Unemployment is at its Lowest Point in Over 26 Years.
Today's employers are faced with an unprecedented challenge of meeting their staffing needs in today's high-technology, service-oriented economy. The demand for motivated, qualified personnel has outstripped supply in many industries. Without new sources of talent, growth, productivity and profits will be constrained by shortages in the labor market.

Lifelong Employees are No Longer the Norm
Some employees are taking advantage of the strong economy and changing jobs-- moving to positions that offer greater compensation, a more compatible quality of life, more flexibility, or professional advancement. Downsizing from a decade ago continues to haunt the labor force; many have surrendered ideas of a single-employer career and are instead, looking to find stability and advancement on their own terms. Where once companies were populated with individuals who had risen through the ranks, today's employees have the lowest average tenure with their company than at almost any point in history. Companies are having to look outside their ranks to sustain their continued existence and growth.

Employers Need Ways to Maintain Flexibility in Staffing, Yet Still Attract Dedicated, Highly-Skilled Employees
But despite the strength of today's economy, you know that factors change-- in today's global economy, things are more volatile than ever before. Profits, and in some cases survival, are predicated upon an organization's ability to respond quickly and decisively. Maintaining a labor force with the flexibility and agility to respond to evolving forces in a timely manner remains a challenge. Some companies have turned to the temporary labor industry to provide this flexibility. That flexibility comes at a price-- commissions on top of salaries, as well as a workforce that is fundamentally unstable. Temporary employees may come and go as they receive more "permanent" positions from your competitors. How to balance your need for flexibility and prospective employees' desires for stability?

The Employer's Advantage

Today's Military Spouses are the Solution to the Shortage of Dedicated, High-Quality Employees.
Traditionally overlooked as a viable source of talent, today's military spouses are proving their advantage to employers. Combining talent, training, and unique skills cultivated by the rigors of military family life, military spouses are the solution to your staffing challenges.

The Military Spouse Advantage is The Employer's Advantage
The Military Spouse Advantage is YOUR advantage!

Military spouses are educated, highly-skilled, and trained in a variety of disciplines.
Whatever your needs, chances are there is a military spouse who is perfectly suited to them! Over half of all military spouses have some college training. More than one-fifth have earned a baccalaureate degree. One in twenty holds one or more graduate or professional degrees. Many are licensed or certified in skilled trades or professional fields, with experience in a variety of different types and sizes of organizations, and invariably in different parts of the country-- or even the world. If you're looking for an employee who is bilingual, or one who has proven their ability to "hit the ground running"-- look no further than the military spouses in your community. Chances are, there is one who possesses the skills and abilities you seek.

Military Spouses are Change Masters
The unique nature of military family life demands that spouses remain ready to adapt and adjust to change. Accordingly, military spouses develop coping mechanisms for dealing with and adapting to change. These skills are an asset in the workplace. It is said that in business today, the only constant is change. Those who have developed within themselves the capacity to function in the midst of change are the employees on whom you can depend during turbulent times. Change, instability, ambiguity-- they can turn an organization upside down and create chaos. But those who can continue to function, those who thrive on change--they produce and they can lead, as they adapt and adjust to accommodate the changing environment. Military spouses are change masters!

Military Spouses are Multi-Skilled
Largely as a result of their geographic mobility, military spouses have garnered experience in a variety of organizations and in a variety of settings. Part of adapting to change entails the development of new skills appropriate to the novel situation. While the resumes of some military spouses may appear "unfocused" or disjointed as a result of their need to make the most of whatever opportunities may have existed in a given location, the fact is, those resumes demonstrate a variety of skills, experience in a multitude of settings, and the adaptability to be able to leverage their existing knowledge and experience to learn the new skills needed to tackle the demands of a each new job.

Military Spouse have Diverse, Applicable Experience
Unlike employees who have spent much of their career within the same organization, military spouses often have diverse experience within their career field. Having seen and done things in more than one way, they can bring that experience of lessons learned to new positions, bringing to bear the best practices gleaned from exposure to many different settings. Organizations in search of "new blood" may find military spouses to be a major infusion of new ideas, best practices, strategic knowledge and a worldly view that exists in no other applicant population.

Military Spouses can Bring to Bear Inter- and Intra-Industry Experience
As is typical of the diversity of their experience, some military spouses' careers have combined experience in their field across industries, along with different positions within a single industry. This unique breadth of knowledge and exposure enables them to see things from a much more complete perspective. This cross-perspective orientation is similar to the strategy employed in leading managerial development programs-- because it is the kind of diverse experience that is essential to competent, well-rounded leaders.

Military Spouses can Impart a Fresh Perspective and Renewed Energy in Your Organization
If there's one place you're not likely to find a military spouse, it's in a rut! Their periodic mobility ensures that. It also ensures that military spouses will usually be in a fresh and energized state-- striving to demonstrate how quickly they learn their new job and contribute to the success of your organization, or working to sustain that same high level of commitment, recognizing that your assessment of them as an employee matters in their upcoming job search. Military spouses never have the opportunity to become "dead wood"...!

The Military Family Lifestyle Encourages Military Spouses to Become Goal-Oriented, and to Strive for Immediate and Continuous Results
When it comes to the accomplishment of goals, most employees who do set goals recognize that they have a lifetime to accomplish them. For the military spouse who knows he/she may be moving on in a few years, there is an impetus to make significant progress in the near-term. Procrastination doesn't pay-- and military spouses know that a change is always inevitable. Transfers become milestones for military spouses-- and the continuing necessity to sum up what they've accomplished for your organization, as for those before, serves to reinforce a results-driven orientation.

