DE&I Strategies that Work: Checkr on Greenhouse’s Podcast

Daniel Yanisse, Co-founder and CEO of Checkr, and Arthur Yamamoto, VP of Talent at Checkr, recently sat down with Daniel Chait, CEO of Greenhouse, to talk about Diversity in Hiring as a part of Greenhouse’s Hiring For What’s Next Podcast. Daniel, Arthur, and Daniel talked about the challenges and opportunities of building diverse teams, the benefits of fair chance hiring, and the importance of belonging in the workplace. 

Studies have shown that diverse teams are more effective. However, many companies are still incredibly homogenous and lacking a plan to do the hard work of becoming more diverse. During the interview, Arthur suggested, “You have to start at the top and make sure your leadership team is completely aligned on diversity as a value.” Without everyone on the leadership team committing to making changes in the hiring process to positively impact diversity, it is unlikely anything will change for the better. Daniel offered a few practical ways Checkr has focused on diversity and added, “From the beginning of starting Checkr, I have been passionate about building a diverse company with a strong and healthy culture. This is one of the strengths of our business.” 

Fair chance hiring is hiring the best person for the job regardless of their record— living out the belief everyone, regardless of their background, has the right to be fairly assessed for employment. Daniel, Arthur, and Daniel talked about the ways Fair Chance hiring impacts both individuals and workforce diversity. Daniel commented, “Fair chance hiring is a growing movement from a number of companies who want to have a positive impact on society. These companies care about diversity, inclusion, and belonging. Fair chance hiring is one way to increase diversity in your workforce, give back to the community, and grow your pool of qualified talent.” Hiring individuals with a conviction history is not standard practice for many companies, but “at Checkr, we are a Fair Chance employer and have been able to hire amazing talent.  When you, as an employer, give a chance to someone with a conviction history you will be surprised by their motivation, performance, engagement, and retention.” To learn more about Fair Chance hiring, download Checkr’s Fair Chance Playbook here. 

After talking about ways to hire diverse teams— including individuals with a conviction history— Daniel, Arthur, and Daniel talked about how to support your employees. Daniel mentioned, “the second priority after you hire a strong, diverse team, is that you must figure out how to make sure everyone feels like they belong and are included at your company.  The belonging aspect is incredibly important.” In fact, according to HBR, “40% of people say that they feel isolated at work, and the result has been lower organizational commitment and engagement.” Checkr has focused on belonging through a number of initiatives including employee resource groups and sentiment surveys.  Additionally, the Checkr HR teams look at retention, promotion, engagement, and compensation gaps across various groups to support belonging initiatives. 

Listen to the full conversation on Greenhouse’s podcast here.