Retention Rates: Why Fair Chances Build Loyalty.

High staff turnover doesn’t just drain resources; it inhibits culture. 

Employers across industries, particularly in sectors like hospitality, retail, construction, and social care, are facing chronic retention challenges. Roles remain persistently vacant, and new hires cycle through rapidly, creating instability and frustration for managers and teams. In some cases the cost of churn is hidden; in the time spent onboarding, the drop in morale, or the client dissatisfaction caused by inconsistency.

Yet amidst all the talk about retention strategies, flexible working, wellbeing programs, pay reviews, there’s one talent pool that’s consistently overlooked: people with criminal records.

Hiring prison leavers isn’t just a moral stance or a box-ticking exercise in diversity; it’s a strategic decision that drives tangible business outcomes. When done properly, with the right support and understanding, it transforms workplaces in ways that stretch far beyond the headline numbers.

Loyalty Rooted in Lived Experience

When someone leaves prison and is offered a genuine opportunity, the response isn’t one of fragile gratitude. It’s often one of grounded commitment. Many prison leavers have spent months, even years, reflecting on their choices, planning to reintegrate into the community, and imagining what it would feel like to be trusted again. For those who’ve fought to rebuild their lives and navigate the stigma of a criminal record, the chance to belong in a workplace carries deep significance.

This often results in higher retention rates. Why? Because people who feel invested in, who have been given the benefit of the doubt, tend to invest in return. Prison leavers may also have less employment opportunities, not because they lack talent, but because doors remain closed due to outdated assumptions. That makes your offer not just another job, but a signal of possibility.

Many employers we speak to, and who have hired people who have a criminal record, report that prison leavers often turn out to be their most reliable team members: less likely to call in sick, consistently hardworking and motivated, being eager to go the extra mile. This is not about hiring someone to tick a box; it's about recognising that lived experience builds depth, and depth builds loyalty.

Inclusive Hiring as a Retention Strategy

Inclusive hiring means more than adding diversity to your recruitment language. It means actively seeking out candidates whose barriers to employment aren’t skill-related but societal. Individuals with criminal records routinely experience rejection before they’ve even had the chance to explain their qualifications or aspirations. By intentionally removing those barriers by reviewing your policies, shifting interview questions, adjusting filtering systems, etc, you send a message that your organisation values equity over optics.

Retention is about trust. And trust starts at the point of hire. If your onboarding processes make someone feel 'othered', you’ve lost the chance to build connection. Inclusive hiring of prison leavers tells the whole organisation that your values aren’t performative. That your culture can stretch to meet people where they are, not just where you expect them to be.

It’s not just good ethics; it’s good business.

Reducing Reoffending: The Ripple Effect of Employment

Retention isn’t only about keeping staff; it’s also about keeping communities safe and stable. One of the most effective ways to reduce reoffending is through secure, meaningful employment. The Ministry of Justice reports that people who find work shortly after release are significantly less likely to return to prison. That means your hiring decision doesn’t just fill a gap, it interrupts and breaks a cycle.

Too often, the fear of reputational risk outweighs the recognition of potential social impact. Employers worry: what if this person reoffends? But the question should be reframed: what if stable employment is the very thing that prevents it?

By creating the conditions for sustainable employment, you’re not just retaining staff, you’re contributing to wider public safety and rehabilitation. That’s legacy-level impact.

Workplace Culture: Building Teams That Stay

Retention can’t be solved with generic perks. It requires authenticity; real relationships, meaningful values, and space for growth. When prison leavers join your team, they don’t just bring skills, they bring perspective, they challenge biases, they deepen emotional intelligence across departments, and they help create cultures where differences are normalised, not feared.

Colleagues often report richer team dynamics when lived experience is represented. There’s greater empathy, stronger conflict resolution, and more openness to feedback. And when people feel seen and feel as though they belong, they stay where they are.

Inclusive hiring builds resilient cultures. The kind where people want to stay not just for the job, but for the way it makes them feel.

Practical Steps you can take to Improve Retention Through Inclusive Hiring

• Review filtering practices: Ensure you’re not automatically excluding individuals with criminal records at the application stage.

• Tailor interviews: Focus on transferable skills and growth potential, not just traditional experience.

• Partner with organisations: Collaborate with charities and services that support prison leavers into work.

• Train managers: Equip your teams with the tools to support inclusive onboarding and development.

• Track retention: Notice patterns. Are your most committed staff those you gave a fair chance to?

If high turnover is costing you, ask yourself this: are you hiring for comfort or commitment? Avoiding prison leavers may feel safe, but safety doesn't build loyalty.

What if the very people you’re excluding are the ones most likely to stay? And what does it say about your values if retention matters more than risk, but you're ignoring the solution that improves both?