportive environment for veterans sends a positive message to the veteran community, your employees, and the other constituencies most important to your organization: customers, shareholders or donors, and the community at large. Successfully becoming a military-friendly organization is the result of carefully reviewing your policies and practices to ensure they enhance the culture and working environment and demonstrate respect for all employees, including those with military experience. Holidays and events that celebrate the sacrifices and contributions of the military provide good opportunities to call attention to your broader commitment to employees with military experience, but celebrations and events are by themselves just a good first step. Invite your employees and retirees with military experience to help you learn about steps the organization can take to reshape the culture and work environment to make it more military-friendly. Make it clear to supervisors that they are expected to be supportive of National Guard members and Reservists who are required to attend weekend drills, summer training and other events or meetings for which attendance is obligatory. Be alert for and take seriously any reports you are given of supervisors whose conduct or demeanor toward Guard members or Reservists is inappropriate. Ensure that your organization s policies and practices do not discriminate against or create disadvantages for military spouses and their military partners in subtle ways even though they may comply literally with the letter of the law. Example: It is often necessary for military spouses to re-locate when their service 1 You can download a free and comprehensive business English summary of the requirements of VEVRAA for federal contractors at 29

41 member spouses are transferred to a new posting. Some companies have policies that prohibit employees from being re-hired in another location if they voluntarily quit their job. One regional company with such a policy thus refused to consider hiring the military spouse in the new location, even though the military spouse had a very good performance record and there was an appropriate job in the new location. The company eventually came to see that they could preserve the policy and be more military friendly by considering this type of move a military family transfer instead viewing it as a voluntary departure followed by a re-hire. With this new policy, both the employer and the military spouse benefit. Provide flexible working arrangements for veteran employees undergoing medical treatment or behavioral therapy. Be alert to and follow-up promptly on reports of employees with military experience who are experiencing undue stress in the workplace. Design benefits packages and policies to support service members and families with a continuing military obligation, i.e., National Guard members and Reservists, and be sure covered employees and their supervisors are aware of its provisions. Support employee families in which military members are on active duty with the U.S. Armed Services by providing them flexibility in work arrangements when they need it. Include feature articles in your employee publications and on your website and social media about the accomplishments and contributions of employees with military experience. Involve veterans families in employer-sponsored programs and events for veterans. Sponsor events or awards that pay tribute to veterans in organizations and in the community. Encourage employees to attend local veteran ceremonies and events that recognize the contributions of veterans and their families. Encourage employees to volunteer to work with veteran support organizations or do some other veteran-focused community service. Consider contributing financially to support nonprofit organizations that provide services and support to veterans, National Guard members, Reservists and their families. Include these organizations in your employee matching gift program if you have one. Share ideas with other employers about the practices and policies they have implemented to create a positive work environment for veterans. This can be the topic of discussion at a meeting of your local SHRM chapter or other industry group, and/or you can set up a social networking page to exchange ideas on a continuing basis. (See page 45.) Consider asking your organization s suppliers of goods and services to join with you in posting jobs, at no cost, through American Jobs for America s Heroes. The postings are then provided directly to military employment counselors in the state(s) where the job(s) are located. 30

42 3.7 Build your organization s respect for people who serve in the military. Summary: Help your employees understand the service veterans have given to our country and the value they bring to the workplace through their skills, results-orientation and other personal attributes that help your organization succeed. Many employees have only a general awareness of the importance to our country of maintaining an all-volunteer military. Keeping an all-volunteer military may depend on demonstrating that our veterans will have a respected and prosperous role in civilian life when they transition from the military. Civilian employers that welcome and respect employees with military experience provide proof to future volunteers that they will be able to successfully transition to civilian life after military service. Many employees who have no personal connection to the military through a family member or close friend, have little understanding of the rigorous training and personal sacrifices of those who serve in the military. Some employees believe that military training focuses only on combat and are unduly afraid that many veterans have PTS. Many supervisors who are unfamiliar with the military are unclear about ways to help their employees with military experience maximize their potential in the workplace. Helping supervisors to improve their coaching relationships with such employees can be a win-win for the organization and the employees they coach. Over the next five years, as many as one million additional veterans will be joining the workforce. These veterans will be among the best trained and highly motivated applicants available to employers. Employers who are known as military-friendly will have the best chance to compete for these talented people. In light of the skills shortage, every employer should have a high interest in attracting them. Carefully consider how your organization can respectfully take note of the military experience of high-performing employees. For example, promotion announcements could include a brief reference to any military experience or roles. Employee newsletter or website articles about employees can include their comments about how military service helped them be successful in their civilian roles. When Guard members help with disaster relief or community events, the CEO can send an to all employees saluting this. Events hosted by the organization can briefly reference employees or family members who are serving in the National Guard or other military branches. Bulletin boards on company facilities can include updates about family members serving in the military. HR can invite leaders from the National Guard to speak briefly at management meetings to talk about how Guard training helps service members succeed in civilian roles. You can celebrate Memorial Day and Veterans Day with receptions at which organization leaders, employees with military experience and military leaders from the area can celebrate the accomplishments of your employees with military experience and veterans. 31

