1. SHRM Poll: Military Employment
February 20, 2012

2. Key Findings
Are organizations hiring veterans? Roughly two-thirds of organizations (64%) have hired veterans within the past 36 months. This percentage has increased 11 percentage points compared with 2010 (53%). Larger organizations (100 or more employees) were more likely than smaller organizations (1 to 99 employees) to have hired veterans within the past 36 months.
Do organizations make specific efforts to hire veterans? Of organizations that have hired veterans in the past 36 months, 45% had made specific efforts. Of organizations that have not hired any veterans in the past 36 months, only 15% had made a specific effort to recruit veterans.
Are organizations aware of effective resources for recruiting veterans? Only 13% of organizations are very familiar with effective resources for finding veteran job candidates. Government agencies were more likely to be aware of effective resources for recruiting veterans. Only a small percentage of organizations are very familiar with, and use, the Depart of Labor’s Disabled Veterans’ Outreach Program (3%) and/or Local Veterans’ Employment Representative (4%).

3. Key Findings
What online job boards are the most effective in helping to recruit veterans as potential job candidates? HR professionals indicated that Career Builder (39%), Monster (34%) and Indeed (23%) were the most effective for recruiting veterans.
What are the benefits of hiring employees with military experience? Among the organizations that had hired veterans within the past 36 months, the top three reported benefits were the candidate’s strong sense of responsibility (97%), and ability to see a task through to completion (96%) and the organization’s ability to give back to U.S. veterans by showing gratitude for their service (95%). Organizations that had not hired veterans within the past 36 months reported similar potential benefits.
What are the challenges of hiring employees with military experience? Approximately half of the organizations that have hired veterans in the past 36 months agreed or strongly agreed that the biggest challenges of hiring individuals with military experience are difficulty transitioning from a structure and hierarchy in the military culture to the civilian workplace culture (52%) and translating military skills to civilian job experience (50%). Post-traumatic stress disorder or other mental health issues (42%) were also reported as challenges when hiring veterans.

4. Within the past 36 months, has your organization hired any veterans as full-time, part-time or temporary/contract workers?
Note: Respondents who answered “Not sure” were excluded from this analysis.

5. Within the past 36 months, has your organization hired any veterans as full-time, part-time or temporary/contract workers?
Comparisons by organization staff size
Larger organizations (100 or more employees) are more likely than smaller organizations (1 to 99 employees) to have hired veterans within the past 36 months.
Smaller organizations
Larger organizations
Differences based on organization staff size
1 to 99 employees (41%)
100 to 499 employees (68%)
500 to 2,499 employees (74%)
2,500 to 24,999 employees (76%)
25,000 or more employees (94%)
Larger organizations > smaller organizations
Comparisons by organization sector
Publicly owned for-profit organizations and government agencies are more likely than privately owned for-profit organizations to have hired veterans within the past 36 months.
Organization sector
Differences based on organization sector
Privately owned for-profit (55%)
Publicly owned for-profit (82%)
Government (91%)
Publicly owned for-profit
Government
>
privately owned for-profit

6. Have not hired a veteran
Did your organization make a specific effort to recruit and hire veterans?
Have hired a veteran
in the past 36 months
Have not hired a veteran
2012
2010
Yes
45%
50%
15%
11%
No, but planning a recruitment effort
13%
14%
No, and don’t have any plans to
42%
39%
71%
78%
Note: n = (2012); n = (2010).

