Happy Veteran’s Day to all the brave women and men who have served our country in the past, and to those who serve today for continuing to keep us safe. Your valuable and selfless work to protect and honor our country has helped build our great nation and kept it strong.
In celebration of the holiday, I would like to go a step beyond just sharing our tremendous gratitude for veterans and their service – and instead, discuss why hiring them is such a value to the workplace.
Service in the military creates hard-working, ethical employees who understand how to perform under pressure and stay motivated even when facing adversity or criticism. These men and women enter the job force with a specific and valuable set of skills that are often unparalleled by those with traditional work training.
Below are a few of the strengths that we have witnessed in our experience employing veterans:
Trained to Lead. Veterans are trained to be goal-oriented and highly disciplined team players. They understand how to take directives seriously and respect leadership, while also being trained to lead by example and inspire others. These soft skills are harder to teach in the workplace and veterans come to the table with these attributes already established and practiced in real life, critical situations.
Understanding Diversity. Diversity is a strength that CMC has always focused on and is a priority that we have woven throughout our hiring process and practices.
Hiring veterans supports our diversity efforts. They have worked side-by-side with people of different races, ethnic backgrounds, genders and religions – as well as working with individuals with varying mental and physical disabilities and capabilities. They have the sensitivity to cooperate effectively and have encountered situations and life experiences that many others have not.
Dedicated and Disciplined. Veterans are dependable employees who know how to work well under pressure and cope with challenges. They have faced high stress situations and understand how to remain calm and controlled under pressure. Studies have shown that veterans are dedicated employees who are less likely to leave an organization, which is beneficial from a training perspective and helps lessen turnover rate.
CMC currently employs veterans across our footprint. We participate in numerous veteran job fairs annually to connect with vets and share opportunities at CMC, and several of our human resources staff have studied toward the Veterans at Work SHRM certificate, which is an educational program that focuses on best practices to attract, hire and retain veterans. We recognize the positive work environment that veterans help create and value their ability to lead and make a difference – not just in the security of our country, but also to our day-to-day business operations and success.
Thanks again to all the nation’s veterans for your service.
(About the Author: Tina Baldt, PHR, SHRM-CP, is a Human Resources Manager at CMC Energy’s Ft. Washington, PA location. She has been with CMC since 2014.)