Hiring veterans benefits both sides
That person behind the counter or on the aisle you encounter today just might be a veteran.
Veterans and reservists help staff and run operations for lots of businesses both locally and across the nation, including restaurants, manufacturers, retailers and freight shippers.
One company, Walmart, is more than halfway to its goal of hiring 250,000 veterans by 2020, and a manager of one of its local Supercenters said that effort benefits the company and the people it hires.
Nick Hudson, manager of the company's Shawnee Supercenter, is a reservist in the Oklahoma National Guard who opted to make retail his new career as he wrapped up a second deployment to Iraq in 2008.
Hudson, whose military job involves operating heavy construction equipment, said he’d been a full-time soldier for about six years by then, working for the Oklahoma Military Department at the Thunderbird Youth Academy in Pryor.
“I had worked for Walmart in college as a cashier, and during my second deployment, I was thinking I’d like to do something different,” Hudson said.
“I heard about the company’s management program and that it was looking for veterans, so I threw my name in the hat to see where it might take me.”
He started with the firm in a management training program at a store in Sapulpa. After that, Hudson said he became a co-manager at a Broken Arrow store, then moved to Okmulgee to manage the Walmart there for five years.
He moved to the store in Shawnee about 18 months ago.
“I think it’s a big deal,” Hudson said, referring to Walmart’s veterans program, adding that the company knows it can expect to get high quality employees that way.
“In the military, some of the first things we are taught are discipline and attention to detail, and we use those skills every day at Walmart,” Hudson said. “We know how to work hard, how to accomplish the mission by working through issues.”
Walmart calls its program the Veterans Welcome Home Commitment.
Through the program, it guarantees it will offer a position at Walmart or Sam’s Club to every veteran who’s honorably discharged after Memorial Day 2013, or later.
So far, the company said it’s hired about 188,000 veterans and promoted 28,000 more.
Company officials also view military veterans honorably discharged before 2013 as potentially desirable employees, based upon their subsequent training and experiences.
Officials said Walmart makes every attempt to place qualified veteran applicants within 50 miles of their requested locations, and said the company offers career counseling to veterans to help them obtain a job best matching their skills and experiences.
Federal recognition
Walmart and hundreds of other companies that make hiring veterans a priority are about to get some attention from the U.S. Labor Department through a recognition program Congress created earlier this year.
The Honoring Investments in Recruiting and Employing (HIRE) American Military Veterans Act, signed by President Donald Trump in May, creates the HIRE Vets Medallion Program to provide that recognition.
The medallion program will recognize about 300 participating employers in 2018 before being expanded the following year, federal officials said.
“Through their military service, America’s veterans have leadership skills, technical expertise, and proven problem-solving capabilities. These are attributes that any employer would want,” said Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta, as part of a news release issued this month previewing the coming program.
Companies acknowledged through the program will be able to show off HIRE Vets Medallions on their websites and within their social media posts and in printed materials.
Employers seeking further information should visit HIREVets.gov.
Support helps
Hudson, who continues to regularly drill with the Oklahoma National Guard, said Walmart also is supportive of his commitment to continue serving the nation while working for the retailer.
He already has deployed once to Afghanistan since joining the company’s management ranks.
Plus, Hudson observed it isn’t always easy for a veteran to find a job outside of the military field.
“We have served our country, and to be able to come out and find a job, that’s pretty important to me,” Hudson said.