Shownotes
Employee resource groups (ERGs) are vital in providing support to veterans, helping them feel less isolated and more integrated into their new work environments.
We sit down with Ronnie Bailey, the Human Resources Manager at Bullen Ultrasonics, to talk about a critical topic during this National Veterans and Military Families Month: the value of veterans in the civilian workforce.
We explore the challenges veterans face when transitioning from military to civilian life. This includes the stress of job loss and the mental health issues stemming from a perceived loss of importance.
Ronnie shares his journey from military leadership to HR, highlighting the significance of explaining the "why" to motivate younger workers and how this applies across both military and civilian contexts.
We discuss the importance of veteran services, hiring programs, and the resources available but often unknown to veterans. Ronnie’s experience at Bullen, recognized for its outstanding veteran hiring program, offers a unique perspective on helping veterans translate their military skills into civilian job success.
We also touch on the importance of creating an inclusive workplace culture that values diversity and the unique strengths veterans bring to the table.
Learn more about how employers can better support their veteran employees and the mutual benefits this brings to both veterans and their organizations.
Top Takeaways
Veterans often face significant stress and mental health issues when transitioning from military to civilian life, particularly when job loss forces them to move back with their parents.
Although veteran services and resources are available, many veterans are unaware of how to access them, highlighting the need for better information dissemination.
Employee resource groups (ERGs) are vital in providing support to veterans, helping them feel less isolated and more integrated into their new work environments.
There is often a disconnect between the languages and job tasks understood by veterans and civilian hiring managers, which can complicate job placement and retention.
Motivating younger employees, both in the military and civilian workforce, requires leaders to communicate the purpose and value behind tasks and roles.
Initiatives such as Bullen’s military hiring program, which has received recognition from the US Department of Labor with the Hire Vets Medallion, are crucial for successfully incorporating veterans into civilian jobs.
Veterans might struggle with interviews due to the shift from a team-focused military environment to an individual-focused civilian job market, necessitating specific support and preparation.
Veterans often possess valuable leadership skills and a continuous improvement mindset learned in the military, which is beneficial in civilian roles, particularly in HR and supervision.
Including veterans at all levels within a company enriches the workplace with diverse experiences and perspectives, fostering a more inclusive and supportive environment.
While veterans should be provided with the necessary support, treating them equally without undue special treatment is as important as ensuring they feel like a part of the team and the larger valued workforce.
Key Moments
06:23 Former packaging worker explores changing manufacturing processes.
09:42 Career advancement opportunities are less as you climb.
13:32 Good NCOs support and inspire soldiers personally.
17:37 Help new hires understand and sell themselves.
18:44 Connecting veterans and civilian employers through language.
23:14 Unique resume systems assist veterans in translating skills.
27:29 Support group members share resources for assistance.
29:59 Employers benefit from hiring veterans and young adults.
31:51 Employees seek equal recognition, not singling out.
34:59 Supporting veterans through physical and mental challenges.
39:21 Ohio Means Jobs offers funding and support.
42:31 Instill value and support veterans in the workforce.
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Recorded in Studio C at 511 Studios. A production of Circle270Media Podcast Consultants.
Copyright 2024 Carol Ventresca and Brett Johnson
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/
Transcripts
We are Looking Forward Our Way from Studios C in the 511 Studios. That's in the Brewery District just south of downtown Columbus, Ohio. Hi. This is Brett. Each November, Carol and I provide a look at issues that affect our veterans. We've discussed how veterans can enter the civilian labor force, the role of women in the military, and resources that are available for veterans of all ages. Today, we welcome Ronnie Bailey. He is the human resources manager for Bullen Ultrasonics located in Eaton, Ohio.
Brett Johnson [:Ronnie, thank you so much for joining us and driving here, which you did not have to do. We could have pulled you in Zoom, but that we're glad to have you in Columbus.
Ronnie Bailey [:Well, thank you very much. I understand that, doing a podcast through Zoom can have an effect on the the quality of the overall show. So I just wanted to make sure to, you know, help you guys Our, get it as best as we can.
Carol Ventresca [:And it's exciting to meet somebody face to face. We've heard so much about Bullen, and we're excited that you you came in to see us. So thank you, and and, thank your colleague, Katie, for setting this up. And and we're we are ready to go. And again, audience, we are going to provide you with resources, on our show notes when we post this website or this podcast. And so we wanna make sure that our veterans in the audience or if audience members have veterans in their families or friends, that they have the resources they need for employment. It's important that, they get the information because it's not easy going back into the civilian labor force. So we we're trying to highlight their skills and abilities.
Carol Ventresca [:So we're we're good. We are good. So, again, thank you for joining us today. We want to discuss the role that Bullen is playing in supporting local veterans. But, also I want to mention that Bullen is an award winning organization. They have the AS 9100 certification by the Society of Aviation Engineers and has been recognized by the Dayton Business Journal and the US Department of Labor for all of their work that they have been doing in their hiring practices. But before we get that all started, we wanna know more about you, your background, and how you came to be a member of the Bullen team.
