Hiring Ex-offenders A toolkit for businesses

Introduction More needs to be done to help people with criminal convictions get back on track. We encourage our businesses to actively work with, and consider applications from, people with prior convictions. Virgin Trains has been pioneering the hiring of ex-offenders – an approach which could become a model for many other businesses. In England and Wales, re-offending costs the taxpayer an estimated £13 billion annually. We quietly accept the economic and social cost of re-offending, but we are reluctant to make a comparatively smaller investment that could significantly reduce this price tag. Instead of being places of repression and stagnation, prisons should be places of activity, learning and opportunity. It is estimated that nearly three quarters of employers discriminate against people with a criminal record, even though we know that employment is the single-most important means of reducing re-offending. 78% of prisoners say that finding a job would prevent them from re-offending and the vast majority of the people that we have employed at Virgin Trains are still working with us and are valued members of our team.

“B usinesses must become stronger advocates for rehabilitation. It increases the talent pool, lowers the price tag of re-offending, nurtures entrepreneurial spirit, and contributes to safer communities”

Business must become a stronger advocate for rehabilitation. It makes perfect sense, as it increases the talent pool, lowers the price tag of re-offending, nurtures entrepreneurial spirit, and contributes to safer communities. Ex-prisoners should have the chance to learn from the mistakes of their past and be fully rehabilitated. We hope that this guide will help you, as a business, embrace the opportunity to tap into a source of loyal and hard-working employees, while reducing the social and economic cost of reoffending, and building stronger communities.

Richard Branson

Pictured with our amazing employee Tammy Moreton

A word from the Managing Director We believe in hiring the best people for the job, no matter what their background or history. For me, hiring ex-offenders is not only the right moral choice but a sound business decision. With 65,000 people in prison at any one time in the UK, we are tapping into a pool of highly motivated people. Obviously the choice is not an easy one for a business like ours and we had to look at the risks involved, but our experience has been entirely positive. We have not had a single employee re-offend and in fact some of our ex-offenders have performed so well that they are in our talent pool for future promotions. We want to share our positive experience with other businesses, offering practical advice and encouragement about the value of employing people with criminal convictions.

Phil Whittingham, Managing Director, Virgin Trains on the West Coast

''We have not had a single employee re-offend and in fact many of those ex-offenders are in our talent pool for promotions''

Working with Ex-Offenders A few years ago, Richard Branson threw down the gauntlet to businesses to ask what was being done to help people with criminal convictions find work. At Virgin Trains, we knew we wanted to find a way to hire ex-offenders as it spoke to our values as a business. Obviously, at the beginning we had no idea what to expect from hiring ex-offenders. So we decided to make one hire to test the waters. Our aim was to see how our current recruitment procedure could be adapted to include ex-offenders and whether we would be able to find the quality of candidates we were looking for. That was four years ago and we now have 25 people with convictions working for us. Hopefully this practical account of the process that Virgin Trains has been through to get this far will help others at the start of their journey.

Kathryn Wildman Lead Recruiter, Virgin Trains

"We knew we wanted to find a way to hire ex-offenders as it spoke to our values as a business"

Get support FRom the start Seek advice and support from experts Be clear on what you are looking for To help us find our first hire, we approached St Giles’ Trust, who work with ex-offenders and disadvantaged people, to see how they could support us. We were very clear with them about what we were looking for. It was imperative that we maintain our high standards for hiring. We provided them with a lot of detail about what jobs were available and the type of people we would hire for those roles. This meant that when the candidates turned up on the day, we had some fantastic people in front of us, who were suited to our needs. Despite our trepidations, it was a great success. At the end of our first recruitment day, we hired three people. They are still here at Virgin Trains today and are valued members of the team.