43 3.8 Establish a mentorship program for employees with military experience. Summary: Implement a mentoring program for those employees with military experience who would like to participate, with successful senior people from inside and outside the organization serving as mentors. Effective mentoring by successful people can be a great benefit to employees whether or not they have had military experience, but especially for those who are just joining the organization. Mentors will help new employees to navigate the new culture and will provide a safe source of advice and feedback during the adjustment period particularly when the new employee is confronted by policies or workplace behaviors that are perceived to be alien or hostile. Mentors can also help new employees think through alternative career development and training opportunities to choose the steps best suited for the employee. Effective mentoring programs can increase retention of new employees who may be initially discouraged by the new culture and work environment. The term mentoring is often used imprecisely to describe programs ranging from informal buddy assignments to more formal regular visits with an outside job coach over a year-long period. So, the first step is to determine what type of program is best suited to your organization. Is your goal to provide a buddy who can informally help during an orientation period? Or, is your goal to provide continuous, structured coaching for highpotential hires being groomed for senior positions? Knowing what your organization and its employees really need will help you communicate effectively with management and employees when you offer the program. Employers of all sizes can successfully implement buddy programs. Start by inviting successful employees or retirees with military experience to sign-up as volunteers who can be asked to take on a buddy when a military candidate is hired. Organization leaders and outside suppliers might also be enrolled if you need more buddies. Start by deciding the nominal duration of the relationship as one, two or three months. Of course, the relationship can be continued or ended when the participants agree. The main goal is to help the new employee settle in successfully so it is not necessary to establish formal coaching goals or metrics. An orientation discussion with both participants at the outset will help to get this off to a good start. A more formal and conventional mentoring program would be organized with careful planning and written guidelines that spell out the responsibilities of mentors and participants. Mentors, drawn from experienced and successful senior managers, would receive training on their roles to ensure they manage the relationship without inadvertently breaching the guidelines to interfere with the mentee s workplace relationships. A timetable for developing professional development goals would be provided, and both the mentor and mentee could be asked to provide brief periodic reports as to progress that is being made during the mentoring period. Other aspects of the program could include the 32

44 following: Include accountability into the mentorship program by evaluating the mentor s performance at the end of the mentor period. Depending on the industry, it may be appropriate to involve members of trade or professional associations in the mentoring program. Training for the mentors should address the types of problems high-potential military candidates have in transitioning to a civilian workplace and culture. Example: As part of its Warrior Integration Program, a military hiring initiative with a specific focus on disabled veterans, BAE Systems 1 introduced the Veteran Mentorship Program in which veteran employees help new veteran hires and their families make the transition from military service to civilian life. Every newly hired veteran is matched up with a veteran employee who serves as part coach - part counselor to the new employee and often his or her family as well. The program has a strong focus on career paths, career development, and access to additional education. Veterans in the program have demonstrated a very low rate of attrition. 1 See Guide to Leading Policies, Practices & Resources: Supporting The Employment of Veterans & Military Families, Institute for Veterans and Military Families, Syracuse University, 2012, page 85. Additional information retrieved from BAE website, 33

