Almost all retailers run background checks on prospective employees—one of the many obstacles for people who were formerly incarcerated and are now trying to find a job. For other job seekers, a drug screening for marijuana might cost them a position even in states where recreational use is legal.
This summer, the Body Shop will become the first large retailer to embrace a different approach, called “open hiring.” When there’s an opening, nearly anyone who applies and meets the most basic requirements will be able to get a job, on a first-come, first-served basis.
All they need to do is answer three questions:
1) Are you authorized to work in the US?
2) Can you stand for up to eight hours?
3) Can you lift over 50 pounds?
If you can answer ‘yes’ to all three, the job is yours. We understand if you think this approach to hiring is a bit crazy, but it has proven itself successful. The Body Shop got the idea from Greyston Bakery, a New York social enterprise that made $22 million in 2019 while employing anyone who needed a job.
When The Body Shop deployed the same hiring strategy at its distribution center in North Carolina this past year, monthly turnover dropped by 60 percent. Now the Body Shop is getting set to unroll this open hiring strategy at all its retail outlets across the country.
