Kathy Gallowitz with Vanguard Veteran

Industrial Talk is chatting with Lt. Col. (Ret) Kathy Lowrey Gallowitz, Founder and CEO at Vanguard Veteran, LLC about “Why and How to Build a Veteran Talent Strategy”.  The following is a summary of our conversation:

  • Veteran talent strategies with retired Lieutenant Colonel Cathy Galloway. 0:03
    • Veteran talent strategist Kathy Gallowitz helps companies integrate skilled and dedicated veterans into their workforce.
    • Scott MacKenzie invites listeners to join Industrial Talk to amplify their voice and solve industry problems.
  • Supporting veterans and their families. 4:25
    • Kathy Galloway shares her personal experience growing up as a Navy brat and how it shaped her perspective on the military and civilian cultures.
    • Kathy is passionate about supporting veterans and aims to start a podcast to connect with them and offer opportunities for growth.
    • Speaker shares their passion for veterans after moving and realizing experiences were different, leading to outreach program to educate and support troops and their families.
  • Veteran transition to civilian life and career development. 9:16
    • Veteran shares story of starting a hiring program for fellow veterans, finding purpose in helping others transition.
    • Scott MacKenzie discusses the challenges of transitioning from military to civilian life, including identity loss and adapting to new roles and responsibilities.
    • Speaker highlights the importance of self-discovery and personal development in finding the right career fit, even for those who have never joined the military.
  • Military transition and connection challenges. 14:08
    • Kathy describes the difficulty of adjusting to civilian life after military service, particularly the loss of camaraderie.
    • Kathy mentions the overwhelming complexity of everyday tasks in America, such as the variety of ketchup and cereal options in grocery stores.
    • Kathy discusses the challenges of transitioning from military to civilian life, including the importance of building connections with fellow veterans to combat feelings of loneliness and isolation.
    • The DoD Skill Bridge program offers a unique solution by allowing service members to gain work experience in a civilian setting before leaving the military, with the approval of their commander.
  • Connecting veterans with job opportunities. 18:36
    • Organization connects veterans with employers, helping them become “veteran ready” and retain talent.
    • Speaker identifies various sources of veteran talent for employers, including service-specific programs and nonprofits.
  • Hiring veterans for their skills and work ethic. 22:58
    • Kathy offers guidance on hiring veterans, including using a military skills translator and leveraging their skills.
    • Kathy highlights the benefits of hiring veterans, including their operational focus, mission focus, and technical aptitudes.
    • Scott MacKenzie is interested in understanding why it's important for him to hire veterans and what benefits it brings to his organization.
  • The benefits of hiring veterans for their skills and loyalty. 27:48
    • Scott MacKenzie and Speaker 2 discuss the importance of training in the military, with Kathy sharing a personal anecdote about flight school and never being able to operationalize their training in the real world.
    • Both speakers emphasize that training in the military is not just technical, but also leadership training, with Speaker 2 expressing disappointment about not being able to use their flight nurse training in a real-world setting.
    • Developing relationships with veteran talent sources is crucial for business success.
  • Hiring and supporting military veterans in the workplace. 31:50
    • Kathy highlights the importance of understanding military culture and the challenges of transitioning from military to civilian life, emphasizing the need for empathy and open-mindedness in hiring and fostering belonging.
    • Kathy shares their personal experience of hiring veterans in their business and the positive impact they had on the company's work ethic, resilience, and perseverance.
    • Scott MacKenzie and Speaker 2 discuss the importance of understanding the military mindset and experience in the workplace.
    • They emphasize the value of having a dedicated military recruiter or champion within a company to support veteran job seekers.
    • Kathy discusses the Twin Talent Academy's basic and advanced training events for hiring and retaining military veterans, with a focus on providing practical feedback and opportunities for success.
    • Kathy shares a story about a Navy SEAL who pulled practical jokes on his coworkers, highlighting the importance of giving feedback and correcting behavior to ensure success in the workplace.
  • Veteran talent strategy and resources. 39:04
    • Veteran champion movement aims to improve quality of life for veterans through practical strategies.
    • Kathy Gallowitz: Veteran talent strategy expert & resource for collaboration.

