With the tight labor market, many employers are searching for new ways to reach potential employees and fill positions in their organization. Justice-involved people are a population that is otherwise qualified, yet often overlooked for job opportunities because of a criminal conviction in their past – sometimes well in their past.
Compared to the general workforce, justice-involved individuals have lower turnover rates, lower absenteeism and higher retention rates. Those advantages allow businesses to control operational overhead while continuing to grow and be successful, and several companies in central Oklahoma are becoming a “fair-chance employer” by offering justice-involved people an equal shot.
A recent success story is a partnership where TEEM, The Education and Employment Ministry, helped a local employer find qualified, reliable employees for its parts distribution business. TEEM is one of the wonderful programs in Oklahoma County that is expanding to safely reduce the jail overcrowding problem by providing justice-involved people with their two most critical needs: housing and employment.
This distributor has been a fair-chance employer for some time now but recently started partnering with TEEM, which makes the process of bringing in justice-involved employees smoother and more straightforward. TEEM provides additional HR assistance including case-management services, addressing everything from ensuring employees have transportation to resolving issues quickly and efficiently.
Through this process, the distributor now employs an individual who grew up around the distributorship with his dad and granddad and is genuinely passionate about working for them. Now responsible for quality assurance, this employee is touted as dedicated and reliable and sure to be with the distributor for a long time.
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