Leveraging Talent
Since 2013, Blackstone, a national private equity firm, has leveraged their portfolio of companies to hire over 50,000 Veterans. Michael McDermott was integral in helping to implement veteran initiatives for Blackstone; eventually overseeing efforts to become a founding coalition member of the Hiring 100k Military Spouse initiative at Hiring Our Heroes. Listen in as Michael explains the unique opportunities Blackstone is able to offer military spouses and veterans, alike, and why they have implemented policies to retain talent when possible.
Top Takeaways from Leveraging Talent:
1. Military spouses are an incredible resource for any company and are able to make huge contributions in the workforce.
“If you stop looking at spouses as you know they’re going to move in two or three years and instead you simply say they’re a resource and why they’re here we’re going to utilize them because anyone can leave in two to three years.” –Michael McDermott, Advisor, Blackstone
2. Veteran employment the right thing to do and is great for business.
“Veterans are a critical element to our growth. Our initiative is not based on just it’s the right thing to do, and it is, of course, the right thing to do, but it is also economically a really great thing to do. It’s very sound and we have found our veterans produce, get promoted quicker, and tend to be a stickier resource because they have better retention levels, they bring a level of diversity into our organizations and have a diversity of experience.”–Michael McDermott, Advisor, Blackstone
3. Blackstone recognized the contributions of veterans, military spouses, and caregivers and formed their own initiative in addition to joining Hiring Our Heroe’s Hiring 100,000 Military Spouses campaign.
“All of these things make veteran, spouse and caregiver hires have an impact on our firms. We’ve seen the veteran unemployment rate go down, but the number for spouses at 16% is a huge tragedy and an opportunity. We recognize that which is why we are a founding partner for the [Hiring 100,000 Military Spouses] initiative.”–Michael McDermott, Advisor, Blackstone