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KATHY GALLOWITZ'S CONTACT INFORMATION:

Personal LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lt-col-ret-kathy-lowrey-gallowitz-0618314/

Company LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/vanguard-veteran-llc/

Company Website: https://vanguardveteran.com/

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Transcript

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

veteran, military, people, kathy, employer, talent, civilian, talk, scott, life, industrial, employee, skills, hiring, understand, transition, vanguard, trainable, succeed, military service

00:03

Welcome to the Industrial Talk podcast with Scott Mackenzie. Scott is a passionate industry professional dedicated to transferring cutting edge industry focused innovations and trends while highlighting the men and women who keep the world moving. So put on your hard hat, grab your work boots. And let's get again, thank you very much for joining Industrial Talk the number one industrial related podcast in a universe that celebrates industry professionals all around the world. Yes, you are bold, brave, and you dare greatly you solve problems you collaborate, you are making the world a much better place. Thank you for what you do. And we just appreciate you here at Industrial Talk in the hot seat, retired now. Lieutenant Colonel Cathy gala wits. She is the founder of Vanguard veteran. And we're going to be talking a little bit about veteran talent strategy. It's all in here. It's a lengthy conversation but worth listening. So let's get cracking.

01:07

Oh, boy, She's incredible.

01:11

And given the fact that we are all you know, in industry is boy, if I had a nickel every time somebody talks about finding the right individual find, building that team needing individuals that have specific skill sets, or that are trainable. All topics that we have discussed here at on Industrial Talk.

01:32

She just comes in, boom brings another avenue veteran talent strategies. So just sort of paint the picture just a little bit here.

01:42

Vanguard comes in talks to companies to figure out and strategize around how do you do that? How do you start bringing in these, these veterans who are chock full of skills and abilities and are willing to learn and are really dedicated and committed to you and your company and what you're doing?

02:07

I mean,

02:09

everybody wins, win, win, win all around. Absolutely wonderful conversation. And boy, does she is she passionate? Lieutenant Colonel right there. Right That right there, I'm looking at her stat card on on LinkedIn. All right.

02:26

You need to amplify your voice, you need to be a part of Industrial Talk, if you have a podcast that you're saying, Gosh, it's just not getting traction.

02:36

Industrial Talk has a solution for you. You can come and be a part of the network that we have put in place. And, and anything and I mean, anything that helps industry succeed. That solves problems. We're all game. And if you're if you don't have a pocket, I can help you with it. Don't Don't get me wrong, you want to start a podcast, I got the do's and don'ts. Do the do's don't do the don'ts. And so it's it's one of those things where I can help out with that in a big way and get you up and running fast. And getting your message amplified. Industrial Talk is all about your success. So be a part of it. Just go out to Industrial Talk, click let's connect. You'll talk to me, no obligation whatsoever. None. Just the fact that we are part of this wonderful global community that are solving problems. And then we need to continue to educate. You need to share your knowledge. You need to collaborate, you need to work with individuals that can help solve problems and then you need to innovate because it doesn't stop. If you're not in that game. Well,

03:50

somebody's in the game. Let's put it that way. And they're going to roll right over top of you. We want you to succeed. Let's get on with the conversation. Again, veteran talent strategy. Kathy Galloway, its retired Lieutenant Colonel, big time right there. Reach out to her, you know, all the contact information will be out there for her. So enjoy the chitchat. Kathy, welcome to Industrial Talk. How're you doing today? Hey, I'm great. Commander. How about you? Yeah.

04:19

Yeah, that's a that's a little family story. I made my kids call me Commander and they giggled about it. Well, I thought I really needed to do that. You know, I'm a military girl. I know commanders are right. And I think it's super cool. So glad to be on board, sir. Yeah, yeah. Well, like like I said, my kids can go.

04:38

And it goes, it's commander. Well, I want to call you dad. No, it's commander. Thank you for your service, quite frankly, I get that right out of the way right now. Well, thanks. All right, listeners. We're going to be talking about veterans and and help supporting the veteran community by offer them opportunities and Kathy brings a wealth of knowledge. Vanguard veterans is the organization will have all the contact if

05:00

information for Kathy out on industry talk as you know, as and and of course the website, and hey, are you active on LinkedIn? Oh, 100% Yes, sir. It's Kathy Lowry Galloway. That's my personal page. But the business page is Vanguard veteran, we're gonna have both. We're gonna have both, and we're gonna have your website. So just don't worry. So listener. You're saying, Scott, I don't have enough information to get you'll have every bit of information to reach out to Kathy. So don't come running to me and say, Oh, God, I can't get a hold of her.

