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Employers depend on their Human Resource Specialists to consider the most ideal candidates to fulfill job positions. Many businesses prefer hiring veterans in the workplace as they are reliable, have a strong work ethic and are recognized for their teamwork and leadership skills. Reintegrating into the workforce can pose many challenges for veterans transitioning from armed service as it can be difficult relating to civilians and adapting to a civilian work environment. Businesses looking to employ veterans should educate and instruct the current employees responsible for recruiting and hiring in ways to incorporate and accommodate the needs of all veterans. Veterans are respected in many ways, and their role in the workplace will prove to represent a valuable asset with beneficial qualities for any business.
Benefits of Hiring Veterans
Veterans bring many beneficial qualities to the civilian workforce with their extensive military training in many different tasks. The majority of veterans are highly motivated to always strive to be the best with any given task with a strong work ethic. They have the ability to learn new skills and tasks quicker than most non-veteran employees due to the training they attained in the military. According to Military Service in the Life Course study, “AVF veterans improve their socioeconomic attainment if they make use of their military training in the civilian labor market. One month of military training counteracts the negative effect of five months spent in the armed forces. With all else equal, veterans who have more months of training had higher earnings than those with fewer months of training”. They are used to working under pressure and have taken on many leadership roles by communicating with others working efficiently and effectively until the job is complete. Even though they possess all of these exceptional qualities for acquiring a job in the civilian workforce, it does not come without the challenges they encounter adjusting or adapting as an employee in a civilian-based company.
Veterans may find it difficult to reintegrating as a civilian employee attaining a job position that coincides with the training and skills they acquired in the military. With all the skills and tasks, veterans have mastered in the military may not necessarily be compatible in a civilian career. According to a journal article, Unemployment Among Recent Veterans During the Great Recession, mentions that “Finally, wartime deployments may reduce the incentive for individuals to reenlist and, consequently, lead individuals who were best suited to a military career to seek civilian employment instead. Such a mismatch of military skills with the civilian labor market for these individuals may lead to a lower job-finding rate”. Therefore, an effective way for employers to recognize the best position for veterans is to focus on the various skills they obtained in the military. This will help employers decide the veterans desired position in the workplace. Veterans not only desire a job that relates to their military field of work but also deserve a decent salary for the work ethic maintained in a civilian career.
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Veterans may have a difficult time adapting to civilians in the workplace who differ from the camaraderie they are used to with their fellow service members. Psychological disorders can affect how a veteran performs their duties in the workplace and can present a tremendous challenge to attaining and keeping employment or getting along with others. According to a Rand study, Invisible Wounds of War concluded that “PTSD, depression, and TBI all influence labor-market outcomes. Specifically, there is compelling evidence indicating that these conditions will affect service members’ return to employment, their productivity at work, and their future job prospects, as indicated by impeded educational attainment”. Therefore, implementing ways to minimize the stress for veterans with psychological or physical disabilities in the workplace will pose a challenge for employers. Therefore, employers will need to identify ways to integrate and accommodate these veterans as employees.
Business Hiring Veterans
Businesses willing to hire veterans with disabilities will need to accommodate and incorporate workplace practices to represent an effective and inclusive environment for disabled veterans. Psychological disabilities like TBI and PTSD are disorders that can change with time, thus posing a problem if employers are unprepared. According to a journal article, Beyond Yellow Ribbons states that “Because PTSD and TBI are conditions that can change significantly over time, employers must have in place-responsive, flexible and effective accommodation practices. VR professionals can play a key role in providing expert consultation on the types of accommodations that can be effective for these disabilities”. Even though many returning veterans will suffer from service-connected disabilities, they can remain some of the most resilient individuals capable of adapting to numerous situations in the workplace.
Employers who support a diverse workplace for veterans with disabilities will need to implement programs to educate and prepare their recruiting and hiring managers in the hiring process. A specific topic in the DAV Guide to Hiring & Retaining Veterans with Disabilities says for willing employers to “Educate your team to understand the core components of veteran resumes and jobs. The more familiar recruiters and hiring managers become with interpreting resumes with military-related language and experiences, the more successful your screening process will be. Hiring managers should also emphasize the soft, non-technical skills that veterans bring to the workforce”. There are many efficient ways to utilize and improve the hiring process for employers. Connecting with local veterans organizations, using veterans as recruiters, and creating an employee resource group for veterans with or without service-connected disabilities are all great resources for employers to utilize. The comprehensive DAV Help guide also talks about the military being a “team environment, and veterans report missing the camaraderie of the military. Having colleagues who understand you is important, whether in the military or in the civilian workplace. Employee resource groups, EAPs, and mentorships go a long way to support veterans with disabilities in your organization”.
Conclusion
Potential employers interested in hiring veterans recognize and appreciate the economic value they bring to the company with the rigorous military training and key leadership roles they acquired during active service. As a whole, veterans transitioning into civilian life and entering the civilian workforce are typically faced with many challenges. Even though they are capable of adjusting to diverse situations at any given time. There are many resources available for employers to incorporate within their companies to sufficiently develop an effective and easy process for hiring veterans with or without disabilities. Veterans are enthusiastic and loyal with the ability and experience to initiate responsibilities in the workplace at any level. They have a strong work ethic generating value to any company wanting to employ veterans.
