If you run a restaurant, hotel, or food service operation today, you probably don’t need another lecture about “doing the right thing.”
You need people who show up, stay, and care.
Fair chance hiring—the practice of intentionally opening roles to people with records or long gaps in work—often gets framed as extra work for charity. But when it’s done through structured programs and partners, it can function as a performance strategy, not just a moral decision.
Graduates from training kitchens and second-chance programs, like those run by organizations such as Gathering Industries in Atlanta, arrive with:
- Real kitchen or food service experience
- Coaching around work habits and communication
- A strong desire not to lose the opportunity they’ve finally been given
This article speaks to restaurant owners, hotel F&B managers, HR leaders, and CSR teams who want to understand the business case for fair chance hiring benefits—beyond “feeling good.”
Why Talent Shortages Make Old Hiring Rules Obsolete
Persistent vacancies and burnout in hospitality and food service
Across hospitality and food service, common themes keep showing up:
- Hard-to-fill line cook and dishwasher roles
- Front-of-house turnover that never seems to slow
- Managers covering shifts themselves to keep doors open
The result is a cycle: the best people burn out covering for open roles, and you spend more time recruiting than actually running the operation.
The cost of constantly re-filling entry-level roles
Even without exact math, you see the pattern:
- Time spent screening, interviewing, and onboarding
- Uniforms, training hours, and mistakes from new hires
- Lost sales and guest satisfaction when teams are thin
Research consistently finds that replacing an hourly frontline worker can cost far more than just their hourly wage. When turnover is constant, those hidden costs quietly drag down margins.
How rigid screens eliminate motivated candidates
Many operators use simple filters to “keep risk low”:
- Automatic rejection for any criminal record
- Zero tolerance for employment gaps
- Quick dismissal of non-traditional résumés
In a tight labor market, those rules can:
- Eliminate candidates who have already done substantial training
- Penalize people who have put in the work to change their situation
- Leave you competing for the same shallow pool of “warm bodies”
Fair chance hiring doesn’t mean ignoring risk. It means updating your filters so they don’t automatically exclude the very people who might stay, grow, and appreciate the chance.
When “Playing It Safe” Is Actually Risky
Over-reliance on background checks as a blunt tool
Background checks are important for safety and compliance. The problem is how they’re used.
A blanket “no” to any record:
- Treats a non-violent offense from a decade ago the same as a recent high-risk incident
- Ignores the work someone has done—training, coaching, sobriety, accountability
- Forces you to say “no” before you ask any meaningful questions
Fair chance hiring benefits come, in part, from using context and structure instead of one-size-fits-all rules.
Brand and financial risk of under-staffing and churn
There is more than one kind of risk:
- Reputation risk if service quality suffers
- Financial risk if you’re constantly hiring and training
- Team risk when core staff are exhausted and frustrated
Playing it “safe” by excluding all fair chance candidates can keep you stuck with:
- Thin staffing
- Inconsistent service
- Higher churn among overworked team members
That’s not actually low risk—it’s just a different kind of unmanaged risk.
Mistake to avoid: treating all records and gaps the same
Not all records are equal. Not all gaps are equal.
A better approach focuses on:
- Nature and age of the offense
- Clear evidence of change (training completion, references, program graduation)
- Role fit and supervision level
Fair chance hiring doesn’t ask you to ignore your standards. It asks you to sort risk more intelligently.
Fair Chance Hiring Is a Performance Strategy
Alumni’s motivation and loyalty vs “warm bodies” hires
When someone comes through a structured training program tied to a social enterprise kitchen:
- They’ve already proven they can show up consistently.
- They’ve handled real pace and pressure in a supervised environment.
- They know what they stand to lose if they walk away.
Compared with last-minute hires who just need “a job,” alumni often show:
- Stronger commitment to staying
- Higher willingness to learn and take feedback
- Greater appreciation for stable work
Not every hire will be a star, but as a group, fair chance candidates from good programs can shift your average in the right direction.
Structured training as a quality filter
Graduates from organizations like Gathering Industries are not being placed straight from a classroom—they’re coming from:
- A professional kitchen that serves real paying customers
- Hands-on practice with food safety and prep
- Coaching on punctuality, communication, and teamwork
That training environment acts as a quality filter:
- People who aren’t ready often self-select out during training.
- Staff can observe strengths and challenges before referring someone to you.
You’re not “hoping” they’ll work out. You’re hiring from a pool that has already been observed in conditions similar to your operation.
