I invited Thomas Jones to write a guest post for us today about veterans and recruitment. Have you considered targeting this group with a dedicated recruitment website? Let us know, in the comments…
Over to you, Thomas!
The global financial crisis has hit the world hard. Economies have been left in tatters and governments are having to cut budgets to weather the current economic downturn. Military defence budgets have been greatly affected with many countries around the world reducing the amount of money being spent on their military programs. The UK, USA, Germany and more have already reduced their defence budgets, with more countries planning to follow suit shortly. These budgetary reductions have seen thousands of jobs being cut and thousands of veterans being honourably discharged from the armed forces. A number of businesses have seen opportunity here and have started to roll out special websites and programs targeted to attract veterans looking for work.
This article will explain how, and why, companies are targeting these veterans using special veteran recruitment websites, recruitment policies and rehabilitation projects.
Why veterans?
Veterans are highly skilled and highly motivated individuals.
When serving in their country’s armed forces, they learn the value of discipline, teamwork and hard work.
Veterans have been trained to work hard and work well: they are model employees.
Methods used by companies to reach job seeking veterans
Many companies are instituting veteran recruitment programs that will see hundreds of thousands of veterans being employed around the world. These companies use a number of different methods to attract unemployed veterans.
#1 – Veteran recruitment websites
Many companies are building special websites tailored specifically to target veterans. These websites focus on the unique skills that veterans possess while explaining how the company will be able to make use of them.
These websites normally contain information about the numbers of veterans already working in the company as well as statistics about their career progression.
Many of these websites contain testimonials from employed veterans, too, either in video, audio or text form. These testimonials normally focus on how their military skills have been useful when working in the company while explaining why the company is a good place for veterans to work.
#2 – Charitable donations to military support charities
Veterans share a bond. They look after each other and watch each other’s backs.
Companies that donate to military support charities are looked upon favourably by veterans. These donations show that the company is committed to improving the lives of veterans around the world, regardless of whether they’re employed by the company or not.
However, it’s important for the company not to brag about these charitable contributions. These donations need to be seen as an act of goodwill – they should not be construed as a ploy to attract attention from veterans.
#3 – Rehabilitation projects to ease the transition back to civilian life
Life in the military is very different to civilian life. It is difficult, demanding and disciplined. Every day is highly regimented and planned out in advance.
Many veterans find the transition back to civilian life difficult. It can take time before they are able to feel comfortable living a civilian lifestyle.
Many companies have instituted veteran rehabilitation programs to help ease the process. These programs usually see veterans being assigned a mentor or advisor who will provide advice and help to ensure that the veterans under their tutelage are able to successfully transition back to civilian life.
Specialised schemes targeted to veterans that were injured in action have also been instituted by a number of companies. These schemes can help provide medical and psycho-social assistance to help deal with the injury as well as vocational support to ensure that the injury does not affect performance in the workplace.
Conclusion
Veterans make excellent employees. They are highly motivated, highly skilled and dedicated to their work. The three methods listed above are proven methods companies around the world are using to help attract veterans to join their workforce. Make sure to use them when instituting a veteran recruitment program for your business.
Thanks Thomas!
Thomas Jones is a business consultant that has a particular interest in specialised corporate business practices and how you work and develop over time. He also writes business guides and articles at BestPracticeHub.com
Lucy is Editor at Corporate Eye
