Armed Forces Day offers the perfect opportunity for businesses to evaluate their existing hiring practices and consider how inclusive they are of the veteran community. Veteran talent is indispensable, offering unique and diverse skill sets that can benefit organisations across various industries. We connected with Hart’s HR manager Charlene Gebhardt about how Hart currently approaches veteran hires as well as some advice for those looking to move into their post-service careers.

What are some of the advantages of hiring veterans at Hart?

The advantages are many. Veterans tend to be goal driven, they have a great work ethic and often they come with specialised training and skills which are particularly relevant to our business.

Are there any specific skills or attributes you have noted with ex-service men and women you have worked with?

In my experience they are trained leaders who take responsibility very seriously and are trained in engineered environments that target nothing but mission achievement. Military personnel are also taught to exercise collaboration, cooperation and personal development in order to achieve their goals.

How does Hart support the onboarding and assimilation of appointed veteran staff?

We realise that coming from the military background and stepping into the commercial world can feel like very unfamiliar territory. As such, we have streamlined our onboarding process in a way that is easy and relatively straight forward to complete. We support our new contractors as much as possible by being available, answering all concerns that they might have as well as being flexible regarding the resettlement courses. Resettlement courses are designed to assist army leavers to prepare for the civilian job market.

Hart is a signatory of the Armed Forces Covenant. How does this impact recruitment?  

Being a signatory of the Armed Forces Covenant provides us with a great selection of candidates for possible positions. We have employed a few candidates in junior positions where they have worked themselves up into higher positions in a very short time frame and some who have been our best contractors providing a plethora of knowledge and experience.

Do you have any advice for veterans who are interested in applying for jobs with risk management companies like Hart?

Have your CV professionally written and ensure military terms are transferred to commercially understandable terms. Also try to keep your CV simple. When you apply for a position, you need to understand that you might have to start in a more junior position than what you are used to in the military. However this approach of working yourself up in a company may have many benefits in the future. Commercial companies notice duration of employment as well as positions achieved. Jumping from one company to another may be detrimental to your career advancement.