Ronnie Bailey [:Alright. Well, believe it or not, my both my parents at one point in time worked for Bullen. My dad does currently. My mom did, like, when I was in school. Before I graduated, I got on. Bullen used to have 2 plants, and, I got on at the other plant. And, it did and that was good. I did that for 4 years.
Ronnie Bailey [:I was Looking in a shipping department as a shipping clerk, and it was good, but I didn't have any experience with really anything that could further my career. Mhmm. I was maxed out as far as far as, like, my Way. And, it just I didn't like that being, you know, 21, 22, maxed out at my pay. So Right. Right. I was getting married and wanted to, you know, prove that I could take care of a family. And, you know, the economy wasn't great around 2011.
Ronnie Bailey [:So you guys remember that?
Carol Ventresca [:Oh, yes. Yeah. Yes. We were just barely coming out of the recession at that point.
Ronnie Bailey [:Oh, yeah. So, I joined the army then and, got out 2017. And big thing was while I was in, I focused on sharpening leadership skills and seeing what all I could do while I was in that could translate to the outside. I that was a big help of having, you know, my grandfather and my father-in-law being in and also my dad Give me those kind of pointers as, you know, like, the resources are kinda there to train you these certain things, but how do you translate them into the real world? That's up to you.
Carol Ventresca [:And you were in the army, but your other relatives were in other branches of the service.
Ronnie Bailey [:Right. So my dad and grandfather were air or, air Forward, and my father-in-law was army along with my mother-in-law too. Wonderful.
Carol Ventresca [:Okay. And and then you just push right back.
Ronnie Bailey [:Yeah. After that, we wanted to be back around Carol, and, that was kind of my comfort zone Way Poland. I knew that would be taken care of. So I went back to it and got on as a machine operator and then just worked on maximizing opportunities, you know, when it came up and see what I could do, try to prove myself. And I became line lead of the aerospace line, 2nd shift supervisor after some time, and then ended up in HR. So
Carol Ventresca [:Wonderful. Wonderful.
Brett Johnson [:Wow. Interesting. So tell us the fun facts about Bullen. I mean, the main facility is is in Eaton. That's between Dayton and Indianapolis. Established over 50 years ago. What's the history of Bullen? What's it known for manufacturing? What's produced at your location? The types of industries that are supported through Bollen's operations. Are there other locations as well too? Can you give us a picture of of what Bolan is?
Ronnie Bailey [:Right. So we no longer have other locations. We're at at the one location. Okay. It's it's pretty neat just like eating itself, how diverse of jobs that we have. You know, I mean, Annie Penny's doing very well and, you know, Sulfex, which, you know, used to be our other building, and, and Bolland. You know? So we've we're really diverse as far as what we have and, Parker and other jobs in the area. But we don't have our own product, so we perform a service.
Ronnie Bailey [:We machine hard Brett materials that, you know, glass, sapphire, silicone, things like that that if you were to put it onto a drill press and get it would just crack. Right?
Carol Ventresca [:Mhmm.
Ronnie Bailey [:So we have different ways Way, we can be, very precise with machining different features on, these products that go into everything from, you know, aircraft to, pressure plate sensors for cars and all sorts of stuff like that.
Carol Ventresca [:You you know, one of my former careers, I worked for a packaging company. And it it's fascinating how manufacturing works. But things have changed so much over time. Be it's like with the car industry. Not all the bits and pieces are at that location, and they're certainly not all made at that location. But you don't think about the fact where somebody who's making something that's a fairly complex piece of machinery has one little tiny widget that needs to be taken care of in a very precise manner and that there are huge industries out there that do those I don't wanna call it a service, but do that manufacturing task.
Ronnie Bailey [:Right. And we've got, various craftsmen of all sorts of types. You know? I our people in the machine shop that understand how to make the machine do things that sometimes they weren't designed for, but they're very good at what they do. You know? Exactly.
Carol Ventresca [:Well, you
Brett Johnson [:know, a screwdriver can't hammer a nail sometimes.
Ronnie Bailey [:Yeah. You gotta do what you gotta do. But we've got a very skilled group of people that know how to get the job done.
Carol Ventresca [:So Wonderful. Wonderful. That is great. Well, you worked your way up to be an HR manager. I mean, that is that's phenomenal. Well, what drew you
Brett Johnson [:to that? Let's go you know, because you were doing you were on the floor. Mhmm. And what drew you to to HR? Well, a
Ronnie Bailey [:lot of it Way, I think, I kinda earned that mindset in the military of, you know, you try to always come improve. You know, don't be content with being fine. You know? So what's next? What's next? And it's not like you have to be bullish about it, but just always try to improve yourself and your standing. And, it just seemed to be, you know, line lead was a logical step. You know? So it's well, that's the next one up. It's kinda mostly 90% the same job, but I got these other responsibilities. Cool. I got to apply the leadership abilities I've had elsewhere and kind of see how they adapted.
Ronnie Bailey [:And, supervision, that was like, okay. Like, I I'm better at this than I am at technical stuff. I'm better with people. And it just as a supervisor is I learned that I discovered more things I liked was, well, maybe it's not just talking. It's like the development. I like finding people, and luckily, Bullen is a place that fosters this, but we're not really focused on, you know but, yeah, selfishly wants you to be the best for the company. But it's if we can try to grow you into what you wanna be, like, we're gonna invest in you that way versus trying to force you into this, place that you might not want. Yeah.