05:34

Just gonna have to call. Yeah. Thanks. All right, before we get into this conversation, because I'm very giddy about it. Give us a little background into who Kathy is. All righty then. So I grew up as a Navy brat so to speak, traveling around the world supporting my dad's pilot and communication engineer career. I was born in Pensacola, Florida, graduated from preschool in Paris, France, went to high school in Keflavik Iceland. That's where I graduated, and then went to three no two colleges, but went to college in Munich, Germany, before the age of 35. I lived in at least 20 different communities. Yeah, that yeah, it was a lot. My dad was Navy, I went Air Force. And not only not until I really put down roots in a small Midwestern town in Ohio, did I really start to get an inkling for how different those of us who were brought up in the military and military culture how really kind of different it was, as compared to civilian life? And I can tell you stories about that, but I know we have limited time.

06:45

That's that that's another conversation but but apparently, listeners that she wants to start a podcast, that would be a great, great thing. That's another topic.

06:57

So be on the lookout for her podcast. And of course, she's already saying, I'm really busy this year. She's crabbing. No crab and in this.

07:06

Just get in and get her done. Right. That's what we military people do.

07:10

Yeah. Did you? Did your dad say, Why did you go Air Force? Oh, you know what he didn't you know, he's a good man. He just, you know, let me let me let me fly so to speak. No pun intended. No kidding. No, he didn't care. But he was pilot, right. Yeah.

07:28

And you know, really, I got a great deal. My first career was nursing. I went to Wilford Hall, the largest hospital 1000 beds. And they gave me a six month internship where I could, you know, refine my nursing schools. And then I got promoted to the first rank and six months instead of to two years. And oh, by the way, the bad news was I was removed from the oceans. And I love the water. You know, most Air Force bases are pretty landlocked. But there was a good career out here. Why are you passionate about veterans?

08:03

Well, this rock side of you being one, I mean, yeah, I mean, the kind of the lead in was because I moved so much. And then I went to a small Midwestern town, and I realized my life was very different. And then when I was the director of community outreach for the Ohio National Guard, I had the privilege of establishing a never had been done before statewide outreach program to educate and engage civilians, in support of troops and their families. I understood that my experiences were different. And I felt really, you know, kind of disconnected from America because my experiences were different. But then, once I started to get to know civilians, and help them come up close and personal with those of us in uniform, mostly soldiers and airmen, because that's what the guard was comprised of. I, oh, my gosh, the glisten in their eyes, so to speak, that they had when they were doing substantive things, to improve quality of life, workforce and community. For our service members. I can't tell you, Scott, how often people say, wow, you know, that was one of my biggest regrets. I never, I never was able to surf or I wasn't. I wanted to surf. But something prevented me from doing it. And now as I give back to military people, it really makes me feel good. It's quick story. I was interviewing a new colleague here in the Phoenix area, and she started to tell me about how 10 years previously, she had started a veteran hiring program in her company and she said, Kathy, I get goosebumps now, telling you about that.

09:43

I mean, 10 years later, Scott, if she had an emotional response to the goodness that she was creating, for the for the, the military population. So it's good news for the veteran because we have a hard time coming home from coming back from military

10:00

service, we have a hard time transitioning into civilian life. It's a good news story for our citizenry, because their lives are enriched, you know, as we improve quality of life, workforce and community, it's a good thing for our nation. And one of the biggest reasons that I'm so passionate about cultivating civilian veteran champions, is because nobody really does this work. Right? This is a, this isn't a purposeful

10:30

program anywhere to and you know, whatever you're trying to engage people in a team or

10:37

help them, you know, be more culturally aware, it's a process, right, you've got to first get some education, you know, then connect with people that can help you understand it better, and then be encouraged and reinforced. And then ultimately, you know, ideally recognized for your efforts if you want to keep it rolling, right. So it's not a it's not a it's not a, it's not a staying saying thank you for your service, although it's appreciated, it's really about going way beyond words, through your actions, to help our service members really reach optimal quality of life in ways that also helps our society. The best example, or one of the greatest ones really is employment.

11:22

Take us through sort of a general process. Let's say I'm, um, I'm a military veteran, and I'm just getting ready to

11:32

leave the military. And that's my background, I've been in it for many years.

