The COVID-19 pandemic, legislation and progress for fair practices have changed the hiring processes among many organizations over the last couple of years. At the same time, a few sections of society face an issue regarding a fair chance of getting hired. One such section is that of people with a history of conviction. There are thousands of people released from prison every year. However, most of them face discrimination and do not stand a chance in their job search. The problem is not necessarily with background checks but the technology and standards employers have employed to perform it. These are outdated and automatically exclude job seekers with conviction history, affecting their future career and organizations’ diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts.
Checkr recently surveyed employers and employees to understand the current hiring process, DEI strategies and uncover perceptions about fairness in hiring. One major finding was that employees with conviction histories are very good employees. For example, 87% of them were promoted based on their job performance.
So, where do employers stand in their hiring processes?
See more: 3 Ways Companies Can Implement and Measure Success of DEI Tools
About 40% Do Not Have Ban the Box Policies in Place
‘Ban the boxOpens a new window ‘ is an international movement started by civil rights groups, which has also become law in many states of the U.S. It essentially requires organizations to eliminate questions related to a job seeker’s criminal history in job applications to curb discrimination. California is one of the states, which has implemented this law.
While about 36 states and 150 cities in the U.S. have implemented the law, it was found that about 82% of employees had to disclose their conviction history when they applied for their job. About 65% of employers, too, admitted that they did not implement ‘ban the box’ policies. About 90% of employers also said that some types of criminal records would automatically disqualify a candidate without a chance to explain the charges. However, 71% of the organizations believed they have an unbiased process for interviewing and screening candidates.
The challenge is if a job application has a check box about criminal history, it creates a bias early in the application process and significantly reduces an applicant’s chance of being hired.
Employees Believe Hiring Applicants With Conviction History Should Be Part of DEI Strategy
In a time when DEI is considered a critical factor for an organization’s success, employees believe that hiring job seekers with a history of conviction should be included in their employer’s DEI strategy. About 54% of the study’s respondents agreed with this. Interestingly, however, 24% of employees did not believe, and 40% were unsure if their employer prioritized DEI in the workplace. About 31% also thought their employer’s recruitment process was biased against certain populations. These populations included people with conviction history, older workers, and immigrants, among others.
Society sections facing bias during recruitment process
Source: Fair Chance Hiring ReportOpens a new window
It can be seen that while employers think they are doing a great job by removing prejudice when hiring, their employees do not believe that.
Most Employees Would Approve of Their Company Hiring People With Conviction History
According to the study, many employees and executives wanted to hire a fair chance talent and believed they should be treated equally. About 33% of employees would approve if their organizations hired people with a conviction history. About 47% also said they would be comfortable with fair chance talent if the conviction history were not violent. About 79% of executives, too, were willing to consider the training/education a person received in prison as part of their experience. About 86% would also be willing to offer salaries and benefits similar to other employees.
However, many employees believe that employers should screen in (which also implies screening out) certain offenses while running a background check. Here are what they think about how companies should evaluate these candidates.
How companies should evaluate fair chance candidates
Source: Fair Chance Hiring ReportOpens a new window
Executives Publicly Report on Fair Chance Hiring Practices
The study found that many executives have already started including fair chance recruitment in their DEI strategies. About 66% of executives also publicly reported on such practices. Breaking it down according to industry, the technology, finance, and manufacturing sectors are ahead in this regard.
About 63% of employers also recruited people with a conviction history last year. They also witnessed greater productivity, retention, and promotion rates in the staff members without conviction histories. Many executives also had some great reviews about these employees.
Review of employees with conviction history
Source: Fair Chance Hiring ReportOpens a new window
The Prospect of Fair Chance Hiring Is Improving
The study found that about 84% of executives want to know how to become a fair chance employer. About 83% were using tools and tech to remove bias and improve the accuracy of the hiring process, and 78% also gave a chance to an applicant to explain or refute charges during a background check. About 79% planned to invest more budget this year in fair chance hiring programs, and 75% also had training programs to support fair chance talent.
See more: 4 Ways To Optimize Your Global Hiring Strategy for DEI Success
Employers Should Take Certain Steps To Succeed
Employers should take a few steps to succeed in their fair chance hiring programs. The following are four steps:
- Develop an intentional plan: Create a strategy for making fair chance hiring a key employment initiative. This would also require getting buy-in from all the relevant stakeholders.
- Develop connections with local hiring partners: Companies can partner with community-based organizations (CBOs) that focus on developing fair chance talent, on hiring the right talent.
- Conduct skill-based interviews: All job applicants with conviction backgrounds may not have the same experience or talent as regular employees. As such, it is necessary to conduct interviews to assess transferable skills and willingness to learn.
- Assess charges fairly: When performing a background check, employers should keep a few things in mind: the nature of the person’s conviction history, length of the time passed, and the nature of the job they are applying for.
To Conclude
Among many factors driving talent recruitment today, two are standing out: DEI and the Great Resignation, where employees are leaving their jobs at an unprecedented rate and employers are finding it challenging to hire people. In this scenario, hiring people with conviction backgrounds will prove valuable in creating a diverse workforce and unlocking a powerful talent pool. Employers should shed their preconceived notions about talent, outdated tech and processes, and take a fresh approach to offer every candidate a fair chance at employment.
What steps have you taken to provide a fair chance for job applicants from various backgrounds? Let us know on FacebookOpens a new window , TwitterOpens a new window , and LinkedInOpens a new window .