Ronnie Bailey [:It'll help the overall morale of the facility, but also you know? Right. Now if, let's say, we develop somebody and they finish their degree through our tuition assistance program, then they go elsewhere. Well, what do they say? They talk to other people in this other company about how good that we've taken care of them. How does that not benefit us too?
Brett Johnson [:Right.
Ronnie Bailey [:You know? So Right.
Carol Ventresca [:Very good.
Ronnie Bailey [:He's trying to not look so shortsighted and just look longer term.
Carol Ventresca [:When you think about it, I I mean, a company, the largest part of the company is sort of at the bottom. And as you go up the ladder at the company, there are fewer opportunities. And, so you want to try to keep people there. You don't want to have to you want you want a higher retention rate. You don't wanna have to keep, recruiting. But when I was working in higher education at a large university, there it was bound to determine that people are gonna be moving around for a lot of different reasons. But it is a positive step. You know, if somebody goes to from our office to another counseling office, well, there's our contact there, Way we didn't have a contact with before.
Carol Ventresca [:So it works really well.
Ronnie Bailey [:Mhmm. Yeah. And then, that transition to kinda circle back to finish your question. The transition into HR is, you know, well, we had the opening. And, I think Yeah. Of course. Yeah. You
Carol Ventresca [:know? That that really worked well.
Brett Johnson [:Yeah. It does. Yeah.
Ronnie Bailey [:And Sure. It it really worked with, okay, now instead of working with only the 2nd shift group, this is where I can help try to develop the needs of everyone within a facility. And that very much appealed to me. And it was kinda like the stuff that I wasn't as good at. I didn't have to do that anymore. You know what I mean?
Brett Johnson [:Very true.
Ronnie Bailey [:Very true. Very true. It it felt like it even though it never went into my mind, you know, I don't think there's kids in the backyard play an HR manager. But
Carol Ventresca [:Are you sure?
Ronnie Bailey [:I don't know. Maybe.
Carol Ventresca [:I don't know. I've seen I've met some HR managers that I'm thinking they probably didn't.
Ronnie Bailey [:But it's it's kinda it it just seemed to work out that, that my personal philosophies of how things should be handled as far as policy and, you know, how you can use that to support people and their needs. It transitioned well and well, it'd be kinda neat to be the one to help write those policies.
Carol Ventresca [:Our, true.
Ronnie Bailey [:Now I
Brett Johnson [:can make sure
Ronnie Bailey [:that these are taken care of, you know, and, just support people in a different way.
Carol Ventresca [:So so my question was going to be, you know, what are the traits and skills that are of the individuals who work at Bullen and how does all of this fit into the culture of the organization? But it sounds to me like you've really taken a step toward helping to build. I don't wanna act like you had no culture, but, you know, build and foster a huge opportunity for a lot of people at the at the organization.
Ronnie Bailey [:Well, it's about keeping it going. Bullen's had the reputation of that, you know, since I was a kid. You know, like, when my mom initially got hired, it's like, oh, wow. That's cool. You know, like, even as school was like, oh, my mom's been trying to get on there. How did she get on? You know? And for a smaller company, you know, that take a lot of pride in that. And as we've, you know, expanded and things, it's like, well, how do we maintain that culture, you know, as we expand? And so you have to, you know, continue to update your strategic plan and but make sure that we still stay who we are, keep our identity.
Carol Ventresca [:Can you remember going through positions and, places where you were located in the military that fostered this notion of creating a culture and building staff? I mean, is that it's really kind of a military code here,
Brett Johnson [:it sounds like.
Ronnie Bailey [:Well, I will say the number one thing for, transitioning from military style human resources to which, again, I didn't do, to civilian side is I was like, well, I'm definitely not losing anybody's leave form, and that's a joke for anybody's ever been in. I don't think anyone's ever submitted a leave form once.
Carol Ventresca [:And in the military. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. But
Ronnie Bailey [:but no. It's there's individuals that, you know, I've been with different NCOs that kind of been each. Right? You know, my team leaders, my squad leaders that I've had and, you know, we've had an array of, you know, the very good and needs improvement. But, but the ones that were good, it's why they were good and why they spoke to you differently. You know? And it's not that they they had that same philosophy of how do we grow you as a person and as an adult and how you know, you know, when you're having a kid Our, they you know, try to help support you that way as much as, like, hey, my kid outgrew their hangers. You know? When you're a private and someone gives you a bag of hangers, you know, that's awesome because, you know, you don't have to go buy 200 hangers. You know? So, just things like that of how they could support you as a person beyond their job duties. And then that's like that left such an impression on you, then it's like, well, how do I do that for other people?
Carol Ventresca [:And I would think too that when you were in the military and you be became in leadership positions in the military, you are dealing with very young people. I mean, you we're we're giving 18 year olds 17 18 year olds a lot of responsibility in the military. So when you go to Bullen and you're working with new and younger staff, lots of commonalities there.
