Hello readers. We here at Marlin Steel hope you’re having a wonderful Veteran’s Day. On this day, we take some time out to think about and give thanks those who have served our country by selflessly jeopardizing their own well-being so that others would not have to.
Speaking of veterans on this day set aside for honoring their service, did you know that according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were roughly 722,000 unemployed veterans in America during 2013?
It’s a sad state of affairs when the men and women who so selflessly sacrificed for their country come home, but cannot find meaningful employment when they get here. Thankfully, there is something that manufacturing companies can do about this: hire veterans.
Marlin Steel is fortunate to have more than 14 percent of its workforce consist of veterans. These talented, driven individuals are great workers, and contribute immensely to the success of Marlin Steel as a manufacturing company.
In a recent Inc.com post, Marlin Steel’s president and CEO cited numerous reasons to hire vets for your work force. Here are the top reasons for your company to hire veterans:
Reason #1: Honesty
Service men and women are held to a high standard of accountability. Honesty is a virtue that is embraced in the military as a whole, because bad or false reports can be an enormous danger to the unit. Those who are not able to make open, honest reports are weeded out by the military with great efficiency.
Hiring applicants with honorable military discharges nets you workers who will give you a straight answer when you need one.
Reason #2: Loyalty
It takes grit, dedication, and loyalty to put one’s life on hold for the good of the country, even more to risk life and limb on deployment to foreign soil. Veterans have these qualities in spades.
In particular, veterans tend to be very loyal to businesses that hire them. Veterans are not typically ones to “job hop” from one place to the next. Once their loyalty is earned, veterans are in there for the long run.
Reason #3: Veterans Work under Pressure
In the crucible of combat deployments, soldiers overcome impossible situations. For one example cited in the Inc.com article, Brent, one of Marlin’s team members responsible for operating our new medium frequency welder, once led troops into battle during not one, but two tours of Iraq. After facing down enemy fire halfway across the world, meeting tight production deadlines and tolerances in order to deliver custom wire baskets in a timely manner is not a stressful activity by comparison.
Veterans like Brent work hard and think clearly in situations that would stress those who lack such experience. Your company needs a few people like Brent to handle the high-pressure jobs.
Reason #4: Veterans Work Well with Others
In the military, everything depends on each member of the unit being able to put the good of the unit first. Veterans are used to working with a team and making sure that collaborative efforts go off without a hitch.
For example, Mike, one of our most recently hired engineers, learned how to coordinate complex projects and motivate others through both his education at West Point and practical experience he earned while working in the field.
Reason #5: Work Ethic
Speaking of work, veterans are no strangers to working hard. Josh, a veteran who served tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan, runs our CNC mill and several wire forming robots. With him, there’s no drama in getting him to get his head in the game or getting him to show up; he simply comes in, keeps his nose to the grindstone, and knocks projects out like a champ.
Like many veterans, Josh understands the importance of showing up and getting the job done, and done right the first time. If he does have a problem, he quickly collaborates with others to find a solution so that production can move along with minimal hiccups.
Reason #6: Planning
Military operations are methodical processes where every aspect needs to be planned out well in advance. Creating and following these plans takes methodical, process driven people who dot all of their “i’s” and cross every “t,” because a single oversight in planning or execution can ruin a multi-million dollar operation.
Veterans embrace methodical, step-by-step planning so that they get from point A to point B in the plan the right way. Many manufacturers have difficulty finding process-oriented personnel who can drive ISO compliance in processes. However, this quality runs deep in the pool of veterans available for hire.
Reason #7: Huge Supply
As we mentioned earlier, in 2013, there were roughly 722,000 unemployed veterans in America. As our armed forces return home from their current deployments and are released from their service agreements with the military, there will be even more dedicated, talented vets available for hire.
Somewhere among the hundreds of thousands of veterans who need a career is that perfect person to help your company drive results and inspire your team to new heights.
So, for this veteran’s day, you can help your company and perform a patriotic act by hiring a veteran. You’ll love the results just as much as we do.
To learn more about why you should hire veterans for your workforce, check out the full Inc.com post here.
.gif "View our in-stock products")
