As the turmoil of the past few months has underscored systemic inequities in our society, business leaders have been quick to pledge change. Statements aside, the first step in achieving any measure of equality is assuring access to economic opportunity. However, our most vulnerable — the homeless, the impoverished, and those just looking for a chance — face significant barriers to the path to prosperity. They’re denied jobs due to practices meant to screen them out, particularly the formerly incarcerated.
Business leaders have the power to create real change and level the playing field for all. How? Through more inclusive hiring practices. Greyston Bakery, has successfully pioneered this effort through our Open Hiring® business model; we offer employment to anyone seeking a job — without resumes,
background checks, or interviews.
Naysayers will say there’s a lot of risk in hiring people with no questions asked. The fact is, traditional hiring processes do not guarantee future job performance. Further, they’re expensive; the Society for Human Resource Management reports companies spend about $4,100 per hire and many of those individuals simply “don’t work out.” We also must consider the risk of not hiring people facing barriers to employment, whether their experience has involved homelessness, recovery, lack of work experience, or jail time. For instance, ex-offenders are unemployed at a rate of over 27%, resulting in staggering societal costs. We perpetuate poverty, contribute to broken families, and fuel hopelessness, while pouring money into things like tighter law enforcement and corrections that produce no economic value. This is despite the fact that, while statewide rates of recidivism range from about 31% to 71%, recidivism rates for formerly incarcerated people who found employment shortly after release is less than 9%.[1]
Nonetheless, when considering these applicants, many businesses simply take a pass. Why? Risk. Although vowing to create more inclusive workforces, hiring managers are concerned that an individual’s past determines future performance and/or they’ll be liable for negligence claims. Some simply believe that, if they don’t conduct background checks, they’ll hire someone dangerous. When considering Open Hiring, employers should recognize that people are incarcerated for a multitude of reasons, and the vast majority of those returning to their communities have committed non-violent offenses. Management teams should have systems in place to address misconduct as it arises, regardless of how it hires employees.
Of course, employers should not be expected to hire someone unfit for a given job. At our bakery, we provide entry level employment for those who are ready, willing, and able to work, and all employees are expected to perform; today, we produce 8 million pounds of brownies annually for customers like Ben & Jerry’s and Whole Foods Markets. However, not everyone who comes to us ends up staying with us. We utilize a first-come, first-served recruitment process, followed by a full-time, paid training period, during which we assess candidates’ performance. Each prospective employee must meet the requirements of his or her job to secure a position.
Just about all business decisions involve some level of risk, whether legal, financial, or operational. A common concern in hiring ex-offenders is being accused of negligent hiring, but this concern may be overstated. Over the last decade, the average employer cost related to defending negligence claims for hiring a person with a criminal record was only $5 per worker.[2] Further, only about 1% of employers have been sued for negligent hiring of a person with a criminal record – and a significantly lower percentage of those employers actually were found liable[3].
Successful companies mitigate any risks through proper analysis, planning, communication, engagement, and execution. These same procedures are at the core of successfully integrating ex-offenders into a company’s workforce and are hallmarks of Open Hiring. And, as with any transformative initiative, communication is critical in addressing concerns and questions, and facilitating employee buy-in and understanding. If employers openly state that they’re hiring formerly incarcerated individuals and why, employees, customers, and vendors are able to make informed decisions about working alongside/with their new colleagues and share in the responsibility of maintaining healthy working relationships.
Business success begins with loyal employees who work hard. Period. Employers simply miss out when they focus on someone’s past; it’s not where someone has been that matters, it’s where he or she is going that counts.
[1] McClain, R. (2015,
October 26). Employers’ Practical Exposure to Negligent Hiring Liability
[Presentation]. Chicago: Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.
[2] McClain, R. (2015,
October 26). Employers’ Practical Exposure to Negligent Hiring Liability
[Presentation]. Chicago: Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.
[1] “Immediate Access to Employment Reduces Recidivism,” Real Clear Politics, June 2015.