VETLANTA and Veteran Business
Resource Groups
Unemployment has reached all-time record lows this year
and according to the Department of Labor, the national
unemployment rate in May was 3.8%. Even better
news is that this unemployment rate for military veterans was
easier and quicker than in previous years, but why? Veterans
traditionally are highly valued by employers because of the
characteristics they possess, such as integrity, dependability,
loyalty and leadership abilities, just to name a few. Many
companies recognize the value of veteran employees and have
stepped up over the last several years, creating veteran initiatives
within their organizations to better attract and retain veteran
candidates and employees.
(VBRGs) are fairly common now in many companies. These
groups allow veterans and veteran advocates to come together to
make an impact within the organization and their communities.
These organizations provide a sense of camaraderie that some
veterans lose after separating from the military. These efforts
more than 50% of veterans remain for 18 months or less at their
or ability to adjust to corporate culture is often the prime culprit.
Many VBRGs provide a veteran mentor to assist with the
employment transition.
For those currently seeking employment, it usually takes just
a little bit of effort to connect with a VBRG member at most
companies. Connecting with a VBRG prior to employment is a
great opportunity to research a company’s culture and see how
employment. In addition to supporting one-on-one engagement,
VETLANTA offers multiple events each year to network with
VBRGs and other members.
When I joined VETLANTA in December of 2016, I had no idea
what to expect, and I was blown away by the sheer number of
people involved and the work that went into hosting its events. I
had been part of other veteran groups in the past but nothing even
came close to the engagement at VETLANTA. Once I learned
more about the club, I realized it is a forum for VBRGs to come
together to collaborate to make a bigger impact for veterans.
If you had told me two years ago that I would be working with
and educating these companies on veteran employment, I would
It’s been two years and now that I am here working with these
also look at what can be done when you get hard-working and
dedicated people together. Here at VETLANTA, we see what can
be done, each and every day, and strive to make an impact. Our
8 | August 2018 | Real Hero Report
mission is to make Atlanta the premier destination for veterans
and that would be impossible without VBRG collaboration as
they are the bedrock of VETLANTA.
Recognizing that VETLANTA got its start from VBRGs,
we want to use that to help forward our mission. Through
our leadership and members, we have a wealth of knowledge
regarding VBRGs; everything from starting them, to running
them, to organizing the events. We are going to take the best
practices and lessons learned. We conducted a VBRG Information
Session on July 31st, prior to our Q3 Summit, which was hosted
by UPS and supported by numerous VBRG volunteers. If you
would like more info on VETLANTA or our VBRG efforts,
please contact Holly Best at employment@vetlanta.org.
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