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LIST REVEALS COMPANIES LEADING THE WAY IN RECRUITING AND RETAINING VETERAN TALENT, WHILE A NEW MONSTER SURVEY UNDERSCORES THE NEED FOR EMPLOYER BEST PRACTICES

WESTON, Mass., November 5, 2018 – In advance of Veterans Day, Monster and Military.com convened a panel of veteran employment experts to identify the top 10 employers demonstrating extraordinary success in veteran hiring and retention. Additionally, Monster conducted its exclusive 2018 Veteran Hiring** survey to help all employers better understand what they can do to attract this important source of diversity talent.

“Veterans are a highly skilled talent pool,” said Bob Melk, Chief Commercial Officer at Monster, which together with Military.com is the premier recruiting solution provider for veterans and employers in the United States. “There is no question about the value those who have served can bring to our civilian workforce and economy. All of the companies highlighted on this year’s list recognize that value, and are leading the way with programs and innovative initiatives. Along with the results from our survey, we hope this information will inspire and motivate other employers to strengthen their ranks with veteran talent.”

As the need for talent is increasing, competition from the private sector is growing fiercer.

By Susan Fallon Brown
Byline Originally Posted on Government Executive
October 31, 2018 

Employers across the country are facing critical skills gaps, and the federal government is no exception.

Missions are evolving quickly and agencies need new talent to keep the nation safe and deliver critical services. We talk a lot about the tech talent gap and the need for more cyber pros and data scientists, but government also has needs in areas like public health and federal law enforcement. Unfortunately, as the need for specialized talent is increasing, the competition from the private sector for hiring that talent is growing fiercer.

It’s time for a reality check: Talented people have options. These highly sought-after pros are heavily pursued by the private sector. Agencies are typically competing against higher salaries, corporate recruiters with compelling advertising campaigns, and a faster hiring process.

According to the Office of Personnel Management, the average hiring time for federal personnel is 106 days. This time lag can perpetuate the lack of trust employees have in their HR team’s recruitment capabilities. The most recent Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey, released late last week, revealed that just 42 percent of federal employees felt their team had the ability to recruit people with the right skills. In addition, the time it takes to hire personnel—typically more than three months—causes federal agencies to lose out on viable candidates who cannot wait that long to take new job opportunities.

These are major workforce challenges that the current administration is trying to change. In the president’s management agenda, the Office of Management and Budget called on agencies to re-evaluate their current HR processes and technology in support of establishing the “workforce of the 21st century.”

In its 2019 budget proposal, the White House noted that “the private sector continually finds new ways to evolve human capital management programs to maximize the return from their most valuable asset: their people. The federal government should do no less.”

To evolve workforce strategies and remain competitive with the private sector, federal agencies need to overcome four common challenges in federal recruiting:

By Steve Jordon, Executive Director, NVTC Veterans Employment Initiative, and Rick Ferry, Regional Program Manager, Virginia Values Veterans (V3) Program| July 2018
Original Article Posted on THE VOICE OF TECHNOLOGY 

Greater Washington, D.C. is the second largest region in the country for employers seeking IT workers 

As the demand for tech talent expands exponentially from entry level to senior management positions, organizations are becoming more creative in sourcing and retaining skilled talent through channels like internships, apprenticeships and engaging with high school STEM students. Now more than ever, companies are tapping into the pool of more than 300,000 Veterans transitioning out of the military every year to fill positions. With their strong leadership, communication and technical skills, Veterans are strong candidates for roles in the technology sector.

Since 2013, the NVTC Veterans Employment Initiative (VEI) has provided support to NVTC member companies in their efforts to recruit, hire, train and retain qualified Veteran and military spouse talent. At the same time, the VEI also connects Veterans and military spouses to employment and career mentoring opportunities in the region.

By Aaron Boyd, Senior Editor | July 6, 2018
Original Article Posted on Nextgov

Here’s why public-sector hiring managers think the government is struggling to fill its ranks.

Government research group Market Connections and the government arm of job-search company Monster.com, Monster Government Solutions, polled 200 human resources professionals and hiring managers from the public sector (75 percent) and government contractors (25 percent) to get a ground-level view of current workforce challenges.

The majority of respondents (52 percent) agreed the dearth of qualified candidates is the biggest recruitment problem. Respondents also cited an inability to compete on salary (44 percent), long lead-times finding qualified candidates (42 percent) and budget restrictions (40 percent).