Offering a clean slate Anonymity is important to candidates Peace of mind is important to the business We run our ex-offender recruitment events just like our standard events but understandably candidates have questions about who will know about their past convictions. Anonymity is a big hurdle for ex-offenders getting back into work. Our policy is that all ex-offenders can choose whether or not to disclose their convictions to their colleagues. Obviously, the HR team know, as it is discussed during the hiring process but their manager and colleagues don’t necessarily need to. We offer them an opportunity to keep their past private and to start with a clean slate. As an employer, it is essential to think about how to make sure that you can offer that anonymity while protecting your business from risks. We have checks in place to offer our customers and our people peace of mind. Some of these, such as a probationary period, are standard across all employees. Others are specific to the ex-offenders we hire. We make sure that their HR Business Partner is aware of their background so that they can provide additional support when needed. The HR team have regular catch-ups with each person on the programme. The types of problems that are discussed are often not related to their convictions but can be about family trouble or having to get up early for a shift! They face similar struggles as the rest of the workforce. Having regular contact and working to support their backgrounds has meant that we haven’t had anyone re-offend while employed by Virgin Trains.

The Recruitment Process Briefing our recruitment network We always set up an initial meeting with the charities, prisons and organisations we are working with to run through the jobs available and give them our requirements. We run recruitment days every three to four months. It’s worth mentioning that you’ll need to talk with candidates about their convictions so that they can make sure they are prepared. Remember to decide how many candidates you’ll see and how many recruiters you’ll have there. We normally have two recruiters and six-to-eight inmates/ ex-offenders at an event. This allows us to be comfortable with security and ensures we have enough time to give each person the opportunity to talk with us in detail.

Planning a recruitment day We start off the day by introducing ourselves and getting the candidates to introduce themselves. We have an informal chat about Virgin Trains, what we’re looking for and the sorts of jobs that are available. This is a good opportunity to put them at ease about our anonymity policy. Next we set up some group exercises to see how they work in a team. This part of the session often gets rather loud as everyone tries to talk over each other in order to impress us. With a bit of coaching though things do calm down. It’s important to remember that many candidates won’t have done these sorts of activities before and are not used to the whole recruitment process. We then hold interviews with each of the candidates. We try to keep the atmosphere relaxed by thinking about how we phrase our questions and adapting to their experience levels. We make sure that they know they don’t have to use work examples in their answers. Interviews can be nerve-racking at the best of times without worrying about not having enough experience.

The Recruitment Process Disclosure We leave the disclosure of their convictions for the second half of the interview. This is when we discuss the circumstances of their crime and their current situation. Some people like to bring a written disclosure but we prefer to talk it through. This can be very telling about how much responsibility they take for their past and whether they feel they’ve moved on. Any red flags are not around the specifics of the crime but how they have taken charge of their destiny and whether they’ve made changes to their behaviour. If we have any hesitations, we will say no. That doesn’t mean it’s a no from Virgin Trains forever. In fact we have had candidates that we didn’t accept initially but the interview was impetus enough for them to make changes and we hired them later down the line. Once they are released, we’ll either hire them for a specific role, or put them in a talent pool for upcoming vacancies. We try to get them into employment as soon as possible. The sooner an ex-offender finds employment after their release date, the more likely they are to stay out of prison.

Direct applications from ex-offenders We’ve taken away the tick box. Now you don’t need to state if you have a criminal record on all of our recruitment forms. When we get people with convictions applying directly, they are interviewed as they would be through a recruitment day. All our recruitment team are trained on our policy and know the right questions to ask.

Starting their new role Once they’ve been offered a job, ex-offenders are very much treated like anyone else. They receive a starter pack, discussions around child care, drugs screening and training at our Talent Academy. Then they are on our payroll and the rest is up to them. We will have regular check-ins but apart from that, they are treated like any other member of the Virgin Trains team.

The results Recruiting people with previous convictions doesn’t cost us any more than our normal recruitment drives and it results in highly motivated employees joining our company every year. We have 25 valuable members of the company who we wouldn’t have hired without this policy in place. Quite a few have been put up for a promotion, going from contract to permanent and generally contributing to the company. We frequently get feedback from managers who are very happy with the latest addition to their team. Many times the manager is not aware of their background. They are simply pleased with their performance. That’s really satisfying because it means we’re getting the best talent on offer, regardless of their background. It makes justifying the policy internally very easy. Nobody employed by Virgin Trains or in the talent pool has re-offended. That is impressive given the average rates of re-offending after release. Looking at it from the view of society in general, as a company we are helping ex-offenders get a second chance. We have enabled them to move on from their past, saved the taxpayer money and to top it all off, we’ve gained amazing employees.