11:39

Take us through the process of transitioning, do I? Do I knock on your door and say, Hey, I'm ready. Know, what take how do we how do we work with this? There's some there's some context I need to paint here. First of all, okay, so first of all, veterans are very different, right? I mean, here I am, I was a nurse. So my experience as a nurse not having gone to combat is very different. My role is a woman, a wife, a mother, you know, in society is very different. But by and large, if I could, you know, generalize a little bit, you might have a youngster, a young male, who joins the military doesn't really know who he is, when he wants to do that, instead of going to college, right, or even if you go to college, and you get out and join the military, your job is to respond to the needs of the military, your job is to not self assert, and say, This is what I'm going to do. And this is where I want to work, you got to be super flexible, you got to adapt, right, that's one of the best qualities that veterans bring to the civilian workforce. So you're so used to adapting to the organization, that sometimes in some ways, you're like, Well, what am I really good at, unless you really work at it, you really know what your strengths are, and what you want to do in life. So it's a it's a discovery, once you, you know, take off your uniform and join civilian life, because, you know, you may have had the luxury of being able to do what you wanted in the military, but many, many, many people don't. So there's, you know, your, your identity is very wrapped up in, you know, your, your the uniform, the hierarchy, the structure, the mission, the professionalism, the pride you feel for serving your country, and then hate say it like this, but you strip all that away, right? And you're in your head, okay, well, who am I now, right? And, you know, even if you never joined the military, I'm a I'm a John Maxwell trained speaker, trainer coach about leadership development, right. And what I understand about leadership development is, or personal development is that you have to work at it, no one's going to spoon feed you, no one's going to give you the the silver bullet, you got to figure out what makes you tick, you got to develop your skills. And it's not something that happens overnight. So even if you've never joined the military, understanding how to thrive, ideally, in this life, is is challenging to get the right career with the right fit with the right income. It's it's not an easy process. And then if it's more, I'll say if it's even if it's made more complicated, because you have one frame of reference, one major frame of reference, and that's military service. And then you move out into civilian life, things like oh my gosh, you know, there's minimal, minimal structure, or at least compared to what we're used to, you know, some hierarchy but the chain of command is not as strict. Okay, the complexity of a funny story when, you know, some people, I mean, I've deployed but I didn't deploy in harm's way and stay for a long period of time. But when you come back from a deployment, and you know, you've been on a base and you've had, you know, a small place to eat the same people for month after month after month, and you haven't gone to a grocery store. This is silly, but imagine how somebody would feel when they go into our grocery store.

15:00

and you have 15 kinds of ketchup. I mean, I'm exaggerating, right? And you have, you know, I don't know, 100 different kinds of cereal. I mean, it's just overwhelming that measure of complexity that you don't understand unless you've been there when I lived overseas for about eight to 10 years, and I came back to America now this was me as a youth or as a young adult, in the Air Force. What hit me hard, Scott was look at all this concrete. Now, I've been in Europe, you know, and of course, there's paved roads over there. But you know, the roads are small, especially like in England, right. And there's so much greenery that the highway system isn't really kind of the the main feature, but boy, does America have a lot of concrete? I don't know. Did that answer your question? Yeah. One of the challenges that I would imagine, and and maybe I'm getting off course here, is that transition, that transition from structure to that life into sort of that civilian life? And and are there services out there that take those individuals and say, Hey, here's a deal. It's gonna be, it's, it's different.

16:15

So I think a big part of this transition, if you will, is the loss of camaraderie. Okay. Because we are so used to a small unit mentality, everybody understanding their role, you know, just having the same value systems and a lot of cases, the same training. And we are taught that you have your brothers and your sisters back.

16:37

You know, you can't have a functioning military mission. Without that there's got to be high levels of trust. So yes, so there are services that help prepare servicemembers to transition, the primary one is the Transition Assistance Program. The best thing since sliced bread that's come along within the last several years is the DoD skill bridge program. Because the transition assistance program is about five days right at the very end of what you're doing, although they're they're making it happened sooner, I think about a year out, which is good. But the DoD skills program with Commander approval, they can go into a civilian workforce, three to six months prior to separation, at no cost to the employer, and actually perform the job as their regular instead of their military job. So that gives the employer a chance to kind of test drive that potential employee and the veteran to sort of semi remote Do I like this setting, or maybe there's something I should do better. So and then when you you know, when you leave military service, most people scatter right now, most battle buddies in particular, my husband has won that, you know, he's like this, he would drop everything and run for this battle buddy, but his battle buddies in Ohio and Alabama, we're in Arizona, right? So you know, you, you really feel alone, you really feel kind of lost at times, unless you really work at staying connected to your military brothers and sisters. And oh, by the way, in our society, it's we're pretty fragmented, right? We go to our house, we close down our garage door, we stay in our houses, depending upon you know, where you live, unless you work to be connected. And the connection process is pretty easy in the military, because you're all in the same boat. You're moving around, everybody wants friends, you know, everybody's there, because they want to be. So you have a lot in common very quickly. But that's not the case necessarily. And, you know, once and I just I can only imagine.