Ronnie Bailey [:Yeah. I think that helped quite a bit. It helped that you know, my time in Korea, I had, 2 Katusas that were South Korean soldiers that were also we worked with. And, so that kinda helped with sometimes people have a hard time if they have a different accent than you or Mhmm. What have you. Sure. That that really helped with that. Okay.
Ronnie Bailey [:So a lot of it with the younger workers, people say they're unmotivated or what have you, but it's really that's not not it. They need the the why. Mhmm. And, even in, the military, we saw that as well, where they, you know, well well, here's your order go. Like, but what's that do? What's the impact? Like, how do I know that it's doing a good job beyond what those lines say? And there's times definitely in military where you can't go beyond that. But, you know, in this event, I'm like, yeah. Why can't I tell them what that part does that they do? You know? Because now they can reach in. I mean, NDAs, stuff like that.
Ronnie Bailey [:But if it's within that realm of of legal, you know, like, let them know that what they're doing is important and Way. And then now, you know, maybe they will take that extra step to make sure that it's within tolerance and stuff like that.
Brett Johnson [:Especially if it's a safety piece that a life could hinge on you making it the the spec that it's supposed to be.
Ronnie Bailey [:Right. Like, when I was training people to, for Our aerospace section, you know, I'd say, well, guys, keep in mind you can't pull over to the next cloud. So if it breaks, you know, make sure it's done right.
Brett Johnson [:I love it. There's no no no Sheetz gas stations out there to, you know, pull in and and check the oil. It's gotta be done right. Yeah. Right. No. That's that's good. That's good.
Brett Johnson [:I like that. I think it's a very nice transition into what we we really wanna talk about today, Bolan's military hiring program. So, let's mention that Bolan was recently recognized by the US Department of Labor with the Hire Vets Medallion for this program. Talk more about the creation of the program and its success over the years.
Ronnie Bailey [:So we just recently got this award and, you know, we received the gold, and we applied for the platinum this year. So we'll see how it goes. Mhmm. I think what helped out the most, honestly, is we've had a veteran have their hand in the hiring process. There's a, a guy who's a retired veteran. That was the guy that I replaced and taught me. So, was it by design? I mean, I don't know. But it just seemed to be, you know, that was there's a build of person that they wanted, and, we fit the mold.
Ronnie Bailey [:And why why Brett that up and why that's important is when we get those people that are fresh coming out, they just don't know how to translate what those skills mean. So we can be that bridge as you know, for us, it's like, Way, if the manager for that area and the HR representative will be in your job interview. Mhmm. Way could be the one to try to lead them with questions to where they can sell themselves better, or they can just try to translate even if it's after the interview. Kinda be like, hey. He means this, this, and this. You know? Or she did this, and that's why it applies. But a lot of times, they'll people will be more free to speak because they're not tripped up on verbiage trying to say what's gonna translate well to them.
Ronnie Bailey [:It's like, okay. Cool. Like, you'll see a lot of times they'll just, like, kinda zero in. Like, okay. This is the one I could talk to.
Brett Johnson [:And, I was gonna say you probably make that person more comfortable. Absolutely. Being in the room. You know, okay. There's a person in here that gets me, gets my language and understands where I came from. That's that's gold right there.
Carol Ventresca [:Let let me also put in here. It's not just culture or personality or camaraderie. There are specific things that a hiring manager needs to know about a potential new employee, about a job applicant, and the language, the nuances of language of how you describe a job in the military is so different than in the civilian labor force. And that's where there's been this disconnect between veterans finding jobs and hiring or hiring managers Forward nonmilitary organizations need people. And here you have all these incredibly talented vets and great employers, but they can't talk to each other because they don't understand each other's language of job tasks and responsibilities. So that's really where HR has Looking a phenomenal job of restructuring their HR programs and processes to make that happen. And so this whole military hiring program that the Department of Labor is supporting and Bullen is doing is just amazing.
Ronnie Bailey [:Right. Oh, thank you for that. And and a big part of the the higher vets is it's not just on that end. You there's a retainment aspect too that you have to
Carol Ventresca [:Very good.
Ronnie Bailey [:To keep it and, keeping people engaged. And, there's still that that need a lot of times to in, again, an individual base. So my apology for the generalization, but there's still that need to be part of a bigger whole of, you know, you have it. You know? Like, you know, I played sports in high school. Like, well, cool. I'm I'm working to get this team to accomplish what they can and then you're out. And then, Way, cool. I'm in the military.
Ronnie Bailey [:We're as a team, we're working to accomplish whatever goal. Sweet. And then you're Our, and you're like, oh, well. I'm on my own.
Brett Johnson [:We're backed individual thing Yeah. Which I don't understand.
Ronnie Bailey [:It is yeah. It is not comfortable. So Yeah.
Carol Ventresca [:Yep. I had I remember having a client who his whole resume, and it was like 3 or 4 pages long, always talked about what the team did. In his resume, he never talked about what he did, what his skills were, what his accomplishments and I thought he was gonna be in tears. When I told him, I'm like, well, this is all wonderful. It's a great story about your team, but you're not telling the employer anything about what you can do. And it was like it was breaking his heart. I'm like, okay. Well, we have to move past that.
