In our country, we tend to have a double standard, or somewhat bipolar attitude, when it comes to veterans.  On one hand, we acknowledge them as heroes and honor their courage, hard work, and sacrifice.  On the other hand, we neglect to meet their needs – whether they be those of counseling and support groups to address mental health issues or that of financial security once they are no longer fighting our wars.  It seems that we either valorize or ignore them.

In this strange discourse, their real needs of housing, employment, and community often get overlooked.  As awareness of the harrowing challenges they face, on and off the field, during and after their time in duty, grows, there are also more programs to support them in their journey, as they have us – in our collective defenses.

Telecommunications giant AT&T, recently, in the midst of an intense growth spurt, announced a new promise to hire veterans for contact center jobs.  A press statement from the company invited veterans to apply for the 75 new openings in a South Florida contact center.  The invitation is part of a commitment to hire 5,000 veterans and their families by 2018.  AT&T also clarified that the “charitable act” was more than charity.  It affirmed the incredible value veterans deliver as employees due to their discipline, leadership skills, teamwork, and tech experience.

Comcast Corp. has hired over 4,200 veterans in the last three years and announced a similar initiative to hire 10,000 veterans, reservists, and their spouses over the course of the next three years.  Many of these new hires work at Comcast’s contact centers.

Again, this is more than an expression of patriotism or sympathy; the big corporations insist that it is a sound business decision, and there is a legitimate overlap of skills between military service and customer service.

The same skills that helped military personnel adapt to foreign cultures and languages can assist them in the contact center while meeting different caller perspectives and complaints.  The “group mind” that their survival depended on while at war can translate to an understanding of the importance of communication and collaboration in the contact center.  Finally, the undeniable grit and toughness of our soldiers can shine as resilience and patience in the face of contact center stressors.

Contact centers usually seek new hires from the same pools of working age students or young single people looking for work, and though these demographics may have some qualities that make them great agents, they also tend to be a little more transient.  For companies that are hoping to lower turn over, hiring veterans may be a game changer.

Statistically speaking, veterans have high unemployment rates.  This could be a reflection of the turbulence of re-adjusting to civilian life, but it is also often a consequence of their battle scars, injuries, and disabilities.  Luckily, contact center work does not require much mobility or physical exertion and with cloud-based contact center technologies, a veteran can be made an employee and accommodated with great flexibility.

As this powerful connection between veterans and contact centers catches on, some companies have even organized official veteran-hire programs, with veteran leaders.  Here at KOVA, we make a point of honoring our nation’s heroes whenever and wherever we can. So our challenge to you is this: When will your contact center hire a veteran?