RPO provider PeopleScout launched its Veteran Hiring Initiative, a program to partner with its clients to hire more than 10,000 military veterans during the next year, an estimated 25 percent increase over 2011.
The PeopleScout Veteran Hiring Initiative is designed to help U.S. veterans find meaningful employment, and U.S companies find outstanding talent by changing the way recruiting is done for large scale hires.
“Last year, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce launched Hiring Our Heroes, a program which includes organizing over 100 hiring fairs for veterans and their spouses. PeopleScout was one of the program’s first strategic partners. We applaud the company’s Veteran Hiring Initiative and appreciate its commitment to helping veterans find suitable work,” said Lt. Colonel Kevin Schmiegel, head of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce program, Hiring Our Heroes.
Executives, dignitaries and veterans from some of the world’s leading organizations joined PeopleScout at its Annual Client Forum including:
· Governor Mitchell (Mitch) E. Daniels Jr., (Indiana)
· Bill Cowher , former coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Super Bowl winner, and NFL commentator for The NFL Today on CBS,
· Paul Rieckhoff , Founder & Executive Director, Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans of America
· David Ludolph, VP Operations PeopleScout, formerly Staff Sergeant U.S. Air Force
· Sean Smith, Recruiter Coordinator PeopleScout, formerly Lance Corporal U.S. Marine Corps
“Facing a 13 percent unemployment rate, more than 4 percentage points higher than the overall unemployment rate, returning U.S. service members are under enormous pressure as they transition back to civilian life,” said Patrick Beharelle, CEO of SeatonCorp, parent company of PeopleScout. “The Veteran Hiring Initiative will focus on connecting world class employers that are hiring on a large scale with highly talented veterans seeking to further their careers.”
PeopleScout clients attending the Forum include: Avis Budget Group, Burger King, Calsonic, Comcast, Covance, Delta Air Lines, Fifth Third Bank, Gerdau, Premier Research, Sauer-Danfoss, USIC, and others.
The PeopleScout Veteran Hiring Initiative is built on ten industry best practices for recruiting veterans. Two of the most impactful are:
1. Establishing a priority screening process for veterans. For years, corporations have used priority screening processes for internal job candidates and employee referrals. As part of the Veteran Hiring Initiative, PeopleScout will provide its RPO clients a priority screening and tracking capability that identifies and prioritizes military service for a client’s open positions.
2. Incorporating thoughtful veteran sourcing into overall sourcing strategy. The strength of a recruiting program is dependent on the timely sourcing of high quality candidates. PeopleScout’s Veteran Hiring Initiative leverages a customized and comprehensive veteran sourcing program that includes aggressive utilization of military hiring fairs, veteran support organizations, veteran specific job boards etc.
Executive representatives discussed what companies can do to increase military hiring in a panel session moderated by Lt. Colonel Schmiegel. Members of the panel included:
o Jenn Crenshaw, VP, Burger King
o Shawn Harter, SVP, Fifth Third Bank
o Yvonne Trupiano, Director, Avis Budget Group