Carol Ventresca [:So that good point. Thank you so much for saying that. It is, a real issue in terms of language, on job descriptions, but it is very much a personal issue about being a member of a team and suddenly only being able to talk about yourself in an interview, on an application, even after you've already begun working. It it that's huge. That's huge for our veterans.
Ronnie Bailey [:Right. And, you know, the practicing interviewing, I guess, for me in a military lot of it was, you know, well, get ready for the NCO board. Well, if you treated an interview like you would the NCO board, like, people are gonna they're gonna be scared because you're gonna yell at them. You're gonna stand up and be weird, and they're not gonna like it. But if that's what makes you feel comfortable, you're like, I'm trying to be as professional as I can. I'm gonna sit like a robot, and I'm gonna yell everything I got so you can hear me clearly and every you know what I mean? It's
Carol Ventresca [:Yeah. Yeah.
Ronnie Bailey [:And they're just trying really hard. And, you know, luckily, we can there's ways that we could talk to, like, you know, Jill. Right. Right. Yeah. Without saying that because that's gonna throw off.
Brett Johnson [:But you
Ronnie Bailey [:know what I mean? Just Yeah.
Carol Ventresca [:Yeah.
Ronnie Bailey [:Yeah.
Carol Ventresca [:No. It it it works. It works.
Ronnie Bailey [:And, yeah, I I even caught myself doing that, and it's different skills again with the hiring. I've, done an interview where with our, plant manager at the time, and he even did this, like, in the middle to just get me to relax. You know? He'd tell us, like, you're tense. Like, I see you every day. Like, relax. We're just talking. Tell me. You know?
Brett Johnson [:Well, good for him Yeah. That he gave you the grace to be you at that moment and kinda go, we're good. We're good. Just yeah. Old habits are hard to Brett. I get. But Right. We're good.
Brett Johnson [:We're good. Absolutely.
Ronnie Bailey [:It was You know?
Brett Johnson [:Yeah. Wow. That's a tough situation on both sides of the desk. Yeah. It is.
Carol Ventresca [:So as I was just mentioning a little bit ago, there the whole application process is very different. Resumes are very, very different. There are actually, online systems that can help a veteran create a resume and restate what they are what they did in the military on their resume so that it makes sense to an employer. But also an employer can take a look at these systems If they have a veteran's resume that is all military speak, they can look at this online system and it'll it'll translate it, basically. It's a translator. So tell us about what you're doing at Bullen in terms of this hiring program for veterans. How are you what are you doing to cut through some of those barriers?
Ronnie Bailey [:Well, yeah, I I don't know how a lot of companies do it. But for us, like, I mean, a resume really just gets you in the door for the interview. So then just after the interview, it's like or not after. But it's you know, from that time we call you, you know, the interview started. Again, not to give out everything, but, you know, if it's you apply for a job internally, your interview started from the day that you started. You know? So how how do they speak on the phone? Well, you know, be professional. Just be polite, kind, and, you know, I don't have a really weird voice mail, you know, things like that. Things have happened.
Ronnie Bailey [:You show up to the interview, act like you care, you know, Look look decent. You know? A step above what you would norm normally wear for the job, you know, if you have no idea. You know? I wear a tie every time. I don't know. It's been ingrained since I was a kid to do that, so I do that. Right. But it's not gonna work against you. So it's really just come across.
Ronnie Bailey [:I mean, a lot of the questions, things like that, you're just looking for honesty. You know? Is is this person gonna tell me what I wanna hear, or are they gonna just be upfront? And, do
Carol Ventresca [:you do any marketing to military, through the military to tell tell folks that there are positions open and that you have this special hiring program?
Ronnie Bailey [:So we don't. I mean, that might be it would be hard. Like, maybe for our aerospace division, that might be something that we wanna kinda reach out to somebody for. Just but the only part that would really translate is, Way, like, we know you know, Forward myself working and, as an avionics guy, you know, there's a certain amount of quality that you have. You know, it's like, you know, you're right up sort of, you know, remove 4 bolts of washers, you know, reinstall 4 bolts of washers. You know, we need somebody with that kind of attention to detail because again with the
Carol Ventresca [:No clout.
Ronnie Bailey [:With the that's right. Yeah.
Brett Johnson [:No cloud bus stop. Yeah. Right. Yeah.
Ronnie Bailey [:But a lot of it is, you know, we talk, you know, like any other group. We talk.
Carol Ventresca [:So so if you is huge.
Brett Johnson [:Yeah. If
Ronnie Bailey [:you make a good impression, then that's why, like, our facility has a lot of family members. You know? Because it's you know, they'll come in. They'll you're not gonna bring your son or daughter or mother or father into a place where they don't treat you right. You know? Yeah. Or at least steer them that way. So that's to me, it's like that's kind of our selling point is, Way. You know, we've got a good group of veterans here. You know, they're gonna talk to their buddies.
Ronnie Bailey [:It's like, hey, man. You know, they'll they'll take care of you. And it's like part of our, veterans employee resource group where we, kinda network that way.
