5 Second-Chance Hiring Successes

Your next best employee could be an ex-con or an ex-addict.

Many companies and their top HR professionals have turned the corner on hiring the formerly incarcerated, addicted and homeless. Second-chance hiring is growing. And second-chance hiring successes are swelling.

They’re happening for a reason: People who were formerly incarcerated or involved in the justice system have lower turnover rates across the board, according to research from the ACLU.

Specifically, the turnover rate for those with criminal records was about 12% lower than the general population. More interesting: In the U.S. military, enlistees who’ve had experiences with the justice system stay longer than other enlistees and 33% of them are likely to be promoted to sergeant. 

While statistics look great (or not-so-great, in some cases) in print, they don’t always tell the whole story.

But Nehemiah Manufacturing does.

1 Company, Hundreds of Second-Chance Hiring Successes

Nehemiah is a consumer packaged goods company in Cincinnati, where over 70% of the 250 employees have a criminal record. The company’s second-chance program is the largest in the country at a for-profit business.

Their mission: Building Brands, Creating Jobs, Changing Lives.

To that end, they focus on hiring from the populations most companies avoid — people who had felony convictions, a history of drug or alcohol abuse and/or experienced homelessness.

So you might wonder, what’s the advantage of second-chance hiring?

“Low turnover and high productivity,” says Kristen Schumacher, Chief Marketing Officer at Nehemiah. “Ours is less than 15%.”

That’s not all, though. The employees’ commitment — which is partly rooted in gratitude for the opportunities — drives business. The company continues to grow, turn profits and succeed at building new lines of business. They seldom incur the costs of turnover.

Any Risks?

While some employers might shy away from making second-chance hires, fearing the worst, Nehemiah sees it differently.

“We don’t see the risk. We see the reward. We have HR but the key is having social workers to truly understand each individual’s hopes and dreams, as well as barriers that hinder their ability to succeed,” says Schumacher.

Part of the reason is Nehemiah helps employees with more than a paycheck (another reason employees go above and beyond, remain loyal and build careers with the company).

“This is when our 8 Pillars were birthed,” says Schumacher.

Those pillars include Basic Needs:

• Affordable Housing
• Transportation
• Legal Services, and
• Community Building.

The others are Thriving v. Surviving Pillars:

• Spiritual Wellness
• Financial Wellness
• Health and Wellness, and
• Continuing Education.

Yes, the company supports all these functions for employees. And although they have an HR and executive function that oversees the pillars, most employees also get the opportunity to work with a social worker who helps them navigate work and life in their second chance.

Beyond business success, we’ll let the impact of second-chance hiring speak for itself — through the voice of some of Nehemiah’s employees.

The First Chance

Rayshun, a Production Supervisor, says, “I know they call this a second-chance company, but to tell you the truth, this is the first chance I ever got.”

He grew up in a tough Cincinnati neighborhood during a crack cocaine epidemic and was convicted of a gangland homicide in 1997 at age 15. He spent 18 years in prison, and “began to realize that I had to find a way to restore a sense of value to my life.”

He took GED-prep and then college courses. However, he said, “I came home and I thought I had all the tools that were necessary to get back on my feet and get ahead, but then I found out the hard way that your reputation does precede you. Even though my heart was in a good place, I couldn’t convince employers of that.”

After bouncing between odd jobs for some time, he found Nehemiah and was hired after a few rounds of interviews. Rayshun started as a second-shift supervisor and rose up to an office job. But he continues to make regular visits to the factory floor, “so that my example can be a beacon of hope for the workers just starting out.”

From Addiction to Leadership and Love

Michael is an Operations Manager who had addiction and crime in his past. He served time in jail for burglary and did multiple stints in rehab. Despite staying clean and off the streets, he struggled to find a job.

Nehemiah hired him as a line worker in 2012 and he was promoted eight times over five years, rising from an hourly wage of $8.75 to an annual salary of $70,000.

“When I walked through the door they were constantly telling me there’s no limit,” he said. “You can raise up, raise up, raise up.” And he did: Michael bought his first home and married a second-chance colleague he had met at Nehemiah.

Sober and Thriving

Kristin is the Fulfillment Department Head of QA. She was lost in addiction for 10 years and constantly in and out of institutions. When she realized she either had to make a change or she’d die, she entered a faith-based rehabilitation center.

That’s where she was introduced to Nehemiah and its second-chance plan. She got a job and was promoted. She is almost three years sober and thriving “at a company in which I love that has helped me build a stable, successful life.”

Background Check Usually Ended Hope

Mike is the Director of Operations/Blending/Maintenance/Planning. He’s a two-time felon with a record and history of alcoholism and heroin addiction.

After he was released from an eight-month sentence, he’d impress companies where he worked temporarily. When they started discussing permanent positions, he’d failed the background check and be asked to leave. “At one job, I was escorted off the property by two armed security guards,” he says.

“That all changed when I was hired at Nehemiah. I quickly became a trusted employee. I used to think that Nehemiah helped me become the man I wanted to be. Now I say that Nehemiah helped me become the man that I didn’t know I could be.”

Prison, Nehemiah Saved Her

April is on the Planning Department team. At the age of 40, she was in a bad marriage and addicted to drugs.

“I prayed every day for a better life,” she says. “In 2013 my prayers were answered with a six-year prison sentence. You may think that sounds absolutely ridiculous. However, God was doing for me what I couldn’t do for myself at the time.”

When she was released from prison at the age of 46, she was “worried about finding a job, let alone a career.”

“Today, I have an amazing career with Nehemiah, who by the way, also happens to be a big part of my support system and family,” she said.