Earlier this month we talked about how your #onboarding process can set the tone for newly hired #veterans and how that inspires #retention. Today we present options for post on-boarding programming to ensure that your servicemember hire stays motivated and engaged. Hiring vets brings a #diverse #perspective and community to your organization with significant #leadership and #teamwork benefits. Being #inclusive is how you retain and leverage that #diversity. So, what does inclusion for vets look like?
1. Teach Your Staff the Lingo. Just as your culture has created its own language,
servicemembers come with their own vocabulary. So while a manager and employee may both speak English, they may not be saying the same thing. Miscommunication will result in friction and expectations management issues. Mitigate this with a culture class for #managers and team members to provide context regarding their teammate’s language, attitudes, and perspectives. Ideally, this will come from a great manager who can facilitate the conversation, but if you need support in developing the substantive content or facilitating the conversation, Nextpat is here to support you!
2. Ensure Transparency in Promotions and Acknowledgement. The military has clear, objective #promotion requirements. Civilian corporations rarely have similar guidelines and often operate on “unspoken rules.” Being explicit about expectations regarding promotions, how they are achieved, and what the veteran can do to pursue them will help them acculturate faster and promote organizational goals.
3. Provide Professional Development Opportunities. The military is renowned for its leadership development at every level. It uses an array of training media that allow servicemembers to continue learning, growing, adapting, and taking on greater responsibility or scope despite their location or grade. Actively investing and managing continued servicemember professional development will engender loyalty and develop skills or qualities to be used by the organization in furtherance of its mission.
4. Align fit, needs, and priorities. As the servicemember grows in your organization continue to ensure that expertise and experience align with their position. It should always remain clear to them why their role is important to your mission. This helps them align purpose and stay motivated.
5. Create leadership supported Employee Resource Groups and Resource Pages. As noted during on-boarding, veterans have unique needs. Creating resource groups and pages to help them navigate their new reality can support them as they transition. This might include partner resources with local or national groups focused on supporting veterans or creating a coaching program geared to support veteran and family transition. You may also seek a low-budget solution like a resource page where veterans can share experiences and ask questions about how to navigate this new environment.
6. Know Your Data. Follow the career progression of your veteran and other diversity
hires. Compare their promotion numbers, leadership positions, how long it took to get there with the rest of the organization. Trends that emerge will help identify where you lose veterans and what might help mitigate that loss. If you need support in analyzing this data and optimizing solutions, please reach out!
Veterans bring unique skills, leadership experience, and diversity to organizations. After investing in their recruitment, make sure they don’t become disenchanted with the final mile. Your continuous engagement and inclusive culture are pre-requisites to ensuring greater retention of these talented employees.
If you need consulting services to develop an internal mentoring program, are interested in creating a cultural orientation program for managers, implementing a coaching program, or analyzing your retention and recruitment of veterans or other diverse hires, please reach out to Nextpat at business@nextpat.us.
Comments