CCA Makes the G.I. Jobs Top 50

Corrections Corporation of America is one of the best companies in the nation for military veterans to continue their careers.

That’s according to G.I. Jobs, the go-to publication for hundreds of thousands of readers weighing their professional options in the civilian sphere. With a circulation 75,000 strong and distribution in hundreds of military transition centers and government employment centers around the world, G.I. Jobs recently ranked CCA among the nation’s “Top 50 Military-Friendly Employers” of 2008 in 47th place.

When it comes to settling into the right post-service career, veterans “are looking for a good paying job that is going to be fulfilling,” says Rich McCormack, publisher of G.I. Jobs. “A lot of people look at their military careers as something they’ve really enjoyed, so they’re looking for careers and not just jobs. They have loyalty and want to find the right position, the right fit.”

CCA was previously ranked on the high-profile list in 2006 – a year after the company began making significant inroads into military recruitment – but didn’t make the cut in 2007. McCormack says CCA’s reappearance may be attributed to stepped-up efforts in military recruiting that are backed by noticeable campaigns, strategies and hard numbers – a testament to which Wendy Gardner, CCA senior director, Staffing and Recruiting, agrees. Read Wendy's Blog Entry

“Recent figures show that approximately 10 percent of our national work force is comprised of veterans,” says Gardner, who specializes in military recruitment. “With our redesigned Web site, we have ramped up our direct appeal to military veterans. Additionally, we now have a pipeline into more strategic recruitment avenues, like RecruitMilitary.com, and have conducted presentations at Navy brigs.”

When it comes to success attracting veterans, CCA can point to personnel who fill top slots at facilities, like Robert Ezell, warden at Torrance County Detention Facility, who served in the U.S. Army for more than 20 years, or Timothy Wengler, warden at Prairie Correctional Facility, who served in the U.S. Air Force for six years. The company can also give a nod to facilities where a considerable portion of the work force is comprised of veterans, like Kit Carson Correctional Center, Leavenworth Detention Center, Mineral Wells Pre-Parole Transfer Facility, San Diego Correctional Facility, Stewart Detention Center and Wheeler Correctional Facility.

But when it gets down to identifying and ranking contenders for the Top 50 list, the process is specific and specialized.

Tallying the Troops

G.I. Jobs rates companies according to several measures, including efforts to recruit veterans – and enticements to retain them once they’re on board.

“We want to get a keen sense of their desire to hire from the military,” McCormack explains. “This goes beyond a company’s stated philosophy on the matter and really gets into the practices that prove it.”

G.I. Jobs considers the level of recruitment resources dedicated to hiring veterans, like a full-time recruiter, a military recruitment emphasis online, military job fairs and career presentations and the percentage of the recruitment budget earmarked for military efforts. They also evaluate the percentage of hires that are veterans and benefits like differential pay, life insurance and medical insurance, which are especially important to Reservists.

“We want to ensure Reservists have a job when they come back,” McCormack says. “It doesn’t have to be the same job, but a like job.”

Companies’ commitment to professional support in training is also appraised, along with receptiveness to hiring disabled veterans.

“CCA has a disabled veteran hiring program,” adds McCormack, a Navy veteran who spent much of his time in the service stationed on the Panama Canal. “Five percent of their new hires were veterans last year. And they have a fairly strong Reservists program.”

Military to Corrections – A Seamless Segue

Since CCA officially began strategically recruiting from the military, the company has often spoken of the similarities between the two spheres.

“Some people have said we are like a paramilitary organization, and in our business that is a strength,” says Bill Rusak, CCA chief human resources officer. “Military by nature are very structured, capable and team players. And that’s the nature of our business.

Just as correctional professionals pride themselves in performing a necessary public service, military veterans, too, share that commitment. Additionally, the cultures are well-aligned, philosophically and physically. For example, both have an established chain of command, a respect for earned authority and find strength in teamwork and camaraderie. They, too, both find commonality in wearing a uniform, working in secure settings and being ever-prepared for the unexpected.

“When I talk to the military, they don’t say to me, ‘You want me to do what?’ when I’m describing our positions to them,” says Gardner. “They are looking for the excitement to which they are accustomed, and corrections offers that. Each day is different.”

“They tend to like to be instructors, so that works well for the training academy,” says Tiffany Jackson, HR manager at Kit Carson, where an estimated 20 percent of employees are veterans. “A lot of them like to be SORT members. They are in good physical condition, dependable and more mature. Their retention level is better than average.”

