For a while now, I have been interested in the idea of "second-chance" employment. Such campaigns have arisen in response to application forms at many companies in the U.S. that ask whether the applicant has ever committed a felony crime. If so, the applicant is legally required to check a box, at which point most companies file their application in the trash. Gradually, companies are beginning to recognize that doing so might mean they are missing something – first, because the idea of punishment after a crime should be primarily to rehabilitate and, if someone has served their sentence, then (in theory, at least) they have paid for their mistake and should not continue to be punished. Second, and more importantly, I think, to give a second chance to someone who routinely has doors slammed in their face is to tap into potential others are ignoring, primarily because it is a way to build trust, respect, and loyalty because of the opportunity that is being extended.
One of my favorite companies, Dave's Killer Bread (DKB), is an active proponent of second-chance employment (due largely to the colorful history of the "Dave" of DKB); so much so that somewhere around 50% of employees at the company have been hired under the program. As the company proclaims on its website:
"The Dave's Killer Bread Foundation was created in 2015 to inspire and equip other businesses to adopt Second Chance Employment. A lack of information or understanding about employing people with criminal backgrounds can make businesses hesitant to explore this option, and we're here to change that. We believe that in the long term, Second Chance Employment has the power to reduce the negative impact of recidivism in America, and we work to educate organizations on the importance of employing this part of our population. Find out more at dkbfoundation.org."
And, as the company notes on its Foundation website, this is not a minor issue:
"Every year, 650,000 Americans return to society from incarceration to find themselves locked out of gainful employment opportunities. People with criminal records were 5x more likely to be unemployed in 2019 than the rest of the nation."
As the article in the url below notes, other companies are beginning to catch on to the potential advantages of a more progressive approach on this issue:
"A labor shortage has pushed more employers to recruit employees who have served prison time. In recent years, small businesses and big U.S. companies including banks and pharmacy chains say they have recognized that so-called second-chance hiring offers a chance to ease societal inequities. It also helps them find more workers in a tight job market."
The barriers people in this situation face are significant:
"Finding steady, formal employment has long been a challenge for people who have been convicted of crimes. Job applications often ask about felony convictions, even though there have been efforts across the country to ban such a question. After that, a background check may flag a job seeker's criminal history, potentially invalidating the application. These roadblocks contribute to higher unemployment rates for formerly incarcerated people. Their unemployment rate was estimated at over 27%, according to a 2018 report from the Prison Policy Initiative. … just having an arrest record can hurt people's employment prospects, even if charges were dropped."
Thankfully, the value of supporting causes like this is beginning to spread as the idea gains support/legitimacy:
"The Second Chance Business Coalition—a group of companies that work to share best practices on hiring people with a criminal background—was formed in 2021 with 29 companies and now has more than 40. Among those are JP Morgan Chase & Co., American Airlines Group Inc., AT&T Inc. and CVS Health Corp."
And, in some case, with meaningful impact:
"About one-tenth of JPMorgan Chase's new hires last year, roughly 4,300 people, had criminal records, according to Nan Gibson, executive director for JPMorgan Chase's PolicyCenter. Many of them are placed into teller positions and other jobs at bank branches, said Michelle Kuranty, the company's global head of talent acquisition sourcing."
What would be useful and interesting, is to know how these employees perform relative to others after being hired. I suspect they perform at a higher level and remain loyal to the organization for longer, but I presume it is privacy concerns that prevent firms from tracking these data:
"The company doesn't track these workers after they are hired, said Ms. Kuranty."
Take care
David
David Chandler
Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility: Sustainable Value Creation (6e)
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More Businesses Try 'Second-Chance' Hiring
By Allison Prang
October 10, 2022
The Wall Street Journal
Late Edition – Final
A3
