PeopleScout announces veteran-hiring initiative

The city of Indianapolis is at the center of the world’s attention this weekend as it hosts the Super Bowl on Sunday night. A recruiting-services company took advantage of the massive media presence on Friday afternoon to announce its plans to help companies put more veterans to work.

PeopleScout, which provides recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) services to help companies with their hiring needs, has launched its Veteran Hiring Initiative. The company will provide its clients with technology and capabilities to help them find and attract veterans, using 10 “best practices” for recruitment and hiring – such as establishing a priority-screening process, and deploying a 360-degree veteran sourcing program that will have the companies leveraging military hiring fairs and veterans support organizations.

Patrick Beharelle, CEO of PeopleScout parent company SeatonCorp, csaid that “there is no better organization for training than the U.S. military” when it comes to job skills, and reaffirmed the company’s commitment to working with its corporate clients to help reduce the 13-percent unemployment rate among servicemembers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. “The key is to partner with the private sector, because that’s where the jobs are,” he said.

Kevin Schmiegel of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which has partnered with PeopleScout on the Chamber’s “Hiring Our Heroes” program, echoed the need for thinking outside the old boxes in moving veteran employment forward, saying, “We need to be more creative.”

Also sharing that view was Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, who touted the state’s efforts for and support of veterans. “On behalf of Indiana, this fits us like a glove,” he said. “It’s a win for everybody … anything Indiana is asked to do, we’ll do.”

Daniels went on to praise the private sector’s speed in getting such initiatives off the ground, versus more “indirect” government efforts. “These companies say they’re going to hire 10,000 vets – it’s going to happen,” Daniels said.

Representatives from some of the companies joining PeopleScout in the Veteran Hiring Initiative – including Burger King, Fifth Third Bank and Avis Budget Group – were among those attending its annual Client Forum in downtown Indianapolis. There, they heard about the 10 “best practices” to be used in the initiative; discussed recruitment and 21st-century tools; participated in a panel discussion on how employers view veteran recruiting programs; and listened to retired NFL coach Bill Cowher, no stranger to the Super Bowl himself, talk about leadership and his work on behalf of veterans.