Strategies to recruit and retain workers with a criminal record are becoming more common as the unemployment rate continues to remain historically low. During June’s Workforce Wednesday discussion, we heard from employers who shared their experience in hiring justice-involved workers. We also highlighted programs available to help businesses navigate this process.
Read excerpts from the discussion below:

How does an employer get started in hiring justice-involved employees?
I like to use the phrase “you gotta measure twice and cut once” when beginning the process of hiring justice-involved employees. The best thing you can do when hiring somebody who is justice-impacted, is think about how the process looks from the beginning with recruitment and up to the first 90 days for the new hire. You also need to have buy-in from upper management at every step of the way.

-Dara Strickland - HR Manager, Repowered

What are some of the best ways to support justice-involved employees?
When hiring people with justice-involved backgrounds, you’ll most likely need to get to know their parole officer (PO) as well. POs need to meet with their parolee and that can happen with very little notice. To accommodate both the PO and the worker, we’ve established places onsite where they can meet so the worker doesn’t need to take time off to travel. By doing this, we lose just 20 minutes of work and not three hours if they were to leave the worksite. It also creates a great amount of trust with that employee because it shows how much we value them.

-Dara Strickland - HR Manager, Repowered

What are some programs that help navigate the hiring process for employers?
Our company participated in the Partners for Reentry Opportunities in Workforce Development (PROWD) Program. The program helps provide pre- and post-release individualized career pathways training, employment skills development, employment attainment and sustainability services to individuals currently residing in federal correctional facilities. It also helps support educational training programs that offer certifications for in-demand occupations.

-Ryan Strong - Strategic Sourcing Manager and Procurement Specialist, New Flyer

Find out more about PROWD, tax incentives, federal bonding and ways you can connect with justice-involved job seekers by visiting the Hiring People with a Criminal Record page on CareerForceMN.com.

View a recording of this session and other past sessions, plus access a schedule for upcoming Workforce Wednesday sessions on the Workforce Wednesday page on CareerForceMN.com.