June 29 was Armed Forces Day, which has generated more debate about suitable career paths for Forces personnel, once their service is complete, to add to other articles in the past year that have suggested that some ex-Forces personnel are judged harshly by employers. The Aspray franchise team, who manage our loss-assessing franchise opportunity and franchisee recruitment, have even seen data that suggests that 30% of employers believe individuals are “damaged” by military service. Aspray is not one of these.
An SSAFA survey in 2018 suggested 87% of Armed Forces personnel experience financial difficulties after leaving the Forces. Commentators have also said that some former Forces personnel hide their service history, believing they are discriminated against because of it.
A YouGov survey in November 2018 said that seven-in-ten employers believe Forces personnel to be institutionalized. This prompted defence minister, Tobias Ellwood, to say: “Those who have served in our armed forces leave with a fantastic range of transferrable skills, including leadership, team work and resourcefulness.”
Ex-Forces Personnel as Aspray Franchisees
Aspray’s franchise team echo Mr Ellwood’s words, having recruited and now worked with several franchisees who have served in the Armed Forces. These individuals demonstrate qualities such as courage, discipline and selflessness, all of which can be crucial to success as a loss assessor.
This is a role that involves championing a property insurance policyholder’s entitlement to repairs and reinstatement, ensuring they are not short-changed by their policy and treated unfairly by the insurer’s representative, typically asked to make an offer at the time of claim – the loss adjuster.
In some cases, Forces’ training in areas like facilities management, allows ex-Forces personnel to come ready-equipped with skills that could be transferred straight into Aspray’s claims management loss assessing role within the property sector.
Leadership and Project-management
Leadership qualities are also important when leading a team of contractors working on property reinstatement for a policyholder who has suffered property damage. Aspray franchisees typically manage the entire repair and reinstatement process, marshalling a team of work-people doing whatever is necessary, be that joinery or building work, plastering, plumbing, roofing, electrical repairs, decorating, or something more complicated.
Project-managing a complete repair scenario as an Aspray franchise territory loss assessor also requires skills in planning and co-ordination. If an Aspray franchisee has a military background, they can run their projects in an orderly, thought-out fashion with, should we say, military precision.
Whilst there are jobs for former Forces’ personnel in areas such as retail and banking, there can be issues when it comes to asking someone who is used to a fast-moving dynamic environment to now sit at a desk in civvy street. It could be preferable for them to head out to the site of a property loss, as Aspray franchisees do, and allow them to strategise and build a plan of how to get the property reinstated, as swiftly as possible.
Opportunities for Aspiring Franchisees
Another reason why Aspray views franchisees with a Forces background as a good fit for its professional franchise opportunity is that the Forces often teaches the individuals to aspire to reach the next goal or the next level. The desire to progress and powerful, innate ambition are great drivers within a franchise business, often being the differentiating factor between the franchisee earning a good salary and the one reaching the higher echelons of income-generation, where noughts on the end of the annual earnings really start to dazzle.
That is also down to hard work – another thing we find ex-Forces personnel are very used to. Many are also great socializers and, therefore, able to engage with potential customers extremely easily, giving these customers the confidence to work with them (the franchisee) in the protection of their home, or ‘castle’, as many homeowners regard their property.
In short, Aspray views the transferable skills that ex-Forces personnel often possess as a great starting point for a role as a loss assessor. Naturally, there are other components required before it can be seen as a perfect fit, but with several former Forces franchisees in our network, we have seen how well the skills gained from a period of service can match those required of a role in property claims management.
If you are considering your next move in your career post-military service, do visit www.asprayfranchise.co.uk to find out more, or call 0800 077 6705.
