9 Useful Tips for Hiring Veterans and Assisting the Community

If you’re committed to giving ex-military officials a chance to rejoin the workforce with ease, then these tips for hiring veterans should put you on the right path. Switching to the corporate setting can be difficult for these individuals and helping them adapt to office life is an essential part of the hiring process. Let’s take a look at some HR strategies for retaining the veteran workforce. 

Every workforce is built by a diverse cast or workers who come from different backgrounds and have considerably different experiences. Veterans are no different. They have the skills and capabilities to fit into an organization effectively but the transition process can be rough sometimes. Their familiarity with the corporate world may vary, but they all come with a vast wealth of knowledge and experience and have an deep understanding of what it means to work hard. Helping them settle into the workforce is the least that can be done to help them kickstart the next step in their careers. 

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Boosting the Community and the Company—Useful Tips for Hiring Veterans

After veterans complete their service and move to the next stage of their careers, the government provides them with a certain number of resources and support systems to help them settle into a new routine. These resources help veterans to a degree, but organizations that hire them can do more to help their new workers settle in.

Not only will this be beneficial to the worker and the community at large, but the organization will also find a worker who is willing to do their best at the tasks that are assigned to them. Following through with the best practices of hiring veterans can start the association between employer and employee on a positive note and help set up a lasting relationship that benefits everyone involved. 

According to the Department of Labor, approximately 200,000 military officials leave the U.S. military service and return to civilian life, which means a sizable number of them also re-enter the workforce when they return. Providing a fulfilling career for them is not difficult, but it does require a dedicated approach. Let’s take a look at some of the best business practices and HR strategies for hiring veterans.

Create a Clear Mission Statement and Hiring Program 

If you want to focus resources on hiring veterans, avoid combining it with existing diversity hiring programs and create a separate team to focus on hiring them. These veterans may not be found in the regular pool of candidates that the company hires from, so it is be best to dedicate a team to the effort. There are many job fairs and other veteran-centered events where you can identify and reach out to the talent directly.

Create a clear picture of what your hiring policy will entail and what support you will be offering to the veterans you hire. The recruitment team might also benefit from training on identifying and hiring veterans. It is also good to include any existing veterans on your team in this planning stage so you can gain some insight from their experiences.

Regularly Engage With the Local Community of Veterans

Talking directly with veterans can provide the necessary insight that online guides and third-person accounts may not be able to provide. Engaging with the community can help structure the hiring strategy better as well as aid in creating job descriptions that are more tailored to cater to them. This will also reassert the organization’s commitment to the well-being of veterans. 

Identify Roles Best Suited for the Individuals You Want to Hire

Veterans could be qualified to fulfill just about any role in your organization considering the vast amount of roles they have held in the military. Don’t exclude them from taking on those positions, but if you have specific roles that might appeal to them or ones that they will be able to take up without a hitch, be sure to advertise those positions clearly, along with the skill sets necessary for that job. 

Create Employee Resource Groups For the Veterans

When strategizing on the best ways to retain veterans in the workforce, it can be helpful to create a community for them within the organization where they can find support among people who have had similar experiences. Establish a clear employee resource group where the hired workers can collectively connect and inform the organization of HR strategies that would benefit them.

Create a Strong Onboarding Program

One of the top tips for hiring veterans is to create a very detailed system of onboarding incoming veterans. Helping them adapt to the minor details of how the organization and the industry work might take some additional time, but it is well worth the effort.

This can help the veterans rid themselves of any initial discomfort and take on their new responsibilities much more easily. 

Provide Training and Upskilling Programs

Even employees who have never stepped away from civilian life or the corporate workforce can have trouble keeping up with the latest trends in technology and the various industries that exist today. Providing training programs that help employees catch up to the workforce in terms of marketable skills is one of the best practices in hiring veterans.

From understanding AI to the ins and outs of HRIS systems, a lot of beneficial knowledge can be imparted. Any kind of certification program or educational support might also go a long way.

Devise a Plan for Retaining Veterans in the Workforce

While we discuss the best practices for hiring veterans, retention strategies are just as important. The plan to support veterans needs to go beyond welcoming them to the workforce and should extend to the resources they need to continue working at the organization.

Discussing viable benefits with the team and adding on to the strategy over time is something that should be prioritized long term. These support systems need to keep evolving regularly to accommodate the workers who step into the organization. 

Provide Support For Physical and Mental Well-Being

Veteran workers can have a lot of past experiences that weigh heavily on them, both mentally and physically. One of the most important tips for hiring veterans is to ensure there are well-being benefits that are offered to help balance their past experiences, as well as understand the challenges they are currently facing in their transition to civilian life. Access to trained professionals who can help discuss and navigate some of the mental challenges can be very useful.

Look Into the Federal, State, and Non-Profit Support Available

There are many existing systems that help veterans settle into civilian life and organizations can turn to them to help directly or find help from these resources. Teaming up with existing systems is a much better strategy than creating something entirely from scratch that hasn’t been tested yet. Looking into how you can work with these organizations is among the best practices for hiring veterans as they can be a very helpful source of information on your next steps. 

These tips for hiring veterans are a good start to creating an efficient strategy that benefits the community as a whole. These best practices for hiring and retaining veterans are essential in creating a thriving community within the organization for years to come.

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