March 2022 Summaries

Checkr chats with Derek Williamson, President at HigherMe, on the hiring shortage in the restaurant industry and what employers can do to attract and retain talent. The conversation highlights the impact of COVID-19 on the workforce, with many workers leaving the industry for more stable jobs or gig work. To adapt, restaurants need to focus on employer branding, career tracks, coaching, and leadership opportunities. Technology plays a significant role in the hiring process, with chatbots and automation becoming increasingly popular. However, there is a shift towards making the hiring process less transactional and more conversational, where candidates are invited into the process and can opt-in. Restaurants need to define their brand positioning and employer brand to gain a competitive advantage and treat hiring as a business within the business. Ultimately, employers will build their own talent pools and candidate databases to streamline the hiring process and make it more efficient.

Checkr chats with Chandra Sanders, Director at RISE, a non-profit arm of The Mom Project, about supporting working parents in the new world of work. Chandra shares her experience as a laid-off mom who bounced back and now champions women of color and working moms to access economic opportunity on their own terms. She highlights the importance of reskilling and upskilling initiatives, such as RISE's part-time and self-paced program that caters to the needs of moms and women of color. Chandra emphasizes the need for companies to prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in hiring practices, job descriptions, talent acquisition, and providing support to candidates and employees. She also stresses the importance of flexibility, empathy, and a holistic approach to supporting working parents and creating an inclusive culture. With her predictions, Chandra sees workplaces that adopt flexible models will attract and retain top talent, and she encourages employers to prioritize the human experience at work, not just human capital.

Checkr, a company that aims to improve its software development process and achieve business objectives in 2022, has set ambitious goals to create a delightful experience for customers and candidates, scale to X customers, and make Checkr the best place to work. To test their hypothesis, they will adopt industry-standard metrics defined by the DORA group (DevOps Research and Assessment) and measure key external company metrics such as customer NPS, candidate unblocked rates, uptime, 90 TAT, active customers, employee engagement scores, deployment frequency, cycle time, change fail rate, and MTTR. The company's current status shows mixed trends over the past 12 months, with quality improvements in mean time to resolution but concerning increases in change failure rate within the monolith. The experiment will be conducted in four phases, starting from Q1 with adopting industry metrics, benchmarking, migration from monolith to non-monolith, and software development process investments.

Modern drug testing technology can detect a variety of substances, including medications like Advil, Aleve, Motrin, Zoloft, Prozac, and Tylenol, as well as foods containing poppy seeds, CBD, mouthwash, hand sanitizer, vitamin B supplements, and tonic water. False positive results can occur due to the presence of these substances in a person's system at the time of testing. To dispute a false positive drug test, one must first be transparent about any medications or substances they have consumed prior to the test, and then seek independent support from a specialist who can represent them through the process. Re-testing may also be an option, with many employers accommodating requests for re-tests if presented with evidence of an inaccurate result. Employers are not always required to keep job offers on hold while a false positive is disputed, and in some cases, they may rescind the offer as a result.

The Great Resignation is a phenomenon where many individuals have quit their jobs due to shifting priorities and expectations. Employees expect more from their employers, including access to work, flexibility and autonomy, and access to belonging. Employers must assess their employee infrastructure to meet these evolving needs. Access to work entails fair, unbiased hiring practices, quality of work that challenges employees, and a fair adjudication process for candidates with conviction histories. Flexibility in pay and scheduling is also crucial, as well as promoting diversity and listening to employee feedback. A toxic culture can drive employees to quit, but a healthy workplace culture that promotes belonging and community sentiment can reduce turnover and increase job performance.

The world of work is undergoing a significant cultural shift as employees reevaluate their priorities and make changes to afford themselves higher pay, more flexible working conditions, and a stronger sense of belonging. Burned-out workers are quitting in record numbers, with 47.4 million Americans voluntarily quitting in 2021. Companies need to address the fundamental needs of their employees through access and trust, moving away from constraint and control towards a more sustainable and ethical future of work. This involves understanding employees' changing needs through the lens of Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs, which includes physiological needs, safety needs, esteem needs, self-actualization, and belonging. Employers can address these needs by providing access to work that pays a living wage, fostering respectful and inclusive working conditions, and rewarding hard work and upstanding conduct. Additionally, companies need to offer flexibility and autonomy, removing bias from hiring, promoting transparency in hiring, and building infrastructure that monitors safety. Access to belonging is also essential, as employees expect companies to have a robust commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. By understanding these needs and making changes to their infrastructure, employers can support their employees' basic needs and create an environment where they can thrive and do their best work.

Checkr has been recognized by Forbes as one of America's Best Startup Employers 2022, citing its mission-driven culture and commitment to fair chance hiring as key factors in the recognition. The company prioritizes employee experience through regular surveys and feedback loops, which informs leadership decisions and drives business success. Checkr's innovative approach to employer excellence is reflected in its diverse range of programs and initiatives, including resources for parents, career development opportunities, mental health support, and community engagement. The company's commitment to social impact and giving back to the community is also highlighted through recent donations and employee matching initiatives.

Creating a culture of inclusion that stands the test of time is crucial for better business outcomes, as it can lead to increased profitability, innovation, and productivity. A diverse and inclusive workplace fosters a sense of belonging, where employees feel comfortable sharing ideas and taking risks without fear of negative consequences. To achieve this, organizations must prioritize DEI strategies, measuring and iterating on their efforts to create a culture of openness and change. This requires taking personal accountability for inclusion, thinking holistically, using technology to reduce bias, auditing feedback, running skills-based interviews, and expanding one's talent pool. By implementing these strategies, companies can not only advance the modern workforce but also improve their bottom line. Ultimately, creating an environment of belonging is a richly integrated process that requires commitment, intention, and continuous effort.