Corporate Coalition
The Corporate Coalition is a business alliance. Learn more at https://www.corpcoalition.org/fair-chance-hiring
Introductory Conversations and Assessment
How organizations conduct initial needs assessment with employers, introduce workforce development in general as well as their own organization’s programs, and gauge whether an employer could benefit from workforce development programs.
Learning About Employers' Needs
- Initial employer conversations focus on understanding hiring challenges, talent strategy alignment, and employer interest in fair chance hiring.
- The Fair Chance Hiring Cohort uses a structured intake interview process to onboard participating companies, gathering details on their hiring practices, fair chance hiring priorities, and internal decision-making processes.
- A recruiting tracker in a shared Excel document records employer interactions, status updates, and key findings.
- Meeting notes, capturing detailed discussions and updates with employers, are stored in a shared drive, accessible to both the Corporate Coalition and Cara Plus.
- Employers are asked about their familiarity with fair chance hiring and their retention challenges before receiving information on the cohort program.
- The Fair Chance Hiring Cohort Pre-Survey collects data on employer hiring practices, the role of fair chance hiring in their strategy, and workforce demographics. It also assesses tracking metrics such as candidate sources, disqualification rates, and career outcomes, while evaluating employer preparedness in advocating for inclusive background checks, engaging fair chance talent, and implementing skills-based hiring.
This content is based on interviews or email correspondence with Steph Dolan in 2025. This content was approved by the organization in April 2025.
Introducing Workforce Development Opportunities
- Employers whose talent priorities better align with other cohorts are referred to other workforce programs, such as Generation Work and Talent Rewire.
- The Corporate Coalition, Cara Plus, Skills for Chicagoland’s Future, and CWFA meet on a weekly basis, with a number of other stakeholders in the Chicago ecosystem. One of the things that they periodically revisit is an ongoing list of workforce resources for employer referrals.
- If an employer’s interest extends beyond fair chance hiring, they are provided materials on alternative workforce development programs.
This content is based on interviews or email correspondence with Steph Dolan in 2025. This content was approved by the organization in April 2025.
Introducing Your Organization
- The Fair Chance Hiring Cohort is introduced through referrals and networking conversations, which can sometimes include a PowerPoint presentation that outlines the program structure and its community impact. However, the conversation typically starts as a more informal discussion about talent priorities and a company’s interest in fair chance hiring.
This content is based on interviews or email correspondence with Steph Dolan in 2025. This content was approved by the organization in April 2025.
Evaluating Employer Suitability
- Employers interested in joining the Fair Chance Hiring Cohort must demonstrate a genuine commitment to fair chance hiring. Companies are expected to set goals, identify practice changes, and take action to pursue these changes during the cohort. This is not a cohort for companies that only want to observe or “explore” the concept.
- Leadership buy-in is a key requirement. Cohort participants must be decision-makers or designated representatives with the authority to implement policy changes, ensuring sustainable adjustments to practices and processes.
- Cohort participants are expected to actively engage in discussions and attend sessions consistently. Sporadic participation is discouraged as the program is designed for organizations committed to making concrete changes.
This content is based on interviews or email correspondence with Steph Dolan in 2025. This content was approved by the organization in April 2025.
Establishing Employer Relationships
Ways that organizations follow up or otherwise build relationships with potential employer partners. How do organizations keep employers’ interest and stay top of mind, despite how busy they may be?
Following Up via Phone and/or Email
- Employer follow-ups are tracked in the recruiting tracker (an Excel spreadsheet).
- Immediately after an introductory call, employers receive the Fair Chance Hiring Overview, a two-page document explaining the program.
- Follow-up timing is structured, with an initial check-in email typically sent 1-2 weeks after the first conversation, then additional, periodic follow-ups (every 3-4 weeks) until a response is received or follow-up call is scheduled.
This content is based on interviews or email correspondence with Steph Dolan in 2025. This content was approved by the organization in April 2025.
Metrics and Financial Factors
How organizations collect and share information about expected outcomes and potential financial rewards and incentives.
Sharing Metrics and Return on Investment with Employers
- Companies that have participated in the Fair Chance Hiring Cohort often discuss and share metrics and how to collect them. This includes number of hires made, retention rates, and advancement rates.
- The Corporate Coalition highlights data points from past cohorts, including participation numbers (14 companies and 59 corporate leaders trained in the first two years).
- Employers are encouraged to share their own experiences and outcomes to build credibility for fair chance hiring.
