Notes on the Page: “Hire the ‘Wrong’ People for the Right Reasons”
Greg RothThis is the first in a recurring series, Notes on the Page, where DCECA talks to one of its members about a work that they are particularly proud of and willing to give notations on.
“Hire the ‘Wrong’ People for the Right Reasons” was written by Martha J. Frase for Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., the President and CEO, Society for Human Resource Management, with a guest appearance from Alice Marie Johnson, Author and Criminal Justice Reform Advocate. The speech was delivered at the SHRM 2019 Annual Conference and Exposition, Las Vegas, June 24, 2019 and won a 2020 Cicero Award in the Association category from the Professional Speechwriters Association.
The notes below are from Greg Roth (GR) and Martha Frase (MF). Here is what Martha says about the context of the speech:
The speech was delivered live at SHRM’s 2019 Annual Conference & Exposition in Las Vegas, to the largest-ever audience convened by SHRM (20,000+). It came at a moment of record low unemployment, when U.S. employers were struggling to fill jobs, and SHRM began advocating for companies to be more inclusive in hiring “untapped talent” by giving people with criminal histories a second chance, as well as expanding efforts to hire older workers, people with disabilities and veterans.
MF
“How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.”
The quote came quite late in the process, because we wanted one that would mirror the closing.
MF
Annie Dillard said that beautifully in her book, The Writing Life. Across a lifetime, people spend almost 4,000 days at work—more than 13 years. Workplaces are where life happens.
- It’s where people learn, grow, serve and lead.
- It’s where attitudes and values are shaped.
- It’s where they build a future for their family and a legacy for themselves.
This is the first of six bulleted lists in the piece, which I’m a big fan of for many reasons. In this case, they give the speech a sense of rhythm.
GR
My writing style tends to be “architectural” for lack of a better word. I like to build structures that can hold stories inside.
MF
But workplaces are also where people are too often excluded, divided, exploited and underutilized. In this time where there are more jobs than people to fill them, too many employers are squandering the top talent inside their businesses—and waiting outside their doors.
Mismanaging this key resource is a disservice to business, and it harms us as a country competing in a global economy. It harms the emerging industries of the 4th Industrial Revolution. It harms the social fabric of our communities, and future generations. Workplaces are where real social change begins. So when our workplaces don’t meet our standards, how can we expect to improve our communities and our societies?
I’m Johnny C Taylor, Jr., and I want you to join me in creating better workplaces for a better world. HR professionals are at the center of all that people hope for and aspire to.
I love that the self-intro was pushed down past the opening. I wish more speeches did this. Tell me something important before you tell me who you are or who you’re thanking.
GR
This was the first time we used this device and we have continued doing so for the big speeches. I think it suits Johnny, who is a larger-than-life speaker with a very strong personal brand.
MF
Think about it. There are more than 162 million Americans in the U.S. workforce today. Globally, 3 billion people go to their jobs every day. Each of them is affected by HR in some capacity. Whether it’s navigating their nervous first day at work, purchasing a new home, sending their kids off to college—all the way to their very last day before retirement, HR is there, impacting lives, shaping culture. And unlike any other profession, we are the ones who create workplaces that change lives, transform organizations and leave an indelible mark on society.
Each of you has the capacity—in fact, the responsibility—to inspire the best in people.
- To create inclusive and engaged workplaces;
- To create an environment of positivity and productivity;
- To make workplaces better, and in turn, create a better world.
HR has a life-changing impact on people outside of our workplaces too.
- Those who applied but didn’t get the job—or even the interview.
- Those who may have been qualified, but weren’t a “good fit.”
- Those whose military skills don’t directly translate in the civilian world.
- Those who may not think like us, walk like us or talk like us.
Now, to be clear… I’m not saying that everyone who applies for a job deserves that job. But everyone deserves the dignity of work. As stewards of workplaces, we play a role that is bigger than any one of us.
Our focus should not be on keeping the “wrong” people out, but to bring more of the “right” people in. And frankly, let’s consider what is really meant by “wrong” Because in terms of potential employees, “wrong” or “unqualified” is sometimes just a substitute for “different.” Finding the “right” in someone who looks “wrong” on paper forces us to consciously put our bias to the back and look at things… well … differently.
[Stage goes dark, Alice Johnson appears]
[Alice:] Hello. My name is Alice Marie Johnson. More than 2 decades ago, in desperation, I got involved with the wrong people, and did the wrong things. I made the biggest mistake of my life.
In 1996, I was convicted for a first-time, non-violent drug offense. My sentence was life in prison. While behind bars, I lost both my parents. I lost the moments of watching my children grow up. I lost 21 years of my life. But I was very fortunate.
My case was taken up by influential people who believed my sentence was too harsh. They took my cause to the highest office of the land, and I was granted clemency. My good fortune did not stop there. After my release, I was able to find a new career…a new purpose. But there are many more like me who are not so fortunate.
After serving their debt to society, they are shut out— re-sentenced to joblessness and economic insecurity. Like me, they only want to find their purpose—in the dignity of honest work. After my release, I have become a published author.
My book, “After Life: My Journey from Incarceration to Freedom”, makes a compelling case for the need to give others a true second chance in life. They have as much—or more—to offer as I do. By hiring the formerly incarcerated, HR professionals like you can stop the cycle of poverty, unemployment and recidivism.
When you give people second chances, you can change lives. YOU can create a better world.
[Johnny returns to stage]
Alice was there live on stage and I wrote these remarks for her to tell her story. She was already a public figure, having been championed by President Trump and Kim Kardashian as a symbol of what needs to change in the criminal justice system. In 2018 and 2019, SHRM partnered with Alice to promote their “Getting Talent Back to Work” campaign, which gave HR leaders the knowledge and tools to safely and effectively hire the formerly incarcerated. Bringing her to Annual Conference to join Johnny on stage was an easy decision.
