Getting noticed on the Web - BedTimes

EmployeeRelations
No small commitment
If you employ members of the
National Guard or military reserves,
you can lose them for a period of
time when they get called up for service.
This, admittedly, can be a huge
burden on a company with a limited
work force.
It takes strong corporate commitment
and organization to be able
to cover the projects and work that
needs to be completed, while holding
open the deployed person’s job
until he returns.
Most employers who make a
commitment to hire those in the
National Guard or reserves are
creative in the ways they extend
support. Often, employers will
provide supplements that make
up the difference between military
and civilian pay, set up programs to
send care packages to their deployed
12 | BedTimes | April 2011
workers and aid the families of deployed
service personnel.
For example, a Colorado police
department had one of its officers
deploy four times. That certainly
created a hardship for the department,
but it didn’t stop the department
from showing support. The
serviceman’s wife was having trouble
making mortgage payments, so the
department took up a collection to
fill the gap until he returned. It set
up a schedule so a different employ-
ee would send a care package every
two weeks. When he returned, he
was welcomed back with a luncheon.
This is an employer who went above
and beyond.
Many companies are enjoying the
advantages of putting our military
veterans and personnel to work.
Why not join them? BT
Elaine Dumler is an author, speaker,
consultant and separations expert
who helps military families transition
through all phases of deployment. Her
books, I’m Already Home: Again and
The Road Home, provide resources and
strategies for deployment and reintegration.
She is committed to helping
veterans get back to work through
www.deploymenttoemployment.com.
For more information, call
303-430-0592 or check
www.imalreadyhome.com.
www.bedtimesmagazine.com