Fair-chance hiring: A DEI-friendly solution to talent shortages

The workplace and employment environments are facing enormous challenges at the moment. COVID has accelerated resignations and peoples’ perceptions of how they want their careers to unfold to such a degree that the so-called Great Resignation has seen people leave and not return to jobs in great numbers.

For HR leaders the challenge can also provide an opportunity, especially in the area of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). In a new report Fair Chance Hiring Report from Checkr, U.S. employees (31%) say their company’s hiring process is prejudiced against certain populations and 75% say they feel that people with conviction histories face the most discrimination. However, 4 in 5 employees (80%) are on board with their employer hiring fair-chance talent, and many believe it should be part of their company’s DEI strategy (54%), and 77% of executives say fair chance hiring should be included in annual DEI reporting.

Of the executives who have hired fair chance workers in the last year (63%), many report positive outcomes for overall business, including:

• Going above and beyond at work (90%), contributing to enhanced productivity
• Earning promotions for job performance (87%), proving their motivation drives company goals
• Staying at the company for as long as, if not longer than, other workers (85%)

Many businesses are already taking steps in the right direction to implement fair chance hiring, and it starts with upgrading their internal tools and processes. For example, most execs (84%) are interested in learning about how to implement fair chance hiring practices. Also, most already use HR tech to remove bias from the hiring process (83%) and others have plans to allocate more budget to fair chance hiring programs in 2022 (79%).

But, says the report, employers also need to change their hiring mindsets, and their employees are telling them. Employees (85%) believe businesses should ignore certain types of records — such as nonviolent offenses or marijuana possession in states where it’s now legal.

But a disconnect still remains at the higher levels. Seventy-five percent of executives admit to researching a candidate online to learn more about their record and 44% say they would think less of an employee upon discovering they had a conviction history. Making the investment now in DEI and fair chance employees, when labor is difficult to acquire and people are re-evaluating their work priorities, will cushion the economic blow of uncertainty and create a more inclusive and diverse workforce that can benefit everyone.