Here’s How Veterans Can Help You Grow Your Company

According to the Department of Veterans AffairsOpens a new window , approximately 180,000 service members separate from the military every year, creating 18.6 million veterans in America today. Among those vets, 9.2 million are in the civilian labor force.

Veterans may have served their country in a tank, ship, or the air. They could have worked in more familiar environments, too — even under the same fluorescent lights in any office, anywhere. Veterans can be warriors, but also computer programmers, nurses, doctors, or lawyers; there is a great deal of variation among them. They are as individual in their skills and outlooks as civilians, but with notable exceptions that set all veterans apart. 

It’s those exceptions that make veterans the reason why you need to seek them out for employment.

Vets Have a Team Mindset

I’m a veteran myself, a third-generation Army man. I served eight years which included a combat tour during Operation Desert Thunder, a peacekeeping mission in Korea, along with numerous stateside deployments. 

In the armed forces, you’re either falling out or breaking through to something better. You get tested. You learn to muster through and do what it takes. This fact becomes a part of the soldier’s psyche — failure is not an option.

But veterans are not single-minded loners, machines who work hard but don’t know how to interact in workplace settings. The opposite is often true: Soldiers must rely on each other. That “leave no one behind” motto quoted in films is a reality for us. Veterans take that motto with them to the civilian workplace: They tend to want everyone on their teams to succeed. 

Whether they worked in a corporate setting or were in active combat, veterans know how to work alongside people from every race and background; they’ve slept in bunks alongside them. They have regularly placed their lives in another teammate’s hands.

Veterans focus on execution, not excuses. They have a leadership mindset; they want to win. It’s ingrained: starting at basic training, individuals take turns leading teams. Compare that with the civilian workplace: you’re either the manager or you’re not. It’s doubtful for a junior employee to be pulled out of the crowd and given a trial run as a manager.

See More: Hiring in a Tough Talent Market: Why Attributes Should Replace Experience

Vets Have Business Value

I should add that combat veterans are not to be feared. They may have had experiences that are difficult to fathom, but each one has earned the right to work among you. Helping out and giving back to veterans ought to matter, but I’m not going to focus on that. Vets have business value.

A 2013 CEB Corporate Leadership Council studyOpens a new window of veteran hiring, performance and turnover found that veterans on average perform at higher levels than civilian employees with equivalent experience. Veterans are also less likely to leave their jobs. The study concluded that a company of 1,000 employees with 25% veteran new hires could generate $325,000 a year in cost savings.

Being a combat veteran, I have perspective: Office drama just doesn’t compare with being shot at. Others may get upset when the printer is down just before a customer presentation. For me, I just look at the upset as another problem that must get solved, albeit quickly. In short, we don’t focus on problems. We look for solutions.

I’ll admit, I did experience a feeling of loss when I entered the civilian workforce because my job didn’t feel as vital as it had been in the Army. I needed to serve, just as many other soldiers do. However, instead of dropping everything and reenlisting, I found something else to guide me: Helping other veterans. 

I am the president of GDVETOpens a new window , an employee resource group (or ERG) at GoDaddy, the company that empowers everyday entrepreneurs. As a group, GDVET promotes career development and continued skill development of veterans at GoDaddy. In addition, the group provides mentorship programs and buddy systems. And because veterans want to serve, it also supports external nonprofits that help other veterans and military members.

We do this because we care and have support from our company. GoDaddy actively hires veterans because it wants to continue to lead. 

See More:  8 Key Elements of an Integrated Talent Ecosystem

Examine Vet Resumes Closely

Veterans are vital to business success but be forewarned: As an HR professional, you’ll likely have to transfer military-specific jobs and skills into similar corporate ones. Once you perform that work, you’ll likely discover that veterans’ skills are aligned with what you need. 

The names of the skills and the experience may sound unfamiliar at first. For example, “leading a 10-person combat team through a mission” may not sound like it could translate into the corporate world. However, when you dig into the skills required, you’ll see how similar that is to manage a 10-person team in a fast-paced environment while meeting business goals. 

Complicating things further, the typical veteran resume can get ignored by applicant tracking systems or ATS. As a result, those algorithms that scan resumes for qualified applicants can skirt right past well-qualified veterans because the job titles and skills seem incompatible. 

Allowances will have to be made. A veteran’s resume could require close examination by you or someone on your team to understand it fully. Talk with that veteran applicant. Ask that person to explain their skills during an interview. Perhaps also take on an HR specialist, a veteran recruiter.

Most of all, take a step past the usual path. Seek to understand veteran applicants’ objectives and skillsets. Your company will be better off because these people have the training, outlook and skill to lead your company forward. 

And remember: once you hire a vet, hire more. And then support them and meet their needs. Form an ERGOpens a new window like the one at GoDaddy. Each of us in our ERG knows that entering the civilian world can be like landing on a new planet. We understand each other’s needs; we’re on the same team, and we leave no one behind.

Take the effort. Hire veterans because they’ll make your company stronger.

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