Research indicates that individuals are pretty terrible at self-appraisals and it is fairly apparent that they aren’t very much fun, so why on Earth would we make a self-assessment for busy corporations?
To put it in a single statement: we want to educate companies on how to be better military advocates. We designed the Corporate Self-Assessment in such a way that if, under the worst conditions, the self-assessment was grossly ineffective as a sales tool, that it would succeed in providing participating companies with an overview of the standard they should be setting. When you work for a national non-profit, you must adhere to this core axiom: everything you do should aim to benefit your mission and the community it serves.
The Corporate Self-Assessment functions as an interactive learning tool for test taker. While the individual test taker draws their thoughts to their own companies and to themselves, our hope is that they engage in a reflective analysis of how they empower their veterans and military members. Sometimes all you need is a little mindfulness to initiative meaningful change. As potential partners engage in our self-assessment, they will be exposed to concepts internal to their organization and those related to the community. Also, they will consider stakeholders who are not only active duty or veteran employees, but also those who share the burden of defending this country, such as parents, spouses, and involved patriots. Further, as the test taker reads the questions, we hope that they recognize the underlying topics that the questions are addressing, and that they can generate new ideas on how to improve their veteran programs.
Organizations have a tremendous capacity to influence the quality of life of their employees, and aiding military members starts with those who are establishing careers, or the established military-connected employees who enjoy the privilege of being able to engage in philanthropy. If the self-assessment kickstarts a state of veteran mindfulness, then our hope is that compassion and recognition of this great social responsibility follow suit within our great companies, and of course, compassion is not enough, action must follow. Which is why America’s Warrior Partnership is willing to remain flexible, diligent, and optimistic as we pursue partnerships with companies all over the United States to create a better quality of life for our military-connected employees and a better veteran culture nationwide.