New Study Helps Employers Reintegrate Military Veterans into Workplace
Booz Allen’s Armed Services Forum is an important resource for insights into easing the transition from battlefield to business environment.
They’re called “Workplace Warriors:” Civilian soldiers returning from active duty—often in combat zones—to jobs in the corporate world.
With the largest deployment of National Guard and Reservists since World War II under way, companies are finding that using best practices and disability management helps address the needs of workplace warriors during their reintegration back into civilian positions.
A guide called “Workplace Warrior: The Corporate Response to Deployment and Reintegration” identifies the challenges returning employees face and strategies and resources employers can use to support them. It was co-authored by the Workplace Warrior Think Tank, convened by the non-profit Disability Management Employer Coalition (DMEC) and three disability insurers: The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., MetLife, and Unum.
Participants in the think tank included leaders in disability management, representatives of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), USAA, and U.S. Army Reserves, and Booz Allen Hamilton associate Andy Gilbert, who was a tactical planner for the air war in Operation Desert Storm.
“DMEC invited Booz Allen to share what we’ve learned through the firm’s Armed Services Forum,” he says. Gilbert and principal John Darocha co-founded the forum only months prior to 9/11 to incorporate members, veterans, and retirees of the military, Reserve, and National Guard into the Booz Allen culture through outreach and development programs.
The Armed Services Forum has provided the firm with crucial lessons about approaches and programs that ease the reintegration of staff returning from active duty. After Gilbert shared them with the think tank, many of these lessons found their way into the February 2008 “Workplace Warrior” guide, including suggestions about establishing a military leave and return policy and a clear communication plan to explain benefits and programs.
Booz Allen was named one of the nation’s Top 50 military-friendly employers by G.I. Jobs magazine, and provides generous leave policies for employee reservists who are called to active duty. The Armed Services Forum is just one of the firm’s initiatives to ease staff transition before and during deployment and help individuals return to being productive employees after their tours are over.
After deployed employees return, the “Workplace Warrior” guide advises providing mentoring programs to link returning civilian soldiers with veterans in the workforce. In addition, it lists potential red flags that may indicate an individual is struggling with reintegration, such as withdrawing from co-workers, exhibiting increased irritability, and consistently arriving at work late or leaving early.
Comprehensive Support from Numerous Departments and All Levels
U.S. involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan is creating long-term disability concerns for returning veterans. Three out of five veterans experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in some degree, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. More than 20% of citizen soldiers have been deployed more than once since 2001 and make the transition from war zone to workplace repeatedly.
Delayed effects of the war experience will be felt in the workplace for decades. To assist and retain returning employees and benefit from their knowledge and experience will require a long-term response from employers that addresses employee health, work, and family challenges resulting from long-term overseas assignments.
Mandatory compliance with the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) requires job protection for employees returning to work after military service. Booz Allen understands, however, that job security is only part of the picture, and provides additional benefits that correspond to the circumstances of the military leave, including supplemental compensation and continuation of health benefits for eligible employees.
Gilbert says employers often underestimate the psychological adjustments of returning veterans. Managers can support veterans by giving them meaningful work and checking in regularly on their progress. At Booz Allen, many managers increase professional development meetings with returning troops from once a month to once a week, and provide access to free counseling services for employees and their families.
Employer response to returning employee challenges should involve individuals from several company departments and all levels. The Workplace Warrior Guide recommends an effective employee assistance program (EAP) to address health issues such as PTSD, depression, and other personal challenges which can result from lengthy assignments in dangerous locations.
The guide also notes that lessons learned from addressing the needs of civilian soldiers can be applied to the broader employee population who return to the workforce after a serious illness or life-altering event.
There are fundamental business benefits in retaining veterans in the workforce, too. Not only do civilian soldiers bring back to the workplace enhanced skills in leadership but also specialized domain knowledge. Veterans know how the Department of Defense operates and can share that knowledge with colleagues who don’t have defense experience. They can also provide a networking framework for business, especially in intelligence and development of operations centers, says Gilbert.
“Companies can put forums and mentoring groups together at very little cost, but they have a high return in employee retention and advancement,” he says. “Veterans who have already made the transition are invaluable as mentors. We now have targeted mentoring capabilities that we didn’t have in the past, which help non-veterans understand how to manage staff who are veterans.
“Booz Allen’s Armed Services Forum underscores the firm’s commitment to diversity,” adds Gilbert. “A diverse staff offers a range of knowledge, abilities, and life experiences to their colleagues and clients. Studies show that heterogeneous teams will develop solutions that are more durable, have a greater scope of perspectives, and are embraced by more people, which better serve our clients short- and long-term needs.”
story posted March 17, 2008
