At Connecting for Good, we know that companies can be enhanced by community giving and involvement. And while this can mean implementing a simple giving plan for one company, for another, it may mean transforming their entire business - like Marcus Sheanshang has.
In 2015 Marcus Sheanshang, President and CEO of JBM Packaging, found himself in a very familiar situation to many business leaders – too much work and too few team members. For 18 months, he tried everything he could think of to find good talent to no avail. Then he heard about Fair Chance hiring, which involves recruiting and hiring individual with a criminal background who are looking for a fresh start.
“I realized that despite the stigma associated with the formerly incarcerated, very little separates people with records from people without records, “Sheanshang says. “The primary difference is that the people who spent time in jail made a poor decision – and they got caught doing it.”
Now, about a third of JBM’s workforce is part of the Fair Chance Program. The company works with 8-9 prisons to offer training to individuals while they are still incarcerated and to provide them with employment opportunities when they return to society. Creating this pipeline of qualified employees has helped solve JBM’s hiring challenges but that is just the beginning.
Sheanshang says that this effort has shaped both his corporate culture and personal values. “This experience has changed me. It has made me more empathetic,” he remarked. “The organizational culture has changed similarly. Now we are attracting team members because of our values and how we live them out.” The program is also helping them attract customers. “Customers love it. It differentiates us.”
Now, Sheashang wants to help other companies start Fair Chance Programs. He emphasized, “It makes good business sense, improves the community, and changes the trajectory of families for generations.”
To learn more about JBM’s Fair Chance Program, visit https://www.jbmpackaging.com/fairchance/.