Inside Koch’s Second-Chance Hiring Strategy Making Positive Impact in Communities

Of all the hires at Koch in the last quarter, one-third ended up having a record, talent solutions partner Monica Stopczynski said. Over that period, Koch extended employment offers to roughly 1,400 individuals with a criminal background. It’s part of the company’s decades-long commitment to remove barriers to opportunity and help people improve their lives in the communities where its companies operate.

“We look at the individual, the role that they’re applying for, what the offense is, and it’s a very individual approach,” Monica said.

Having a blanket policy of not hiring individuals just because they have a criminal record causes businesses to “miss out on the opportunity for a lot of talent,” Monica noted.

John Buckley, who heads up Koch’s “Creating Second Chances” hiring strategy and works to share it with other companies beyond Koch, said companies making the hires immediately saw the impact from their new employees.

“They see the quality of the employee who is extremely grateful,” John said.