Crosschq, a new company focused on helping companies make better hires, and 70 Million Jobs, the first-ever national, for-profit employment platform specifically for people with criminal backgrounds, today announced a partnership to promote fair chance hiring for job seekers with non-traditional career paths, including the formerly incarcerated. Over the next 12 months, Crosschq and 70 Million Jobs hope to place thousands of people with criminal backgrounds in jobs they love, through promoting this valuable talent pool to the country’s largest employers.
Today, more than a third of working-age Americans have some kind of criminal record. Studies have shown this group to be skilled and hard-working, with significant ability to contribute to an organization. Yet, even in light of historic low unemployment rates in the United States, this population has the highest unemployment rate of any population at any point in American history - nearly 30 percent.
“With historic low unemployment rates and an extremely competitive labor market, this is a critical time for businesses to consider non-traditional candidates in their hiring strategies,” said Richard Bronson, 70 Million Jobs’ founder and CEO. “Formerly incarcerated individuals have been overlooked for so long, yet they have the skills and determination to be successful in any role. We can no longer ignore the value of this vast workforce.”
Through the partnership, 70 Million Jobs is using Crosschq’s powerful predictive analytics platform to minimize bias prior to interviewing and on-boarding. By applying Crosschq’s Human Intelligence Hiring early in the employment process, businesses get a more complete picture of a person’s strengths, personality and job skills. These insights are especially important for non-traditional candidates who may have gaps in their resumes, or no resume at all. By providing these insights in advance, Crosschq and 70 Million Jobs make it easier for companies to hire great people based on who they are today, and what they can bring to an organization.
“We are committed to not only providing, but driving, fair hiring practices for all,” said Mike Fitzsimmons, co-founder and CEO of Crosschq. “There is tremendous opportunity if businesses give non-traditional candidates a chance. Our platform goes beyond a background or resume to provide businesses with real data, married with human insights, on potential employees, unlocking an untapped talent pool. Our partnership with 70 Million Jobs is only the beginning.”
Since launching earlier this year, Crosschq has been working with more than 50 companies, including high-growth, innovative organizations such as Eventbrite, NerdWallet, Dialpad and Remote Year, among others. Capterra has ranked Crosschq as the #1 reference checking software in technology and customers also highly rank the company, with Crosschq’s latest NPS score registering above 70.
About Crosschq
Crosschq is pioneering Human Intelligence Hiring™ by harnessing the power of people to help companies better screen, onboard and source the best talent. Crosschq’s technology gathers direct insights from people, for people and transforms those insights into powerfully predictive data that helps ensure a great job match between talent and a company. The company’s cloud-based SaaS solutions were built to create a transparent and engaging candidate experience while minimizing bias and protecting privacy. Founded in 2018, Crosschq is backed by GGV Capital, Bessemer Ventures, Inner Loop Capital and other well-known Silicon Valley Investors. To learn more, visit crosschq.com.
About 70 Million Jobs
70 Million Jobs is the industry leader in securing employment opportunities for Americans with criminal records. Founded by entrepreneur CEO Richard Bronson in 2017, the company partners with nearly 500 local community organizations, government agencies and correctional facilities and connects its community of more than 11 million job seekers with some of the largest employers in the nation. 70 Million Jobs is a graduate of Y Combinator, the early-stage investor and accelerator program, and has received investments from Founders Fund, MaC Partners, and the general partners of Insight Partners and others. To learn more, visit 70MillionJobs.com.