Carol Ventresca [:What what is that?
Ronnie Bailey [:So that's something that's, like, 2 years old right now. Brett excited about that. So Way, basically, the the idea of it was we need to make sure that people are aware of these resources. Because a lot of times, the verbiage didn't feel right. People think that there's not enough resources, and we have, like, a lot of the really great things. But those might be underfunded. They might need resources, but, the programs are there. We just need people to know how to get there.
Ronnie Bailey [:Mhmm.
Carol Ventresca [:Right.
Ronnie Bailey [:And, you know, like like you're saying about their resumes. You know? It it doesn't matter how great it is if no one knows that they can use it. Right. And, so that's kind of the where me is I'll kinda, like, run it. But as a group, a lot of these questions, you know, we people have, like, mental health questions or things like that, or how do I talk to the VA? Well, there's a good chance that somebody in our group you know, right now we're, 11 individuals, but there's a good chance that one of us has been impacted, you know, or had to use it or, oh, when I was in I had to call this for my soldier or what have you, the where, you know, we can share our resources together. And now this person you know, this individual doesn't have to go to corporate place or talk to the front office or go to, you know, just something weird and foreign to them, they can do, like, okay. Hey. You guys relate to me.
Ronnie Bailey [:I'll talk to you because I know we've had similar struggles.
Carol Ventresca [:So, basically, the members of this group are all employees of Bullen?
Ronnie Bailey [:Absolutely.
Carol Ventresca [:Okay. And do you run that? Do you run the group? Wonderful. Okay.
Ronnie Bailey [:Yeah. I didn't found it. No. Heather did. But I'd kinda just the main point of contact and, you know, runs like it's our way easily. Like, I I make us vote on everything because I just don't want it to look like I'm overbearing the thing. But
Carol Ventresca [:Sometimes that's that's that's really you know, somebody in need, that's maybe what they need is a an a more informal process because coming from the military, needless to say, there's nothing informal done. So, yeah, it may that that change may be good.
Brett Johnson [:Wonderful. Yeah. Okay. So bowling oh,
Carol Ventresca [:go ahead. Gonna Way, let me ask one more question about about the the notion of the hiring process. Does the Department of Labor provide you with anything or direction or information or support or resources or anything?
Ronnie Bailey [:Right now, no. But
Carol Ventresca [:So we can send this to them and tell them they need to do that.
Ronnie Bailey [:Absolutely. Well, it's kinda like we talked about the other programs. You know, we got a new program. People don't know about it either. You know, if they don't work at our facility, and that's a lot of, you know, coming here. I'm hoping that other, you know, those companies I mentioned earlier back home, you know, it's like, well, you know, we we had our big donation this year. You know? I'm hoping, you know, the other big corporations see that, and then they kinda start a group for their veterans as well.
Carol Ventresca [:And, you know, it's it's in all of the hiring, counseling that I've done, an employer once an employer has a successful hiring, whether the person's a veteran, whether it is a a a person a young a young folk who may not have a lot of experience and background, an older adult. Once that employer has a good opportunity and a good connection with this new person, new applicant, new employee, they're gonna tend to do it again. They're gonna take that chance and look at a veteran again. And and for the audience, and we'll, again, put all of this on the resources sheet, we've got some great programs with the state of Ohio. And it's based in every county on veterans, through veterans services. And it's for the veterans and employers. That's I think what the message I'm really trying to get across is employers, you need people, you need good people, there are ways to get to these veterans. And there are folks who work for the state and the counties who can help you do that.
Carol Ventresca [:So we'll make sure that we get that information out.
Brett Johnson [:Right. Well, Bullen provides a a variety of employee benefits, including profit sharing planning. Are there specific benefits for veterans? Can you talk about the advantages of of we've kind of painted a really good picture Looking for Boland if you're a veteran, but I mean, are there some other advantages of working for Boland too?
Ronnie Bailey [:Yeah. Absolutely. So, I I really wanna hit up the topic of, veterans benefits first. Mhmm. This is one of the biggest things where, again, I'm gonna have to generalize. We don't wanna be treated differently. And so I'll sometimes when people go out of their way, you know, thank you and all that stuff, it it's awkward. So you don't wanna that feeling of taking advantage of somebody trying to help you.
Ronnie Bailey [:And so if they're like, oh, Way have this for veterans and but 95% of your employees don't get it. You know? Like Well, sure. 87%, I think is where we're at. You know? So we don't wanna be looked at and, like, well, how come they? You know? So that's something where the veteran side, we kind of push back on. When Bolland decided to kind of take it I wasn't even in HR yet, but Bullen decided to try to make a more progressive approach here. We kinda backed up. And, so, like, Veterans Day, that was one where they're like, well, how about we give Veterans Veterans Day for 1 night? Like, that's awesome. But, you know, we said, well, how about we we just all get it? And then that way, we can still recognize it, but not in a way that we're singled out.
Ronnie Bailey [:And, that was just something that was real cool because so many of us are like, I've never had Brett than stay off. You know? Very good. So it's just like you still wanna be part of the team. You know? You don't you just don't wanna be singled Our. And but, no, it's like, cool. I appreciate you, and I respect you. Cool. That's all we need.
