the veteran hiring opportunity: getting beyond the hype ...€¦ · the veteran hiring hype...
TRANSCRIPT
The Veteran Hiring Opportunity:
Getting Beyond the Hype and Realizing the Potential
Texas Municipal Human Resources Association
Peter A. Gudmundsson
CEO, RecruitMilitary LLC
Peter A. Gudmundsson
CEO, RecruitMilitary LLC
May 4, 2017
Peter Gudmundsson, RM CEO
Agenda
• Dispelling the hype regarding veteran hiring
• The potential upside of veteran hiring
• Getting started
• Avoiding the pitfalls
• Q&A
The Veteran Hiring Hype
• Veterans are a victim group that require special consideration
– Veteran unemployment realities
– PTS/TBI
– Skills translation is an insurmountable challenge
• Bias is real – and goes both ways
– Check your bias
– Culture fit fear
– Entitlement
• Veterans can solve all your talent needs
– “Dependable, cheap and desperate”
Veteran vs. National Unemployment
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, March 2017
Check Your Bias and Knowledge
• PTS / TBI
• Culture Fit Fear
• Entitlement
• Not “cheap and desperate”
The Upside of Veteran Hiring
• Diversity “One Stop Shopping”
– Reflective of America (although only 16% female)
– Better educated
– Disabilities (18%)
• Screening and training
• Intangible and intangible skills
• Attributes
• Benefits to your brand
• Compliance
Selection and Screening
They volunteered, qualified and passed
Skills
Directly and indirectly applicable
Attributes
Character, Discipline, Resiliency, Teamwork
Brand Benefits
• Your products and services
• Employment brand
• Community standing – association with a trusted institution
Getting Started With Veteran Hiring
• Goal Setting and Corporate Support
• Employer Branding / Offer
• Sourcing / Engagement
• Measurement
• Retention
Building Corporate Support:
Motivation, Celebration and Measurement
• Understand and articulate goals of program
– What does success look like?
– What is the motivation?
• Quality talent, compliance, service
• Harness the support of veterans on staff
– Highlight their successes
– Set up employee resource group
– Use them to “translate” and interpret military resumes
• Identify, agree upon and publish metrics
– Cost per quality hire
• Educate executive and hiring managers
– Address bias and prejudice directly
Why Should Veterans Work for You?
• Mission
• Money
• Mentorship
• Momentum
Are you really an attractive place to work?
Engagement and Sourcing Veterans
• Live events (Career Fairs)
– All producers are not the same
– Free vs. paid
– Insist on historical data
– Base vs. destination cities
– Judged by the company you keep
• Digital solutions
– Dedicated veteran job boards
– Targeted email campaigns
– Enewsletters
• Media brand building
– Print and electronic
Avoiding the Pitfalls
• Under-resourcing
– Thinking it should be free
• Ignoring retention
• Failing to address biases directly
• Lack of C-Suite support (beyond lip service)
• Unrealistic expectations
• Not measuring
Summary
• Act – attack!
• Educate
– Know facts
– Leverage insiders
– Address bias directly
– Clear goals
• Engage & Source
– Invest
– Seek to understand
• Retain
– Veterans are first and foremost like anyone else (only better!)
Peter A. Gudmundsson
CEO/President
214.415.2331
Questions?