Veterans make up a key demographic in the American total workforce. This demographic grows each year as thousands of new veterans join the total workforce. However, while many employers hire veteran workers, most still fail to recognize the value of a candidate with strong military experience.
That said, the post-COVID landscape has ushered in changes across the board in the business world. With this rapid transformation, new hiring needs have emerged. Veteran workers often possess incredibly useful professional skills, which is why the following veteran workplace trends are fast gaining traction:
Veteran Workplace Trends Show a Growing Demand for Critical Skills
Today’s workplace trends often dictate the composition of future workforces, and with veterans, there can be some additional complexity. The biggest hurdle when hiring veterans is a preconception that military experience and skills don’t transfer well into civilian roles.
While this is an inherently biased and myopic approach to recruitment, there are certain critical skills that do transfer over into any context. In the business world emerging after COVID-19, these skills have become even more desirable.
Businesses that value adaptability and agility, therefore, seem to be demanding more veteran workers with these four crucial skills:
#1. Successfully Managing High-Pressure Situations
Professional environments are extremely competitive these days. Every business naturally faces significant pressure from competitors, all fighting for a slice of market share. The COVID-19 pandemic has proven just how quickly a wide-ranging crisis can arise.
Businesses, therefore, don’t just need workers with technical skills and college degrees; they also need employees in key roles who can handle the intense pressure of change, and make the right decisions in critical moments.
Conducting business is rarely easy, and even less so following a global pandemic. Organizations now recognize the value of a worker that can think clearly “under fire”. Veterans present a logical choice of candidate in this respect, having undergone the training and conditioning needed to handle intense pressure successfully.
#2. Proactively Handling Tasks and Workflows
A worker who is proactive at managing tasks, workflows, teams, and even projects is an asset to any employer. The ability not simply to be efficient, but also proactively lead by example is a very rare but effective quality in a professional setting. Businesses require the right people in leadership roles, and many will often have leadership programs in place to offer these workers the skills they need.
From both a management and a hiring perspective, training a worker to be a leader can be a slow process with varying degrees of success. Conversely, hiring a candidate that already possesses and can demonstrate these qualities is much more efficient.
If this process is properly overseen, such as with a good veteran staffing firm, a business has a higher probability of acquiring leadership talent successfully. For veterans, managing various aspects of military life in line with overall objectives is one of the most valuable transferable skills in demand right now.
#3. Progressively Working Towards Challenging Goals
There is no denying the business world is a challenging one. Having to face failure and other difficult outcomes, therefore, is a lot more common than most people believe. Of course, failure and adversity do have an impact on the workers or teams responsible for it. Being able to face adversity and keep moving makes all the difference.
A motivated veteran in the right role will be able to take point in difficult business situations, continuing to progress towards desired goals. This “Mission First” mindset allows a veteran hire to roll with the punches and look for ways to keep moving forward.
#4. Effectively Creating Out-Of-The-Box Solutions
Finally, innovation and creative approaches will always remain a core soft skill that all businesses need in their workforces. Military experience often leads personnel into situations where they must be quick on their feet and adept at decision-making.
Most battlefields and conflict zones have rapidly changing variables that can impact success, and with other military personnel depending on the right decision, veterans quickly learn to make the right moves, even if they may deviate from the original plan.
This core ability to adapt rapidly in response to changing conditions makes veterans one of the most valuable candidates a business can hire.