Military Spouses can Act in the Long-Term Interests of the Organization
That same labor force flexibility that you seek as an employer is an ominous threat to employees. As your organization strives to stay ahead of the competition, your employees strive to ensure attainment of their own personal goals. For many, a goal of self-preservation, even to the detriment of the organization's long-term needs, exists. Employees may act in a manner that justifies their continued employment, instead of in a way that may increase the efficiency of your operations, eventually eliminating their job. Lacking a long-term motive for self-preservation, military spouses can assist in developing and implementing improved business practices that may reduce your labor costs in the long-run.

Bureau of Labor Statistics Figures Indicate that Military Spouses are No Less "Stable" than their Counterparts
The U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the average job tenure of employees has been on a steady decline over the past decade. Across all industries, the average tenure is between three and four years. The median tour of duty for military personnel is 3 years, suggesting that their accompanying spouses are likely to be employed for an "average" period, if they find employment shortly upon arrival.

Military "Homebasing" Will Add to Spouses' Employment Stability
In an effort to reduce its own relocation expenses, the Department of Defense and Coast Guard have sought to reduce the frequency of geographic transfers of military personnel and their families. Additionally, the Base Realignment and Closure Act resulted in the consolidation of many military facilities, reducing the need for some transfers. Extensions to tours of duty and coordination enabling sequential tours in the same geographical location have become more common, and assisted the armed forces in reducing their costs--while at the same time, promoting increased stability of the military spouse workforce. Military spouses may remain in an area for three, four, or even six years-- something quite uncommon previously. Spouses who are employed are also far more likely to remain in the geographic area to continue their employment when the military member deploys or is ordered on an unaccompanied tour to an overseas location. This promotes increased stability for the local economy, which directly benefits local employers.

Turnover Among Military Spouses is More Predictable Than Among Their Counterparts
Although military spouses and their counterparts are likely to stay with an employer for the same length of time on average, compared to others, there is less variability in the tenure of military spouses. This translates to greater predictability and makes it easier for organizations to manage their turnover rate effectively. Employers who demonstrate an open willingness and commitment to hire military spouses also tend to cultivate a more trusting environment-- working together, military spouses and their employers can plan for impending transfers, providing ample time to hire and train replacements-- rather than the minimal notice to the employer afforded by typical employees, which often leaves the employer undermanned. Staffing shortages generate animosity among those who must pick up additional responsibilities and the overtime costs and disruption to operations can grow rapidly; Chronic shortages can increase turnover among other employees, creating a vicious cycle. Predictable, well-managed turnover sustains organizational performance, controls recruiting costs, and maintains workforce morale.

Military Spouses Can Take Advantage of Free and Low-Cost Career Development and Training Resources
Recognizing the unique demands placed on military families, the Department of Defense and its components have developed training programs for military family members that help develop essential life skills-- from anger management, to team building, to leadership and health and wellness issues. Many of these programs have direct applicability to employees' success and value in the workplace. In addition, some military installations offer a variety of classes in career development, computer skills, foreign languages, and other employment topics-- including some commercially-available training programs that your own employees have benefited from. Using their collective numbers, the military family service organizations have been able to offer such training opportunities to military spouses at reduced cost, compared to individual training paid for by employers. When they avail themselves of these resources, your military spouse employees can help you stretch your training dollars while they continue to improve their skills to the benefit of your organization.

Military Spouses Understand the Importance of a Drug-Free Lifestyle
Few topics are more controversial that drug testing in the workplace, and in many states the practice is strictly curtailed or prohibited. Employee drug use has been shown to negatively impact job performance and to impair safety in some industries-- yet the legal issues surrounding testing programs are a strong deterrent for even conscientious employers who want to retain the most able workforce. The military's much-publicized "zero tolerance" policy on illicit drug use and possession and its rigorous random testing program has led to drug use figures which are significantly below those of other segments of society. The severity of sanctions for the possession or use of drugs on military property, including in government-owned housing, coupled with a social culture that severely discourages illicit drug use, impacts military spouses. While it may not provide the same level of assurance as an employee drug testing program, this social influence on military spouses likely reduces the need for such testing-- and comes at no cost to employers.

Advertising Job Openings Through Your Local Military Installation Costs You Nothing
Most military installations operate job placement offices for military spouses, and will gladly refer qualified applicants to you for consideration. Some will even allow you to post jobs anonymously and pre-screen applicants based on criteria that you provide. Your local military installation can advise you of the services they offer employers, and how to take advantage of them. Employers seeking to fill full- or part-time positions at multiple locations may elect to advertise free at the MSCN web site. Installation newspapers are another excellent source for reaching prospective military spouse employees in the local area. As some are operated on a cost-recovery basis or by commercial enterprises, nominal advertising fees may apply; however, such fees are generally more cost-effective than other types of print advertising and are particularly effective for targeting military spouses already living in the local area.

You Will Have Access to Military Spouses and Retiring/Transitioning Service Members, All of Whom Offer Outstanding Training and Experience
Your local military installation's job placement office can assist you in finding well-qualified applicants. In addition to military spouses (some of whom have prior military service themselves), the transition assistance coordinator can help put you in contact with service members who are retiring or leaving active duty. These individuals often have militarily-unique skills and experience that defense contractors seek, and the leadership skills, outstanding work ethic, dedication, and other valuable attributes that all employers search for. You may even find a husband/wife team that is ideally suited for the positions you seek to fill.

You Can Attract Talent Comparable to a Nation-Wide Search, Without the Costly Burden of Relocation Expenses
Because the government pays most relocation expenses of military families moving to your area, you can attract talent comparable to a nationwide search of job candidates, without the high cost of paying them to relocate. Coupled with the lack of commissions and similar costs associated with commercial recruiting firms, hiring military spouses through your local military installation or the Military Spouses' Career Network can greatly reduce your company's recruiting costs!