Successful Strategies of Small Business Owners to Recruit Veterans

Approximately 300,000 highly skilled veterans leave military service every year, yet some small business owners lack strategies to recruit these skilled workers. The specific business problem addressed in this multiple case study was that some small information technology business leaders lack strategies to recruit military veterans. The research sample included 3 owners of small businesses serving the information technology industry in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States who developed and implemented successful strategies for recruiting veterans. Data were collected from interviews and review of documents. Data analysis resulted in the identification of 3 major themes: understanding of veterans as a means to determining organizational, job, and environmental fit; targeting veterans for recruitment and hiring; and retaining veterans as members of the small business civilian workforce. The implications for social change included the potential for a reduction of the unemployment rate among veterans and an increase in veterans\u27 purchasing power in support of their local communities