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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

peter@recruitmilitary.com

214.415.2331

Questions?