Omari Faulkner, President and Chief Executive Officer of the strategic communications firm Blue Fire Fed in Washington, D.C., has urged employers to establish workplaces that embrace military personnel as they adjust to civilian life. He made the assertion on October 24 during the SHRM Inclusion 2022 conference in San Diego.
Faulkner, who offers thought leadership to Fortune 500 firms, small enterprises, universities, and nonprofit groups, is a current public relations officer for the U.S. Navy Reserve. He works to ensure that active military personnel, military dependents, and veterans are fully integrated into society. He said, “We have a highly talented group of people in our military community, which I like to refer to as ‘the military family.’ They truly are great.â€
He listed the following as members of the military family: active-duty service members, including those in the National Guard and reservists; military partners, family members, and dependents.
“All of these people are members of our military family. They all view things from various cultural perspectives,†he added.
DOD Commitment to DE&I
According to Faulkner, the Department of Defense (DOD) has long been at the forefront of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) efforts:
During World War II, the racial makeup of the military started to mirror that of the American populace. Then-President Harry Truman issued an executive order in 1948 with the goal of desegregating the military.
The Office of Diversity Management and Equal Opportunity, which aims to develop a more diverse workforce, was then formed by the DOD in 1994.
According to Faulkner, there are now 17% more Hispanic soldiers in the active Army than there were in 1985. Roughly 31% of members who are on active duty are from racial minorities, and women make up 17% of the active-duty workforce.
Faulkner claims that businesses might get inspiration from the DOD as it relates to DE&I. He declared that “the American military is a microcosm of American society. In my capacity as a public affairs officer, I have spoken with sailors who have served five tours of duty as well as sailors who were born after 9/11. It is such a variegated energy.”
Misconceptions about Veterans
According to Faulkner, veterans offer organizations several positive traits, including the capacity to adapt, the ability to maintain composure under pressure, and significant training background.
Kenneth Mayes, a 26-year Army veteran who now manages employer relations for Syracuse University’s D’Aniello Institute of Veterans and Military Families, says the value veterans offer to the workforce is widely misunderstood and has resulted in various barriers to veteran employment.
According to research from Duke University, veterans are widely believed to excel in their capacity to fulfill specific jobs, like planning and carrying out operations. However, corporations pass over experienced candidates because of an erroneous belief that they are less competent at occupations that require emotional intelligence and creativity.
Additionally, due to the constant movement that is a standard part of being in a military family, organizations have made the incorrect assumptions that all veterans have post-traumatic stress disorder, that they are rude and uncaring, and that military spouses lack education. These myths have long been disproved as untrue, according to Faulkner.
The Benefits of ERGs
According to Faulkner, many veterans are thrilled about their achievements, but some keep their military service a secret from their coworkers out of concern about these preconceptions. Veteran employees might develop a sense of community by joining employee resource groups (ERGs). ERGs also permit their coworkers to inquire politely about what it’s like to be a service member or veteran.
“ERGs can help veterans better understand their new organizations, which helps them adjust to civilian life. Those are outstanding initiatives every firm needs to have,” said Faulkner.
He also urged businesses to:
- Invest in training initiatives that can assist veterans moving out of the military to understand their new careers.
- Create and commit to a veteran recruitment and retention strategy.
- Develop a benefits package that will appeal to veterans, such as giving them additional paid time off and paying them well.
Our main goal, according to Faulkner, “should be to understand this group better and elevate them. We should advocate for hiring veterans every day.â€
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