Veterans in the Workplace 2016

Overview

To bridge the gap between employers and their veteran workforces, Hiring Our Heroes (HOH) surveyed 400 human resources professionals and hiring managers to understand how businesses recruit and retain veterans and identify any misperceptions that exist about those veterans. In addition, HOH surveyed 1,000 veterans who have transitioned from the military within the last five years to assess the success of their transitions and discover challenges they faced.

Key findings included:

• American businesses have made tremendous strides over the last five years as they work to recruit veterans into their workforce. Veterans are now ranked as a top three recruiting target for companies, underscoring the commitment to and investment in veterans being made by American businesses.
• A civilian-military divide still exists, and greater efforts are required as veterans are onboarded into a civilian work environment, such as providing training to help co-workers understand the unique attributes of military service.
• Veterans continue to face challenges as they transition from the military, but the survey results show a clear relationship between a successful transition and when transitioning service members start their job search. Those who begin to plan for transition early (more than six months before separation) fare better than those who wait.
• Female veterans appear to have greater difficulty finding their first post-military job compared with their male counterparts. They also reported higher instances of being economically worse off after military service. The data warrants further analysis into whether female veterans experience greater challenges during transition.