45 3.9 Support the formation of a veterans-only network within the organization. Summary: Encourage the creation of an internal network of employees with military experience as a forum for networking, information sharing, and mentoring. This group provides a social, support and advocacy network for veteran employees that may facilitate their transition from the military, and improve their performance in the private sector. For veteran employees, the network may become a surrogate for the solidarity and camaraderie that sustained them and became central to their well being while they were deployed. The network can be a valuable resource for employers, providing a built-in referral network for future military candidates. It also provides a network of mentors to help new military hires reintegrate into civilian life and acclimate to the new culture, ensuring greater likelihood of personal success and retention. Employers can benefit from the insights and feedback provided by this group to improve policies and practices to enhance the military-friendly nature of the organization. Supporting the formation of a veterans network demonstrates your organization s commitment to your employees with military experience. Consult with your labor law attorney before taking any steps to form a group or if the group is already formed, when you take on a liaison responsibility, to learn about appropriate guidelines for working with such an internal group so that you don t inadvertently create the basis for a complaint to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Consult the group to get their feedback when considering policies or programs that may affect the veteran community within your organization. Ask members of the group to assist with military recruiting, particularly if your employer does not have a dedicated military hiring unit. Invite members of the veterans group to help educate other employees about veterans issues by speaking at employer-sponsored events, serving as a resource for brown bag lunch meetings of employees, and speaking on behalf of the organization at veterans and outside trade association and professional society events. 34

46 3.10 Form a Veterans Employee Resource Group (VERG) to support veterans in your organization and the external military community. Summary: Develop and support the formation of a VERG within your organization as part of your inclusion and diversity strategy. Typically these groups include veterans and civilian employees. They can also include retired employees and/or family members of employees with military experience. In smaller companies where it may not be practical to have a VERG, you can seek out VERGs that accept members from several employers and help your new military employees get introduced and invited to join. In larger organizations that can host a VERG, there are many benefits that result: Support for the VERG demonstrates the organization s commitment to employees with military experience and appreciation for their military service, thus fostering an inclusive environment that will attract and retain additional military candidates. Members of the group can assist each other and other veteran employees with networking, training opportunities and career development. Provides a network of mentors to help new military hires to transition into civilian life and acclimate to the new culture, increasing the likelihood of success and retention. Employers can use insights and feedback from this group to improve policies and practices to insure that it is military friendly. Consult with your labor law attorney before taking any steps to help form a VERG or if the VERG is already formed, when you take on a liaison responsibility, to learn about appropriate guidelines for working with such an internal group so that you don t inadvertently create the basis for a complaint to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Consult the VERG when considering matters that will affect the veteran community within the employer. Ask VERG members to assist HR in reviewing veteran resumes and interviewing candidates. Ask veteran members of the VERG to represent your employer at job fairs and other military recruiting events. Encourage the VERG to publicize its activities and events on your website, system, newsletter and bulletin boards and allow VERG-sponsored events to be held on employer property. Use social networks to promote awareness of the group, attract members, publicize events, provide a forum for discussion about military experiences, and recruit new employees. 35

47 3.11 Expand the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) to include a component for employees with military experience. Summary: Expand the scope of your traditional EAP by adding health and benefits services likely to be especially relevant to employees with military experience. EAP services, which are often provided by telephone and charged at a monthly fee per employee, can be affordable for smaller as well as large organizations. The services provided by the EAP service organization can be tailored to the needs of the employer. Service members may need professional help adjusting to the civilian culture and workplace as well as the significant shift to civilian life where the wide array of military benefits and services (such as housing and food service) are not provided. When specialized services for veterans are provided in a convenient and confidential manner with competent professionals, employees with military experience may be more likely to seek help when they need it. Many veterans, who take pride in their selfsufficiency, are often likely to put off seeking help in a timely way. One barrier to getting help, which can be used as an excuse to put off asking for help, is that it can be very difficult and time-consuming for a veteran to find reliable help, especially if he or she has to work through the confusing network of government agencies and service providers. By having an employer-sponsored program readily at hand, with competent counselors and professionals that have been fully vetted, employees with military experience have one less excuse for not seeking help. Action Steps If you have an existing EAP service or plan to retain one, carefully consider the benefits and services that can be provided to your employees with military experience. You may want to consider adding supplemental providers that specialize in behavioral, medical and benefits services for veterans. Services may include counseling to help veterans successfully claim all the benefits they are eligible for. Make sure your organization has thoroughly completed due diligence on the competence of the counselors who will be supporting your employees so as to avoid legal liabilities arising from incompetent advice and counseling and to ensure that your employees have reliable help when they need it. Implement an ongoing communication program using all organizational channels to ensure that all employees become familiar with the range of EAP services available and how to access them. Employees should be familiar with the option to consult with EAP if they feel any employees are demonstrating behavior that is inappropriate in the workplace. Consider creating an online forum where employees can anonymously submit questions to professionals about veterans issues and receive answers on a confidential basis. Consider distributing a listing of local, state, and federal resources for veterans. 36