18:41

And I, I never served. But I can only imagine that transition can be challenging for some, it might be great for others. I mean, it's, we're all human beings in that sense. So I would imagine that there's some, some challenges there. With that said,

18:58

your organization, right, your organization, works with companies is that and those companies have a desire to fill their

19:11

professional team with veterans. So how do you and your organization connect with veterans? So I, I'm a manufacturer, and I go to you and say, Hey, Kathy, I'm interested in hiring veterans. Yes. So my goal is to take that manufacturer from being veteran friendly. Oh, yeah, I know, that make great workers to helping them become veteran ready. And there's there's really two major focuses, one is external relationships, and the other is internal processes that will help you retain that talent. So it's wonderful if the manufacturer will manufacture or will develop a veteran talent strategy that encompasses all

20:00

have that. So I help connect the employer to sources of veteran talent and encourage them to build trusting partnerships, you know, the squeaky wheel gets the grease. I gotta tell you, Scott, the demand for veteran talent is skyrocketing, skyrocketing.

20:15

veteran unemployment has been below 3% for months and months and months. And there's more and more programs like heroes make America like semi vet works. Those are manufacturing specific. There are others, there are, you know, nonprofits, etc. And, and employers are hearing about it. And they're engaging in it. And they're so they're so so the demand for veterans has grown, which is a really good news story. But research tells us that we still have a long way to go to decrease under employment, right. But what that in terms of changing the landscape that makes the sources of veteran talent more competitive, to get to the veterans. Does that make sense? Does that make sense to your sources? Yeah, yeah. So so let's take let's take an example. I'm a manufacturer, I, I've read your book, beyond thank you for your service. I see it there. If you're out on the video, you'll see the book right there. So it'll have we'll have a backlink to it. So don't worry about it, you'll be able to get that too. But let's just say I'm, I'm passionate, I hear what you're saying. I want it I think it's good for our business, whatever the reason, and I knock on your door, and I say, Hey, I'm ready. I need to do this for my business, for the resilience of my business to the success of my business productivity of your productivity, the loyal workers. Yes. Yeah. So I see all of the benefits. Yep.

21:50

Then what do you do? All right, I start with introducing your talent acquisition team, to sources of veteran talent that is service specific sources. The Marines have a program, the guard has a program, the Army Reserve as a program, then you have state agencies like American Job Centers across the nation that give veterans priority of service. Then you have levers, local veteran employment reps, who helped businesses connect with veterans in the VA, is there our work force program, then there's scads of nonprofits, US Chamber of Commerce Hiring Our Heroes 50, strong a virtual employer connection program?

22:39

Gosh, I don't know, they go on, you know, states have different nonprofits that do this work, right states and local communities who offer all different kinds of services to veterans, but I look for sources of veteran talent that are to that aligned with the needs of the employer. And we start there. And then I also encourage them to get involved out in the local community, so that their brand can be noted as being veteran friendly, that means they go to the large veteran events, you know, maybe they have a float in the Veterans Day Parade, you know, they have the and then and then there's the internal processes, like having a veteran employee resource group, or a veteran voice committee, if you're a smaller company, there just needs to be a way to gather your veterans in your employee, gather them together, so that they can support each other. They can build camaraderie, they can promote professional development, and get involved in you know, going to the career fairs involved in onboarding. And but but for me, I could come to you and say, I have these opportunities. I'm looking for individuals that possess these skills of some sort, or are, are trainable, whatever it might be. I'm not asking for the right fit. And then I just go through people and people just because I'm looking for somebody that, you know, runs this machine, whatever, I define that for you, or we work together and we define it together.

24:21

And then you have your call to action and saying okay, I hear what you're saying. Let me get working. Yes, I would instruct the employer how to use military skills translator so that they can really identify the aptitude of that job seeker alright, I would connect them with places that they can find and meet and evaluate and get job seekers. Okay, and then I help them understand how to interview them understand the body language and the the verbalization and

24:56

and then how to help help them leverage their skill set.

