Veteran ERGs are not just feel-good support groups. Smart businesses leverage the power of veteran ERGs to improve decision-making and reach competitive goals.
By Royston Arch
One of the challenges of many Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) is the perception they are tight-knit support groups with an agenda that is more personal than business focused. While they do offer members opportunities to network and share experiences and knowledge, they can be valuable groups for improving business decisions around Human Resources processes, employee engagement, and marketing, giving the business a competitive advantage.
Veteran ERGs are particularly important to reaching competitive goals because they can provide a critical knowledge link between the veteran community and business leaders.
Lost Opportunity
ERGs are initially created as empowerment groups for people who are at risk of being excluded from companies largely run by older white males. Veteran ERGs came into popularity as millions returned home from around the world as the U.S. attempted to end involvement in places like Afghanistan. Companies discovered they were not adept at translating military service and knowledge to determine who would be suitable for the corporate environment. At the same time, public discussions about issues like PTSD created fear among non-veterans, and the topic of inclusion of people with disabilities rose to the surface.
In response, many formed a veteran ERG. Veterans, with or without disabilities, joined ERGs in order to gain confidence, express concerns, better understand the corporate culture, and share their transitioning experiences and experiences in their corporate positions.
Discussing these topics among themselves, often with a single executive sponsoring the ERG, is important to veterans. However, it is lost opportunity when the ERG is not leveraged for the good of the whole business – strengthening an inclusive corporate culture, increasing general leadership knowledge of the challenges veterans make, removing bias from human capital processes, and understanding the veteran market.
Many ERGs rely on the executive to share knowledge with the general organization, and it does not happen. Having management representation on the veteran ERG is a good decision. The challenge is driving change in the organization by taking the information shared in the ERG and utilizing it to reach corporate goals.
Harnessing the Power of the Veteran ERG
Realizing the full power of veteran ERGs can improve corporate decision-making. This is especially true for developing and managing a truly inclusive talent process.
Veterans can offer insights on converting military language into unbiased recruiting language. They can help recruiters understand the perspectives of veterans, including their fear of not succeeding in the corporate environment.
One of the important roles that veteran ERG members can play is as a recruiter, attending corporate job fairs and networking events where they can share a company's culture of diversity and inclusion. Veteran employees can help decision-makers become the employer of choice by sharing their knowledge with hiring managers, especially those who remain fearful of hiring disabled veterans. ERG members can then assist hiring managers with the selection of veterans most likely to succeed as employees.
The veteran ERG can partner with Human Resources in many ways. They include developing targeted recruitment strategies and serving as a consulting group when veteran specific issues arise. Managers and supervisors that understand veteran perspectives and challenges are more likely to make good talent management decisions during the transition stage and career planning. The high turnover rate of veteran employees is often due to the struggle veterans go through in adapting to civilian employment. Utilizing the knowledge and experience of veterans in this manner can improve retention rates.
Marketplace Decisions
Internally, the veteran ERG can improve the talent management decisions. The same ERG can help corporate leaders make marketing decisions to attract veteran customers. Corporate social responsibility includes engaging local communities, and most communities have a large population of veterans and active military members in their midst.
Decisions about branding and utilization of marketing resources is made easier in many ways. There have been many recent incidences when companies missed the mark in their marketing, in television ads and on social media. For example, Memorial Day is a day of remembrance for those who died while serving the country. Using social media to say "thank you for your service" or "happy Memorial Day" is a painful reminder for family and friends that their loved ones are no longer able to serve and happiness is not possible. Thanking veterans for their service is best saved for Veterans Day.
Marketing decisions across the board need to incorporate a deep understanding of the veteran's perspective. The marketing should connect the brand to the veteran community.
Jockey hired disabled veteran Chris Etten in a 2016 advertising campaign called "Show Em" which features everyday heroes and not celebrities. Chris lost both legs to an IED in Afghanistan. What is remarkable about the Chris Etten ad is that is not about his disability. It is about showcasing his perseverance and his ability to overcome one of the most difficult challenges a human can experience. Without Etten's perspective and story, it would have been tempting to focus on the disability and try to evoke feelings of pity. Instead, it is inspiring and gives the marketplace a better understanding of veteran endurance.
Respect the Information Veterans Can Share
The members of veteran ERGs have the stories, perspectives and knowledge that can help businesses make decisions. Veteran ERGs should not be viewed as a sort of corporate "pity party" because they hold the keys to unlocking veteran engagement as employees and customers.
Companies that treat, through their actions, members of veteran ERGs as people who have little to share with non-veterans are more likely to miss opportunities to strengthen their brand, attract veterans as employees and customers, and avoid brand-damaging mistakes.
The bond that veterans share offers a powerful model for building an inclusive culture – find something that all employees have in common and leverage that bond for better decision-making.