The Center for Talent Innovation's new study, Mission Critical:
Unlocking the Value of Veterans in the Workforce, reveals how companies
can ensure their veteran talent thrives in the corporate world. Veterans
represent a highly desirable talent pool when they transition to
civilian careers. They retain the passion for service and camaraderie
that drew them into the military, and they bring leadership and
technical skills honed in a pressure cooker. In recent years, corporate
employers have demonstrated they understand the potential of this
valuable cohort by greatly increasing their recruitment efforts. Yet
once veterans get through the doors of corporations, they languish. In a
matter of months, many ambitious, skilled veterans lose their drive,
failing to fulfill their leadership potential - more than half say they
don't aspire to hold a more senior position. Many of the remainder feel
stalled in their careers.
Why? First, leaders don't understand their potential. Second, veterans
feel distant from their teams and cover their veteran identity in an
effort to get closer. Third, they hunger for meaning and purpose at
work, something they found in the military but lack in civilian jobs.
Mission Critical explores these factors in-depth, especially as they
affect women and veterans of color, and offers solutions to companies
intent on keeping their veteran talent from tuning out and stalling out.
