For veterans - General Mills

Veterans Annual Report
2012-2013
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General Mills recognizes the value of employing the
servicemen and women who have proudly served their
country as enlisted members or commissioned officers
of the Armed Forces. The veteran brings special training
and experience along with strong organizational skills that
translates well to the corporate environment.
We have multiple initiatives to support our veterans, both
here at General Mills and in the community, including
the Veterans Network and Club, and specific recruiting,
supplier diversity and HR initiatives.
“We believe that we can strengthen
our company and community by
attracting and retaining talented
veterans and the valuable skills and
experiences they offer. Additionally,
we’re proud to support our
employees who are actively serving
our country, and their families.”
Ken Powell, Chairman and
Chief Executive Officer
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“My husband deployed to Afghanistan in August.
As a spouse, the most important and stressful times
are before and after the deployment. General Mills
has been very supportive in
providing me extra time off,
affording me to spend time
with my husband before he
left as well as preparing my
children and life for
his absence”
Tracy D
Product Sales Manager
General Mills employs over
600 veterans
72% located in hourly
production roles in our
manufacturing plants, and
the remaining in salaried
positions throughout
our headquarters and
field locations
3%
of our total hires
are veterans
28.4%
Field Sales
Locations
Salaried
Veterans
Locations of
Employment
14.2%
World
Headquarter
Facilities
57.4%
Manufacturing
Plants
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GENERAL MILLS
Veterans Network
The Veterans Network
Our Veterans Network was officially launched on Veterans Day, 2012
in conjunction with Gov. Mark Dayton’s proclamation of General
Mills as a Yellow Ribbon Company. Its mission is to strengthen our
company by creating opportunities for employees to support, attract
and retain the unique skills and experiences of America’s veterans.
In the past year, the Veterans Network has elected officers and engaged senior
leaders in the Veterans Network Advisory Board. Activities are planned around
three strategic pillars: Recruiting, Service, and Leadership.
Recruiting
The mission of this pillar is to recruit, retain and position veterans for success at
General Mills. Bringing awareness, internally and externally, that General Mills
is a veteran-friendly workplace, has been a main focus, including launching,
in partnership with Diversity & Inclusion and Recruiting, a dedicated landing
page for veterans on the external careers website and an additional veterans
informational page under our main external website responsibility section.
http://www.generalmills.com/en/Responsibility/Diversity/Veterans.aspx
http://jobs.generalmills.com/military
Additionally, General Mills attended two events in Chicago with the Lucas Group,
resulting in six hires!
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Service
Our service pillar’s mission is to lead in the community by serving transitioning
veterans. We continued our successful partnership with American Corporate
Partners (ACP) Mentoring Program. We also partnered with the Black
Champions Network during Black History Month to bring in an original
Tuskegee Airman, Lt. Col. Hiram Mann, drawing over 100 participants to
the event. The pioneering African American military aviator spoke on the
importance of “leveraging our history to shape our future,” and provided
context to the story of his unit helping pave the way for the integration of the
military following World War II.
Leadership
The Veterans Network exists in part to build awareness and nurture leadership
behaviors that enable General Mills employees to fulfill the company’s mission.
Veterans Network
Leadership
• Executive Sponsor: Myer Joy
• Operations Leader: Jeff Marone
• Recruiting: Tracy Dufault, Rich Doyle
• Service: Jeff Marone, Joel Stamp,
Brad Gregory
• Network Development: Karly Mangen,
Ken Titcomb, Matt Beliveau,
Jake Yuchasz
• Family and Troop Support: Sarah Breit,
Debbie Golden
Veterans Network
Advisory Board
• Bruce Allen
• Ken Charles
• Tom Forsythe
• Myer Joy
• Stephanie Lilak
• Ellen Luger
• Jon Nudi
• John Russett
• David Wagner
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The Veterans Club
The Veterans Club is comprised of employees who provide outreach and support
to veterans and their families through community service projects. It also serves
as a source of camaraderie and an information and resource center for benefits
and educational opportunities. This past years service and outreach included:
A spring and fall package
drive for the troops,
sending 47 packages!
