At a time when protectionism seems to be is on the rise in the US, some Indian back-office companies are showcasing their commitment to the community by hiring military veterans and their family members.
Companies such as EXL Service Holdings, Aegis and Hinduja Global Solutions (HGS) are running dedicated programmes to train and induct US war veterans, especially those who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“They (veterans) are process-driven and much more disciplined. A lot of what we do in this industry is about ‘speedable’ processes. Moreover, we find that the performance of the veterans has been very good,” said Sandip Sen, CEO of Aegis, an Essar group company.
In 2013, the company hired more than 600 US military veterans and their spouses, largely at its centres in Killeen (Texas) and Sierra Vista (Arizona), which lie adjacent to US military bases.
‘Team players’ Back-office companies employ veterans at the agent level and for other functions such as human resources and client servicing. Industry officials say veterans are proven team players known for their dedication, hard work and loyalty, traits that are required in the fast-moving back-office industry. Some of the veterans take up managerial positions commensurate with their experience. Data indicate that there are an estimated 2.4 million war veterans, who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan alone. Veteran unemployment (9 per cent) is higher than the national average (7.7 per cent) in the US.
A spokesperson for the BSE-listed HGS said: “We hire veterans and their families because it’s the right thing to do. These people have protected the country, and shouldn’t have to fight for jobs when they get back home.”
Though HGS’ US unit launched its national military recruitment programme in August 2013, it has been running a recruiting partnership with Fort Bliss Military base (located in El Paso, Texas US) for over 10 years. The company was recently accepted into the US Department of Defense Military Spouse Employment Partnership programme, which helps trailing spouses of military personnel find jobs, the HGS spokesperson added. The analytics arm of EXL Services has teamed up with New York-based Marist College to educate and deploy veterans for a career in Big Data, a domain where there is high demand for skilled professionals.
EXL’s plan “The intention is also to provide civilian career opportunities to soldiers returning from Afghanistan combat missions in the immediate time frame,” said Rohit Kapoor, Vice-Chairman and CEO of EXL Services. EXL intends to hire from the pool of veterans who complete the 14-week training programme, which is followed by a 12-week internship.
Keshav Murugesh, CEO of NYSE-listed WNS (Holdings), said his company does employ a number of people from the services, but there is no specific focus on hiring war veterans.
“We have people who have seen action in Vietnam, Kargil and so on,” he added.