At Marsh & McLennan, our strength comes from our respect for the richness of the different backgrounds and perspectives of our colleagues.

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, US veterans have a higher unemployment rate than the national average. Veterans share qualities that are fundamental to Marsh & McLennan’s culture: collaboration, leadership and service for the greater good. We wanted to find a way to actively recruit veterans — because it was the right thing to do for them, and also for our company.

On Veterans Day in 2013, our President and CEO Dan Glaser launched the Veteran Talent Initiative (VTI), committing to hiring 500 US military veterans in three years and providing them with the resources to build successful civilian careers. The program matches highly qualified veteran talent to roles within Marsh & McLennan and our four operating companies — Marsh, Guy Carpenter, Mercer and Oliver Wyman — assigning every military candidate a recruiter who is trained to engage and support them through the application and interview process.

A unique aspect of the initiative is the “Silver Medalist” program, which identifies outstanding candidates who did not receive a job offer in their initial round of interviews and are given additional support that enables them to be “redeployed” to other positions across the company.

Other unique aspects of the Veteran Talent Initiative include accommodations for our veterans who perform annual short-term reserve duty and have a need to take other military-related leaves.

In just over three years, we achieved the goal of hiring 500 veterans. That number is higher than the total number of veterans hired in the previous four decades, a clear demonstration of the value of having a dedicated hiring team, leadership commitment and innovative programs designed for veterans’ unique needs. Our commitment has been recognized by Military Times, CivilianJobs.com and Victory Media, which named Marsh & McLennan the #1 Military Friendly Employer in the US for 2017.