These advocates work tirelessly to help veterans succeed in the civilian workplace. Get to know who they are, what they do, and how they advocate for the veteran community.
Jim McMahon is the Director, Military and Veteran Outreach at Travelers Insurance.
Champion’s Reaction:
“It is humbling to be recognized as a Veteran Champion of the Year, and I greatly appreciate the honor. Every day I have the privilege of working with transitioning military personnel, veterans and military spouses—whether it’s helping them find a career at Travelers, providing mentoring support or sharing resume and interview tips. They are truly a special community that represents the very best of our country, and I am proud to support them.”
Champion’s Job Responsibilities:
Jim is responsible for the design, delivery and execution of Travelers Military Veteran & Military Spouse Talent Sourcing efforts. This involves managing multiple partnerships with a number of external organizations and internal hiring teams across the enterprise resulting in significant levels of hiring that have been recognized as best in class by several leading publications. In addition to hiring, he is intimately involved in veteran mentoring and skills building programs. Jim also leads a parallel portfolio focused on Inclusive Hiring for Individuals with Disabilities which has yielded similar levels of success as our military efforts.
Why McMahon was nominated for the Veteran Champions of the Year in Corporate America Award:
Jim McMahon has developed and implemented numerous Travelers’s initiatives to assist and support veterans, transitioning service members, military spouses, employees who are also National Guard and Reserve service members, and their families with employment opportunities/assistance, recognition, and transitioning advice. Jim participates in military job fairs and maintains relationships with base transition offices as well as partners like Onward to Opportunity, Hiring Our Heroes and American Corporate Partners. Travelers employs about 1,000 self-identified veterans across the U.S. in claim, underwriting, technology, and other roles. In addition to his responsibility for military recruiting, Jim also leads Travelers’ disability recruiting efforts and was honored by Disability:IN Connecticut for his leadership in improving disability employment opportunities. In the last three years alone, Travelers has recruited more than 40 employees with disabilities in the Claim Staff Counsel Business Resource Centers in Hartford and St. Paul. Jim’s work in military and disability recruiting helps foster a more inclusive workplace at Travelers – and changes lives. He says the key is being open minded, advising those involved with hiring decisions not to focus too much on why someone might not be a good fit. Instead, “look for reasons to be inclusive, and you’ll be pleasantly surprised at what you find.”
Some of the initiatives that Jim has led Travelers to establish are: 1) offering an internal employee resource group focused on building awareness of veterans’ skills and experiences. Since its launch in 2013, the Military and Veterans & Allies Diversity Network has grown to more than 3,100 members. 2) Focused recruitment efforts, where employees with previous military experience build relationships with national military and veteran organizations. This helps the company actively recruit transitioning service members for roles such as catastrophe responders, claim adjusters, customer service representatives, investigators, technology specialists, nurses, risk control consultants and underwriters. 3) Travelers joined the Department of Defense Military Spouse Employment Partnership (MSEP) establishing a recruiting program designed specifically to help military spouses. A specialized team reviews resumes and helps candidates secure positions that are amenable to location (PCS) changes. 4) Supporting American Corporate Partners, a national nonprofit that helps veterans discover their next careers. Since 2010, Travelers employees have mentored hundreds of post-9/11 veterans. 5) Providing comprehensive benefits for employees deployed on active duty, including full benefits in addition to supplementing employees’ military pay for up to five years of their deployment. 6) In large part due to Jim’s efforts, Travelers has been recognized multiple times as a Military Friendly Company by VIQTORY and a Best for Vets Employer by Military Times. The company was also named to VIQTORY’s Military Spouse Friendly Employers list for the first time and maintained its standing on VIQTORY’s lists of Military Friendly Employers, Military Friendly Supplier Diversity Programs and Military Friendly Brands. Travelers has also signed the Statement of Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve at both state and national levels. In addition, Travelers was named a 2021 Employer for Outstanding Support by the U.S. Navy Reserve.