Second chance hiring was discussed at the Maysville-Mason County Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Friday.
According to Elle Baker, with Nehemiah Industries and Beacon of Hope, the mission of Nehemiah Industries is to bring jobs back to the Cincinnati area.
“Nehemiah was founded with the mission of bringing entry level positions back to the inner city of Cincinnati,” she said. “While they didn’t know at the time, that meant hiring people for a second chance. About 85-90 percent of our work force has a criminal record.”
Dana Marita works with the social service side of Nehemiah. She provides social support for employees needing assistance.
“The company started with six people and started building the businesses,” she said. “About three to four months in, they opened the doors to second chance hiring. They were not prepared for what was getting ready to happen. They found there would be a significant barrier and the individual would not call and not show up. They would start to lose people. They brought me on to provide social support to the staff.”
According to Marita, the turnover rate for the company is very low.
“We have 177 individuals employed,” she said. “We have extremely low turnover. It’s no surprise to us, but to many others it is a surprise, because the turnover rate in the manufacturing field could be as high as 90 percent. At Nehemiah, last year, it was 12.7 percent. Overall, combining positive turnover — where people have moved on to other places of employment — was only 15 percent. And, that’s where it’s been from the get go.”
Katie Shadd, who works with Nehemiah Industries Beacon of Hope Alliance, said the business model of Nehemiah Industries gives people opportunities.
“Nehemiah opened in 2009 and in 2016, we had a lot of individuals coming to our door,” she said. “We couldn’t grow fast enough in getting them hired. We had a model that was really working in combining social support for people with barriers and getting them employment. So, in 2016, we started the Beacon of Hope Alliance.”
The Beacon of Hope Alliance is a group of businesses, mainly in Cincinnati and northern Kentucky, that work together in a variety of areas to hire second chance employees.
“We talk to companies about second chance education, we work with them on how to read background checks — looking at the whole person and what they’ve been doing since they were incarcerated or whether or not they were incarcerated. For the individuals, we partner with different social services in the area, depending on their needs to get them set up with whatever they need. We make sure they have the resources to go in, because not all of our companies have social services.”
Shadd said BOHA also assists with transportation.
“We have an executive team who has a big heart,” she said. “We didn’t think it was fair for people who wanted to work at a company and have a company want them there, but they couldn’t get the transportation to be there. So, we started the transportation program where we help individuals get to six different companies. They’re using this service until they can get their own car, move closer to work or whatever they plan to do. We do some cost share with businesses and the individuals pay, as well. They get their first two weeks for free and then they pay after that. It’s hard to get a car without a job and a job without a car.”
One person asked if the recent vote by the Cincinnati City Council to allow so many grams of marijuana to be legal would help with people finding employment easier.
“I would say it would, because it is less crimes on someone’s record,” she said. “We don’t view it as what is your crime, but what is the pattern here and how can we remove those barriers. We look more at ‘have you done this for the past 10 years, every year or is it a one-time offense?’”
Another person asked how a second chance interview process differed from the typical interview process.
“It’s more of an assessment than an interview,” she said. “We ask the typical interview questions to make sure you’re a good fit for the company, but we’re also looking at the barriers you’re facing right now, but if you’re not a good fit at the moment, we’ll make recommendations through one of our partners or pass the plan off to someone who can help stabilize your housing, your transportation and job readiness before we place you.”
Another person asked how a business could become a partner.
“Typically, we just set up a meeting or a call with the company,” she said. “Then, we set up a profile on who they are, who they’re looking for, where they’re at — we educate them with criminal backgrounds, look at what positions they have and we kind of work with the company to get a feel for the culture. It takes about 30 to 60 days to really get to know a company.”
More information can be found by visiting https://www.beaconofhopeba.org/.
