Employers tend to be skeptical about hiring ex-military personnel in their business. However, when military men and women transition from a military to civilian work environment, they bring amazing skills with them. Particularly in a leadership role. Here’s why.
They Can Motivate Staff By Showing Them The Bigger Picture
A common problem businesses have is employees do not feel valued enough. As a result, they feel less motivated and productivity reduces. The issue with this is that most employers tend to take the route of just letting the staff know that they are important without really showing it. In military training schools trainees feel demotivated from staying behind rather than being on the front-line. When in reality, if they were spending more time in the training camps it would mean less time away from home which can be valuable for most. It’s all about showing the whole picture to what they’re doing in the business and the impact it can have for the better.
Introduce New Methods For Team Building
Military personnel know that here is no ‘i’ in ‘team’. In the military adventure and sports training is performed in order to promote leadership and teamwork. Working as collective groups in ‘free’ environments allows the staff to understand what makes them work and what doesn’t. Ex-military personnel will be able to bring these ideas to the table to promote teamwork for the better of the business.
They’re Active Listeners
There is the misconception that being in the military means the only way that they can work effectively is through fear, but this isn’t necessarily the case. Time in the military can actually help to promote active listening as you’d need to know what it is that enables others to perform well on the front line. Similar in a job, you’d need to consider an employee’s personal interests, their past roles and what’s happening at home.
You can make your staff feel more valued by investing time in them. This means longer-term relationships and a better chance they’ll stay.
They’re Less Likely To Blame Others
The the military also teaching working as a collaborative. No one person is to blame when something goes wrong. The whole team takes up the responsibility for mistakes that happen. If someone tries to take initiative and it doesn’t quite work, it’s a learning experience for the individual and the rest of the team. A leader who encourages innovation will get more out of their staff in the long term. In the military, you’re taught to create environments that allow individuals to do well.
Encourage Leadership Early On
The military teaches responsibility and leadership from the beginning. Responsibility is given to entry-level staff which promotes trust to do the job that they’ve been given. They are not micro-managed to accomplish it. You’re provided a task, given the aims and then away you go.
The Take Away About Hiring Ex-Military
Life after the military can be a touch adjustment. They’ll be dealing with many issues including getting back into a suitable routine, adjusting to civilian life and perhaps dealing with military injury claims. One aspect that would be most valuable to them though, is the opportunity to prove their worth in business. Considering the skills and expertise they can bring to a leadership role, it could be valuable to adopt military personnel into your team to benefit the business as a whole.
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About the author: Jamie Costello is an experienced business writer.
He can be contacted at @jamie88costello.
