Why Ola and Amazon are hiring ex-soldiers

While Ola will mostly involve these former soldiers as drivers, Amazon plans to engage them in logistics, reports Tech in Asia

In India, ex-servicemen bring along with them years of disciplined life, well-rounded personalities, and tremendous service orientation brought on by training and rigor in soldiering. However, 60,000 service personnel retire every year. Most of them are aged between 37 to 45, which makes their second innings into civic life and employment very uncertain.
 

The Directorate General Resettlement (DGR), which is part of the Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare, Ministry of Defence, helps ex-servicemen re-orient their skills and aptitude for a second career post-retirement.
 

Indian start-ups, particularly ecommerce companies like Ola and Amazon, are partnering with the DGR for making the most of the skills of these personnel. While Ola will mostly involve these former soldiers as drivers, Amazon plans to engage them in logistics.
 

“Their [ex-servicemen] missionary zeal on completing a mission and delivering on their commitments within a given deadline resonates with our customer-obsession. We have several ex-service personnel who have made successful careers at Amazon India. Their skill and leadership is invaluable in our high growth environment.” says Raj Raghavan, director human resources of Amazon India.
 

“As members of the armed forces in the past, they undoubtedly constitute high quality talent in terms of skill and discipline. A stable income, an opportunity to grow and serve the nation like always, makes this initiative a win-win,” said Yugantar Saikia, senior vice president of Ola. The start-up claims that it will absorb 100,000 such professionals over the next five years.
 

Ola and Amazon have set up mentorship programs where ex-servicemen within the company will support and guide their brethren in picking up new skills and adjusting to life in an internet company.

This is has been sourced from Tech in Asia. You can access the article here.