If you're a patriot who buys T-shirts and has a Facebook account, you've probably heard of Grunt Style. And guess what? They're hiring like gangbusters.
Grunt Style employs more than 60 people in its existing distribution facility. Chief operating officer Tim Jensen plans to quadruple that number in the next year. Once they accomplish that, Grunt Style plans to replicate this model in facilities nationwide, ensuring your favorite Grunt Style gear is in your closet (or let's all admit it, on your body the day it arrives) even faster.
So if you love the gear, you love the mission and you're excited about getting your gear faster, how do you get on board? Grunt Style is hiring now; it has an immediate need for pickers, packers and shippers.
Jensen, a Marine veteran, saw the potential in joining a growing veteran-owned business and took a job folding shirts. Years later, he's running operations, creating a civilian company run on military leadership principles. It seems others are seeing the same potential, as Grunt Style has new employees relocating their families from around the country to join the team.
Jensen admits the extreme growth has had some fallout the management team wasn't happy with, namely retention challenges because of team members experiencing burnout from the intense pace.
Unlike many organizations that may accept this side effect of growth, Grunt Style leadership identified this issue and put programs in place to increase employee engagement. The company has hired a director of training, who has created leadership training programs for employees at every level of the organization.
Retention has been positively impacted by this program, and Jensen expects that trend to continue.
"For veterans like myself, it's a great company," said Chris Raya, a senior squad leader. "A lot of us have a hard time adjusting ... with Grunt Style, it's different; you walk right back into camaraderie."
Beyond giving Raya a place to feel a sense of belonging, it helped him find purpose as a civilian.
"A year ago, I wasn't in a good place. I was able to pull myself out of that bad place because of Grunt Style," Raya said. "Grunt Style gave me back my purpose. Grunt Style provides that purpose and atmosphere to get back on mission and be successful."
For many American companies, a veteran hiring initiative is a human resources directive, and it's an initiative with which many companies struggle. For Grunt Style, hiring veterans isn't an initiative; it's a given.
Where many companies max out their veteran hiring goals at 5%-10% of their workforce, Grunt Style's goal for military hires is 70%. That's right, seven times that of other organizations. With an understandable appeal to veterans who make up approximately 1% of the U.S. populace, that number is lofty, but within the sites of Grunt Style leadership.
Grunt Style is looking for:
- Active-duty members looking for a second job
- Veterans
- Reservists
- Vets with broken work histories who are getting back on their feet
- Anyone who has served their nation and wants to join the company in instilling pride in self, the military and this country.
This apparel company's mission to deliver the highest-quality, most patriotic apparel on the planet, straight to your front door, won't be ignored.
Its Beer Guarantee promises no matter what happens, it will replace your damaged shirt with a new one so you can confidently wear your shirt anywhere, anytime.
And its commercial with COO Tim Jensen showing up to hand-deliver a customer's order while inspecting his closet to ensure he is sufficiently stocked on Grunt Style gear is reminiscent of Terry Tate, the office linebacker, and leaves the viewer wondering how to get that kind of service themselves.
Grunt Style fans who can't get enough will be excited about the company's recent announcement to expand its fulfillment capabilities by opening a new distribution center in the Chicago area.
Catering to a generation accustomed to Amazon's Prime service, Grunt Style has created GS24. Items marked "GS24" on the website are guaranteed to ship within 24 hours. Response to GS24 items has been enthusiastic, prompting the company to look at how it can expand these offerings.
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