On this episode of HR & Payroll 2.0, Pete sits down with Erica McMannes, Co-Founder and Chief Experience Officer at Instant Teams, to explore the realities of military spouse employment and why the challenge extends far beyond unemployment. Together, they discuss career portability, underemployment, skills-based hiring, remote work, and the hidden obstacles that prevent employers from accessing this extraordinary talent pool.

Military spouses represent one of the most capable yet overlooked talent communities in today’s workforce. Despite bringing resilience, adaptability, leadership, and problem-solving skills shaped by years of navigating military life, too many still face barriers created by traditional hiring models that were never designed for mobility, career continuity, or distributed work.

Drawing from her own experience as a military spouse and entrepreneur, Erica shares how organizations can rethink hiring, job design, and workforce strategy to unlock talent hiding in plain sight. The conversation offers an important reminder that the military spouse employment challenge is not a talent problem. It is a work design problem.