All★Vet States is dedicated to one mission: Employing our nation's heroes.  

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What's New with IHHC?

Membership Up - We're very pleased to announce that IHHC now has 82 member companies.  That's more than a 500% increase from this time last year.  More and more companies are recognizing the benefits of hiring veterans and operationalizing special practices to better capitalize on the talent of the veteran workforce.

Benefits of IHHC Membership - While membership is growing, we want more companies to join and take advantage of IHHC's various no-cost benefits, including:

• Direct access to Illinois' broad database of job-seeking veterans;
• No-cost, expert support from state agencies in recruiting, hiring and retaining veteran employees;
• Preference in getting a spot at high-level hiring events and seminars across the state;
• An official certification from the State of Illinois branding your company as veteran-friendly;
• Exclusive access to the IHHC logo; and
• Innovative HR training practices to maximize the attainment of skilled workers.

Know other companies looking to hire veterans?  Have them call IDVA at (312) 814-7204 or visit the IHCC website.

New Pledge Commitments

We're continuing to identify new programs and practices that employers can utilize to improve the processes through which they hire, recruit, and support veteran employees.

New Recruitment Practices:

• Connect to Illinois Joining Forces - List job openings on IllinoisJobLink.com and utilize employment resources available through Illinois Joining Forces. 
• Connect with IDES' Local Veterans Employment Representatives - Establish relationships between your Illinois Hiring Managers and IDES' Local Veterans Employment Representatives (LVERs).

New Human Resource Training Practice:

• No-Cost Training Webinars for Employers - Participate in at least one of the three employer training webinars available through Hiring Our Heroes, a program of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation.  

Exclusive IHHC Member Event 

Veterans As Strategic Assets Symposium 

Set for June 5 in Chicago

IHHC member companies have a special opportunity 

to attend an invitation-only event tailored specifically 

for senior business leaders seeking to optimize their utilization of the veteran talent pool.  

Details:

Veterans As Strategic Assets Symposium

8 a.m. - 2 p.m. on Thursday, June 5, 2014
University Club of Chicago
76 E. Monroe Street, Chicago

Join other CEOs, COOs and senior HR 

representatives at this symposium that will address 

why veterans are today's 4-star talent and how to 

search for, hire, retain, and optimize tomorrow's 

leaders.  This integrated effort combines research-

based execution of guidance, level-setting, a road 

map, templates, and best practices - transforming 

veterans from an employer blind-spot to a top-of-

mind resource.

Ground-breaking research about veterans will be 

shared, along with panel discussions about best 

practices for utilizing veterans, recruitment strategies 

and creating a veteran-friendly workplace.

Symposium speakers include:        

To register for the event, contact Max Dulberger at IDVA at Max.Dulberger@illinois.gov.   

Expert Assistance with               Employment Compliance Needs

Is your company a federal contractor? IDES can assist with your employment compliance efforts.

The Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance

Act (VEVRAA) requires covered federal government

contractors and subcontractors with contracts of 

$100,000 or more to list their employment openings 

with the appropriate employment service delivery 

system (ESDS) and that covered veterans receive 

priority in referral to such openings. The Office of 

Federal Contractor Compliance Program (OFCCP) 

has issued final rules, effective March 24, 2014.

How does a Federal Contractor satisfy the job listing

requirements with the Illinois Department of Security 

and the state's labor exchange?  

• Register their company in the state's labor exchange, IllinoisJobLink.com and indicate that 
• the company is a federal contractor. Each local hiring manager must either register their own employer account or be listed in the employer registration.

AND

• Enter all job openings directly into the state's labor exchange, IllinoisJobLink.com and indicate on their job listings that they are a federal contractor - for example by noting "VEVRAA Federal Contractor" on their listing - and their desire for priority referrals of protected veterans for its openings. Also include the local hiring manager's contact information. Their job listings disclosure level should be listed as "public" or "public limited."

OR

• The federal contractor may choose to employ a third party consultant or contractor; the federal contractor must still satisfy the above job listing requirements. An example of this would be to use the National Labor Exchange (NLX), www.US.jobs and ensure with the NLX that the jobs are being downloaded into the state's labor exchange, IllinoisJobLink.com. 