7. Smaller organizations Differences based on organization staff size
Did your organization make a specific effort to recruit and hire veterans?
Comparisons by organization staff size
Of organizations that have hired veterans in the past 36 months, larger organizations (25,000 or more employees) are more likely to have made a specific effort to recruit and hire veterans compared with smaller organizations (1 to 499 employees).
Smaller organizations
Larger organizations
Differences based on organization staff size
1 to 99 employees (37%)
100 to 499 employees (31%)
25,000 or more employees (85%)
Larger organizations > smaller organizations

8. How aware is your organization of effective resources for finding veteran job candidates?

9. How aware is your organization of effective resources for finding veteran job candidates?
Comparisons by organization sector
Government agencies are more likely to be very aware of effective resources for finding veteran job candidates compared with privately owned for-profit organizations.
Privately owned for-profit organizations
Government agencies
Differences based on organization sector 8%
32%
Government agencies >
privately owned for-profit organizations

10. How familiar are you with the following Department of Labor (DOL) veterans’ programs? Have you used either of these programs in your organization’s recruiting?
Not at all familiar
Somewhat familiar, but do not use
Somewhat familiar and use
Very familiar, but do not use
Very familiar and use
2012
2010
Disabled Veterans’ Outreach Program (DVOP)
67%
70%
21%
19% 4% 6% 5% 3% 2%
Local Veterans’ Employment Representative (LVER)
64%
68%
16% 7% 9%
Note: n = 291 (2012); n = (2010).

11. Smaller organizations Differences based on organization staff size
How familiar are you with the following Department of Labor (DOL) veterans’ programs? Have you used either of these programs in your organization’s recruiting?
Comparisons by organization staff size
Larger organizations (25,000 or more employees) are more likely to be very familiar with and use the Disabled Veterans’ Outreach Program compared with smaller organizations (1 to 99 employees and 2,500 to 24,999 employees).
Smaller organizations
Larger organizations
Differences based on organization staff size
1 to 99 employees (3%)
2,500 to 24,999 employees (2%)
25,000 or more employees (25%)
Larger organizations > smaller organizations

12. Not applicable; my organization does not use this source
Within the past 36 months, how effective have the following national online job boards been in helping your organization recruit veterans as potential job candidates?
Not applicable; my organization does not use this source
Not at all effective
Somewhat effective
Very effective
Vault
95% 3% 2% 0%
Militaryhire.com
94% 1%
Vetsuccess.gov
91% 6%
HireVetsFirst
90%
Recruit Military
Jobcentral
88% 4% 7%
Vetjobs.com 9%
CareerOneStop
87%
Simplyhired
84%
HotJobs
77%
12%
Indeed
69% 8%
19%
Monster
47%
18%
31%
Career Builder
46%
15%
32%
Note: n = Percentages may not total 100% due to rounding.

13. In addition to the job boards listed above, what other sources does your organization use to recruit veteran job candidates?
Civilianjobs.com
ClearanceJobs.com
Craigslist
Employerpartnership.org
HirePatriots.org
Hireveterans.com
Industry contacts
Job fairs
JSFirm.com
LinkedIn
Military.com
Recruiters and/or staffing agencies
Rigzone.com
State or local sponsored programs, employment listings or job boards
USAJobs.gov
Word of mouth/referrals
WorkSource
Note: List is not inclusive of all responses.

14. How likely is your organization to actively recruit unemployed veterans and/or unemployed veterans with disabilities now that there is a tax credit available?

15. To what extent would each of the following help your organization’s efforts to recruit and hire military veterans?
Would not help at all
Would help a little
Would help somewhat
Would help a lot
2012
2010
Assistance identifying and reaching out to qualified veterans 6% 9%
17%
20%
31%
39%
46%
32%
Information about how military skills map to civilian job-related skills 8% *
14%
34%
44%
Programs to help veterans transition their military skills to the civilian workplace 7%
11%
16%
18%
38%
35%
40%
36%
Programs to help veterans transition from military culture to civilian workplace culture
12%
19%
22%
37%
Programs to train veterans with additional skills for the civilian workplace
33%
Information about and support for dealing with potential challenges veterans may face, such as PTSD or other mental health issues
21%
24%
26%
Information about and support for dealing with potential challenges veterans with physical disabilities may face
30%
Note: n = (2012); n = (2010). Respondents who answered “N/A – Experienced in this area, do not need assistance” were excluded from this analysis. Percentages may not total 100% due to rounding. An asterisk (*) indicates that this response choice was not available in 2010.