- Materials like the Fair Chance Hiring Flyer highlight key metrics from past cohorts, including participation numbers, retention rates, and workforce engagement outcomes, demonstrating the impact of fair chance hiring.
This content is based on interviews or email correspondence with Steph Dolan in 2025. This content was approved by the organization in April 2025.
Explaining Subsidies and Tax Credits
- Tax credits and subsidies are typically discussed with small businesses, particularly those in the Small Business Advisory Council, while large employers have demonstrated less interest in these incentives, to date.
This content is based on interviews or email correspondence with Steph Dolan in 2025. This content was approved by the organization in April 2025.
Gathering Data to Track Employer Metrics
- Employer engagement is tracked using a shared Excel-based recruiting tracker, updated live by both the Corporate Coalition and Cara Plus. This document records employer interactions, status updates, and key findings that come out during recruiting conversations for companies to join the cohort.
- Meeting notes from employer interactions are stored in a shared drive, allowing both organizations to access discussions and decisions. These notes provide additional details beyond the recruiting tracker.
This content is based on interviews or email correspondence with Steph Dolan in 2025. This content was approved by the organization in April 2025.
Organizational Level Considerations
How organizations are set up to build partnerships with employers, and how they leverage relationships with other organizations for better outcomes.
Organizational Structure, Resourcing, and Staffing
- The Program Director for Fair Chance Hiring at the Corporate Coalition of Chicago leads the Fair Chance Hiring cohort; they manage the overall program, in partnership with Cara Plus (an arm of Cara Collective), and the Chicagoland Workforce Funder Alliance.
- Together, the Corporate Coalition and Cara Plus identify and recruit potential cohort participants, craft the programming for the cohort, and coach cohort members.
This content is based on interviews or email correspondence with Steph Dolan in 2025. This content was approved by the organization in April 2025.
Collaborating with Other Organizations
- Cara Plus and the Corporate Coalition are both responsible for employer recruitment and engagement.
- The Corporate Coalition, Cara Plus, Skills for Chicagoland’s Future, and CWFA meet regularly with World Business Chicago, P33, the Civic Committee, and other workforce stakeholders to discuss workforce resources for employers, among other topics.
- The referral process is informal, but tracked in the Excel Recruiting Tracker.
This content is based on interviews or email correspondence with Steph Dolan in 2025. This content was approved by the organization in April 2025.
Challenges
Common challenges and how organizations typically respond to them.
Workforce Development Jargon
- The term “practice change” is avoided in employer discussions because it may sound too academic; instead, it is framed as a gap analysis for identifying opportunities.
- Employers are introduced to fair chance hiring through business-friendly language that highlights transformational hiring practices.
- Terms like “justice-impacted individuals,” “individuals with records,” and “individuals with prior convictions” are preferred, but employers are encouraged to ask questions about language.
- Recruitment materials for fair chance hiring explain the broad definition of justice-impacted individuals, clarifying that not all have been incarcerated.
- The Fair Chance Hiring Cohort emphasizes human-first language, preferring terms such as “justice-impacted individuals” and “individuals with records” over outdated terminology.
This content is based on interviews or email correspondence with Steph Dolan in 2025. This content was approved by the organization in April 2025.
Handling Objections from Employers
- Employers cite budget, bandwidth, and regulatory concerns as barriers to participation, even when there are examples of similar organizations overcoming those issues.
- If employers are hesitant, they are provided with success stories from companies in similar industries that have implemented fair chance hiring.
- When employers express concerns about risk, the discussion is reframed around talent retention and workforce engagement.
- Employers in the cohort learn to address staff and customer concerns about fair chance hiring through structured discussions and coaching.
This content is based on interviews or email correspondence with Steph Dolan in 2025. This content was approved by the organization in April 2025.
Handling Challenges
- Reaching the right decision-makers can sometimes be a challenge, as employer engagement may start with introductions to contacts who lack the necessary budgetary or strategic authority to make the decision to join the cohort.
- The process of moving employers through the decision-making chain takes time, often requiring multiple conversations across several months.
- Legal and risk teams may have some hesitation around companies participating in a cohort on this topic.
- Follow-ups require persistence, flexibility, and a keen understanding of each company’s hiring needs and priorities to “pitch” the cohort. Even with these efforts, some interested employers become unresponsive after initial conversations.
This content is based on interviews or email correspondence with Steph Dolan in 2025. This content was approved by the organization in April 2025.
