{"id":21513,"date":"2023-08-03T13:30:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-03T13:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=21513"},"modified":"2023-08-04T06:41:30","modified_gmt":"2023-08-04T06:41:30","slug":"bridge-my-return-businesses-should-pick-from-veteran-talent-pool","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=21513","title":{"rendered":"Bridge My Return: Businesses should pick from Veteran talent pool"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>On most days, the government reports that there are some 10 million job openings in the U.S., with leaders from businesses in a variety of industries reporting a struggle to find workers.<\/p>\n<p>But in their efforts to find workers, are employers tapping all of the available talent pools? Bob Hogan\u2014founder and CEO of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bridgemyreturn.com\/\">Chicago-based Bridge My Return<\/a>, a tech-enabled military hiring platform\u2014doesn\u2019t think so.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, Hogan said the under-employment of Veterans is far greater than in the general population, and it\u2019s not going away any time soon.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re not talking about (Veteran) unemployment; that tends to mirror the general population whether times are good or bad,\u201d said Hogan, a graduate of Notre Dame. \u201cUnderemployment\u2026 is always far worse whether times are good or bad.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of goodwill that employers have toward hiring military talent. But despite all that goodwill, Veterans are not experiencing private sector success at acceptable levels,\u201d Hogan added. \u201cThere are consequences to this. If this is what awaits Veterans\u2014remember, it\u2019s an all-volunteer military\u2014when they get out, who\u2019s going to want to go in?\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/hiring-our-heroes-career-summit-job-fair-4.png\"><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Hogan talked about the issue during a webinar, \u201cHiring Military Talent: Challenges and Opportunities,\u201d presented by the National Association of Business Resources in partnership with the Best and Brightest Programs, Corp! Magazine and MichBusiness.<\/p>\n<p>The folks at <a href=\"https:\/\/news.va.gov\/103613\/employment-assistance\/\">Bridge My Return<\/a> have done a deeper dive into why Veterans are struggling to get hired. Hogan believes they\u2019ve discovered some reasons:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Stereotyping.\u00a0There\u2019s a certain amount of stereotyping, or pigeonholing, going on. Potential employers are saying Veterans should stick to the same careers they had in the military.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>According to Hogan, that\u2019s the advice being given and that\u2019s the advice being heeded. But he sees \u201ca couple of problems\u201d with that.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne, if that was your job in the Army, (but) you know a whole lot more than (that),\u201d he said. \u201cSecond, it doesn\u2019t address the fact that 70% of the people coming out of the military don\u2019t want to do what they did in the military.\u201d<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Skill misunderstanding.\u00a0Service members, particularly enlisted members, have trouble communicating their military skills and experiences into a language those in the private sector can understand.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u201cBut the private sector has an equally difficult time making that translation in the other direction,\u201d Hogan said. \u201cTherein lies the impasse.\u201d<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Acclimation difficulty.\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s real. It\u2019s like a principle of physics or chemistry,\u201d Hogan said. \u201cAcclimation difficulty\u2014transition\u2014is hard. It has no biases. It doesn\u2019t matter if you\u2019re a woman or a man, or what the color of your skin is, or what rank you attained, or your education level or how old you are\u2014it\u2019s just hard.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Businesses that decline to hire Veterans are missing out on a pretty big talent pool. According to statistics from Statista, there are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>1.3 million men and women serving on active duty globally.<\/li>\n<li>Some 16% of them are women, and that figure is climbing.<\/li>\n<li>Active-duty totals by branch:\n<ul>\n<li>Army \u2013 482,000Navy \u2013 343,000Marine Corps \u2013 179,000Air Force \u2013 328,000Coast Guard \u2013 41,000<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Space Force \u2013 600<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>There are a little more than 800,000 National Guardsmen and Reservists.<\/li>\n<li>Less than 10% of the current population has served in the military.<\/li>\n<li>The Army invests up to $73,000 in each person who completes basic training. That includes:\n<ul>\n<li>A lot of training and schools.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Real-life experience and mentorship following training.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Leadership courses required with each promotion.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>78% have some sort of security clearance and background investigation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>According to statistics completed by Bridge My Return (BMR), there are about 200,000 to 250,000 service members that transition each year, 70% of whom do not want to do the same job they did in the military.<\/p>\n<p>Of the approximately 20 million Veterans in the United States, according to BMR, some 2 million are women and some 5 million are active or passive job seekers. When you add their spouses\/caregivers, that total jumps to some 7.5 million.<\/p>\n<p>The current labor market is such that companies of all sizes are challenged to find the talent they seek in the timeframe they have, Hogan said. \u201cThey\u2019re going to have to tap into untapped pools of talent. We would argue that military talent sits atop that list of untapped pools of talent.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The future of work trends, beyond automation, robotics and AI, is going to mean upskilling and re-skilling of the labor force.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s right in the wheelhouse of Veterans.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMilitary members have been trained to be trained,\u201d Hogan said. \u201cThey don\u2019t just accept training. They expect it, and when they get it, they devour it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Diversity, equity and inclusion programs are also at the forefront of the business model for many businesses. And the military, Hogan points out, is the \u201cmost diverse demographic in the country.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/bmr-logo-4.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/bmr-logo.