Here's How Baylor Scott & White Health Became a Top Ten Military Employer


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One of the main problems experienced by veterans when returning to civilian life from active duty is finding gainful employment. The culture shock of going from a position of risk and responsibility to something altogether more "normal" can be rather jarring.

According to the most recent figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the US is home to approximately 19.2 million male and female veterans. Of this number, 326,000 are presently unemployed. Broken down by gender, the unemployment rate for females is 3%, while for males it's 3.5% — 54% of the total are aged 25 to 54, 40% are aged 55 and over, and 6% are aged 18 to 24.

This means there is a significant pool of talented, motivated, and professional candidates who are ripe for employment into positions of responsibility. Those brands which are willing to take a chance on this cohort will find themselves rewarded with some of the finest employees they could wish for.

Baylor Scott & White Health

Each year the Military Friendly® organization sends out surveys to employers and schools. The Military Friendly Company survey investigates and identifies those organizations whose commitment to serving the military and veteran community is comprehensive in scope and meaningful in terms of actual outcomes. The Military Friendly Schools survey is the longest-running most comprehensive review of college and university investments in serving military and veteran students.



From the results of this survey, Military Friendly compiles a comprehensive list of the brands it deems to be doing the most to actively encourage applications from military veterans and those who tailor their employee benefits and working environment to this demographic. The program has been running now for more than 16 years and has seen a staggering 1,429% growth in employers completing the survey.

Baylor Scott & White Health is the largest not-for-profit healthcare system in Texas and one of the largest in the United States. The organization includes 48 hospitals, more than 800 patient care sites, more than 7,800 active physicians, over 47,000 employees, and in the most recent Military Friendly list was placed at number six.

The survey results are broken down into six separate categories — Hiring and Onboarding, Opportunity and Advancement, Culture and Commitment, Support and Retention, Policies and Compliance, and Recruiting and Sourcing. Baylor Scott & White Health scored 100% in every category, Exceeding the standard by 51.8% for Hiring and Onboarding, 45.24% for Opportunity and Advancement, 52.53% for Culture and Commitment, 61.98% for Support and Retention, 62.14% for Policies and Compliance, and 31.37% for Recruiting and Sourcing.

"We're committed to serving those who have so honorably served us by participating in a number of employment initiatives for vets, as well as supporting our colleagues who serve in the Reserves and National Guard," said Chief Diversity Officer & Vice President of Human Resources, Baylor Scott & White Health, Guwan Jones. "We're pleased to be recognized for our efforts through this designation and look forward to building on them."

Military Benefits

Baylor Scott & White Health has a host of unique perks and benefits tailored specifically to attract veterans to its organizations including:

  • Medical plan and life insurance benefits coverage — provided to Guard and/or Reserve employees and their family members who are called to active duty, whether salaried or non-salaried.
  • Provision of full pay — provided to Guard and/or Reserve employees called to active duty, whether salaried or non-salaried.
  • Peer Support Specialist Training — On evidence-based peer support skills, including active listening, rapport building, assessment, and networking techniques for veterans and their families.
  • Hiring Our Heroes Corporate Fellowship Program — Management training and hands-on experience to service members and military spouses transitioning into the civilian workforce.
  • Baylor Scott & White Research Institute - Peer Support Specialist Training for support and outreach to employee veterans and veteran family members who may struggle with mental health, substance use, or psychological trauma.
  • Collaboration with Canine Companions for Independence — to train and provide service dogs of the highest quality, at no cost, to disabled American veterans and others with mobile disabilities and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) to help restore their physical and emotional independence.
  • Regular attendance at veteran job fairs — through relationships with veteran and state employment organizations that include the Fort Hood Mega Fair, Allies in Service, Workforce Solutions, Texas Workforce Commission Vocational Rehabilitation Services, and Texas Veterans Commission.
  • Telehealth Services — Veterans and their families can receive evidence-based, culturally aware treatment to address common mental health challenges (depression, anxiety, PTSD, alcohol and substance misuse) at no cost. Treatment is delivered via secure video conferencing on participants' personal computers or mobile devices.
  • Support for the hiring of veterans with disabilities — Through collaborations with Disability:IN North Texas, Disability:IN Central Texas, EmployAbility Dallas, and Texas Workforce Commission.
  • Acceptance of technical certification credit for military experience — for corpsmen certificate, surgical technology certificate, biomedical equipment certificate, and basic life support certificate.
  • Collaboration with the Central Texas Veterans Health Care System — Baylor Scott & White Health currently has 70 FTE resident positions at the Veterans Administration (VA) that provides educational activities via rotations and rounding.

Final Thoughts

Providing military personnel with lucrative and satisfying career opportunities after active duty is a great way for brands such as Baylor Scott & White Health to demonstrate their commitment to making sure there is always a home for veterans to return to.

You can hear Baylor Scott & White Health's Vice President of HR, Nakesha Lopez, speak at HR Healthcare 2020, taking place in June at the Hyatt Regency Austin, TX.

Download the agenda today for more information and insights.



WBR Insights is the custom research division of Worldwide Business Research (WBR). Our mission is to help inform and educate key stakeholders with research-based whitepapers, webinars, digital summits, and other thought-leadership assets while achieving our clients' strategic goals.

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