Hiring initiatives have been created to promote hiring Veterans in the civilian workplace; recent years have seen an increase in the number of employees taking advantage of these incentives. After all, who wouldn’t want to hire an American hero?
That said, there are many other reasons to hire a Veteran for your workplace. One of the biggest benefits to hiring a Veteran is their work ethic. Former military members have been taught during their service to work hard, be a team player, and to succeed as a group rather than as an individual. Many Veterans also have unique skills and vocational abilities that they picked up during their service, which could be invaluable to your business. Military Veterans have been taught to approach difficult situations with ingenuity and resolve. Additionally, many employers can expect a variety of tax benefits and credits for hiring Veterans. As such, Veterans can bring a lot to the table when hired for your business.
Hire a local Veteran for commercial and industrial services
What Qualifies You to Be a Veteran?
Per the Veteran’s Administration website, a Veteran is a person who has served in any active military branch (such as the Air Force, Army, Marines, Navy, or Coast Guard) and who was discharged from their service branch with any condition other than dishonorable.
A dishonorable discharge from the military usually means that the service member failed to meet the rules and requirements expected from them as a service member, resulting in discharge and no true Veteran status being given to the former service member. However, members of the military can still be discharged early (such as for medical reasons) and still receive Veteran status. Assuming their discharge was anything but dishonorable, former members of the military should receive Veteran status and all the benefits that come along with it.
If you are a Veteran in Pennsylvania looking for employment, please visit our Job Opportunities for Vets.
Top Reasons to Hire Vets
Apart from being American heroes that have sacrificed for our country and freedom, there are many other reasons why Veterans can make excellent employees. The military makes sure to impart a large number of skills & traits upon service members, meaning that they can often be some of the hardest-working and most dedicated employees. Here are some additional reasons why Veterans are good employees:
- Veterans Work Hard and are Resilient: One of the many skills the military teaches its members is how to bounce back from challenges and problems that they may experience. Being able to adapt to stressful/difficult situations is a cornerstone of the military and a valuable skill to bring to the workplace.
- Veterans often have Additional Technical/vocational Training and Skills: The military does more than fight wars. There are hundreds of different professions within the military that offer advanced training in their associated skill sets. Veteran job candidates tend to learn and use these skills on the job; these abilities often translate to most job responsibilities. This usually means less time and energy training for “hard to teach” skills that non-Vets are lacking.
- Veterans are Problem Solvers and Entrepreneurial: Many Veterans embrace the entrepreneurial aspect of the civilian workplace, such as a need to see the business succeed and to continue growth. Additionally, their time in the military has taught them to be resourceful and flexible when it comes to problems in their work.
- Veterans Work Well in Teams: In the military, teamwork is key. Without your fellow soldiers, airman, sailors, etc. around you to give support, the military cannot succeed with its various missions. Because of that, Veterans are extremely teamwork oriented and have lots of success in building both professional and personal relationships with those that they interact with.
- Veterans Thrive in Chaotic Environments: Although your business may not be “chaotic” by any standards, there are likely times when things are confusing or unorganized, perhaps even causing issues with your current employees. This is another area where Veterans excel; they are taught to embrace chaotic environments and find suitable solutions to whatever problems may exist.
Veterans are experienced with diversity in their workplace environment: One of the unfortunate realities of life is that not everyone shares the same experiences and opinions, which can lead to friction in a workplace that hires a diverse group of employees. Veterans, however, are very experienced with diversity, as the military recruits from an extremely diverse pool of applicants.
Ready to hire a Veteran lawn care provider? Call today: (570) 369-3026.
Incentives for Hiring Vets
Many business owners may be interested in hiring a Veteran as a symbolic gesture to honor their service to our country. However, there are many incentives available to business owners interested in doing so. For example, many business owners could save thousands of dollars a year just in tax breaks & credits alone. Any Veteran that has received government benefits like SNAP, previously unemployed Veterans, and disabled Veterans all would provide a potential employer with tax benefits, with increasing credits offered for hiring Veterans that fall under multiple categories at once.
Here are some of the available incentives for employers offered through the IRS’ Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC):
- Tax breaks for qualified long-term unemployment standards after the Veteran is employed for 27 weeks or more
- Veterans working at least 120 hours allows employers to claim 25% of their first-year wages (up to $6,000), giving them a maximum income tax credit of $1,500 per Veteran. More hours worked can see higher tax credits returned to the employer.
- Short-term unemployment credits allow the employer to claim up to 40% of the employee’s first $6,000 in wages.
- Wounded Warrior tax credits allow the employer to claim 40% of the first $24,000 in wages, meaning a maximum tax credit of $9,600. Similar credits are also offered for businesses hiring Veterans that have been receiving unemployment compensation for six months or longer.
- Many businesses can also receive incentives for training newly-hired Veterans on the job.
Contact WFW to see if you qualify for any potential incentives for hiring us for your commercial landscaping duties.
Why Veterans Make Good Employees?
There are a lot of reasons as to why Veterans make such good employees. Former service members often have training in a variety of applicable skills, have experience working with varied groups of people, and know the meaning of hard work.
Many Veterans are also not easily dissuaded from doing a good job in their work and will persevere even when things get tough. Additionally, military members are taught to cooperate and work in a team environment; they often have the ability to work with a diverse team to overcome any challenges that may arise.
Because of the strictness of military life, many Veterans also possess strong organizational skills, excellent follow-through on assignments, and a dedication to deadlines and being on time.
Hire a Veteran for your Commercial Janitorial Services
What Are Some of the Advantages of Hiring a Veteran From WFW?
Workers For Warriors owner, Joe Webb, has been a leader in helping local Veterans and communities. His passion is to help Veterans find fulfilling work in a variety of professions and support Veteran organizations. WFW uses its business as a platform to discuss Veteran’s issues and to raise awareness for some of the challenges of post-service life.
Additionally, many of our proceeds go to Veteran Philanthropy programs like the Wounded Warrior Project, which assists Veterans with mental/physical injuries. Contact us to discuss the numerous ways we can assist with your commercial, municipal and industrial needs.