48 3.12 Provide orientation about post-traumatic stress (PTS) and other combat injuries to veterans. Summary: Offer orientation and education about PTS, traumatic brain injury, and other combat injuries and disabilities to all employees. Orientation can be offered as part of an employer s diversity and inclusion program or employee assistance program. The heightened fear and lack of understanding about the combat injuries of some employees, particularly PTS, can hamper the integration of employees with military experience into your workforce and hinder their reintegration into civilian life generally. It can also adversely affect the willingness of some supervisors to hire military candidates who are qualified and negatively influence the attitudes of supervisors when newly hired military candidates are assigned to their teams. Many employees do not realize that PTS and other behavioral problems are not limited to people who have served in the military. Civilians who have experienced car accidents, burglaries, accidental shootings and deaths, and other civilian forms of severe trauma can also bring PTS and behavioral problems into the workplace. Providing reliable information in an easy to understand format will help clarify misconceptions, allay fears, help the integration process for military candidates, and reduce distractions. Offering orientation programs can help mitigate any discrimination claims that might be brought against the employer, particularly if the program is mandatory for all employees. Smaller employers can identify seminars or briefing programs offered locally by nonprofit organizations, professional societies or the military that employees and supervisors can attend. You may want to consider bringing the seminar in-house for all your employees. Your orientation program for new employees can include a module on how the organization expects employees to handle behavioral problems in the workplace which can then provide a basic understanding of PTS and combat-related injuries and disabilities. These subjects can also be addressed periodically in employee newsletters and on your employee intranet. Links to additional reliable resources can be included. Include or expand a session in your supervisor training programs and meetings in which vetted experts provide training on how to identify and handle behavioral problems, including PTS and combat-related behavioral issues. This should include coaching on how supervisors should communicate with their employees on these issues. Consider establishing a forum on your employee intranet where employees can ask questions and receive reliable answers from experts. Proactively offering information and orientation resources to employees can enable those with concerns or fears about PTS to access this information without drawing the attention of other employees and subject themselves to embarrassment. 37

49 Section 4: Sharing Information with Others 4.1 Collaborate with other employers to share information about military candidates. 4.2 Share your best practices and experiences in recruiting military candidates with other employers and military placement organzations. 4.3 Use your recruiting data to pinpoint the most effective approaches to use going forward. 38

50 4.1 Collaborate with other employers to share information about military candidates. Summary: Work together with other employers to place military candidates with employers with the best matching position. If a veteran candidate is not a good fit for a position with one employer, his or her resume can be shared with other employers in the group in order to identify a better opportunity for the candidate. This networking can be done by industry or by geographic location. Sharing information enables military candidates to have a better chance at finding a matching job more quickly and gives employers a larger pool of candidates. Such collaboration can save employers time as long as they all agree that only resumes that have been vetted will be passed along for consideration by other employers, e.g., resumes of candidates with a history of disciplinary problems or dishonorable discharge will not be shared with other employers. The fact that a military candidate and the initial employer are not a suitable match should not reflect badly on the candidate, nor should it discourage other employers from interviewing him or her. There can be many reasons for this outcome that have nothing to do with the capabilities or characteristics of the candidate. Determine whether a veterans information sharing network already exists among employers in your area or industry, or may be operating on a broader geographic scale. Your local SHRM chapter or other HR professional association may be helpful in identifying whether this type of network exists. (See page 45.) Example: Several years ago, Northrop Grumman 1 developed Operation IMPACT, a unique diversity program designed to help severely disabled veterans transition from military to civilian careers. Grumman greatly extended the reach of Operation IMPACT when it partnered with a network of almost 100 companies that made similar commitments to disabled veterans. If the veteran s skills are not a match for an opportunity at Grumman, or if there is a location mismatch, the veteran s resume is sent to all of the other employers participating in the network to help facilitate a better match. Employers interested in forming this type of network, if none exists, should self-identify in a professional or trade association forum, such as a local SHRM chapter meeting. Solicit employer participants from among the interested parties to organize and administer the information sharing process. Develop a mechanism for sharing information among participating employers. An online forum may provide the quickest and easiest way to share information among participants. 1 Retrieved from Northrup Grumman website, and, www. NorthropGrumman.com/Careers/MilitaryVeterans/Pages/NetworkOfChampions.aspx 39

