Should your business consider fair chance employment?

The Chamber Forum in June provided concrete guidance for businesses interested in becoming fair chance employers. Panelists Michael Bowling, Jenna Morey, Joe Ely and Doug Shaffer shared their expertise in navigating the potential challenges a business may face during the hiring process. Each panelist explained the benefits of fair chance employment practices to businesses and the larger community.

Douglas Shaffer, who is the Director of Operations of Scissortail Waste Solutions, shared that he was once an incarcerated individual who served 21 years in prison. Now, he prioritizes giving others similar opportunities to thrive.

“Right at 47% of my current workforce are all second-chance individuals. They are some of the most committed people when you give them an opportunity,” said Shaffer. “When someone needs a chance and you give them a chance, they will be some of the most committed people that you’ve got.”

Joe Ely said, “We all know someone that’s been incarcerated. I can’t think of a better time for these individuals to be engaged in our workforce than right now because we desperately need it in our state.” With unemployment rates at around three percent, it’s tough to find people looking for work. Businesses may be overlooking valuable assets if they choose against employing individuals who have been justice-involved.

“If the background is not relevant to the job function, there should be more than just an absolute ‘no,’” added Shaffer. “Misinformation and bias are two of the biggest obstacles that a second chance person is going to have.” It’s important to know how to understand someone’s background. There is a right way and a wrong way to read background checks. For example, “charged” with a crime and “convicted” of a crime are very different and should be treated that way in order to fairly evaluate an applicant.

Jenna Morey’s experience with women who are reentering the workforce has shown just how important community and belonging is in getting re-established post-incarceration. “As they are rebuilding their support network it’s incredibly important for work to be a part of that,” said Morey.

When you make a choice to provide job opportunities to justice-involved individuals, it’s important to communicate your intentions and expectations with your staff. “You have to take the time to educate every member of your team that a second-chance employee is no different than the person next to you,” said Shaffer. “When you hire someone, you have to understand their background…and the value this person can bring to your culture.”

“It’s a win on multiple fronts when we put people to work,” said Morey. “We have about 40 employers who have signed up with ReMerge to be fair-chance employers, and we invite all of you to sign up and get on that list to partner with us as well.”

In closing, Michael Bowling said, “Collectively, as a society, we have all made the choices that led to such a high percentage of our population being justice-involved and having experienced incarceration. Given that we’re all responsible for making that decision, we also have to be collectively responsible for returning those people back to being our neighbors.”

View the Fair Chance Hiring Toolkit for Businesses

The toolkit is a joint project between the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber and the Oklahoma County Criminal Justice Advisory Council (CJAC).