In addition to ensuring job listing compliance via the method outlined above, IDES offers "No Cost HR Solutions" which can be tailored to your company's needs. This could include referrals of quality candidates to help you meet your benchmarks under the new VEVRAA and Section 503 rules.

For USDOL's VEVRAA Final Rule Frequently Asked Questions click here: www.dol.gov/ofccp/regs/compliance/faqs/VEVRAA_faq.htm

For USDOL's Section 503 Final Rule Frequently Asked Questions click here: www.dol.gov/ofccp/regs/compliance/faqs/503_faq.htm

The 2014 Hiring Our Heroes Event: Recap

Held at the University of Illinois at Chicago Forum on March 26, 2014, the state's largest veteran hiring fair was a remarkable success.  Many IHHC member companies took part, but in case you missed it, here's a quick rundown:

• Number of veteran/spouse attendees - 648
• Number of employer participants - 106
• Number of onsite interviews - 211
• Number of job placements/offers - 33

The 2014 Hiring Our Heroes Hiring Event was sponsored by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs, the Illinois Department of Employment Security , the U.S. Department of Labor Veterans' Employment and Training Service, the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, and The American Legion. 

The Hiring Our Heroes (HOH) program represents an extraordinary joint effort on the part of employers, nonprofits and civic organizations to create job opportunities for military veterans and their spouses through personalized engagement with corporate partners.  HOH events utilize an innovative model featuring candidate pre-screening, applicant-employer matching, and onsite interviews to maximize impact for both job-seekers and employer participants.

The IHHC Team will continue to actively promote these event opportunities to ensure that IHHC member companies have the opportunity to participate when openings are available.

All★Vet States - A Great Resource for Vet-Friendly Companies

All★Vet Statesis dedicated to one mission:  employing our nation's heroes. 

All★Vet States, which is an initiative of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce with the participation of the State of Illinois, serves as a centralized hub to showcase what innovations states across the nation are pursuing to assist job-seeking veterans and veteran-friendly employers.  It highlights everything from state services to employer resources to upcoming hiring events. 

Visit Illinois' page at www.allvetstates.com/state/illinois.  This page consolidates a wide range of the resources and services available to job-seeking veterans and veteran-friendly employers in Illinois.  Check it out to find innovative new ways to capitalize on the strength of the veteran workforce.

Free Webinar: How Military Talent Can Open New or Expand Existing Consumer Markets

If you work in Corporate Talent Acquisition, Marketing or Communications, or lead your company's Veteran Employee Resource Group, this free webinar will provide you with information you can use to build a business case for increasing military recruiting and retention efforts in your company, and for expanding your reach into this very loyal consumer market.

Many companies are discovering that they can leverage the demographics of their employee base to develop new or expand existing consumer markets based on previously untapped insights to gender, ethnicity, age or other characteristics. 

For example, according to a 2012 Nielsen report on the "State of the Hispanic Consumer", the Latino consumer market is 52 million strong and is projected to have a buying power of $1.5 trillion by 2015.  Companies that evolve their products, services and marketing to tap into that consumer market can significantly impact their bottom line.

One demographic group that remains significantly under tapped is the military community,including veterans,military spouses and supporters.  More than 3.1 million people are serving in uniform today, and 50% of them have spouses and children.  Add to that number the tens of millions of people who have never worn a uniform, but strongly support those servicemembers, wounded warriors and families. 

In this 90-minute live webinar, Lisa Rosser, CEO of The Value Of a Veteran, and Jennifer Pilcher, CEO of MilitaryOneClick, will make the case for leveraging military talent within your organization to open new or expand existing consumer markets.  

Jennifer will share results of a military consumer research study recently conducted by Military One Click and Mom Central Consulting, and she will share real examples of companies who are using that insight to successfully market their products and services to military, veterans, military families and those that support the military.

This session is live and is completely free; you do need to register to obtain log-in information. Click below to register

• Monday, Jun 16 at 12:30 - 2:00 pm CST

Please share this with your talent acquisition, marketing, communication and veteran ERG colleagues and invite them to attend!