26 Jul The Importance of Impact Hiring
In a world where businesses are challenged to balance profitability and social responsibility, the concept of impact hiring has emerged as a compelling solution. Impact hiring transcends the conventional business focus on education, qualifications, and skills, and rather emphasizes a purpose-driven approach to talent acquisition. Impact hiring centers around the belief that entry-level candidates who have faced systemic barriers or come from a marginalized group who embody a strong commitment to positive change and align with a company’s values can drive transformative outcomes within organizations.
As the global landscape continues to witness a growing emphasis on corporate social responsibility, impact hiring has emerged as a strategic imperative for businesses seeking to thrive in a socially conscious era. In this blog, we delve into impact hiring, exploring its definition, key principles, and the powerful reasons as to why it is an essential and impactful tool for businesses to embrace. By integrating impact hiring into their recruitment strategies, companies can unlock a wealth of advantages, ranging from heightened employee engagement to gaining a competitive edge in their industry. Discover how the convergence of purpose and success through impact hiring can forge a path toward a more sustainable, purposeful, and successful future for businesses of all sizes and industries.
What is Impact Hiring?
Impact hiring refers to the innovative and strategic approach that organizations adopt when recruiting new talent with the primary goal of driving positive outcomes and making a meaningful difference in their workforce and broader community. Companies who practice impact hiring will recruit, support, and retain their best entry-level talent, especially employees who are from marginalized groups with barriers to employment. This includes veterans, parents who are looking to return to the workforce, physically or mentally disabled people, and ex-convicts.
Impact hiring goes beyond the traditional focus on skills and qualifications. Instead, it emphasizes aligning a candidate’s values, aspirations, and potential contributions with the company’s mission and values. The process involves identifying individuals who not only possess the necessary expertise but also exhibit a strong sense of purpose, social responsibility, and a desire to effect positive change.
Why is Impact Hiring important for my business?
Impact hiring can be a great way for employers to break down the long line of barriers that have faced entry-level opportunities for decades. The biggest barrier that is being brought down through impact hiring is the college degree. For many people, there are economic and systemic barriers that kept them from obtaining a college degree and when employers scan for degrees in their requirements for entry-level roles during their hiring process, it’s eliminating a large portion of candidates who could still potentially be a good fit for their organization.
Many college students would agree that despite earning their degree, they feel as though they are not equipped with the proper skills needed for their jobs and learned the majority of their skills through on-the-job training for their entry-level position. This highlights one of the many issues that employers in most sectors face: even though they are looking for candidates with degrees, they still have to spend resources on training them. So, what’s the point of requiring a degree when there may be a candidate in your applicant pool who has all the necessary skills for the entry-level position, just not the degree?
Impact hiring is changing the perspectives of many businesses. In a competitive job market, it’s already difficult to retain your top talent. By practicing impact hiring, however, they are able to hire and retain entry-level talent while building up their workplace environment and seeing success as a result.
Benefits of Impact Hiring
Practicing impact hiring for your business brings numerous benefits to your organization. Let’s look at some of the benefits of impact hiring and how they can make an impact on your business.
Company Culture Growth
By creating a more diverse workforce of talented employees, you can kickstart your company culture and improve employee retention across the board. Companies with a strong workplace culture and who build diverse teams of employees with complimentary skills tend to have better overall success both financially and in terms of employee retention. Practicing impact hiring can create a positive impact for your teams as well as create an environment of sustainability in your workforce.
Better Overall Work Performance
Impact hire employees who are focused on achieving results are motivated from within, leading to higher productivity and a dedicated commitment to meeting company goals. When individuals align their purpose with the organization’s mission, it increases the likelihood of investing their time and efforts, thereby driving overall business performance and success.
Competitive Advantage
In the current societal and economic climate, there is a growing trend among consumers and investors to prioritize businesses that make positive contributions to society and the environment. By adopting impact hiring practices, companies can position themselves as purpose-driven entities, which can foster a positive brand image and provide a distinct competitive advantage in the market.
Responsible Leadership
By implementing impact hiring strategies and policies, businesses can demonstrate responsible leadership, potentially inspiring other companies to do the same. The collective effort to create a socially and environmentally conscious business environment contributes to a more sustainable and equitable global economy.
How to Implement Impact Hiring for Your Business
Implementing impact hiring for your business can have several great benefits and advantages. In this section, we’ll take a look at how you can start implementing these policies into your hiring process.
Define Your Purpose and Values
Provide a clear explanation of your company’s mission, purpose, and core values. Identify the social and environmental issues that are in line with your business goals and are integral to your organization’s identity.
Develop Job Descriptions for Impact Positions
Create job descriptions that clearly define the purpose of the role, the desired impact, and the necessary skills and qualifications. Highlighting the company’s dedication to social responsibility, it is important to emphasize its alignment with the company’s values.
Reform Your Organization’s Interviewing and Search Process
Review and update your screening and interview processes to evaluate candidates’ compatibility with your organization’s purpose and values. Include questions that assess a candidate’s interest in social impact and their potential contributions.
Develop an Employee Referral Program
Encourage current employees to refer candidates who are impact-oriented and share the company’s values. Offering rewards to employees for successful referrals can help encourage active participation.
Integrate Impact Hiring into Your Business Strategy
Incorporate impact hiring as a fundamental component of your talent acquisition strategy. Make sure that it is in line with your overall business goals and long-term vision.
Scion Staffing Can Help You Find Impactful Candidates!
Scion Staffing has the experienced staff and resources to help your business perfect its hiring and recruiting strategy and find you the impactful employees you need! We have a team of experienced and tenured recruiters to help you locate qualified candidates for a wide range of industries! Whether you’re looking for temp hires during a busy season, looking for a quality employee on a temporary period, or looking to hire candidates for permanent employment, our team can help you reach all of your organizational goals! To learn more about our award-winning staffing agency services, please contact us today. Additionally, to learn more about Scion Staffing, we invite you to visit our about us page!
About the Author
Patrick Chiotti (he/him) is an accomplished SEO writer and is currently the Marketing and Communications Specialist at Scion Staffing, bringing years of experience in SEO knowledge and a passion for writing to the Scion team. With additional experience in customer service roles, retail, and accounting, Patrick brings a unique set of knowledge and skills to his role while sharing the passion to continue learning about a wide range of topics so he can share his voice to a larger audience. Outside of Scion, Patrick spends his time as a football coach at the high school level and is passionate about teaching the game, while remaining a student to it. He is also a husband and father, and enjoys fitness, as well as a passion for cooking amazing food.
