Every day is Veterans Day for Salute Mission Critical and our clients as we work together to make a real difference for the people that sacrifice so much for our country. At Salute, our whole mission is to get veterans into the data center industry. Though we know other data center leaders, especially our clients, feel the same way, this Veteran’s Day, we want to make one thing clear. Positive sentiments towards veterans are good but our veterans need action more than words. At Salute, we believe the entire data center (and telecommunications) industry should embrace veterans by implementing effective workforce development programs that attract, transition and train them, thus resolving the sector’s ongoing talent shortage once and for all.
Empathy, Sympathy and Compassion. Turning Sentiment into Action
With Veterans Day on the horizon, gatherings will commence with service members and their supporters. Throw in a speaker to talk about veterans or a band and the shoutouts, chest thumping and general patriotic fervor gives you an emotional high that lasts all the way home. But when you wake up, it might as well be another version of the movie Groundhog Day. The same events have been going on for years with very few of them, if any, helping veterans get much-needed jobs. Years ago, our Co-Founder & Chairman, Lee Kirby, wrote a blog about the well-wishers who offer to buy those in uniform a coffee when they see them in the airports. The coffee is a sincere and nice gesture, but if you really want to thank veterans for their service, give them a business card, wish them well and ask them to call you for an interview when they return from active duty.
Most people feel empathy, which refers to feeling what another person is feeling. Others feel sympathy, which means you understand what the other person feels even without feeling it yourself. But compassion means your feelings have prompted you to take action. Making the emotional leap from the “feel good” to the “do something” mindset is hard for most because a veteran is seen through just one lens, which is focused on the admiration of their courage and service. Sports teams, artists, figureheads and others with jobs benefit from spectators. For our veterans, however, cheering from the stands does not make a difference. This Veterans Day, we challenge you to change things up, come down from the bleachers and rally those around you to show compassion with meaningful action for the heroes who have shown tremendous devotion to duty.
If you can, take a moment and look at it from a commercial value point of view if you need more motivation. It is a wise business decision to hire people who have had thousands of dollars and hours of training in leadership, critical thinking and problem solving in the most extreme circumstances imaginable. What they hold in their minds is the key to moving from emotion-based responses that often result in human error to practical, actionable responses that produce results. For data centers whose worth to tenants is measured in uptime and service quality, veterans are a major asset. Have parties and concerts but have them to celebrate something meaningful, like having actually hired veterans since the last Veterans Day ceremony.
The Opportunities Are Endless
In the data center industry, the career opportunities are endless. Here are some of the jobs available to veterans globally:
● Project Manager
● Data Center Technician
● Construction
● Human Resources
● Security
● Business Operations
● Technical Operations
● Workforce Development
● Client Services
● Health & Safety
● Engineers
● Manager
Compassion is the Salute Difference
Salute Mission Critical empowers veterans and military spouses to make the career moves of their dreams that suit their families’ needs and goals. Recently, we partnered with the Department of Defense to connect qualified individuals with partner employers. Additionally, we are also ranked as a Military Friendly Military Spouse Employer 2021, a prestigious award for employers that do the most to benefit military spouses. Military Friendly® is the standard that measures an organization’s commitment, effort and success in creating sustainable and meaningful benefits for the military community. Most recently, Salute was recognized by the U.S. Department of Labor for being a job creator who demonstrates a strong commitment to hiring and retaining veterans! The Gold Medallion Award is a prestigious win for our business and the wider data center industry as it rewards exemplary efforts in recruiting, employing and retaining our nation’s veterans.
Here’s a fun fact. Salute hired 81 veterans and military spouses between July and September of 2020 and we are continuing to grow. If you are looking to make your next big career move, apply here.