Heroes Among Us: Our Commitment to Veterans
Nov 1, 2021
2 min read
As we celebrate Veterans Day on November 11, our nation will honor our military veterans for their brave service to our country. At Farm Bureau Financial Services, we celebrate veterans from all branches of military service, and we also celebrate all the ways they add to our workforce. Military veterans achieve so much during their service, but their contributions don’t end with their time in uniform. We recognize their accomplishments, applaud their skills and actively recruit them for our teams.
Soft Skills
As any hiring manager will tell you, skills specific to the position can be taught. What often can’t be taught are the soft skills critical to success. Skills like communication, people management, integrity, problem solving and dependability are some of the most sought-after skills – and skills that veterans demonstrate time and time again in civilian roles.
“Learning to work with a team in the Air Guard, in a culture of not caring about self-glory, was probably the biggest way my military service translated to corporate America,” said Juliana, an 8-year employee of Farm Bureau. “Farm Bureau has similar core values to the military, so I feel at home here.”
Jacob, a Farm Bureau employee for six years, agrees that the technical and soft skills he learned during his military service have helped him succeed at Farm Bureau.
Our Commitment to Veterans
“When I talk to our managers and recruiters, I steer them to our vets because of the parallel to having a career in insurance is like the Armed Forces in that it’s not about you. It is about serving for something bigger than yourself and protecting people in your community. With the right mindset of serving others, all our agents can be successful,” said Juliana.
Because Farm Bureau believes so strongly in our military veterans and the value they bring to our business, we are actively working to attract and retain veterans to our companies. We are excited to work with Home Base Iowa, a one-of-a-kind program connecting veterans and transitioning service members with employers like Farm Bureau.
Home Base Iowa helps connect Iowa businesses with qualified veterans looking for career opportunities. This program is a cooperative effort to connect private-public businesses with military veteran resources, aiding in transitioning service members and their families.
An Ongoing Pledge
Hiring is only part of it – at Farm Bureau we work hard to ensure that once veterans are here, they have the resources to build a solid career after their time in uniform. We provide learning opportunities that teach the job skills necessary for success and ongoing training to support advancement.
In addition to providing workplace opportunities, we have an annual celebration on Veterans Day where we award Quilts of Valor quilts to veterans working in our midst. Juliana believes that programs like Quilts of Valor make an important impact on our veterans. “I received one of the Quilts of Valor, and I love the program. I will never get a retirement from the military, but the Quilt of Valor is something my kids can see as tangible evidence of what I did.”
In addition to the Quilts of Valor program, we provide flexibility to veterans and their ongoing service commitments. Jacob said, “I have been on multiple deployments since being employed. Farm Bureau has been very supportive, and I was even able to get a ESGR Patriot Award for the company in 2016.”
We celebrate the veterans on our team who help set Farm Bureau apart. Are you a military veteran, or do you know a veteran that would make a great addition to our team? We want to hear from you. Join our Talent Network, search open positions or express interest via Home Base Iowa.