Putting Vets on the Team.

• Position: THE WORKPLACE - Brief article

Three ways to build a cohesive work team that includes veterans:

* Create an employee resource group or affinity group specific to the veterans on staff. An ERG is a group of employees that shares life experiences and provides support to one another, including facilitating career or personal development at all levels within the organization. Successful veteran employee groups support members at all levels: from an evening social to assisting local wounded veterans returning to the community; from providing mentoring to other veterans entering the workforce to attending local VFW functions.

* Provide the veteran with a mentor or a "battle buddy." Often, organizations on-board new employees through the use of a one- or two-day welcome session, go through the employee handbook, review how to get paid and sign up for employee benefits, and rattle through other miscellaneous information at a breakneck pace. If you ever have had a job, there probably is one thing you remember from your first few weeks--you do not remember much of what anyone said. Providing people with...