By Mark Herbert
President, Incentive Solutions and Loyaltyworks
 
Why is it that U.S. businesses can’t seem to motivate and retain ex-military employees? Reports by the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicate that veteran unemployment rates are the lowest they’ve been in seven years, but veteran underemployment—the ability to find sustainable, well-paying work that utilizes their skills—remains high. A recent veteran employee retention study found that about half of veterans leave their first post-separation jobs after less than a year. This is a strong indicator that, even though business leaders are hiring more vets, they can’t keep them long and companies are failing in the areas of employee engagement and motivation.

Soldiers develop a unique and valuable skill set in the military, but most employers don’t understand how those skills can translate into work environments. This often leaves veterans with jobs that don’t utilize their efficient, specialized skills and qualifications.

Chad Carter, a veteran who was recently hired by Atlanta incentive company Incentive Solutions as a software developer, was well aware of this phenomenon before he even joined the military. “Growing up, my dad was on the bomb squad in the military,” Carter says, “and his biggest fear was being a security guard.” Carter says his father, who also went into computer programming after his service, always taught him to set himself up for the future.

Veterans themselves are often well aware that this disconnect between their military skills and civilian jobs can impact their success, leaving them with jobs they don’t find engaging or meaningful. Many vets, like Carter, do what they can to set themselves up for a fruitful post-separation career. So why are civilian employers still dropping the ball when it comes to hiring the right vet for the right role?

A recent National Public Radio (NPR) story on veteran underemployment theorized that, “at one point in time, people in business and government had military experience. But now it's only a tiny percentage who served, so a tiny number who know that a corpsman has a lot of medical knowledge or a quartermaster knows about logistics.”

Business leaders should educate themselves on what veterans are capable of, so they can hire vets into the engaging, motivating, and sustainable roles they’re suited for. Three important aspects of military training that make veterans exceptional employees are:

Thorough, specialized training and knowledge

First of all, employers should understand that hiring a vet means taking on an employee with “the highest quality training the world has to offer,” according to the organization Leave No Veteran Behind. After boot camp, non-Infantry soldiers enter Advanced Individual Training (AIT), where they receive specialized, in-field, hands-on instruction. AIT is typically on par with college and skill certification requirements. According to the Today’s Military site, “service members can receive equivalent college credit for military experience, training and awards that more than 2,300 colleges and universities recognize.”

The military ensures that those in training are taught by high-level instructors. The rigorous requirements to become a military instructor include extensive experience, high-level ranking, good educational background, psychiatric evaluation, and recommendations from supervisors such as unit commanders attesting to good conduct and character. Even financial situation and spending habits are reviewed.

Those in the military who fill Military Occupations Specialties (MOS) jobs must meet minimum score requirements on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) test, which measures general, mechanical, administrative, and electrical knowledge. These categories are broken down even further so instructors can assess very specific areas of a trainee’s knowledge and ensure they’re fully equipped to do their job. For instance, a Financial Management Technician must have an ASVAB score of at least 101 in clerical knowledge.
 
Experience with the latest, most advanced technology

Vets who worked on machinery and electronic equipment in the military most likely operated with the latest, most high-quality technology available. This makes vets especially suited to careers in fields like IT, computer programming, and software development.

Chad Carter, for example, was in AIT for 13 months to become a Patriot Missile Systems Operator. “I learned to operate a launcher radar set, a weapons control computer, and I worked with fiber optics, all in 1992,” he says, “The Internet wasn’t available to the public back then, but we were already working with computer networks. It was in-depth, high-grade training in technology I’d never used before, but it ended up being applicable later.”

Unique teamwork and strategic thinking experience

Along with thorough training for specific skills, military experience prepared veterans like Carter with “soft skills” like teamwork and strategic thinking.

“In AIT, you have to think outside the box,” he says. “You’re not spoon-fed the answers and you have to teach yourself how to learn the most efficient way you can. We had to build our own house in Iraq, for example, and luckily a guy in our platoon had a background in construction and taught us. When you make big decisions and you have important jobs to do, you want all options on the table, so everyone has a voice.”

The confidence gained from mastering important skills to solve problems and complete missions together prepares soldiers mentally to succeed in any realm. Carter, who was a platoon leader, says, “You become comfortable in your own skin and with receiving critique,” Carter says. “You get past thinking ‘I messed up.’ Instead, you say, ‘Tell me why, so I can fix it.’”

It’s unlikely that today’s employers are passing up veteran job candidates out of prejudice. The more probable explanation is that business leaders simply aren’t aware of veterans’ intensive, high-quality training or their unique self-developing experiences with teamwork and “soft skill” building. The effective incorporation of veterans into the U.S. workforce is not just of interest to employers and business leaders. All U.S. taxpayers contribute to the development and training of our military. By learning more about veterans’ military training and experience, we can better understand how to motivate employees who have left the military and retain our workforce’s most valuable, yet overlooked group.

Mark Herbert is an incentive industry veteran with more than 25 years of experience, much of it in the area of business operations. Mark is responsible for the day to day management of the Incentive Solutions Group of Companies, including Incentive Solutions and Loyaltyworks. He is also affiliated with many charitable events, most notably the distinguished clown corps, a group of Atlanta business people who donate both money and time to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. http://incentivesolutions.com http://www.loyaltyworks.com/