Military Appreciation That Actually Means Something: 10 Real Ways to Support Veterans, Spouses, and Guard Talent at Work

By Rob Arndt, Founder & CEO, BufferSprings
Published: May 15, 2025

A thank-you post is not a strategy.

Military Appreciation Month should be more than a gesture. It should be the moment your company starts thinking differently about the military-connected community.

Veterans, military spouses, and Guard and Reserve teammates are not a population to support out of obligation. They are a strategic asset. When you invest in the right systems, they become your operators, your leaders, your culture carriers.

This guide was built to help you do exactly that. Not with fluff. With structure.
Not with awareness. With action.

If you’re ready to stop performing and start building, we’ll walk with you.

This is where it starts:

Get the Guide:

📥 Download: 10 Ways to Appreciate the Military This Year

Below are the 10 core takeaways, with insights and specific action steps to help you move from intention to execution.

---

1. Talk to your people and listen like you mean it

• Host a feedback session with veterans, spouses, and Guard members
• Ask what’s working, what’s broken, and what they’ve experienced elsewhere
• Document themes, follow up within 30 days, and communicate next steps

Why it works: Trust begins when feedback leads to action.

2. Put military voices in the room, not just the newsletter

• Invite military-connected employees to co-lead onboarding and program design
• Give ERG leaders real influence and resources
• Establish a quarterly Military Effectiveness check-in

Why it works: Programs built with the community perform better than ones built for them.

3. Managers keep talent, not policies

• Train managers on translating military experience into job performance
• Build a culture of clarity, feedback, and inclusive leadership
• Make military-readiness part of your manager onboarding

Why it works: If a veteran leaves, it’s usually because of leadership, not alignment.

4. Referrals are a trust signal, not a shortcut

• Double the bonus for military-connected referrals
• Track source-of-hire performance and retention
• Make referrals part of your internal recognition culture

Why it works: Your people know who’s ready. Trust their network.

5. Design careers that move with people

• Audit which roles can be made hybrid or portable
• Build career ladders that accommodate PCS moves and deployment cycles
• Stop treating location as a loyalty test

Why it works: Spouses and Guard members don’t want to leave. They need to move. Flexibility keeps them.

6. Celebrate results, not just service

• Highlight key business wins from military-connected employees
• Use internal comms to share impact, not bios
• Promote based on outcomes and visibility, not tokenism

Why it works: Visibility builds belief. Performance builds respect.

7. Show up where the community lives

• Attend SkillBridge panels, job fairs, or veteran-focused workshops
• Partner with local military nonprofit organizations
• Speak on base when invited. Don’t just sponsor. Show up.

Why it works: Presence drives credibility. Trust starts outside your building.

8. Plan for Guard and Reserve before it’s a crisis

• Create deployment workflows, drill calendars, and reentry plans
• Assign an internal liaison to support during service periods
• Normalize military leave as part of long-term planning

Why it works: Loyalty comes from knowing you’ve got their back before they ask.

9. Track what’s working and cut what isn’t

• Review ROI of job fairs, job boards, and partnerships quarterly
• Segment hiring, promotion, and retention data by military affiliation
• Keep what delivers. Cut what doesn’t. Refine as you grow.

Why it works: If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it. Strategy starts with clarity.

10. Use this month to launch your next 12 months

• Set five strategic goals to accomplish between now and next May
• Assign ownership, budget, and review milestones quarterly
• Build consistency into your program. Not just campaigns.

Why it works: A real program earns trust over time. Start now and keep building.

---

Final Word

Military-connected talent does not need another initiative. We need companies that know how to lead.

This is not about charity. It’s about building teams that are more resilient, more adaptable, and more mission-focused. Veterans, spouses, and Guard members have already proven they can perform under pressure. The question is whether your company is ready to create the structure where they can thrive.

Start with one step from this guide. Put it into motion. Assign ownership. Track the outcome. Then do it again.

Progress is built through consistency, not campaigns. If that’s what you’re ready to build, BufferSprings is here to help you do it right.

📥 Download the Full Guide
📅 Schedule Your Military Program Chat

Let’s stop just posting and start leading. This month isn’t merely a moment but a beginning. As we dig into military appreciation, veteran hiring, military spouse employment, Guard and Reserve support, military-connected employees, veteran retention strategies, military ERG leadership, and military hiring programs, let’s pave the way for impactful action.

Rob Arndt
Founder & CEO, BufferSprings
Veteran. Builder. Advocate for outcomes over optics.