Kelly® Launches Program to Connect Job Seekers Who Have a Criminal Record with Companies in Need of Their Skills
16 Settembre 2021 - 1:30PM
It’s a staggering statistic: One in three working-age Americans –
more than 70 million people – have some type of criminal record.
Most of them are non-violent offenders unable to access quality
employment because of outdated background screening practices
companies have in place. These blanket bans deprive Americans who
are motivated to work of opportunity and economic mobility, and
they make it harder for businesses in need of skilled workers to
fill open positions. Today, Kelly®, a global workforce solutions
leader, is announcing a program that tackles this issue head on.
Kelly 33 connects talented job seekers who have a non-violent,
non-relevant criminal background with employers in need of their
skills. The program gives hiring managers access to undiscovered
talent looking for a second chance. It is being launched after a
successful partnership with Toyota Manufacturing in Georgetown,
Kentucky, involving candidates with criminal records being eligible
for hire.
“We’re proud to launch Kelly 33 to expand employment
opportunities for many of the nearly 33% of Americans with a
criminal history and to help companies better meet their talent
acquisition goals,” Kelly President and CEO Peter Quigley says.
“Our partnership with Toyota highlights how giving individuals a
second chance is not only a good thing to do but is also good for
business.”
Kelly conducts individualized screenings of candidates’ criminal
background records, consistent with the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) Green Factors, which look at
job-relatedness and how criminal conduct is related to a specific
position, when placing candidates at Toyota. As of today, Kelly has
evaluated 1,242 candidates with a criminal record for potential
assignments at Toyota, 92% of whom are eligible for placement. More
than half of those candidates – 645 job seekers – accepted Kelly’s
offer for placement at Toyota.
As a result of Kelly’s individualized assessment of candidate
criminal history, hundreds of candidates were successfully placed
at Toyota, resulting in Toyota’s Georgetown, Kentucky plant
increasing its talent pool by 20%, reducing its turnover rate by
70% to an all-time monthly low of 3%, and increasing its overall
diversity rate by 8%, which ranks among the top companies in the
Central Kentucky region.
“This collaboration has been a tremendous success from both a
business and community engagement perspective,” says Keilon
Ratliff, vice president and head of Kelly’s automotive business.
“Not one second chance worker placed at Toyota’s Georgetown,
Kentucky plant has been terminated for behavior that
correlated to their criminal history, which is sometimes a bias
that prevents companies from hiring or accepting candidates with
criminal records. We now fill positions quicker and people across
the community applaud Toyota’s commitment to equity.”
Ratliff, who conceptualized Kelly 33 to bring similar
initiatives to clients across the country, is a firm believer that
access to work is the biggest driver for justice and equality in
America. He has personally witnessed how difficult it can be for
individuals with a criminal record to break free from a cycle of
poverty and crime without access to work, and he tells that story
in this video.
A recent Kelly survey shows that the vast majority of Americans
share Ratliff’s sentiments:
- 71% agree employers should eliminate or reduce blanket-bans
that automatically reject job seekers with minor, non-violent
criminal offenses.
- 76% say they are more likely to support a business
committed to breaking down discriminatory barriers that prevent
Americans from finding employment.
- 81% say companies should do more to remove discriminatory
hiring policies or practices that keep people from being hired or
promoted.
Kelly 33 is being launched less than a year after Kelly
introduced its Equity@Work initiative, which aims to knock down
unjust barriers that disqualify millions of Americans from
employment at a time when businesses are struggling to fill open
positions. Kelly changed its own hiring practices and encourages
other companies to expand second chance opportunities, open doors
to work for neurodiverse talent and job seekers on the autism
spectrum, end the ubiquity of four-year degree requirements when
other credentials may suffice, and address outdated workplace
policies that disproportionally impact marginalized groups.
“We are committed to creating paths to employment for everyone,
including those who face unjust barriers to work, and we invite
like-minded companies, policy groups and institutions to join us in
knocking down those barriers so more people can thrive,” Quigley
says. “Kelly 33 and our work with Toyota prove that this is not
just the right thing, it’s the smart thing to do.”
About Kelly®Kelly (Nasdaq: KELYA, KELYB)
connects talented people to companies in need of their skills in
areas including Science, Engineering, Education, Office, Contact
Center, Light Industrial, and more. We’re always thinking about
what’s next in the evolving world of work, and we help people ditch
the script on old ways of thinking and embrace the value of all
workstyles in the workplace. We directly employ nearly 370,000
people around the world and connect thousands more with work
through our global network of talent suppliers and partners in our
outsourcing and consulting practice. Visit kellyservices.com and
let us help with what’s next for you.
Media Contact Christian Taske
248-561-8823 christian.taske@kellyservices.com
A video accompanying this announcement is available at
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ff51d913-9a94-4095-b846-f6da74511068
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