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-122662\" width=\"380\" height=\"213\" srcset=\"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/bmr-logo-1.jpg,197 350w, https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/bmr-logo-2.jpg,411 730w, https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/bmr-logo-3.jpg,432 768w, https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/bmr-logo-4.jpg 1280w\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cAll three of these things\u2014current labor market challenges, future of work trends and pursuit of DEIB\u2014are happening at the same time,\u201d he said. \u201cThey favor both the military job seeker and those who seek to hire.<\/p>\n<p>So is the juice worth the squeeze? Hogan believes it is.<\/p>\n<p>First of all, there\u2019s the tax benefit. The Work Opportunity Tax Credit is a Federal tax credit available to employers for hiring and employing individuals from certain\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.irs.gov\/businesses\/small-businesses-self-employed\/work-opportunity-tax-credit\">targeted groups<\/a>\u00a0that have faced major barriers to employment. That list includes Veterans.<\/p>\n<p>But that, at least in Hogan\u2019s opinion, is the smallest of all the benefits to swimming in the Veteran talent pool. There are other cultural benefits he believes are more important:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Increased productivity. Two keys that drive productivity are work ethic and teamwork. \u201cVeterans really bring those traits to the table in spades,\u201d Hogan said. \u201cThat drives productivity.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Lower turnover rate. If a person is in a position that doesn\u2019t challenge them enough and doesn\u2019t pay them enough and is with an employer that doesn\u2019t \u201cget\u201d them, they\u2019re going to experience turnover. That\u2019s what\u2019s happened.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u201cBut if you get that right, if you get them in the right job, and it\u2019s paying them fair compensation, and it\u2019s an employer who understands them\u2026 their loyalty and their commitment takes over,\u201d Hogan said. \u201cThat translates into a lower turnover rate. As HR professionals, you know the benefits of reducing turnover.\u201d<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Leadership and management. This isn\u2019t just the officer level, there are a lot of mid-level enlisted service members who have significant experience leading teams. \u201cThey could be teams in combat,\u201d Hogan said. \u201cThere\u2019s also a lot of those mid-level enlisted folks who have management responsibility managing huge amounts of materials, huge amounts of financial assets.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u201cIf you\u2019re looking to hire promotable people, this could be especially useful to employers who are looking to promote from within and really tapping into this treasure trove of humble leaders,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Specialized training: There are certain roles in the military that have highly defined specialties: logistics, engineering, IT\u2026 there are a lot of folks in those roles who can make major contributions in the private sector.<\/li>\n<li>Problem-solving, decision-making, ability to improvise. \u201cTheir ability to improvise, their ability to adapt to dynamic and high-pressure situations is something they bring to the table,\u201d he said.<\/li>\n<li>Trustworthiness, honesty, attention to detail. Many Veterans have high-level security clearances and all are trained to meet the highest standards when it comes to ethics, safety and other organizational imperatives.<\/li>\n<li>Global perspectives. Many of these members have experience working with international teams, with allies around the world. \u201cSo they bring that world view, and again, operating in a globalized economy, that\u2019s of value to businesses,\u201d Hogan pointed out.<\/li>\n<li>Eagerness to grow, adaptability, versatility. (Veterans) want to learn, they devour training, and they\u2019re adaptable and versatile, Hogan said. \u201cA small employer looks for things like dependability, people who show up ready to work. They look for versatility. There\u2019s a lot of that in the military,\u201d he said. \u201cToday\u2019s military is about small units, so a small company with that type of opportunity will really resonate with a lot of people within the military community.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Being a military-ready company carries additional benefits with image, both internally and externally.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople feel really good about what you\u2019re doing in terms of bringing miliary talent into the organization and doing it for all the right reasons,\u201d Hogan said.<\/p>\n<p>So there\u2019s a large cadre of businesses struggling to find employees, and a deep talent pool of Veterans having a hard time getting hired. What does it take to get them together? Hogan has a list:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A serious jobseeker. \u201cIt\u2019s not going to happen without that.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>A military-ready employer.<\/li>\n<li>A champion on the employer side. \u201cYou need a champion on that side\u2026 an individual who\u2019s really passionate about this.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u201cThere are organizations that have enthusiastic executives who support the initiative,\u201d Hogan said. \u201cThey have an understanding of the business case and a willingness to invest in people who have the right behaviors.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey embrace skills and competencies-based hiring versus functional experience-based hiring,\u201d he added. \u201cIt\u2019s what you bring to the table rather than how long you sat in the chair.\u201d<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Technology to serve as the connective tissue between the jobseeker and the talent seeker like Bridge My Return has built.<\/li>\n<li>A human touch, a little bit of TLC.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s no longer enough to call Veterans heroes,\u201d Hogan said. \u201cIt\u2019s time to look at them as assets. It\u2019s no longer enough to thank them for their service, it\u2019s time to hire them for their talents.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On most days, the government reports that there are some 10 million job openings in the U.S., with leaders from businesses in a variety of industries reporting a struggle to find workers. But in their efforts to find workers, are employers tapping all of the available talent pools? Bob Hogan\u2014founder and CEO of Chicago-based Bridge [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":21515,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50,586,51],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21513","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-vetresources","category-bridge-my-return","category-vets-experience"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21513","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21513"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21513\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21526,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21513\/revisions\/21526"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/21515"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21513"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21513"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21513"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}