{"id":762757,"date":"2022-11-10T13:50:34","date_gmt":"2022-11-10T18:50:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/?p=762757"},"modified":"2024-08-05T14:50:38","modified_gmt":"2024-08-05T18:50:38","slug":"championing-our-veterans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/research\/articles\/topics\/people-planet\/championing-our-veterans\/","title":{"rendered":"Championing Our Veterans"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Veterans and members of the Steelcase Salutes business inclusion team include Bernard Polynice, Matthew Jackson, and Tim Merkle.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency (MVAA) has designated Steelcase as a veteran-friendly organization by awarding it recognition as a 2022 silver Veteran-Friendly Employer. The designation makes Steelcase just one of 61 silver level employers in Michigan and puts the organization in the top 15% of all Michigan businesses. The designation is earned by meeting and exceeding a range of criteria aimed at helping organizations be more welcoming and inclusive to vets.<\/p>\n

That recognition is in large part due to the work of the Steelcase Salutes business inclusion group \u2013 a cadre of veterans and allies who work to support and advocate for a veteran-friendly environment at Steelcase. They accomplish this in many ways, from organization-wide events to individual outreach like the one that played out recently at the Grand Rapids, Mich. campus.<\/p>\n

Nate Kolakowski, a Steelcase sales leader who served four years in the U.S. Army, including combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, knows Vietnam veterans didn\u2019t always have it easy once they returned home from the unpopular overseas war. That\u2019s why he was so moved recently to hear the Vietnam combat experiences shared by a Steelcase retiree driver during a recent sales gathering. As a veteran, Kolakowski understands the need for community and connection to people with shared experiences; as a member of Steelcase Salutes, he hoped a small act could make a big difference.<\/p>\n

\u201cI presented our retired driver with a Steelcase Salutes challenge coin \u2013 a token of appreciation presented to individuals in the military to acknowledge accomplishments. I thanked him for his service,\u201d Kolakowski says, noting challenge coins are traditionally used in the military to mark milestones. \u201cHe was holding it together, but you could just tell this personally hit him in the soft spot. It was a really touching moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\" It\u2019s simple interactions like those that help curate community, foster supportive relationships and remove barriers to inclusion for veterans at Steelcase while exemplifying the culture required of a Veteran-Friendly Employer.<\/p>\n

While that designation is an accomplishment toward achieving inclusivity goals, it also projects to prospective veteran employees that Steelcase values the unique skills and competencies former service members bring to the organization.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt signals we understand their value and want to bring these individuals to Steelcase,\u201d Kolakowski says. \u201cAnd it demonstrates that once they get here, there\u2019s infrastructure already in place to support them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tim Merkle, a Marine Captain who spent nine years on active duty, including combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, helped establish Steelcase Salutes in September 2021. As a veteran and director of the Steelcase retail team\u2019s business operations, Merkle says the silver MVAA certification verifies for military families that Steelcase is invested in supporting their community.<\/p>\n

“Steelcase Salutes\u2019 mission is to create an inclusive veteran ecosystem across our company and the communities we serve.\u201d <\/p>Tim MerkleSteelcase director of business operations, Capt. USMC <\/span><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n

To obtain silver, the group worked over the past year to validate and meet specific criteria. Examples include specific HR business processes for onboarding veterans, like providing special emails and information kits, as well as tracking and maintaining hiring goals and reporting those to the state of Michigan.<\/p>\n

In addition to the certification, Steelcase Salutes signed on to be a \u2018veteran connector,\u2019 working closely with the MVAA and Steelcase Wellbeing Hub to ensure veterans\u2019 mental health needs are met. The group seeks to engage other employees through team building activities and commemorative events centered around recognition and support of veterans and their families. Merkle hopes to continue to remove barriers for veterans and plans to work toward achieving the group\u2019s next goal: a gold designation. Kolakowski says the group is ready for the challenge.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cThis shows we\u2019ve walked in these shoes as veterans ourselves and we understand the value of veterans and what they can bring to our organization. This is about letting the Veteran community know Steelcase cares about them. Achieving these goals is a great acknowledgment of that,\u201d says Kolakowski.<\/p>\n

\n

Find resources and learn more about Steelcase\u2019s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion online.<\/p>\n

Explore Now<\/a><\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Steelcase as a veteran-friendly organization by awarding it recognition as a 2022 silver Veteran-Friendly Employer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37261,"featured_media":762758,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"topic":[47663],"class_list":["post-762757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","topic-people-planet"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nChampioning Our Veterans - Steelcase<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/research\/articles\/topics\/people-planet\/championing-our-veterans\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Championing Our Veterans - Steelcase\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Steelcase as a veteran-friendly organization by awarding it recognition as a 2022 silver Veteran-Friendly Employer.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/research\/articles\/topics\/people-planet\/championing-our-veterans\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Steelcase\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-11-10T18:50:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-08-05T18:50:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/images.steelcase.com\/image\/upload\/c_fill,dpr_auto,q_70,h_600,w_1200\/v1667933150\/22-0184442.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Gema Perez\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Gema Perez\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Championing Our Veterans - 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