CINCINNATI — When Stephanie Markich arrived on the steps of P&G after serving in the U.S. Army, it wasn’t an accident.
"I decided to research companies that hired veterans that would value my time in the military and all the skills I had, and I was really looking for a company I could have that second career with," Markich said.
A graduate of West Point, Markich would serve six years in the Army, working in the field of transportation and logistics. She was stationed in Germany when the attacks on Sept. 11 occurred. Her unit helped move inbound soldiers and equipment from the United States through Germany and out to Afghanistan.
That military training was recognized as essential to P&G’s needs and Markich was hired as the site transportation leader.
"When I started with the company, I was very impressed with the veterans recruiting team," Markich said.
It’s something she volunteered to help with on top of her actual job.
"I kept asking our leadership team like, 'Hey we really need to have someone dedicated to this that can put the time and the effort in and really advertise all the great things P&G values in veterans,'" Markich said.
Those leaders then offered her the role, making her now the senior recruiter for U.S. veterans at P&G.
"We really take it on a personal level to make sure this veteran is going to make the best decision for them and their family and really make them feel like P&G values you and we want you to come and have a career here not just take the first job you found when getting out of the military," she said.
Markich said P&G has more than 2,000 veterans working with the company in the U.S. and Canada. She admits those numbers are tied to those employees who self-identified as veterans and she believes there are many more within the company.
P&G is a case study in a new book by author Matthew Louis entitled ‘Hiring Veterans'. Louis is a former P&G employee and Army veteran.
"They've been recruiting veterans since the Civil War and they continue to do so today," Louis said. "They've had a much more concerted effort in this regard."
Louis said military officers and senior non-commissioned officers bring a lot to the table having led large numbers of service members and holding oftentimes huge responsibilities tied to millions of dollars of equipment. The mission readiness and problem-solving capabilities all combine to an employee that can exceed their civilian counterparts.
"When you draw apples-to-apples comparison between the education training experience, supervisory experience that military members have vis-à-vis their civilian peers of an equivalent age group, it doesn't compare those coming out of the military. (Veterans) with bachelor's degrees have three times more experience than their civilian equivalent," Louis said.
He’s hopeful companies will take the time to educate themselves further on the benefits of hiring a veteran and what it can bring to their company and even their company's bottom line, according to studies cited in the book.
"22% productivity gain, 13 times higher mean cash flow, four times better to be able to deal with personnel issues and the list goes on," Louis said.
Markich said aside from their ongoing recruitment efforts, the veterans within the company also advocate for their fellow veterans and help explain the value of what’s on a job applicant's resume and how that translates to P&G’s work ethic.
"The skills they bring to the table, the leadership, the teamwork, that whole can-do attitude hard-working all those great things fit well with P&Gs culture," said Markich.
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