The power of being someone’s first real break in years
There’s also a softer, but powerful, factor: identity.
For someone coming out of homelessness, incarceration, or long-term instability, a fair chance hire is often:
- Their first chance to be seen as a professional, not just a problem
- A tangible sign that their hard work in training is leading somewhere
- An opportunity they don’t want to lose
That sense of “I don’t want to go back” can translate into:
- Willingness to take less desirable shifts while they prove themselves
- Patience with normal workplace frustrations
- Long-term loyalty when they feel respected and fairly treated
Again, not everyone will respond this way—but many do, and it changes how they show up.
Stop Framing Fair Chance Hiring as Charity
Why pity-based narratives undermine respect on your team
If you introduce fair chance hiring as “helping people who made bad choices,” you risk:
- Staff resenting new hires they’re told to “feel sorry for”
- Alumni feeling singled out and stigmatized
- Managers treating performance issues as untouchable because they’re afraid of “being mean”
That’s not fair to anyone.
A better framing is straightforward:
- “We’re partnering with a professional training program.”
- “Graduates have proven they can do the work.”
- “We hire them because they’re good for the business—and we hold them to the same standards.”
The importance of holding alumni to the same standards
Fair chance hiring benefits disappear if you create a double standard:
- Letting people slide on attendance because you “feel bad”
- Avoiding difficult performance conversations
- Shielding alumni from normal accountability
This doesn’t help them, and it doesn’t help your team.
Alumni should be:
- Given the same clear expectations as any hire
- Supported during onboarding
- Held accountable for performance and conduct
That’s how respect is built on both sides.
How to talk about fair chance hiring without savior language
When you talk about your hiring approach:
- Focus on skills, training, and results, not rescue.
- Use language like “graduates,” “alumni,” and “trained candidates,” not “projects” or “charity cases.”
- Emphasize the mutual benefit: you get reliable staff; they get a real opportunity.
This keeps the conversation grounded and professional, and makes it easier for reluctant managers to get on board.
Business Benefits: What Employers Actually Gain
Lower turnover and training costs over time
Fair chance hiring alone won’t solve all retention issues, but when paired with a good partner:
- You reduce the number of purely “short-term” hires.
- You gain people who have already demonstrated they can stick with a program.
- You’re drawing from a pipeline that screens for readiness and coachability.
Over time, this can translate into:
- Fewer repeated onboarding cycles for the same roles
- More internal promotions from people who stick around
- Lower overall cost per productive employee, even if the starting wage is the same
Stronger team cohesion and morale
Teams notice when:
- New hires are serious about learning
- People who struggled in the past are now contributing and succeeding
- Management backs up its words about second chances with real support
This can shift morale in subtle but important ways:
- Long-term staff feel proud, not just exhausted.
- New hires feel like they’re joining a team that values growth.
- Supervisors experience fewer “no-call, no-show” surprises.
Brand lift with customers, community, and employees
Fair chance hiring, when done well, offers a quiet but powerful brand advantage:
- Customers increasingly appreciate businesses that practice what they preach.
- Community stakeholders notice employers who partner with reputable programs.
- Employees want to work where their job has meaning beyond the shift.
You don’t have to turn every hire into a campaign. A simple, authentic story—“We partner with a local training kitchen that gives people a second chance”—often goes a long way.
Is Your Organization Ready for Fair Chance Hiring?
Evaluating your roles, supervision, and risk tolerance
Before you jump in, take a clear-eyed look at:
- Which roles are most suitable (back-of-house vs front-of-house, entry-level vs supervisory).
- What supervision is consistently available on each shift.
- Your risk tolerance based on brand, clientele, and regulatory environment.
For many hospitality employers, good starting roles include:
- Prep cook
- Dishwasher or utility
- Banquet or event support
- Stewarding roles in hotels
These roles offer structure, clear tasks, and regular contact with supervisors.
Where to start (and where not to) in the org chart
Good “first” roles tend to have:
- Team-based workflows
- Clear checklists and expectations
- Opportunities to build confidence before direct guest interaction
Less ideal starting points:
- Positions with minimal supervision on isolated shifts
- Role combinations that mix high guest contact with complex decision-making right away
- “Sink or swim” positions where even traditional hires struggle
You can always expand into more complex roles once you see what works.
Mistake to avoid: pushing fair chance hires into the toughest, least supported roles
It’s tempting to fill the hardest-to-staff roles first. But if those roles are:
- The most chaotic
- The least supported
- The roles everyone else wants to leave
You risk setting fair chance hires up to fail.