16. Organizations that have hired veterans in the past 36 months
Do you agree that the following are benefits of hiring employees with military experience?
Organizations that have hired veterans in the past 36 months
(n = )
Organizations that have not hired veterans in the past 36 months, but have made an effort to do so
(n = 13-17)
Organizations that have not hired veterans in the past 36 months and have not made an effort to do so
(n = )
Strong sense of responsibility
97%
94%
99%
Ability to see a task through to completion
96%
98%
The organization’s ability to give back to U.S. veterans by showing gratitude for their service
95%
100%
Promoting patriotism at the organization
101%
Ability to work as part of a team
Ability to work under pressure
High degree of professionalism
93%
88%
Strong leadership skills
90%
Positive enhancement of the organization’s image and/or credibility
Note: The percentages above reflect only the responses of “strongly agree” or “agree.”

17. Organizations that have hired veterans in the past 36 months
Do you agree that the following are benefits of hiring employees with military experience? (continued)
Organizations that have hired veterans in the past 36 months
(n = )
Organizations that have not hired veterans in the past 36 months, but have made an effort to do so
(n = 13-17)
Organizations that have not hired veterans in the past 36 months and have not made an effort to do so
(n = )
Strong problem-solving skills
90%
87%
97%
Technology/information technology skills and training
88%
91%
Ability to multitask
79%
94%
Ability to adapt to changing situations quickly
99%
Job-specific skills
86%
85%
Global perspective
80%
93%
Strategic planning/foresight
Fulfillment of federal and/or state affirmative action requirements
78%
89%
Knowledge/expertise of defense issues
77%
Note: The percentages above reflect only the responses of “strongly agree” or “agree.”

18. Based on your overall experience, do you agree that each of the following is a challenge in hiring employees with military experience?
Note: n = Only respondents whose organization had hired veterans in the past 36 months were asked this question. Percentages may not total 100% due to rounding.

19. Demographics: Organization Industry
Percentage
Manufacturing
20%
Professional, scientific and technical services
15%
Health care and social assistance
13%
Finance and insurance
11%
Other services except public administration 8%
Educational services 7%
Public administration 6%
Construction of buildings; heavy and civil engineering construction; specialty trade contractors 4%
Transportation and warehousing
Accommodation and food services 3%
Retail trade
Real estate and rental and leasing
Note: n = 290. Percentages do not total 100% due to multiple response options.

20. Demographics: Organization Industry
Percentage
Arts, entertainment, and recreation 3%
Utilities
Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services 2%
Information, publishing industries
Mining
Wholesale trade
Management of companies and enterprises 1%
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting
Religious, grant-making, civic, professional and similar organizations
Repair and maintenance
Personal and laundry services *
Note: n = 290. Percentages do not total 100% due to multiple response options. An asterisks (*) indicates < 1%.

21. Demographics: Organization Sector

22. Demographics: Organization Staff Size

23. Demographics: Other
Is your organization a single-unit company or a multi-unit company?
Does your organization have U.S.-based operations (business units) only or does it operate multi-nationally?
Single-unit company: A company in which the location and the company are one and the same.
38%
Multi-unit company: A company that has more than one location.
63%
U.S.-based operations only
73%
Multinational operations
27%
n = 259
Note: n = 296. Percentages do not total 100% due to rounding.
Are HR policies and practices determined by the multi-unit corporate headquarters, by each work location or both?
What is the HR department/function for which you responded throughout this survey?
Multi-unit headquarters determines HR policies and practices
46%
Each work location determines HR policies and practices 3%
A combination of both the work location and the multi-unit headquarters determine HR policies and practices
52%
Corporate (company wide)
56%
Business unit/division
24%
Facility/location
20%
n = 188
Note: n = 189. Percentages do not total 100% due to rounding.

24. SHRM Poll: Military Employment
Methodology
Response rate = 13%
Sample composed of 359 randomly selected HR professionals from SHRM’s membership
Margin of error is +/- 5%
Survey fielded January 4-22, 2012
For more poll findings, visit
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