MF
[Johnny:] Thank you, Alice. I know it has taken a lot of courage for you to share your story so frankly. And I know it is still painful to remember. But we are so glad you shared it with us.
Alice is one of 700,000 people who are released from prison each year only to find themselves locked out of the labor market. She is the 1 in 3 Americans who have a criminal record, and she is a true testament of the potential of all people to share their gifts.
Like people with criminal records, people with disabilities are not who you think they are. Disability is complex, covering a rainbow of conditions and situations. And their barriers are not just physical.
There are people with hidden disabilities throughout your workplaces now. And even in this room. But there are millions more waiting outside our workplaces. What a waste of talent that we need now.
It’s time we put our biases aside and put this untapped talent back to work.
- They are not charity cases, grateful for our help.
- Nor are they superheroes, overcoming obstacles in a single bound.
- They do not need extra help from others to do their jobs.
- They are not costly to hire.
- They can become leaders, changemakers and innovators in your organization.
They are like you in almost every way. And for some of you, they ARE you.
[Profile videos roll]
There were three 90-second videos of people with disabilities and their career journey. Later, they joined Johnny onstage for the closing part of the speech. Here they are:
MF
These talented individuals are true ambassadors for transforming workplaces. There are millions more proving themselves at work every day.
And I want to remind you again that not all disabilities are as visible or perceptible as these. In your workplaces right now are people performing with invisible disabilities, like mental health challenges, chronic pain, epilepsy, ADHD, and other medical issues that have no outward signs. They need to be supported and included equally.
And let me expand that further: People bring challenges to work that are much broader than disability. Every person brings layers of personal adversities and histories with them as they seek their opportunity to succeed.
HR has the profound responsibility to empower them to be their best. In this context, I want to take this moment to mention returning veterans, a key focus of SHRM and the SHRM Foundation through our Veterans at Work Initiative.
So many vets returning to the workplace have a tough time finding the right job—and in many cases, ANY job. Their resumes don’t look like anyone else’s and can be hard to translate into a civilian role. But they have skills you can’t find just anywhere, and they enhance every profession. And that goes for our profession too.
In fact, if you are a member of the military, including active duty, guard, reserve or veteran, I want to recognize you. Could all members of the military please stand?
We often invite veterans to stand and be honored at our conferences. Many HR professionals have military backgrounds, and it’s important to reinforce that vets are valuable assets to the workforce.
MF
Thank you for your service, and for elevating our profession with your unique leadership skills. Now I am going to urge you to think differently about another rich source of talent. They experience more discrimination and exclusion in the workforce than just about anyone else.
Ironically, they are also some of the most experienced talent you’ll ever turn away. They’re called “overqualified” Or not likely to “fit in.” Or “unable to adapt.” And we’re NOT just talking about septuagenarians or octogenarians. We are talking about people over 50. That’s about a third of YOU! Age discrimination is starting to affect Generation X!
Four decades after the Age Discrimination in Employment Act became law, nearly two-thirds of workers 55 to 64 years old say their age is preventing them from getting a job. And over one quarter of stable, longtime employees sustain at least one damaging layoff after turning 50.
Age discrimination in the workforce is not just illegal—and morally wrong, I’ll add—it is damaging to your bottom line and to your culture. When we exclude older workers, we are also excluding a goldmine of work and life experience. We miss out on the mentoring and idea exchange that only comes with a truly multigenerational workforce.
Age discrimination hurts society, and strains communities, our economy and our health care system. Unemployment sends older people into poverty and puts their health at risk. Ageism is rampant in high-income countries like the U.S. especially.
Here in America, we place a premium on youth, vitality and “newness.” Aging is often seen as a debilitating process that robs people of these prized attributes. Is that what you believe? Of course not. But beliefs are not actions.
[Older workers begin moving up the aisles]
The older workers were actually actors selected for their age and diversity. There were about 20 older people dressed in black who joined Johnny on stage. Here’s a photo of the final vignette:
MF
Our workforces need to ACT. We need to energetically recruit older workers—and develop the skills and prospects of senior talent already in your workplaces. We need to explode the myths and trash the biases about who older workers are and what they can do. Here is what an older workforce really looks like:
[Older workers arrive at the front and others enter from the wings to crowd the stage]
Age is a number. Let’s hire people for what they can do, better and differently than anyone else.
- Different is powerful.
- Different enables creative problem solving
- Different is how change happens.
- Different is what we all have in common.
[Alice and video subjects join center stage]
All of these people—and the workers they represent—are the future of work. If we want our workplaces to flourish, we need to include and develop them. We need to give people who have made mistakes second chances, so they can be in place to help our organizations grow.
We need to give people with disabilities opportunities to show us all they know and all they can achieve. And we need to eliminate age discrimination at work every time we see it, and value the experience and knowledge that can only be developed by time.
We are asking you to do more than tap into underused talent pools. I am asking you, as HR professionals, to create the workplaces where everyone can thrive.
- Where everyone is valued.
- Where everyone learns.
- Where problems get solved, differences are resolved, and individuals can evolve.
- Where everyone shares in economic opportunity; family security; safer, stronger communities; and the fruits of a better world.
Each of the six lists has a different framing, although the first (“It’s where”) and the sixth (“Where”) are the most similar.
GR
Yes, I think the repetition helps listeners track the message.
MF
And where people spend thousands of good days that add up to good lives. Join SHRM as we help create these better workplaces, led by HR professionals like each of you.
Thank you.
Thanks to Martha Frase, who provides all the images and videos, along with her notes. If you have a speech, script, or other work you’d like to share for “Notes on the Page”, reach out to us at dcexeccomms@gmail.com.
