Meet Greyston, An Internationally Recognized Social Innovator

The Painpoint

The US economy has officially 5.8 million unemployed. The actual number is closer to 10 million if people who have quit looking for a job are included. At the same time, many employers are finding it difficult to fill open positions. How could this state of affairs be fundamentally altered? Greyston, an enterprise turning corporate principles upside down while making a profit, could have some answers.

The Recognition

Every year, the Schwab Foundation, sister organization of the World Economic Forum, presents its Social Innovation Awards in recognition of social change leaders designing transformative outcomes to the vulnerable within our society. This year 16 organizations, from as far apart as Pakistan, Ecuador and Argentina, were brought into the limelight. One of the awardees was New-York based Greyston, represented by CEO Joseph (Joe) Kenner.

The Firm

Greyston Bakery, a for-profit operation, was founded by Bernie Glassman, an aeronautical-engineer-turned-Buddhist-monk in 1982. Greyston’s CEO Joe Kenner has been transforming the entrepreneurial outfit by combining the Open Hiring® concept, a no questions asked hiring model, with a profound commitment to reimagining the traditional corporate model.

Greyston is a for-profit corporation, owned by a non-profit foundation. It is New York’s first B Corporation, a corporation that uses business as a force for good, and as Kenner explains, it is “committed to a triple bottom line: people, planet, and profit.”

The Concept

Greyston is now a thriving undertaking that has partnerships with Ben & Jerry’s ice cream – the bakery supplies the brownies for Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream- and Whole Foods, which sells the bakery’s brownies and uses their products in their own ice cream brand. These partnerships create job opportunities at the bakery, which are filled using the Open Hiring® model.

Most companies invest considerable resources in their hiring processes, seeking to find applicants who are a good match for the job and the company culture. Typically, they review resumes, check references, conduct interviews, sometimes asking finalists to perform sample job tasks.

Greyston does none of this for its entry-level bakery apprentice positions. As President and CEO Joe Kenner puts it, “Open Hiring® is a first-come, first-to-get-the-job hiring process. There is no resume; there is no interview, there is no background check.”

Open Hiring® eliminates barriers to employment. Kenner explains it this way: “Anyone can visit Greyston Bakery or Greyston.org and put their name on a job waiting list. When a position opens the next person in line gets it. It’s that simple. It’s an inclusive approach to employment that creates opportunities for the traditionally overlooked – people with gaps in their employment, involvement with the justice system, or limited education. Rather than screen applicants based on some misguided concept of worthiness, Open Hiring® puts trust and training into individuals and focuses solely on their ability to do the job.”

Product Innovation

When the bakery looks to propel product innovation, it engages all its employees in the process. As Kenner explains, “All new staff members, from bakers to administrators, are invited to participate in sensory training, where they learn how to process and describe a brownie in practical terms. This unique training allows them to contribute valuable insights for analyzing our products and learning from others in the industry. We also listen to our customers to develop items that meet their specific needs or requests.”

The Painkiller

The Greyston Foundation seeks to export its Open Hiring® model to other corporations, with a goal of creating 40,000 opportunities by 2030. Kenner notes that “Open Hiring truly levels the playing field and shifts the conversation to focusing on seeing our employees as assets. Greyston has already collaborated with the Body Shop to create over 5,000 Open Hiring opportunities to date, and we are planning an Open Hiring pilot with IKEA to launch later this year.”

Kenner explains that the Foundation also works to “skill individuals in high-demand fields like security, construction site safety, information technology and more. After getting folks certified in a new skill, we match them with an employer for a full-time job.”

The Ambition

Greyston and its leader have big ambitions. Kenner elaborates: “I’ve set my sights on reshaping society’s view of employment and rewriting the leadership playbook. Every person who wants to work should have the opportunity to do so and not be confined to public assistance for extended periods.”

In fact, the goal of 40,000 job opportunities created through Open Hiring® is just the beginning. Kenner would like to see Open Hiring adopted widely, “especially among the ranks of Fortune 1000 companies.” He believes that these corporations have “the resources and the clout to pioneer this paradigm shift in hiring practices, leading to a far reaching social and economic impact.”

Kenner would also like to see the government endorse Open Hiring®. “If the U.S. government could incentivize businesses to adopt Open Hiring® practices, “he says, “we could provide people with jobs, thereby enhancing their well-being. This strengthens our social fabric, while at the same time generating economic growth.”

Conclusion

There are several routes to contributing to Greyston’s mission. Kenner invites those who wish to support Greyston to buy its brownies (he notes that they make excellent corporate gifts), to investigate replicating the Open Hiring® Model in their own organizations, and to donate to the Greyston Foundation in support of its vision of reimagining the future of work and extending opportunities to those often left on the sidelines.

Kenner sums up his vision this way: “At Greyston, we believe everyone has the potential to succeed. Let’s not destroy the American dream for others by erecting barriers to employment. We need to shift to a work culture that is bent on providing opportunities, especially to those who need it most.”