I checked the Palm Beach Post
yesterday, scoping out the parade options.
I have a choice of several but it appears that West Palm Beach offers
the best of the lot. The parade will be
on Clematis Street, an oasis of upscale casual dining and night clubs. It will be followed by entertainment.
Today, Veterans Day, will be
marked by pronouncements made on high and somber flag raising ceremonies. And, tomorrow… Well, tomorrow we’ll go back to business as usual.
Less than 1% of Americans have
been on active duty in the military. So,
it’s difficult for us to relate
to the challenges of the veterans whose service we celebrate today.
I have served on the board of
Operation Homefront's Florida chapter until its
merger with the national organization recently.
OH helped over 156,000 veterans and their families last year alone. Yet, as the wars wind down, the challenges of
reintegrating veterans into civilian life absorb less of our attention.
United Way of Broward County
and their counterparts at the American Red Cross have come together to create a
consortium of non-profits and government entities with the goal of helping
veterans. The effort has been branded as
Mission United under the leadership of Commander Nancy Vaniman, USN (ret.). Nancy is the type of person who, when told to
take the hill, will be planting a flag there before long.
There are a variety of
national efforts focused on defining the challenges of veteran
reintegration. Much of it focuses on the
impact of PTSD on the individuals and their families. My focus, as a member of the Mission United
Advisory Committee is on employment.
I asked Nancy if there were a
set of best practices that have been documented so we don’t reinvent the wheel.
“We’re not reinventing the wheel,”
she said. “We’re INVENTING the wheel.”
It’s a daunting challenge.
When I got out of the Navy, nearly every hiring manager had been in the
service. Now it’s rare that you find someone who has served. Do those folks understand the value of hiring
a vet? Are they up to the challenge?
Put another way… How many people who
say they “support out troops” are really willing to help?
So, how do we develop and
implement a plan to close the gap between our best intentions and actual
results?
I tend to rely on my business
training when developing a game plan to achieve an objective. Before you make a “to-do” list, you need to define your
strategies. To address the challenge of
improving the employment results, we have developed four.
First and foremost is
Reintegration. A lot of work has been
done to create a framework for integrating veterans. The military was the first and only job many
of them have ever had.
Second is basic training. No, not pushups and the rifle range, but
rather learning how to write a resume and interview for a job.
Next is our communication
strategy. We must let veterans know how
to get help and get our message to prospective employers.
And, of course, we need to
train those employers on the value of hiring veterans and the associated
challenges. This isn’t just about doing the right thing; it’s about the value a military veteran can add to a business.
It’s this last challenge that I think will be the
toughest. Employers no longer value
general skills like discipline, creativity and goal orientation – which military veterans have in abundance. They are looking for direct functional
experience.
I never hire that way. I would rather hire someone who has the right
attitude and personal orientation and teach them the fundamentals. I like teams who are goal oriented, committed
to a plan and who won’t give up until they achieve
their objectives. Results are more important than expertise. But, as regular
readers know by know by now, I am something of a dinosaur.
Yes, I love a parade. But, when Monday comes, veterans face a very
difficult reality.
And you? Are you a hiring manager? Are you willing to adapt your hiring
practices to truly support our troops?
Or to put it another way… WHO WILL LEAD?
Hopefully, John, it will be all of us. BTW, US employers are given incentives to hire veterans and on most job postings you are given preferences if you are a veteran (and sometimes if you are the spouse of someone on active duty).
ReplyDeletePosted by Karen VanAssche
Might I ad that discrimination still exists. It is just hidden better. Some employers still try not to hire vets or others who might still be bound to the military. Furthermore, many are denied promotions because they serve. It's not respected everywhere as it should be. The perverse form of capitalism we have in this country often puts profit before all else. Well, maybe not before selfish personal insecurity.
ReplyDeletePosted by Robert McGraw, M.B.A.
John:
ReplyDeleteI read an essay recently, entitled 'Redeployment' by Phil Klay. It is part of a book edited by Dave Eggers entitled The Best American Non-required Reading of 2012. Phil Klay is a Marine Corps veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He has an MFA from Hunter College.
The essay is very well-written and gives the reader a glimpse of the magnitude transitioning to civilian life requires of the soldier just doing his tasks of 'daily living.'
I would think that prospective employers would be more apt to read something like 'Redeployment,' than a list of 10 things which suggest PTSD, written by a government agency and funneled to managers from the HR department.
I've actually been thinking a lot about the question you pose in your blog. It seems that much is done to help the soldier (resume writing, interviewing practice, etc.,) to be hired; what is done for the prospective employer (making the idea of hiring a vet appealing) in understanding what this segment of the workforce has been through and creating a culture of success in their business for them? That's where the leadership aspect comes in - creating a culture of success for both the employee and the employer. Anyone can hire a vet and get government 'credit' for doing so (much like the EEO/Affirmative Action numbers we had to keep in the 80's and 90's). Hiring a vet and integrating them in a new work environment demands a partnership. Internships, mentoring programs, the opportunities are potentially endless in this regard.
My thoughts have not crystallized yet, but it has captured much of my thinking since reading your blog. If you haven't already read Phil Klay's essay, it's a good read.
Cara