25:00

As you know, in terms of, you know, helping them understand how to get assimilated by onboarding, and

25:10

how do you

25:13

in that those transition

25:17

organizations that that exist out there, that you're saying, Okay, I'm gonna go here, here, here, here, and I'm going to do this, and I'm going to hear what you're saying.

25:26

I'm gonna go to these sources, right, I hear you go.

25:31

I want to succeed. I don't want to waste my time, I want to be able to do what is necessary to find this the skilled talent. And that's where your organization in, you know, in collaboration with me, yes. So I teach the employer how to fish in the pond where the fates are, right. I teach the employer how to develop the best relationships possible once they're hired.

26:05

And so, you know, it's, it's, it's up for the employer to

26:11

invest in those relationships, understand how to interview them, and how to keep them. Okay, so, got it. I'm going down this road, why is it important for me to be able to hire veterans that are in the market? Why? What benefits does that bring to me? Okay, so if you invest in building a veteran talent strategy, yep, a talent attraction strategy and retention strategy, you will have an employee who is operationally focused, mission focused, safety, focused, loyal, calm under pressure, tech savvy, has all kinds of you know, it background, but they also have great technical aptitudes. Okay. We talked about, you know, camaraderie there used to small unit integrity, we call it, right, well, that sounds like a production line to me. And everybody's got to kind of know, their place and their role and, you know, be very exacting, we're used to following rules and regulations, and, you know, policies and procedures, we understand teamwork, we're natural leaders in most cases. And, you know, we want to contribute, you know, we're, you know, by and large, pretty, pretty motivated people that are kind of risk takers, and, you know, what, want to do a good job and, and perform, that's who we'll match you to that. I'm not going to find, I'm not going to, I'm not going to find that might not, don't get me wrong, that's so, you know, cut and dry, but they're trainable. There's a point. Thank you. And with that, that trainability, that, that develops that loyalty to I would imagine, and that competency, that productive capability, more production, whatever it might be, I would imagine that that's the case. Well, I tell you, what we do mostly in the military is train, okay, just a quick, oh, my gosh,

28:15

friend of mine, a female friend of mine, graduated from the Air Force Academy, and she was a pilot, like, 2% of the women are pilots. Right. And she went overseas for a couple years and came back. And she got into the cockpit after being out of it for two years, Scott. And she said, Cathy was like riding a bike.

28:33

I mean, can you imagine all those knobs?

28:36

Right, I can't, I couldn't do it. But that's a testament to the level of the training that we have, because it's so regulated. And we have to be so precise, to you know, in some cases, to fly the plane or to, you know, make the machine work or, you know, fix the plane or whatever. And so, we are used to being trained, we,

28:58

we can be trained easily. And, you know, we'd like to try new things in most cases. So here's a side story about training. So we have a, my son's friend is in the military. And he's been in the military for a number of years. And every time I talked to him, it's always what's, what are you doing? I'm taking this class. Yeah, I do. I'm over here, and I'm learning this over here. ever gonna put this into action? And

29:26

so I was a flight nurse, and oh, my gosh, I went to flight school. And, you know, I did all this training and, and, and frankly, then I had a baby and my husband was a surgeon. And so you know, one of us, he was an Air Force surgeon. So you know, one of us had to put the kids first and that was based, but I did all this training, and never was able to operationalize my flight nurse training in the real deal. And that was a real bummer for me. I really wanted to do that. But let's talk about all that training. Scott. It's not just technical training. It's leadership training. Yeah. Okay. And so there's a lot of fun to

