Improving military outreach and hiring is a common thread of discussion amongst talent acquisition professionals, many companies seek more information to effectively reach and hire this extremely talented and disciplined population.

To provide employers with additional insights and resources, the Staffing Management Association of Greater Chicago hosted a “Military Talent Programs: Best Practices Panel Discussion” earlier this month. DirectEmployers was a proud sponsor of this event, which brought together over 50 HR practitioners interested in improving their sourcing, recruiting and retaining strategies for military talent.

The panel was moderated by Thomas L. Aiello, Sears Holdings, Division Vice President, Public Relations. Panelists included: Marjorie James, Volt Workforce Solutions, President of Hire America’s Heroes’ and Program Manager at Volt Military; Vincent W. Patton, III, Ed.D., Military Advantage/Monster Worldwide, Director of Community Outreach; and Anthony Kaylin, EO Programs Manager from Member company IBM.

Shannon Offord, Director – Business Development attended on behalf of the DirectEmployers Members and staff. One of the takeaways he noted was the importance of helping employers understand how skills from the military translate into corporate America.

Similarly, the group of panelists talked about the need to improve the Military Crosswalk, a tool that allows job seekers to enter in their Military Occupation Classification (MOC) and receive corresponding O*NET codes. In other words, a tool designed to help align military education and job training with civilian workplace needs.

The Transition Assistance Program (TAP) was also discussed. Currently this program is only mandated by the Marines Corp despite the valuable resources it provides for all branches of military.

Here are a few recommendations provided by the panelists for employers:

• Tap into local vet reps – it’s like extending your recruitment staff
• Leverage current employees that are also veterans as a resource
• Recruiting from the military helps with your diversity outreach as well

For more resources and to learn how DirectEmployers helps Members with reaching veterans, visit our Military/Veterans page.