View the 2009 MVE Winners .

Glassdoor.com recently announced the winners of its first annual (2009) Employees Choice Awards for Best Places to Work. Are you curious to know how the U.S. Military services ranked (yes, government agencies get rated right along with Wal-mart, Google, and Whole Foods)? Given the environment of non-stop deployments, the results may surprise you.

The Army placed in the Top 50 list, coming in at #43. Soldiers and DA civilians gave their employer a 3.6 satisfaction rating (highest rating was 4.5 earned by General Mills), and reported a 54% approval rating for Under Secretary Pete Geren.

The Navy is next, with a 3.5 satisfaction rating and a 53% approval rating for Secretary Don Winter. The Air Force actually had the highest approval rating (4.0), but because Chief of War Fighting Integration and CIO Michael Peterson only garnered a 40% approval rating, the Air Force was not eligible for Top 50 ranking. The Marine Corps did not have enough reviews by the deadline to compete for the 2009 award. The website continuously collects and aggregates reviewer data, so currently viewable ratings may not reflect where the organizations fell out at the survey’s conclusion last December.

The Top 50 were selected from more than 11,000 companies reviewed by the nearly 75,000 employees who completed a 20-question survey on Glassdoor.com in 2008. To be eligible for the list, a company must have had at least all of the following as of December 15, 2008:

• 25 reviews from United States-based employees,
• “satisfied” ratings overall and across all categories, and
• a CEO with at least a 50% approval rating.

The survey questions relate to employees’ attitudes about Career Opportunities, Communication, Compensation & Benefits, Employee Morale, Recognition & Feedback, Senior Leadership, Work/Life Balance, and Fairness & Respect. After the overall ratings are calculated, a company could have been excluded from the list if a review panel determined detrimental acts by management or other negative company events could ultimately damage employees’ faith in the company’s senior leadership and/or adversely affect its overall rating on Glassdoor.com.

Overall, the military services ranked high for benefits (free medical, free housing, money for education, etc.) , extensive training, opportunities, leadership development, and the quality of the people. As you might expect, negatives were long hours, time away from family, and harsh working conditions (being shot at and mortared tends to have that effect). A complete copy of the survey questions and the methodology can be obtained by sending an email request to bestplacestowork@glassdoor.com.

Implications for civilian employers: When developing your marketing approach for recruiting veterans, determine how your company compares with the positives of serving in the military and emphasize areas where you are similar. For example, if your company offers extensive training or a great tuition reimbursement plan, make sure that information is included on any printed materials you display or handout. If you show videos of current employees extolling the benefits of working for your organization, emphasize one where education and training is mentioned.

• Recognizes your existence

• Can convey in simple terms what your company does or what product(s) it offers

This sounds simple enough. However, the reality is – unless your company:

• Sells/makes popular consumer products/services

• Manufactures military weapons systems or equipment

• Or, has large contracts with the military…

…chances are – your company is one big mystery to the typical military service member.

So…how can you create brand awareness in the military community so that transitioning service members think of your company when they begin exploring their next career? One great way is by volunteering with Veteran Service Organizations (VSO’s) (www1.va.gov/vso/) or other non-profit organizations that support the military.

One of my clients engaged its veteran-employees as volunteers for two unique efforts this year. The first activity was with Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) (www.taps.org). When a military family loses a service member through war, illness, accident or suicide, TAPS offers peer support and assists survivors though a wide variety of programs, including some specifically designed to meet the needs of military children left behind. My client organized a volunteer group of about 50 employees, many veterans themselves, and assisted with preparation of remembrance cards. These are cards that are sent to surviving family members on the anniversary of the military member’s death. Each card is hand signed and usually contains a hand written expression of gratitude for the veteran’s service and acknowledgement of the family’s loss.

The second activity had the company sponsoring an Oktoberfest event at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. This was done in partnership with the Yellow Ribbon Fund (www.yellowribbonfund.org). The Yellow Ribbon Fund supports the needs of injured service members and their families while the veteran recuperates at Walter Reed or at Bethesda Naval Medical Center (NOTE: YRF is slowly expanding its services to other states where veterans are convalescing in military hospitals). My client had several of its veteran-employees, decked out in company-logo-ed shirts and hats, on site for the Oktoberfest event. Their only purpose was to meet and greet the wounded veterans and their families, and to assist in any way they could with the event. The veteran-employees prepared plates of food and helped wheel-chair bound service members to a table. They chatted with families who had once been stationed in Germany and reminisced about travels and experiences in Europe. They handed out coloring books and crayons and played checkers with the children who were visiting Mom or Dad at Walter Reed.

So, round up some employees to stuff Hero Packs for Operation: Military Kids (www.operationmilitarykids.org) or ask for veteran-employee volunteers to be corporate mentors to transitioning service members through American Corporate Partners (www.acp-usa.org).  Sponsor the 10k race at your local military installation and send a team of runners in company logo-ed tee-shirts.  All are good ways to build company brand awareness in the military community!