51 4.2 Share your best practices and experiences in recruiting military candidates with other employers and military placement organizations. Summary: Expand the dialog among employers about the most effective ways to recruit and hire military candidates so as to increase the interest in hiring military candidates, share techniques that work best, and help less experienced employers achieve greater success. Many employers have not yet been successful in hiring military candidates for a variety of reasons. Some organizations have not made military hiring a priority, others have few if any HR staff to invest the time in finding the right candidates, and still others are not approaching the task with an effective recruiting outreach. In many communities, the size of the National Guard and veteran populations merit an increased dialog among employers and HR staff as to how recruiting can be more effective. In some regions or states, where the business community is predominantly smaller employers, greater collaboration among smaller employers can make a major difference in accelerating military hiring because of shared techniques and resources. Many industry leaders believe the skills shortage their companies are experiencing will not go away anytime soon, especially with so many high school graduates entering the workforce with marginal workplace skills. On the other hand, nearly a million highly trained soldiers will be leaving military service in the next five years in addition to the tens of thousands currently looking for work. Military candidates may be many industries best hope for closing the skills shortage. Sharing best practices and expanding the dialog about military hiring among employers at professional society and association meetings and other informal settings is an effective and low-cost way to improve the recruiting of all participating employers. Contact the leaders who set the program topics for professional societies and associations to which your organization belongs to suggest that they schedule sessions devoted at least in part to discuss military hiring best practices. Local or regional chapter meetings are especially productive because it is easier for participants to carry on the discussion and collaboration informally in between meetings. Consider joining or organizing an ad hoc group of employers like yours to meet on a regular basis for breakfast or lunch to talk about military hiring and share information about good candidate sources and reliable nonprofits or military counselors who can help with recruiting. Try to identify common problems you are all having as employers and work out ways you can work together to overcome them. Organize a meeting or reception to which you can invite senior leaders from the National Guard and other military branches to talk with your participating employers about ways you and the military can work more effectively together to increase military hiring. 40

52 4.3 Use your recruiting data to pinpoint the most effective approaches to use going forward. Summary: If you are hiring many military candidates, perhaps in more than one location, the data you record and analyze about your hiring can provide excellent insights as to how to achieve greater success more efficiently. Even in smaller organizations where there have been only a few hires, it is worth reviewing these experiences to see what can be learned about the practices that are proving to be most effective. When there are many hires, and perhaps some unsuccessful efforts, particularly over many months, it is often very useful to use your computer records or to set up a spreadsheet to compare and analyze the experiences. Which are the most effective referral sources? From which branches of service are coming your successful hires? What are the common denominators of their military training or experiences? Are certain supervisors or units more successful in hiring military candidates than others? Which job postings are producing the best applicants and what might be the reasons for this? The more you can figure out what is really working and what isn t, the better job you can do of focusing on truly productive activities and avoid those that are wasting your time. If your employer is a federal contractor, you have some data tracking and reporting obligations required by VEVRAA 1 which will provide some of the data you ll want to analyze. If you have made only a few hires, you are still likely to have reviewed and declined many candidates. It may be valuable to work with a sheet of paper or a spreadsheet to create a tally of key characteristics of all the candidates, how they came to you, their key attributes (types of training, length of experience, branch of service, etc.), and the main reasons why you either offered or didn t offer them a position. If you have a computerized data system, you may be able to generate a custom report that gives you a more elaborate tally of the factors mentioned above and many others that are salient to your analysis, including such factors as the supervisors involved in interviews, the type of additional training a candidate would have needed to qualify, and whether issues related to pay, benefit issues or work hours caused candidates to refuse your offer. With the benefit of these insights and many others, you may be able to see ways to focus your recruiting efforts more productively. With this knowledge, you can update your managers and organizational leaders, building support for recruiting strategy refinements that may eliminate some activities that are not being productive. 1 You can download a free and comprehensive business English summary of the requirements of VEVRAA for federal contractors at 41

