5 Reasons You Should Consider Hiring Second Chance Employees

June 8, 2021 | Staffing Blog

With over 70 million ex-felons in the country, it is not just a good idea, it is crucial that employers give them a second chance by providing them with steady work and the possibility for a career. When inmates are released, the difficulty of finding a solid job often pushes them to turn back to crime. Most of the time, this is not because it’s what they want, but because they don’t see another option.

As a staffing agency that helps ex-felons find work, we can say first-hand that people with a criminal record often work harder than people without. Here is why and what you should consider when hiring second chance employees.

The Benefits If You Hire Felons

Of course, it’s understandable that one would hesitate to bring on a new employee who has a record. But it’s important to note that not all convicted felons actually committed the crime they were sentenced for. Also, a lot of second chance employees have done their time, and being cooped up in prison gives them a lot of time to think about how they want to do things differently once they’re out.

More often than not, this means you’ll be hiring an employee who will work hard to keep their job. Some benefits you’ll gain are:

Substantial Tax Credits

Depending on the state you’re in, you may receive some major tax credits for hiring second chance employees. The Work Opportunity Tax Credit is just one of many rewards created to encourage employers to hire people who traditionally have trouble finding work.

A Larger Hiring Pool

If you don’t give ex-felons a chance, that is a considerable amount of potential hardworking employees you’re depriving yourself of. By allowing a record to limit your hiring pool, you have less potential to pick from and may find more trouble finding hardworking staff.

Punctuality

Ex-convicts are known to be both more reliable and punctual than other employees. This is due to the fact that they have become well-adjusted to following a regular routine. They also will not want to risk being fired. As long as they are treated fairly, they will be grateful for the job and show up ready to work on time.

Evidence of Nondiscriminatory Practices

Suppose you continuously turn away individuals with a previous conviction. In that case, this may be viewed as a blanket ban on hiring ex-felons and be considered unlawful and discriminatory by the government. Hiring second chance employees shows that you do not practice discrimination and therefore don’t contribute to the disparate impact.

Less Turnover

Replacing staff is the last thing a business owner wants to worry about and can be a really time-consuming headache to have to continuously face. Because ex-felons have such a difficult time finding employment, they will want to stay forever once you give it to them. This not only means they will be a hardworking employee, but it also means you won’t have to keep searching for new ones.

How to Hire Felons That Are Reliable

No matter who you’re hiring, ex-felon or not, you can never be 100% certain they’re going to be a great fit for the job. However, to increase your chances, it will help if you consider:

• How long it’s been since the conviction. It’s understandable if you’re wary of trusting an individual who just was released from jail for shoplifting a few months ago. However, if it’s been 20 years since the conviction occurred and there have been no repeats, that is much different.

• How the conviction relates to the job. Some crimes simply make a person too risky to hire for the particular industry your business is in and could cause more disturbance than it’s worth. For example, a person with a history of violence should never be hired into a job where they take care of children. However, although someone may have been convicted of selling drugs or paraphernalia in the past, they can still be a good fit for jobs in the warehouse or on construction sites.

• Using a staffing agency. Staffing agencies like Allegiance Staffing specialize in providing hardworking and motivated employees to businesses that don’t have a strong internal process for doing so. At Allegiance, we help to fill temporary and permanent positions, and oftentimes ex-felons are great candidates for these. We take care of the background checks and screenings, and we make sure that their skills and personality will be a good fit for your team. Better yet, we always have employees looking for work, so replacements are readily available.

Contact Us to Learn More

Want to learn more? We can answer all of your questions. Give us a call today!