Checkr and Fair Chance Hiring

Abstract

In early 2024, privately owned Checkr, a background check tech startup, was a leading voice in the fair chance hiring movement. Fair chance hiring, also known as second chance hiring, referred to the practice of offering fair and equal job opportunities to individuals with criminal records. In addition to the fair chance products it offered customers and the advocacy and fundraising work of its foundation, Checkr itself was a fair chance employer.

But Checkr CEO Daniel Yanisse wanted to broaden the movement, beyond what the small, but growing, startup could do on its own and at a time when social justice movements like diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) were getting pushback in the business world. Yanisse wanted to get business leaders to see the economic and social value of adopting fair chance hiring practices. The question was how?

Meanwhile, there was buzz in business circles that Checkr was ripe for an initial public offering (IPO). Assuming taking Checkr public was on Yanisse’s radar, how should he make the business case for fair chance hiring to potential new stakeholders? How should he speak to its strategic value? What evidence should he be prepared to provide? In what ways might Checkr’s mission be challenged? And what should the response be?

Learning Objectives

• Explore the challenges justice impacted people encounter when looking for a stable job. 
• Understand the societal and economic impact of the fair chance hiring movement.
• Analyze how a startup has incorporated a socially-conscious mission into its business model and how that mission might fair through and after an IPO.

Appropriate for the following course(s)

leadership, ethics, entrepreneurship, social justice, criminal justice

Checkr and Fair Chance Hiring

THERE IS NO TEACHING NOTE FOR THIS CASE STUDY.