Untapped Talent: Unlocking the Potential of Overlooked People

JP Morgan Chase & Company, Boston Scientific Corp., T-Mobile, and two Ben & Jerry’s shops in Nashville, Tenn. These businesses may seem to be an unlikely grouping, but they share at least one notable characteristic: They have made specific efforts to recruit and hire employees from traditionally untapped talent pools. Among these pools are individuals with disabilities, the spouses of military personnel, veterans, people with criminal histories, and young adults neither in school nor in the workforce. Although many of these people seek employment and offer employers a significant source of potential workers, they can remain overlooked for job opportunities.

Hiring people from these groups is far from an act of charity. It’s good business, especially when finding employees can be difficult with an unemployment rate that’s been hovering between 3% and 4% for nearly three years.

Companies that do make a concerted effort to reach out to these groups have found them to be tremendous assets. For example, Boston Scientific, a Marlborough, Mass.-based medical device maker, has a program to hire neurodivergent individuals to work in production line jobs that can be difficult to fill.

Accessing these individuals often requires organizations to use a different type of recruiting outreach than they are accustomed to. Wendi Safstrom, president of the SHRM Foundation—which has multiple initiatives to promote hiring workers from traditionally untapped applicant pools—says employers are overlooking a solution to their recruiting difficulties when they don’t consider these potential hires. “Talent shortages are a structural issue,” she explains. “Not integrating untapped talent into your strategies will translate into perpetual shortages.”

The skills these individuals bring to their jobs can make them uniquely well positioned to succeed in specific roles. For example, military veterans often bring innovation, flexibility, and problem-solving skills to the workplace, earned by working in exceptionally challenging circumstances when they served. According to the U.S. Department of Defense, military spouses—92% of whom are women in their prime working years—experience an unemployment rate of 21%, according to the U.S. Department of Defense. They are often well educated and have learned to be nimble and adaptable because their lifestyles require it.

About a quarter of U.S. residents (26 percent) have some type of disability, which often unfairly impacts their job prospects. Although unwarranted bias can prevent these individuals from being considered for jobs, SHRM research has found that they are often more dedicated than other employees, and they tend to stay with their employers longer.

Individuals with criminal histories—who make up one-third of the U.S. populace—also encounter significant hiring bias. Many completed their education while incarcerated, have been taught valuable job skills, and are willing to take on roles that are traditionally difficult to fill.

Finally, there are nearly 5 million individuals ages 16 to 24 who are neither enrolled in school nor participating in the labor force—whom SHRM calls “opportunity youth.” When companies partner with advocacy organizations to recruit and employ these young people, 96% report positive results.

The following case studies offer examples of employers reaching out to and successfully incorporating people from these groups into their ranks—to the benefit of both.