53 Corporate America Supports You (CASY) Corporate America Supports You (CASY) is a national nonprofit organization that provides comprehensive employment services in collaboration with all branches of the military, including transitioning active duty, National Guard, Reserves, and veterans. It was recruited by the Army National Guard in 2011 to implement the first-ever National Guard employment support program for National Guard members seeking employment in the civilian sector. As part of that program, CASY provides no-cost employment readiness, vocational training and one-on-one placement services to National Guard members. It is a founding alliance partner of the American Jobs for America s Heroes (AJAH) campaign and oversees the job posting process, manages a sophisticated internet technology platform to match qualified candidates with the hiring needs of employers, and provides training and backup to state National Guard employment teams. Rear Admiral (ret) Dan Kloeppel, CEO, speaking at the CFA Awards Reception and Stacy Bayton, Chief Operating Officer, CASY social media and networking and other topics to aid candidates in the job search process. The day-to-day activities of CASY are managed by Chief Operating Officer Stacy Bayton, and Executive Director Erin Voirol (below). Together they oversee a complex operation with a small staff on a modest budget. While CASY s staff may be small, its results have been impressive. In 2014, they placed more than 5,000 veterans, Guard members, Reservists and spouses in jobs. These results are directly attributable to the efforts of Stacy and Erin who are relentless in their efforts to help all military candidates to find civilian employment. Privately funded and staffed exclusively by exmilitary and military family members, CASY brings a high level of insight, diligence and competence to its national role in working with all branches of the military to help place military candidates in jobs. Its performance record was verified by Deloitte in 2013, when on behalf of the Call of Duty Endowment (CODE), Deloitte independently and rigorously assessed several hundred applicants for the Activision Seal of Distinction Award. In selecting CASY for the award, CODE reported that CASY has proven to be one of the most efficient and productive organizations we have encountered based on costper-veteran job placement. Unlike many veteran-hiring programs that are limited to job boards or job fairs, CASY has ongoing, direct contact with hundreds of employers and job seekers each month to facilitate job placements. In addition, CASY offers resume assistance, skills gap assessments, interview preparedness, training on 42

54 North Carolina National Guard The North Carolina National Guard, at the direction of Major General Greg Lusk, The Adjutant General of the North Carolina Command, made employment for soldiers and airmen a priority in 2013 when it established the Education and Employment Center (EEC) to address the growing concern about unemployment and underemployment among North Carolina service members. Unemployment disrupts Guard members professional and family lives and adversely affects the North Carolina National Guard s ability to be mission ready. Under the leadership of Brigadier General Kenneth Beard, (left), a 33-year veteran of the Army National Guard and Assistant Adjutant General - Sustainment, the EEC has aggressively addressed these issues. Its positive results are attributable in no small part to the efforts of General Beard who relentlessly pursues all opportunities that may improve the career prospects of North Carolina service members. The EEC is a one stop-shop that assists service members and their families with education and employment placement. It comprises a 16-person employment team and a six-person education team strategically placed throughout the state to collaborate with North Carolina employers to increase career opportunities for service members. The EEC employment team uses a direct placement process to establish one on one relationships with employers and recruiters and successfully match the skill sets of highly qualified service members with the needs of civilian employers. It is, in effect, a no-cost talent acquisition resource for North Carolina employers. and industry workforce needs. These include a broad array of on-the-job training, apprenticeship, certification and credentialing programs. The EEC has developed high credibility and good will with the North Carolina business community as a result of its outreach efforts, placing more than 1,000 candidates since July The EEC has also placed many candidates in apprenticeship, training and certification programs, many with guaranteed employment upon completion. The EEC also leverages resources from alliances with nonprofits, associations, state agencies and community colleges to enhance the employment and education opportunities for Guard members. The North Carolina Command has actively supported the American Jobs for America s Heroes (AJAH) campaign by publicizing the campaign and encouraging North Carolina employers to post their open jobs. General Beard has participated in several webinars sponsored by AJAH that highlighted the North Carolina National Guard s efforts to improve employment opportunities. The EEC education team coordinates targeted training programs for service members to fill existing skills or knowledge gaps based on employer 43