STAMFORD — Before they entered the corporate sector, many of the professionals at Connecticut’s largest companies developed their skills in an even larger organization: United States of America Inc.

As they commemorate Veterans Day on Monday, employees with military experience who now work at Connecticut-headquartered Fortune 500 companies said their work to support veterans-focused nonprofits and colleagues who have served in the armed forces extends throughout the year. At the same time, those companies are offering a growing number of programs to help former troops advance professionally.

“Being in the military and being in a civilian organization is very different, but there is a similar approach and focus that you bring to the mission. The principles are the same,” said Lioul Haile, a veteran who is now an assistant vice president of financial planning and analysis at Stamford-based consumer financial-services firm Synchrony. “If you understand your mission and know how to work in a team, you’ll go a long way in either the military or the corporate world.”

From the armed forces to corporate America

After enlisting in the Marines straight from high school in 2006, Haile deployed to Iraq in 2007-08 and Afghanistan in 2008-09. He reached the rank of corporal.

He joined his current employer about five years ago, after graduating from the University of Richmond. He then attended the University of Connecticut’s business school while working at Synchrony.

Today, he is pursuing a number of veterans-focused projects as a member of the company’s Veterans Network.

About 3,200 employees who are veterans or non-veteran “patriots” — equal to about 20 percent of Synchrony’s total headcount — belong to the network.

Between the first quarter and third quarter of this year, network members completed about 58 projects and collaborated with 29 nonprofits.

“We support great groups like Homes for the Brave,” Haile said, referring to a nonprofit that provides housing, vocational training and life coaching to help clients, who are mostly veterans, overcome homelessness. “And it gives me an opportunity to work with folks in the company who I might not otherwise work with.”

Alongside the community work, the network also focuses on recruiting veterans and then helping them to progress through the company’s ranks.

It comprises one of several “diversity networks” within Synchrony, alongside African-American, Hispanic, LGBT, Asian professional, people with disabilities and women’s groups.

“We strive to be inclusive with the other diversity networks,” said Bess Healy, Synchrony’s senior vice president of strategy and transformation and the Veterans Network’s national leader, who served from 1994 to 2001 in the Army, reaching the rank of captain. “The sum of the parts is greater than the whole. All those perspectives across the networks make us better.”

Broad support

Like Synchrony, other Fortune 500 companies based in the state also run support programs for employees who are veterans and volunteer and donate to veterans-focused nonprofits.

At cable-and-internet provider Charter Communications, veterans make up 11 percent of the workforce.

Among the Stamford-based company’s initiatives, it runs a Broadband Field Technician Apprenticeship Program for veterans, allowing them to earn a Charter paycheck as they train.

After completing the program, participants are awarded National Broadband Field Technician certification. Through the Department of Labor-certified program, they can also qualify for GI Bill benefits to supplement their paychecks.

“Veterans are a great fit for Charter,” said Thomas Adams, Charter’s executive vice president of field operations and executive sponsor of the company’s Spectrum Veterans group, which focuses on hiring, training and retaining veterans. “We value the critical competencies they develop through military service, such as leadership, teamwork, commitment and a strong work ethic, which translate well into roles within our company. Our goal is to help veterans build on those skills and grow them into meaningful careers with Charter.”

At transportation-and-logistics specialist XPO Logistics, two national driver-training programs for veterans and members of the reserve forces have run for about a year.

For individuals who trained as drivers in the military but have limited “behind the wheel” experience, Greenwich-based XPO offers an accelerated four-week course. Another program helps those who have served in the military, but who did not work in transportation, attain class A commercial driver’s licenses.

As one of the largest “less-than-truckload” carriers in North America, XPO employs more than 12,000 drivers.

At Stamford-based United Rentals, the world’s largest equipment-rental company, the outreach includes an initiative in which every new hire who has served in the armed forces receives a welcoming packet and an introductory call from a member of its Veterans United employee group.

Working across sectors

In 2018, there were about 9.5 million veterans in the U.S. civilian workforce. They accounted for about 6 percent of the total, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“Veterans bring unique skills and experience to the workplace such as working under pressure, including sometimes life-and-death circumstances,” said Healy, a West Point graduate whose Army service included a deployment to Germany and stints at a number of U.S. bases. “Their experience and skills have broad applicability in corporate America. Taking care of soldiers in the field is not unlike leading at Synchrony.”

The national veteran unemployment rate ran last year at 3.5 percent, compared with a non-veteran average of 3.8 percent. Connecticut’s veteran unemployment rate averaged 2 percent.

By offering personalized support, companies of all sizes can help veterans fulfill their professional potential, according to Rick Gibbs, a performance specialist with HR firm Insperity.

“Offering education reimbursement or online-training opportunities can help veterans acquire and hone the skills needed to succeed in new roles,” Gibbs said. “This investment not only helps veterans adjust to the civilian workplace, but it can demonstrate an employer’s support and confidence in their future.”

To support the next generation of former troops, Synchrony Veterans Network members such as Haile advise veterans attending the University of Connecticut, when they are interviewing for jobs.

“We want to advocate for all veterans,” Haile said. “They contribute a great deal at Synchrony, and they do so in every field they go into. Military experience translates everywhere.”

pschott@stamfordadvocate.com; 203-964-2236; twitter: @paulschott