Ronnie Bailey [:And, sometimes that's, you know, with again, with a lot of the mental health resources out there, that's all people need to hear, you know, and, help them feel that that value.
Brett Johnson [:I I I I'd love that attitude toward it because it's not a knee jerk reaction to, oh, we need to do something for veterans, so we're just gonna do this and not think it out. I and even if you Boland, employed 85% veterans and 15% non veterans. Who cares? It's still Way you're talking about is the right thing to do. Yeah. It just did. I mean, because everybody in it it it it goes back to that team.
Ronnie Bailey [:Mhmm. I I
Brett Johnson [:love that. That's great.
Carol Ventresca [:Well, and when you think about it, it it it would be nice if every veteran had veterans Day off, but those of us who aren't veterans also want to be part of recognizing the efforts that veterans have gone through to fulfill their military duty, and we can do that, outside of our workplace Yeah. Having veterans Way off.
Brett Johnson [:Yeah.
Carol Ventresca [:Having been a state of Ohio employee for a long time, we had a veteran's Way long, you know. But I have a much better appreciation for it now than I probably did 40 years ago.
Ronnie Bailey [:Right.
Carol Ventresca [:So interesting. Alright. Okay. So let's talk about challenges that veterans face outside of that actual hiring process. And I think this is one of the things that I learned from a lot of my veterans clients is that, you know, it it's this automatic notion of if they're military, they are this. And and we do that in our world to everybody. If you're a Northerner, you do this. If you're a Southerner, you do this.
Carol Ventresca [:It it we have to pigeonhole folks and and but physical and mental issues are important, and veterans go through many problems and challenges and barriers. And I'm thinking physical, probably as much or more than mental. A veteran and their family may need housing. One of our Forward in one of our other podcasts that we did with a veteran, she talked about having you know, coming out of the military with no place to live and not having the resources, especially in today's world with housing cost or transportation or needing social services. Is there anything that Bullen does to help the veterans that it when they're finding those kinds of issues?
Ronnie Bailey [:So a lot of it might be due to location. You know? I mean, we're so kinda remote and rural that it's more, you know we're we're small towns, so there's a lot of it's like, Way. We know somebody. You know? Like Mhmm. Well, let's point you to them, see if they can help you. You know? Beyond that, like, bowling doesn't really do anything as far as trying to, like, house people, stuff like that. But we haven't personally felt that impact.
Carol Ventresca [:That's a good thing then if your if your veteran employees don't have those issues.
Ronnie Bailey [:Yeah. Typically typical I mean, if you're getting out and you're going to Eton, you're probably moving back home to mom and dad. Right. Let's just be honest. Very true. Okay.
Brett Johnson [:Very true.
Ronnie Bailey [:True. Kinda like how kids don't grow up to be HR managers. They grow up to live in Eaton, Ohio.
Brett Johnson [:But there can be stress in that situation though too that Absolutely. Mom and dad's house is now overloaded. Absolutely. And or you move back home and you just like, I I gotta get out of here. You know, like, come on. I'm 25. Way I mean, whatever age is like, I don't need to be back home, you know. There are those issues.
Ronnie Bailey [:And that's a lot of, you know, I mean, there's everyone's situation's different. But the mental health issues that come out of that of, okay, I people looked at me a certain way when I was in. You know, people I had amount of respect, and my job was respectful. And what I did every day made an impact, and then I'm out and now what? You know? And that that'll mess with you, you know, of that I used to be important. I used to matter. So that I mean, there's so many things that fall into mental health, health, and that's for everyone, you know.
Brett Johnson [:Oh, yeah.
Ronnie Bailey [:If you're breathing Oh. If you're all struggling with something. Oh, absolutely.
Brett Johnson [:Oh, for sure. Yeah.
Carol Ventresca [:But, you know, there again, there are a lot of services that are available for veterans. And there are a lot of services available in our communities. But, veteran services the veterans commission, does a great job making sure that services and resources are available. But going back to what you said earlier, sometimes folks are afraid to ask, but also even when they ask, they don't realize what is available out there. And if they're not asking the right person, they're not gonna get to the right place.
Ronnie Bailey [:Right. And and, again, that's the main point of our, employee resource group is really just, you know, if we can at least they're at least aware of who we are.
Brett Johnson [:Mhmm.
Ronnie Bailey [:They're aware you know, they're having that bad day. Well, okay. Like, I know, you know, I could go talk to, you know, Greg in finance or I can go talk to. I have I have people I could go talk to, and that's that's everything. You know, that network of not being alone
Brett Johnson [:Mhmm.
Ronnie Bailey [:And no one, like, at minimum, I could pick up the phone. So
Carol Ventresca [:So important. Very much so.
Ronnie Bailey [:Yeah. The state
Brett Johnson [:of Ohio's military service career center provides a portal of information on programs and services for veterans. Have they or or any other agencies supported Boland in, their hiring veterans programs and bump do you think there should be more could be more encourage employers to, you know, increase their their veteran hiring?
