Hiring a veteran is good business—whether you work in the contact center or as a supplier to the industry.
Is it just me, or does November seem to get here earlier each year? For most people, November means cooler weather, leaves turning brilliant colors, the warm glow of the fireplace in the evening, and thoughts of Thanksgiving at the end of the month. Here in Arizona, November is still pretty warm and in the high Sonoran Desert, where I live, the only leaves to fall to the ground are from the Ocotillo cacti. Everything else just has needles. The only fires you’ll see here in November are in the barbecue grill, and Thanksgiving dinner in the Sonoran Desert is usually an outdoor affair as the temperatures are generally still in the 80s.
For the 21.2 million veterans of the U.S. armed forces and their families, November also means Veterans Day. As a veteran myself, I never let Veterans Day just come and go, and I do my best to remind others of the service and sacrifice made by those who choose to serve this country in the armed forces. This year it’s particularly challenging to remember Veterans Day as this is also an election year. Veterans’ issues were given only passing mention during this particularly contentious campaign period and, if you’re reading this after the election is over, chances are good that the topic of veterans’ issues is already fading to black.
I can’t put my finger on how well the contact center industry is performing relative to embracing veterans’ issues and making a point of hiring vets in the customer service profession. There are no stats or other data available specific to veterans working in the contact center. Unemployment among veterans has improved since I started writing about it nearly six years ago. Unemployment among all veterans today stands at about 4.6%, which is less than the national unemployment rate of 5%. As a percentage of the unemployed population, however, vets make up 6% of all unemployed people in the U.S. and 5.1% of Gulf War era veterans today are unemployed.
One challenge with veteran unemployment, in my opinion, is the excellent job much of the media has done in portraying many veterans as a bunch of crazed PTSD sufferers in old Army fatigues popping prescription drugs by the handful and teetering on the edge of going postal. Nothing could be further from the truth. Although some veterans suffer from physical and emotional scarring, most just want to live normal post-service lives. In fact, 30.3% of veterans today have a bachelor’s degree or higher.
Last year, I wrote my column about veterans working in contact centers, including an Afghanistan veteran who works in a contact center in The Netherlands. This year, I thought I’d look at the other side of the industry and write about veterans who work for vendors that supply the contact center industry with technology solutions. Demand side last year, supply side this year.
As do veterans working in the contact center itself, veterans working for contact center technology suppliers bring skill, experience and maturity to the workplace. Generally speaking, veterans offer their employers the same work ethic, organization, drive to succeed, discipline and job focus that they relied upon while serving in the military.
Jeff Campbell has worked for Cisco in customer care product management and marketing for the past 16 years. A graduate of the Naval Academy and a veteran of 11 years of service as an aviator in the U.S. Navy, Jeff regularly draws upon his military experience and training in his daily work at Cisco.
“My career in the military taught me to really value people,” Campbell said. “In the military, you work with people from all walks of life, and you have to work together to get things done. You value your team members and customer care is about valuing people, making the contact center experience as positive as possible. It’s really all about people helping people regardless of the channel used, software features and so on. That’s why I’m happy to be part of the customer care industry.”
In my experience, veterans are particularly adept at working in, and seem to be drawn to, teams. I’m a member of the American Legion in my hometown. American Legion members are men and women who served on active duty in the military in time of war. My post has veterans of the Vietnam era, Grenada, Panama, and the current global war on terrorism. One of the most interesting aspects of American Legion membership, in my opinion, is the Legion Riders.
Legion Riders are American Legion members that come together through a common love of motorcycles and riding. Beyond that, Legion Riders organize and participate in fundraising activities that benefit a number of charities in their region. You can recognize Legion Riders by their black leather biker vests adorned with patches and other insignia that represent their chapter, branch of service and so on. Legion Riders not only like to be part of a team; they still like to wear a uniform that identifies them as members of that team.
The teamwork aspect of military life had a life-changing effect on Rafael Lopez , technical support manager at Calabrio. An Army veteran who served in Iraq and Germany, Lopez was a mechanic during his active duty service. Then one of his fellow soldiers changed his life.
“After three years as a mechanic, one of my fellow soldiers sparked my interest in computers. He taught me a lot and was responsible for developing my passion for building computers. By the time I got out of the Army, I was ready to continue my education in information technology and had the maturity and commitment to follow through. From there, the move to the contact center industry was a natural.”
Both Campbell and Lopez credit their military service for the training they received that help them today deal with such everyday work events as deadlines and other job pressures. “Once you’ve been shot at, a deadline is something you can put into perspective and deal with without getting too stressed about it,” said Cisco’s Campbell.
Calabrio’s Lopez agreed. “All the training I received helped build character. I don’t take things for granted anymore, even simple things like a hot meal and running water. My military service experience helps me stay grounded.”
Perhaps this will be my last column focusing on the problem of veteran unemployment, and will focus instead in the future on all the positive reasons for bringing veterans into your workforce. Hiring a veteran has always been good business, and it still is. As for good contact center industry decisions, whether you work in the contact center or you work as a supplier to the contact center industry, hiring a vet is at the top of the list.