47
Supporting “Scoops
for Troops” 5k run/walk
by donating food and
volunteers for the event
Yearly unserviceable
flag collection,
accumulating
37 flags
to date for
ceremonial
disposal
We also partnered with the Knitting Club,
who provided more than 400 helmet liners to
date and the Stampin & Scrappin Club, who
created cards for care packages
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37
400
Supplier Diversity
Our journey with veteran-owned business
enterprises (VBE) is just beginning. In fiscal
year 2013, we spent $20.3MM with VBEs,
up 8.5% from fiscal year 2012, representing
3% of our overall supplier diversity spend.
• Register your veteran-owned, certified
diverse business for contracting
opportunities to provide goods or
services to General Mills. The Supplier
Database link is located on the General
Mills website under Suppler Diversity.
“General Mills has taken
great care of me over
the past six years. They
provide benefits above and
beyond what is required
by USERRA. They are very
supportive of military
employees while at training
and on deployments.”
Joel S, Procurement Analyst
Human Resources
Our HR function is dedicated to serving all
employees, including veterans. This is why
the Veterans Employee Guide was created.
This guide helps managers of veterans
and Human Resources professionals aid
employees who are veterans with the
transition of being newly hired, going on
leave or returning from a military leave.
The guide includes policy information and
legal requirements, checklists for smooth
transitions and tips for being a great
manager to veterans.
Each year, a few dedicated
employees gather together for
the Operation Soldier Phone
Home campaign (OSPH).
OSPH is dedicated to bringing
holiday spirit to our troops
oversees. Since 2006 over 140,000 greeting cards and over
$38,000 in phone cards have been donated.
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mentoring
Jeff Marone won a Champions Award in 2012 for his work in bringing
the American Corporate Partners (ACP) veterans mentoring program to
General Mills.
To help post-9/11 military veterans make the transition to
careers in business, more than 60 General Mills employees
are volunteering as mentors. The mentoring program is run by
American Corporate Partners (ACP), an organization General
Mills began partnering with around Veterans Day, 2011. ACP
provides free career counseling and mentoring to recently
returned veterans by professionals from corporations and
universities across the U.S.
In addition to partnering with ACP’s mentoring program, we
hosted Sid Goodfriend, Founder and Chairman of ACP. In his
visit, Sid highlighted the growing need to support transitioning
service members (an estimated 200,000 this year and a
million over the next five years) and, most importantly, he
commended those mentors at General Mills on the difference
they are making in the lives of their protégés. During the visit,
we were able to connect Mr. Goodfriend with other executives
from Twin Cities companies, expanding ACP’s exposure to
corporations in the area.
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Here is what some General Mills mentors in the ACP program have
to say about the program:
“I started volunteering with the Mentor a Veteran program
because the sacrifice these men and women have made
for this country is almost unfathomable. If these people are
fighting for me, the very least I can do is to try and give back
— even if it’s just one soldier at a time.”
– Brent K
“Even though I am by far one of the older, if not the oldest,
and the only retired General Mills mentor with ACP, it
has been a most rewarding experience for me ... For that
opportunity I will be forever grateful to ACP and General
Mills! Thank you.” - George G
“Timothy and I are in regular communication. We just
wrapped up our series on Coaching and will transition
to Communication during our next call. I have enjoyed my
interaction with Timothy as well. He is open, engaged, and
cares about his development and career progression. I learn
a lot from his experiences and perspective as well.“
- Eric A
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Awards & Recognition
2013: G.I. Jobs Top 100 Military-Friendly Employers
2012: Yellow Ribbon Company Designation
2011: U.S. Department of Defense Employer Support of
the Guard and Reserve award for commitment to
employees who serve in the military
2010: National Committee for Employer Support of the
Guard Patriot Award
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