30:00

manuals that come with that military person beyond the hands on stuff. And oh, by the way, you know, many of us from the military are very kind of hands on grassroots people, kind of practical people, you know, so they love making things with their hands. And in most cases, you know, it's dangerous to overgeneralize. But yeah, you get you get kind of the whole package when when you hire a veteran, and you know how to keep them. It really does make your company stronger. Yes, yes. Turnover more productivity. Yeah. So yeah, I'm, it begs the question, what are the roadblocks? Why is this still it would seem to me that this is a no brainer, that there is a constant flow of opportunity to find skilled professionals to help your business succeed, or be more productive or whatever it might be. What's, what's that? What's that roadblock? What what? Well, that's a really good question. I think it's threefold. Really, I think it's awareness. Okay. Employers say to me, gee, where do I find them? You know, and I'll tell you, I hate to interrupt. That is a constant mantra that exists out there today, I can't find the right individuals, I can't find people I can't, I can't, I can't, I can't. Well, regardless of the talent pool they come from, right. But even more specifically, when 6% of our country is people who have served in the military, right there, they're becoming less and less or more and more difficult, really to put your finger on. That's why connecting with and developing relationships with sources of veteran talent is really, really important. Okay? You need to develop proactive talent pipelines, and be aware of where they are and have relationships with them. All right. The other thing is culture, military and civilian culture are different. So you may have somebody show up at an interview, who's high and tight, we call it right sits up straight, never initiates a conversation says Yes, ma'am. No, sir. And doesn't self promote. That's part of our culture. It's not about me, it's about we, that's part of who we are. Well, who are these people? Right? Then there's Okay, poor things. If thing is myths and misconceptions. Oh, gosh, you know, all these people know how to do is bark orders, or they're so direct, or they're bossy or, you know, maybe they maybe maybe they have PTSD, okay. Now, all those myths and misconceptions need to be negated and reconciled and dispelled. Because, you know, what, what most most people know is what they see in the media. And you know, the portrayed is drill sergeants portrayed his drill sergeants, and you know, unfortunately, when stuff goes really wrong, you know, sometimes there's some really sick people that happen to be veterans who've done some really bad stuff, but only about 20% of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have PTSD. So that's not fair. One more thing, one more thing. I think that having again, I have first hand experience hiring military, this is my second business, first business with the health care practice. I saw firsthand how the veterans in our employee became the backbone of our company. No kidding. Their work ethic, their resiliency, their perseverance, we were building a health care practice rapidly, and they were at the forefront. Okay. It's so you know, it's hard to be an employer, right? It's hard to foster belonging. It's not I don't like it hard. It's hard to pick those right. People who have the aptitude and the willing and the skills. I mean, it's tough, right? Well, when there's barriers about what does that job mean, in the military? And how does that translate here? That's about change. Or if it's about change, how can we be me or potentially more open minded about someone who's come back from war? Oh, that scares me. What do I do about that? We you got to be open minded, and, you know, authentic, and, you know, be willing to, you know, change some internal processes that that really, oh, by the way, work for veterans, but I think the processes that work for veterans, in most cases will work for most employees. Oh, yeah. I'm just, honestly, I'm struggling to, you know, put holes in I just think that this is the right strategy for businesses to manufacturing. Absolutely. Absolutely. Their skill sets are magically aligned almost. Yeah, I don't see. So it's just more of a

34:32

an amplification of the opportunities that exist out there and being able to, I'll tell you, the way I would approach it, I don't I don't have my big business anymore, thank goodness, because that's just a collection of headaches. But nonetheless, I would find that right Sherpa to be able to help with that transition with that strategy to make my business. Yes, achieve and I mean that

35:00

So that's a collaboration approach the larger businesses who really do well with this have a dedicated military recruiter. Yeah. I mean, I have, I have a client now who's about, you know, 200 employees. And this gal, I mean, she even said to me, we went to a vet recently, she said, just being here makes me cry, because, you know, I just love the military people, I want to help them, I want to support them. So you don't have to have a full time dedicated resource. But someone who is willing to look at that resume once or twice, not 60 seconds, right? Or companies, many companies do this. They say, you know, if I get a military resume, I'm giving that person an interview, and I'm gonna do my level best to, you know, give them a fair if not even more fair shake, right? So, but but there is some, you know, a little bit of specialized knowledge that and that helps it, but what really helps is your heart, what really helps is wanting to be that civilian veteran champion, and you're not giving a hand out, but a hand up, you hear so often. And you know, just given a military person, a military spouse, a chance for Pete's sake. I mean, I know there's one job seeker right now, who has all these leadership,

36:14

leadership, but just a wide variety of experiences. And, and as a woman, what she's hearing is, well, you're intimidating because you have such a strong resume, and you're going to come a few come on board, you're going to leave. I mean, why would you say that to someone who is retired from the military, and it's served their country honorably? And nobly and you know, give them a chance, get them in the door and see how it works? Yeah, no, I agree with you 100%.

36:43

There is an event that's happening, I would believe, April 24. Take us through that what you got going on that twin talent Academy basic training, we have basic training in April, and then September, we have advanced individual training, you know, I use the army terms to sort of distinguish the different offerings, basic training is about fundamentals of hiring, advanced individual training focuses more on retention, this is a hybrid event out of Phoenix, anybody online can also participate in basic training, we're going to look at things like why is the veteran a good employee? Where do you find them? How to interview them? So it's a it's a great opportunity to get your feet wet? Do I go out to your website for sign up?

