You may wonder how hiring veterans and a grit-blasting, cold spray technology company go together. For VRC Metal Systems, the connection is obvious. A retired Air Force B1 pilot co-founded our company, and we have a long and proud history of veteran employment.
Hiring veterans is an investment every company owner should make in their organizational success. At VRC Metal Systems, we understand the unique superpowers that veterans bring to our company intimately, but many other owners and managers may not.
So, in a departure from our informative Cold Spray Technology articles, we’re detailing all the reasons hiring veterans is the way to go when you need a specialized, dedicated, and loyal staff on your side.
VRC Metal Systems, inspired by its Air Force retired founder, asks its employees to “Aim High” and provide its customers with the best state-of-the-art cold spray technology system available and to solve manufacturing and repair challenges that have never been solved before.
We always hire the right people for the job, and we’ll work with you to manage any size cold-spray coating job to keep your equipment and operations up and running. Visit our website today to see all we can do for our valued customers.
Veterans are flexible
When veterans complete their service and re-enter the civilian workforce, one often overlooked skill they possess is the ability to move readily from leader to follower, and back again, whatever the situation demands.
Veterans learn, through their service, to value job elements like completion, excellence, and effectiveness over personal gain or status. They’ll readily grab the reins where there may be a leadership gap but will also fall back into a helping and collaborative stance to make sure the project gets done on point.
Veterans value details
Another vital training protocol of military service is to do a job well. Often, details can mean the difference between life and death in military operations and deployment, and your team is everything in the military.
If your teammates’ lives depend on the way you measure a wall, load a weapon, or repair a jet, you’ll make extra sure your work is spot-on before allowing your co-worker near it.
This skill translates readily into many civilian jobs where details are paramount to success, if not life and death.
Veterans are tenacious
Servicemen and women benefit from training that demands they rigorously work problems until solutions arise. Sometimes those solutions are frustratingly slow to appear or take many repetitions to achieve.
No matter what the circumstances, though, a veteran dedicates herself to seeing the problem from many different angles, gaining insight and inspiration from teammates, and finding the answers to get the desired results, no matter how hard the process becomes.
Veterans tirelessly apply themselves to the situation at hand and don’t give up easily. Many civilian workers may not have the same aptitude for trying and trying again until they lay the problem to rest.
There is no “I” in veteran
In the military, teamwork is literally everything. Much of basic training and beyond educates
Soldiers, Airmen, Marines, and Sailors in developing unique skill sets. But, they learn those skills in ways that center the group’s success over the individual’s.
Veterans profoundly understand that efficiency and excellence are the products of many individuals contributing their unique gifts to the situation at hand. Plus, they fill work gaps wherever they exist. This mindset makes veterans ideal team players coming into civilian jobs.
If your team looks more like several islands or you struggle with a siloed organization, infusing veterans onto your staff may provide a unifying element in a divided workplace.
Veterans learn continually
In the ever-changing circumstances of military service, veterans have mastered the art of speedy learning. From relocations, deployments, combat situations, differing cultures, or geography, military workers must continuously adapt to new information, often at an intensity level few people experience.
Learning fast means a better chance of staying safe and protecting comrades. The same skill transfers readily to fast-paced civilian job environments, especially where new information is the norm, like with ever-changing technology or protocols.
Safety, safety, safety
Veterans have been trained to prioritize safety procedures and protocols for the benefit of the team and themselves. A safe workplace is a thriving workplace for the veteran in your employ.
Veterans are continual improvement specialists
Any ex-military worker will likely be able to debrief a project, service, product specification, or other elements of his job and offer insight into how it could be better, faster, safer, or cost less to build.
Veterans have deep training in looking at what worked and what didn’t in the last project (or mission), and pivot into a better outcome for next time. “Good enough” is never good enough. Everything can be better with a veteran on the team.
Hire veterans for their skills over their status
Some employers make the mistake of hiring veterans to meet a quota or to feel like they are merely doing a good deed. Though veterans want you to hire them when they return to civilian life, it should be for the right reasons.
Veterans want to be valued for their skills and training. Their service experience automatically equips them for many of the challenges in the workforce, often to a greater extent than job seekers without military experience.
It’s important for employers to recognize that veterans leave a sense of identity behind when they leave the military. Creating a new, civilian identity as an employee may take time, support, and understanding on the part of employers.
However, when valued on the job for the many skills they bring over with their title of “Veteran,” their transitions can become easier and more rewarding for both the employer and the veteran.
When precision matters
When precision and results matter in your organization, you’ll be glad you hired veterans on your team. At VRC Metal Systems, we make metals work better and stronger for your operation and veterans play key roles in helping us achieve those goals.
Our cold spray technology systems are second-to-none for function and leading-edge innovation. When you’re ready to partner with a company that always has your back and your best interests in mind, contact us to find out how our systems can ensure your operations proceed seamlessly with results you can trust.
