Today is the best day to talk about Veterans (whatever day you are reading this)

November 11th is the only sure day of the year that Veterans are on everyone’s minds. Poppies are everywhere – on lapels, websites and in social media feeds. Everyone thinks about Veterans on November 11th.

I want to talk about Veterans on November 12th. And 13th. And January 21st. And May 22nd. Even more importantly, I want you to be talking with Veterans on those days, too. I want you to be talking to a Veteran next August, not because you are grateful for their service. But because they’ve reduced your operating costs by 30% in their first six months on the job. Or cut turnover in a critical part of your business by 25% in the first quarter saving you time and money while increasing productivity.

At Challenge Factory, we provide solutions to uncover hidden talent pools and, in Canada, the most adaptable, trained, versatile and steady current and future leaders come from the Canadian Forces. Much effort is going into assisting them prepare for the adjustment to civilian employment, with new pilot programs underway. That’s a great start.

But the labour market is a partnership between those with the skills and those who hire the skills. We need to ensure managers have the hiring tools they need so that misconceptions and biases don’t prevent small- and medium-sized businesses from tapping this talent source.

If you are involved in recruitment and hiring at your company, we’d love to talk with you. It won’t take more than 20 minutes of your time and you’ll help inform a playbook that directly addresses skill gap and recruitment challenges you are experiencing. We’ll even make sure you get a free copy.

Join us and the other future-focused organizations who know that Remembrance Day is an important day to recognize past service and who also know that today’s Veterans are a key demographic to include in any future-focused workforce strategy.

To learn more, visit the project page - or contact us today. 

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Lisa Taylor is the President of Challenge Factory, a Canadian future-of-work insights firm based in Toronto.