37:30

Yeah, if I need to do it online, let's say I'm in what I would do is

37:35

go to go to Eventbrite and put in veteran talent Academy, boom, basic training, April 2024, will will go up or go to Vanguard veteran website and go to veteran hiring, and you'll see it right there at the top of the page. Yeah, I would push people to the website, that just makes it that simple. So and because I see that in your forum, you said it's also online, so I can, I can be there. And if you're in the Phoenix area, yeah, well, it's three hours.

38:06

And, you know, it really does give you a good overview. One of my last participants, the feedback he gave was, you know, I know I need to, you know, be willing to give feedback, you know, you know, if, if a military person comes into your workforce, and they're, I don't know, just little off, or, you know, just maybe doing something that, you know, makes you that makes you kind of uncomfortable, you say something to him about a quick story, Navy SEAL joined a workforce, and I guess he was doing practical jokes on his co workers, right? Because, you know, they be seals, these guys are rough and rowdy and tumble, you know, and that's what they think is funny, or at least this guy did. Right. So it's pulling practical jokes on almost strangers, I guess. And so the HR lady was like, hey, ah, you know, not so much. Right? The point is getting their given feedback and the chance to correct their behavior. Yeah, we're thick skin and we want to succeed. Don't let them you know, don't let them fail, you know, no, no, no, no, no, no, don't do that.

39:07

You also, if you're out on video, she has a book Beyond thank you for your service. That's out on Amazon, right? Yep. That's right. It's sort of the how to book is that what's what I'm really proud of for this book is that it's chock full of practical how to strategies, no matter where you sit in life where they are an employer, lawyer, doctor, educator, clergy or community member or neighbor, right. Some of it gets you know, my about 20 civilian veteran champions, mostly from Ohio. Talk about what they have done to improve quality of life workforce, our community and you know, it's not rocket science. It's people science. Yeah. It's thinking about other people thinking and you know, being authentic leading with your heart and just being a good person, you know, and taking action take

40:00

in action, but I hope you'll take I hope you take a look at it. I invite I invite everybody who's listening to join the veteran champion movement and be a part of the wind. There it is, man. She just wrapped it up. That was really good. How do people get a hold of you? What's the best way? What is you just touched my heart? I want to be able to get in. I need this. Please reach out to me at Kathy at Vanguard veteran.com Kathy with a cane or why Vanguard veteran is there's no periods in there. It's singular Vanguard veteran.com. Take a look at the website.

40:34

And LinkedIn. Yeah. Oh, absolutely. Yes. I'm very active on LinkedIn. There it is, man. Thank you. So again.

40:42

You're welcome.

40:45

All right, you were absolutely wonderful. Oh, back at you, brother. All right, we're gonna have all the contact information for Kathy out on Industrial Talk. So do not hesitate. Get engaged, be a part of this wonderful, wonderful organization. So stay tuned, we will be right back. You're listening to the Industrial Talk Podcast Network.

41:13

All right. Retired Lieutenant Colonel Kathy Galloway, its Vanguard veteran is the organization and we were talking about veteran talent strategy is a mouthful. But it is well worth the effort. You can reach out to her. You can have a conversation, because we're all about that collaboration. Reach out to her. All the contact information will be out on Industrial Talk her sat card right there. It's pretty impressive, quite frankly. Better than mine, that's for sure. Which is not very, that's not a high bar. But anyway,

41:49

Kathy gala woods, reach out to her find out more could be the solution to your challenges. From a from a resource perspective.

41:58

We are open. It does Real Talk door open. Want to talk to you. amplify your voice. Put your podcast out on Industrial Talk. It's all there. It doesn't. I'm here to help you succeed. amplify it because we need to educate, collaborate and of course, innovate. Be bold, be brave, very greatly. Right there. Caffee. Change the World. Talk soon.

Industrial Talk is chatting with Lt. Col. (Ret) Kathy Lowrey Gallowitz, Founder and CEO at Vanguard Veteran, LLC about “Why and How to Build a Veteran Talent Strategy”
Scott MacKenzie

About the author, Scott

I am Scott MacKenzie, husband, father, and passionate industry educator. From humble beginnings as a lathing contractor and certified journeyman/lineman to an Undergraduate and Master’s Degree in Business Administration, I have applied every aspect of my education and training to lead and influence. I believe in serving and adding value wherever I am called.

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