Corrections also provides a sense of the predictable for those who are ready to establish roots in one place. “If you want a homestead at a single facility, there’s no reason they can’t do that,” says Matthew Carpenter, chief of unit management at Kit Carson Correctional Center, who joined CCA after more than 20 years in the U.S. Army.

“They can adopt a community to be their home and settle. If they decide to be mobile and relocate with CCA, they can do so without the feeling of being a stranger in a new town looking for a job.” Moreover, the code of ethics in the military and the guiding principles of The CCA Way, also make transitioning from the military to CCA natural.

“The sense of integrity, the commitment to loyalty, the familiarity with a safe and secure setting, the teamwork and trust … when you look at it, their way encompasses The CCA Way,” says Karen Sharpe, CCA manager, Staffing.

The values that many veterans uphold and the qualities that distinguish them, McCormack says, makes luring trained, capable servicepersons one of the seldom discussed competitions between companies these days. Their combination of integrity and ingenuity is hard for employers to resist, especially for skilled trades and other specialties. Airline, construction, energy, financial services, transportation, security, technology and telecommunications companies are among those vying for opportunity-seeking veterans, particularly the estimated 250,000-300,000 who cycle out of the military each year.

“The landscape for recruiting veterans is changing completely,” he says. “It’s intensifying. When they’re hiring a veteran, they realize they’re getting someone who is proven to have led and managed people and has a certain degree of resolve. A military person is probably going to hit the job running much more quickly.”

“The War on Terror had really slowed down transitions leaving the military,” adds Carpenter. “Now these people are being given their release opportunities and those servicemen and women looking at settling down and returning to civilian life are taking them. These are the folks we are looking for.”

Keeping Up the Pace

With some proven achievements and established credibility with veterans, CCA plans to continue its push into military recruiting. According to Gardner, the company will continue visiting brigs for career presentations and will increase visibility at military job fairs and transition centers.

“We are planning to exhibit at four national military job fairs in 2009,” she says.

Plus, through a new partnership with Direct Employers Association, a nonprofit consortium of leading U.S. companies, those serving with the Air Force, Marines, Navy and Reserves may apply directly to positions available with CCA. Direct Employers sends CCA job announcements to state employment offices, enabling the company to comply with Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs’ standards and more efficiently utilize internal human resources.

“Our vacancies are sent to state employment offices through an automated process,” says Sharpe. “This is a process that previously may have taken two hours per week per human resources manager.”

Direct Employers also posts CCA openings on Web sites with high military traffic, including JobCentral.com (formerly known as America’s Job Bank) and its targeted partner site, VetCentral. CCA also plans to maintain partnerships with online sites like www.RecruitMilitary.com and pursue other strategic advertising.

“Whenever we do a special military-oriented advertisement, I notice an influx of applications from that audience,” Sharpe says. “The veterans and the Reservists are more likely to visit military-branded sites than other more mainstream job search engines.”

Facilities also play a major role in recruiting from the military. In fact, facility HR managers and staff who accompany them at job fairs are often the first CCA contacts military transitioners encounter.

“We’re in a good place. We’re two hours away from two military towns – Colorado Springs and Denver – and that makes recruitment easier,” says Jackson, who ensures the facility has a presence at military job fairs in the area.

Staying current on recruitment trends and recognizing what savvy veterans seek in careers will help military jobseekers keep CCA in mind, says Rusak.

“The beauty of our situation is that people coming back from combat are from all over the country, and we are all over the country,” he says. “So we offer opportunities all across the board. They bring with them the skills that we train others to have.”

Vetted By Those Who Know – Testimonies from Veterans with CCA

Name: Richard C. Crouch Position: Business Manager, San Diego Correctional Facility Time with CCA: 3 ½ years Time in Service and Branch: U.S. Army, 20 ½ years

“CCA has made my transition easy. My knowledge, skills and abilities have all been applicable to my new career; knowing the respect CCA has for the military makes each day a pleasure to come to work.”

Name: Steve Merrill Position: Chief Dental Officer Time with CCA: 12 years Time in Service and Branch: U.S. Air Force, 21 ½ years

“Corrections is a natural progression for military personnel pursuing a second career. I felt the transition very easy and natural and have always encouraged CCA to seek out military personnel and veterans for their work force.”

Name: Timothy Wengler Position: Warden, Prairie Correctional Facility Time with CCA: 12 years Time in Service and Branch: U.S. Air Force, six years

“Working for CCA is an extension of what the military teaches you – teamwork and dedication.”