How Your Business Can be Affected by Mass Incarceration
In today’s competitive markets, businesses must be on the lookout for advantages that can improve sales, customer satisfaction, and productivity. Recent global events have made the challenges faced by companies even more prevalent and seem to require innovative new ideas to overcome. In reality, the best way to boost company growth and improve performance is a solution that has been available for decades. Hiring individuals with criminal records.
Large Source of Untapped Potential
Many people find it difficult to understand just how many individuals with criminal records there are in the United States. According to FBI statistics, there are now over 70 million Americans with a criminal record, or one in three adults. To put that number in perspective, that is the same number of Americans with a college diploma. Comparing this figure to other countries, the U.S. has the highest incarceration rate in the world and is well over 4 times higher than the global average.
This is an enormous pool of talent that is overlooked far too often. Now, with current mass labor shortages, many Fortune 500 companies are beginning to turn to people with records as a source of much needed productivity. Companies such as JPMorgan Chase & Co., Microsoft, Bank of America, General Motors, and many others understand that excluding job applicants because of a criminal record is detrimental to their own success.
Improved Loyalty
Not only can hiring people with criminal records help companies solve pandemic era economic problems, they can reduce one of the largest expenses that companies faced before the pandemic as well: employee turnover. According to a study conducted by the American Civil Liberties Union, “research has found that employees with records are retained at higher rates than those without criminal histories. Better retention can significantly reduce an employer’s recruitment and training costs for lower-skilled white-collar workers, which analysts estimate are close to $4,000 per employee. In fact, with higher retention rates and greater loyalty, job seekers with criminal histories, researchers say, are ‘a better pool for employers’”. One company in the study saw a 12.2% lower turnover rate for employees with criminal records, while another company reported that their average turnover rate dropped from 25% to just 11%.
These numbers can be even more dramatic in certain industries. Restaurants, which employ almost 10 million people nationwide, experience turnover between 66% and 130%. This results in an average loss of nearly $6,000 for each employee that must be replaced. The ability to reduce that loss as other industries do can greatly increase profit margins and enable the restaurants to deliver more consistent, quality service.
Increased Productivity
Another large source of lost income at companies of all sizes is a lack of productivity from employees. While employee performance can be improved through incentive programs or bonuses, the best way to ensure that employees will carry the values and mission of their company is to earn their devotion. Hiring individuals with criminal records has been shown through numerous studies as well as first-hand testimonials to have a positive impact on productivity.
Laureen Asseo, CEO of Fresh n’ Lean and recipient of Forbes 30 Under 30 title, has been an outspoken proponent of second chance hiring for years. She describes her experience by saying “people appreciate a second chance, and their productivity proves it”. She was able to look past the criminal records of her job applicants and has found that people that she hires in spite of it go on to become her most hard-working employees. Laureen is also far from the only successful CEO to have caught on to this trend. There is no shortage of industry professionals that attribute their company’s growth to second chance hiring, such as Chris Cavallini, Jamie Dimon, Irene Liu, Robert Gill, Courtney Hutchinson, and many more. Overall, as Margie Lee-Johnson of the Harvard Business Review puts it, “you’re likely to see more creative problem solving, greater empathy, higher engagement, and unique and valuable viewpoints”.
While individual performance can be difficult to quantify, the United States Armed Forces provides a perfect example of the determination and commitment that comes with providing a second chance. The Army has been recruiting individuals with criminal records for years and has found that, of all enlistees, those with a felony conviction were 33% more likely to be promoted to sergeant regardless of other factors like education. This is a leadership position given only to those who demonstrate the good moral character, dedication, and standards of the millions of men and women who came before them. If someone is devoted enough to carry the ideals and mission of the U.S. Armed Forces, they are capable of demonstrating that same passion for the mission of your company.
How Your Company Can Benefit
The first thing that every company should do is sign the Fair Chance Business Pledge. By signing the pledge, you can join the hundreds of notable organizations and businesses that have committed to breaking down employment barriers and providing opportunity for all Americans including Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Intel, American Airlines, and so many more.
While this is a great step, it is far from the only thing that businesses can be doing. As the Harvard Business Review describes it, “To have a true impact, employers must go beyond “ban the box” policies and be proactive about establishing a pipeline of qualified candidates who, because of their criminal records, they’re otherwise likely to miss out on meeting”. For this reason, several services have been created with the purpose of connecting employers to a network of devoted and hard-working employees. SquareOneJobs is a relatively new startup that I have personally been involved with for 2 years now. We are based in New York and New Jersey and are the only job search platform that provides tools, training, and resources to develop a candidate’s potential as well as previous employer recommendations. 70 Million Jobs is another company based in California that has done incredible work over the past few years and works closely with many employers. Finally, while they are not as focused or streamlined, other job portals like Monster have worked with individuals with criminal records and have committed to finding employment for everyone.
Taking action now can help combat systemic problems faced by tens of millions of Americans, while improving the performance of your company and furthering the mission that you have worked towards.
