Equipment World Digital Magazine
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27 out of the service." s 4HE BENEl TS PACKAGE Addition- ally, veterans may not be familiar with the modern corporate benefi t package including health care premi- ums, 401K plans and profi t sharing. These need to be explained up front to prevent any misunderstanding with the fi rst paycheck. 3. Promote camaraderie The companies that have the best re- cords for retaining veterans also share certain cultural similarities with the military. The most important of these is camaraderie. "If you poll 100 veterans about what they miss the most about the military I can guarantee at least 80 percent of them are going to say the camaraderie," says Young. "It's ingrained in the military culture and that's an expectation they have as they transition into corporate America." What is camaraderie? The military has long known that to survive in combat a unit's people must have fi erce loyalty for each other. Accord- ingly offi cers and NCOs are trained to lead by example. There are ranks, but no prima donnas. Offi cers do just as many pushups as privates, if not more. You work hard, you play hard and you will fi ght to the death for each other. The civilian world with its shifting alliances, offi ce politics, hid- den agendas and CEO worship can be an alien environment for transi- tioning military. 4. Encourage networking Companies are starting to recognize veterans' affi nity groups and employ- ee resource groups are key elements in a program to retain veteran em- ployees, Young says. And the payoff can be much bigger than just reten- tion. By allowing veterans to network with other veterans who have similar backgrounds and experience in the military you're helping to spread the reputation of your company as a top- fl ight place for veterans to land. In other words, hire one veteran, and if he likes what he sees, he could bring in many more of his friends of equal caliber. "You would be amazed at how big the military is but how small the network is and how quickly the word can get around," Young says. "We've been in business 22 years and probably half of our place- ments come straight from referrals." 5. Manage expectations People coming out of the military are used to a highly structured environ- ment. Offi cers and NCOs expect people to jump when they say jump and it isn't always so in the civilian world. That can be a problem, but in- creasingly it is not because civilian employers recognize and anticipate these differences. "It is critical to help them with that transition," Young says. "There is more to it than just hiring someone. We reach candidates 12 to 18 months before they make that transition and we start the educa- tion process then. It's having a very positive effect and leading to higher retention rates." Is it worth it? Consultants, marketing plans, cam- paigns. If it seems like a lot of effort, Young cites a long list of assets mili- tary veterans bring to any employer. Veterans, he says: s !RE WELL TRAINED s (AVE THE ABILITY TO FOLLOW AND GIVE orders. s 3HOW UP ON TIME EVERY TIME s $ONT HESITATE TO GO THE EXTRA MILE even when things get tough. s 5NDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF safety. s +NOW HOW TO CONTRIBUTE TO AND build strong teams. s !RE DRUGFREE AND PHYSICALLY l T s 2ELISH CHALLENGES What it all boils down to is "lead- ership, skills, reliability and charac- ter," says Young. "First and foremost you're hiring people who are going to be with you a long time, your future leaders. You are hiring for the future of your company. That's the most important thing." ++++Understanding military ranks and designations ++++ If you're unfamiliar with military ranks and careers and how they translate into the civilian world, here are a few pointers. Offi cers. A college degree is required to become an offi cer, and depending on their length of service they may have advanced degrees. They may have some technical skills but their primary role is to serve as managers and they will typically lead large units. Depending on rank they may preside over anywhere from 120 to 20,000 or more people. NCOs (non-commissioned offi cers) have advanced technical training but are not required to have college degrees (although many complete a degree while in uniform). Their primary role is also the leadership and training of smaller units. Most NCOs will be responsible for groups of 20 to 200. Enlisted personnel are trained in the basics of a specifi c skill, but are typically on their fi rst four-year tour of duty and have no regular leadership responsibilities. Warrant offi cers are somewhere between a commissioned offi cer and NCO. They typically have limited leadership responsibilities but often bring a high level of training and experience to the job. Dan Young is a partner and central U.S. regional manager for Orion In- ternational, which helps companies establish military talent programs through the identifi ca- tion, training and place- ment of junior military offi cers and enlisted technicians into leadership and technical roles in corporate America. A former Navy Surface Warfare offi cer, Young holds a masters degree in engineer- ing management from George Washington University and a bachelors degree in civil engineering from the University of Illinois. He can be contacted at dyoung@orioninter- national.com. Young also recently gave a presentation on recruiting and retaining military veterans for the Association of Equipment Manage- ment Professionals (AEMP). That presenta- tion can be downloaded at: http://www. aemp.org/fi les/2014/02/Young-Recruiting.pdf EquipmentWorld.com | May 2014 About our expert