Start where you can set them up to succeed:
- Clear training plan
- Reliable supervision
- Realistic expectations for the first 90 days
Mid-Article CTA (Readiness & Evaluation)
If you’re reading this and thinking, “We might be ready, but we need a structured approach,” that’s your cue. Explore fair chance hiring with a partner that already trains and vets candidates, and download a Fair Chance Hiring Readiness Checklist to pressure-test your roles and supervision before you commit.
Implementation Steps: Doing This Well From Day One
Partnering with a training program instead of going solo
Going solo—posting an open call for “second chance” applicants—puts all the risk and screening on you.
Partnering with a program like Gathering Industries means:
- Candidates have gone through a defined training and coaching process.
- Staff can share candid insights about each graduate’s strengths and growth areas.
- You have a point person to call if questions or issues arise.
This doesn’t remove risk, but it organizes and reduces it.
Preparing supervisors and teams for success
Even great candidates can struggle if your internal team is unprepared.
Before the first hire starts:
- Brief supervisors on the partnership, expectations, and support available.
- Clarify that alumni are held to the same standards as anyone else.
- Encourage teams to focus on performance, not someone’s past.
Some employers also:
- Offer basic training on fair chance hiring principles.
- Provide supervisors with extra coaching support in the first few months.
Setting clear expectations and structured feedback loops
Clarity helps everyone. For each fair chance hire:
- Define expectations in writing (attendance, performance metrics, communication norms).
- Set up regular check-ins during the first 30–90 days.
- Keep a simple feedback loop between you and the training program.
When issues arise, you’re not alone—you have a partner who knows the alumni and can help problem-solve.
Stories and Metrics From Employers Who Took the Leap
(Examples in this section are composite and illustrative; results vary by employer and individual.)
Example of a high-performing alumni employee
Consider a composite example from hospitality:
A graduate from a second-chance kitchen training program joins a hotel’s banquet team as a utility worker. At first, they’re quiet and focused on learning the basics. Within months:
- They consistently arrive early to help set up.
- Supervisors trust them with time-sensitive tasks.
- Teammates ask to have them on their events.
When a lead role opens up, this alumni hire is a natural candidate because they’ve demonstrated reliability under pressure.
Manager reflections six months into a pilot
When managers reflect on fair chance hiring pilots, they often say things like:
- “Once we got past our initial nerves, we realized this is just hiring—with better information.”
- “I’ve been surprised by how coachable graduates are. They’re used to feedback.”
- “Our team takes pride in being part of someone’s second chance.”
These reflections don’t ignore challenges. They highlight that, with structure, the fair chance hiring benefits are real and manageable.
How staff perceptions shift over time
At first, some staff may feel uncertain:
- “Is this going to create more work for me?”
- “Can we really trust people with records?”
Over time, perceptions tend to shift from label (“someone with a record”) to performance (“the coworker who always helps close the shift right”).
That shift is where fair chance hiring moves from experiment to part of your talent pipeline.
From One Hire to a Fair Chance Talent Pipeline
How to frame an initial pilot
Instead of launching a big initiative, start with a pilot:
- Choose 1–3 roles in one location.
- Partner with a program that understands your industry.
- Set simple success metrics: attendance, basic performance, supervisor satisfaction.
Frame it internally as:
- “We’re testing a new talent source with structured support.”
- “We’ll adjust based on what we learn.”
Indicators it’s time to expand
You’ll know it’s time to expand your fair chance hiring efforts when:
- Supervisors ask, “When are we getting more graduates?”
- Your retention looks better for alumni than for traditional hires in similar roles.
- The partnership feels like part of normal operations, not a special project.
At that point, you can:
- Add more roles or shifts.
- Extend fair chance hiring to additional locations.
- Integrate it into your broader HR and CSR strategies.
Next step: explore a fair chance hiring conversation with GI
If you operate in or near Atlanta—or simply want to understand how this model works in practice—organizations like Gathering Industries can help:
- Share what their graduates experience in the kitchen and life-skills training.
- Explain how they vet and support candidates.
- Explore whether your roles and supervision structure are a good fit.
You don’t have to commit to dozens of hires out of the gate. Start with a conversation, a small pilot, and a clear plan.
Ready to test fair chance hiring as a talent strategy, not just a “nice idea”? Explore fair chance hiring with a structured partner and see what roles might be a match.