TAMMY’S STORY W

hen I left the Royal Logistic Corps (RLC), I ended up hanging out with the wrong crowd. That’s where it all started and I spent the next two years in and out of prison. I was stuck in a rut and felt like there was no way out. I knew it wasn't how I wanted to spend the rest of my life: there was nothing good or clever about spending time in prison. I finally realised I needed to change things or that would be how I would spend the rest of my life. I got a mentor, found help to stay out and was determined to stay on the straight and narrow. But it's really hard for ex-offenders because once an employer knows about your criminal record, they aren’t interested in you anymore. We’re all painted with the same brush and I quickly found my self-esteem taking a hit. Even though I was determined not to return to prison it felt like society wasn’t giving me many other options. That ‘criminal record’ box was getting in the way of every application. With help from my mentor at New Leaf I was put onto The Prince's Trust transport services programme where I did a week’s work experience with Virgin Trains, London Midland, National Express and Centro. Following that week I received a call from Virgin Trains and was offered an assessment interview. The rest is history. I got offered an apprenticeship to be a Revenue Protection Inspector (RPI) and all of a sudden, I had been given a second chance.

"J ust a few years ago I was in a cell, stuck in a situation. Now, I have a job, I get to travel around the UK and I even got to meet Richard Branson and talk to him about my career here at Virgin Trains"

I felt so proud to have been offered a job. Lots of my friends were not so lucky and I could see them getting sucked back into a vicious cycle. What’s more, I felt trusted and welcomed by Virgin Trains. After years of mistrust and being talked down to, it was great to be able to have a completely fresh start. I was happy to talk about my past with my colleagues as I wanted everyone to learn not to judge a book by its cover but I understand why some people want to keep their past private. It was important to me that I could show other ex-offenders that they aren't stuck. That there’s hope to get back to a normal life, build up a new network and get onto the right side of the law again. All my time is either spent working or mentoring other ex-offenders. Not a day goes by that I don’t remember how far I have come. Every opportunity that is given to me, I take with both hands and run with it. My prospects are looking a lot brighter. Just a few years ago I was in a cell, stuck in a situation. Now, I have a job, I get to travel around the UK and I even got to meet Richard Branson and talk to him about my career here at Virgin Trains. I definitely want to stay here and I hope that a position comes up for me at the end of my apprenticeship. Who knows, perhaps one day I’ll be a Train Manager! My advice to other ex-offenders is that the help is out there as long as you look for it, once you realise you want to change your life you just need to find the people to help get you there. Since I've been working, I'm better off, I've met new people, I feel good about myself, it's the best thing I have done. By working on my new life and getting a second chance, I am putting the ‘ex’ into ‘ex-offender’ and I’m determined to keep it there.

Final words of advice

Just give it a go!

Take on one ex-offender and see how you get on. Learn from the experience and see what needs adapting in the way your business manages recruitment to make the process slicker.

Get support.

Organisations & Prisons We currently work with many organisations and prisons (some shown below) to help recruit people with convictions for Virgin Trains. We also offer interview skill workshops in prisons. Why not reach out to local organisations and prisons.

Organisations

www.stgilestrust.org.uk

Use institutions and charities to help you out. With a lack of businesses recruiting in this way, they are in need of employers who are willing to take the plunge.

www.newleafcic.org

Know what you want.

www.workingchance.org

Be clear about what you’re looking for but keep an open mind.

Be willing to adapt.

www.chrysalisprogramme.com

You will need to accept that not everyone will be open to the idea. So long as you are happy that the correct processes and safeguards are in place, others will come round.

Accept a normal level of risk.

Just like with any other employee, not everyone is going to be a success in your business. With every hire there’s a risk that they won’t be right for the role so do keep that in mind.

www.careerconnect.org.uk

Prisons HMP Thorn Cross, HMP Forrest Bank, HMP Bronzefield, HMP Addiewell

www.justice.gov.uk

Design: beetroot.co.uk