Ronnie Bailey [:So ours and I think when I got on at bowling, like, I I'd had kind of a contact with, through job and family services or Ohio Means Jobs. Yeah. Trying to think it's all kinda in buildings.
Carol Ventresca [:But that I think some of the hire the veterans hiring programs are under under that umbrella.
Ronnie Bailey [:Right? So the unfortunately, like, even Ohio Means Jobs has a lot of funding that they we report to every month, you know, in our meetings where there's, like, hey. Like, we've got these scholarships available or Way have you. And those are the other programs that we can kinda if we have somebody apply for a role that we can kinda push them towards that and, like, hey. You know, we can get on if you go through here and get your education. But, I I had a hard time using that program personally, and it wasn't from lack of effort of the staff, right, that we're trying to do is, I think he was in there, like, 2 days a week. And I was also kinda working a part time job just kind of fill that gap into getting what I wanted, and, we just couldn't happen. So I think, again, it's a lot of the the repeat issue of the stuff is there, but it might not have the right support. Mhmm.
Ronnie Bailey [:And I still had to kinda find out about that program. You know, luckily, again, I've got people in my family that that were veterans that, you know, kinda push me there, but not everyone's got that. You know?
Carol Ventresca [:Right. And Well, I I, you know, I live through the, veterans coming back from Vietnam. And at that point in time, there was very little available to them other than the GI Bill. And so, you know, a lot of, classmates or those who graduated just before me from high school were able to get to college because of that. But that was it. And when I returned to the university, and was in continuing education, it just by chance happened that our office was the the SOC office, the Servicemen's Opportunity Center, which really didn't mean a lot, but especially with the school as as large as Ohio State. But over time, that has grown. And so that exactly veterans need to know to keep asking questions.
Carol Ventresca [:And don't assume that the first person you talk to has exactly the right information that you need. So just keep asking questions. I know the university has here in Columbus has a huge new military program to help veterans who are going to school. So they're a little older than the rest of the campus, and there's a place for them to go. And and it's it's growing phenomenally. And, and I'm guessing that there are other schools have similar type programs in if education is the issue. There are huge training programs with the state of Ohio, so you just need to keep niggling around to see if you can find all that stuff. And, don't not get help.
Ronnie Bailey [:Absolutely. Yeah.
Carol Ventresca [:You know, our podcast always go too too fast. Even when Brett and I are off on our own tangents Looking a lot of questions, we always provide our guests the opportunity to give us the last words of wisdom. So from your experience in the military, from your experience at Bullen, from what you know veteran job applicants need today? What else can you tell our audience?
Ronnie Bailey [:Well, the big thing is I think if, same thing with hiring and retaining of anyone, is about how do you instill value in that person. Right? Do they feel valuable at that, at their role and their tasks that they're doing? And, also, do they feel part of that bigger picture? With veterans specifically, it's, you know, do you have the opportunity for them to feel comfortable and express, you know, in a natural way the same as you would, you know, if you were in a highly technical field and you're applying for a different role. You know? Like, I don't understand, you know, a lot of computer science terms and stuff like that. You know? So I wouldn't be able to translate my skills. I do transfer well. So how do we you know, who could be that conduit? Who can be that middle person to where they can express themselves, but also, you know, having that veterans employee resource group there, at your facilities, again, it's it's free to do it.
Carol Ventresca [:And, you know, I mean, you really bring up a good point because if for what little bit of effort or financial commitment that an employer can make to making sure there is somebody who can be that conduit, that translator from military service to civilian, a real small commitment could lead to an incredible number of great new employees.
Ronnie Bailey [:Absolutely. And, you know, any kind of diversity you can bring into the workplace is Brett. And, you know, we've we've got veterans and all echelon of our of our company. And it's I feel like it's paid off. You know, we've got many different experiences. And again, it's not that we're superior to other people, but I'm just saying that, you know, we got a healthy mix. And just like of anything else, you in order to not be in a thought chamber, you need people that are different minded than you. Right.
Brett Johnson [:I wonder if it could be as just a simple kinda going down a little bit of a rabbit hole here. But of of we have translators for other foreign languages come in Mhmm. And help with medical situations and interviews. Why can't we have some designated veterans that can go into interview situations and help these vets, at least the first couple of stages of it?
Carol Ventresca [:Right. You know, it this is not anything that we don't do with other groups of people. Right. The the hardest It
Brett Johnson [:doesn't make it Way it doesn't make them special at all. It's just that you need a little help. We do it. We do this for other groups of people.
Carol Ventresca [:Well and when you really think about it, it's not just that we're helping the veterans. We're helping the
Brett Johnson [:employers. Bottom line is It's it's a employer Brett. Exactly. Exactly. Yeah. Exactly. Well, gosh. That's so thank you.
Brett Johnson [:This has been really really good, Ronnie. We appreciate you stopping by. Ronnie Bailey from Boland Ultrasonics for joining us. Listeners, thank you for joining us too. Don't forget to check out our show notes on the website for contact information and those resources that Carol mentioned. We're gonna have that in, linked in the show notes as well as on the website today that we've talked about. You can find all that information on our website, looking forward our way dotcom. We're looking forward to hearing your feedback on this or any of our other podcast episodes.
