Perceptions and Practices of Military Friendly Organizations

United States organizations are unlikely to claim any level of unfriendliness toward military veterans; however, what it means to be “friendly” toward veterans is also not clear. Few, if any, criteria exist to articulate what makes an organization veteran friendly as compared with its peers. Prior to the pandemic, 2019’s annual veteran unemployment rate fell to 3.1% suggesting veterans were having little difficulty securing employment. Still, once hired, nearly 50% of veterans were leaving their first non-military job within a year and nearly two in three had moved on in less than two years—similar to turnover rates of recent college graduates. The high rate of turnover coincides with heightened favorability perceptions toward veterans and suggests military friendly may not be significantly improving organizational or veteran employment outcomes. This study explored 33 midwestern United States companies who were recently recognized as friendly toward veterans. Specifically, the participating companies’ general military friendly perceptions, practices, and evaluation strategies were examined. The findings revealed both a lack of consistent practices as well as reaffirmed stereotypes about the challenges and benefits of employing military veterans. This study is the first we are aware of that explores employer perceptions of the term, “military friendly” and how organizations recognized as being “friendly” demonstrate their support. By further understanding how organizations interpret and demonstrate being friendly, organization leaders may be able to promote positive organization change and create programming that reduces current personnel turnover rates.