Cultural Competence – Why Members of the Military Community Serve as Inclusive and Compassionately Compliant HR Professionals
By now you’ve heard many of the reasons organizations look to hire members of the military community. Dedication, teamwork, and integrity are just a few of the attributes companies embrace in veteran and military spouse candidates. But what if I told you that diversity and inclusion in action are the traits that make members of the military community a natural fit within your HR team? Regardless of service branch or military occupation the mantra of the military community is “Mission First, People Always.” This ethos, coupled with a spirit of continual learning, and personal growth is not only the foundation of military culture it’s the foundation for good HR! Pathways for veterans to serve within HR careers not only serve the veteran population they serve our entire workforce as these HR leaders thrive at building diverse, equitable and inclusive cultures.
In this session you’ll learn how a combination of SHRM educational resources and programs are fostering pathways into HR for the military community by tapping into and building upon the cultural competence of these diverse individuals. These continual learners have a demonstrated ability to thrive within diverse environments while creating inclusive cultures. And, given the direct impact HR professionals have in building inclusive and equitable cultures within our workplace members of the military community are a natural fit to serve within the HR profession.
Andrew Morton
As SHRM’s Director of Certification and Veteran Affairs Andrew Morton works with the military and veterans' organizations to develop workforce readiness pathways for veterans and military-families. As part of SHRM’s Speaker’s Bureau Andrew informs and empowers organizations in their inclusion-hiring efforts across many populations including Veterans, individuals with disabilities, and Returning Citizens as part of SHRM’s Getting Talent Back to Work Initiative. He is the contributing author to Justin Constantine’s SHRM published book “From We Will to At Will- A Handbook for Veteran Hiring, Transitioning and Thriving in Today’s Workplace.”
Andrew, a retired Infantry-Officer, served in several leadership roles during multiple overseas and combat tours (Iraq, Bosnia, Macedonia and Egypt) in his 21-year Army career. He also served as the Chief of Marketing and Advertising for the Army Reserve. Prior to his arrival at SHRM in 2014 Andrew previously served as public relations director for a PR firm in Alexandria.
Andrew is passionate about awareness and resources in support of mental health within our workforce and society at large and is currently completely his Masters in Mental Health Counseling at the College of William and Mary.