Dive Brief:
- A new job board connects Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) recipients with employment opportunities and offers tax credits to participating employers looking to hire. The Tax Credit Job Board was launched by FIS, a financial services technology firm and EBT processor.
- EBT job seekers include individuals who receive food stamps or supplemental security benefits, who have been unemployed for 27 weeks or more or who are living in low-income communities. Job seekers must complete an online profile to determine their eligibility and may post a picture, resume or video to FSI's website or mobile app. Hiring employers are eligible for possible tax incentives under the federal Work Opportunity Tax Credit, which provides between $2,400 and $9,600 in tax credits for every qualified person hired.
- "FIS has been processing EBT programs for over two decades and we saw a need in the marketplace for a platform that could help our state partners and more importantly, qualifying job seekers and local employers," Kim Bynan, head of the EBT business at FIS, said in a news release. "The new portal is a win-win-win. It provides an advantage to millions of job seekers, new talent and tax credits to employers, and reduced dependency on government programs for the states."
Dive Insight:
As Bynan points out, the tax credit job board offers benefits to multiple stakeholders. EBT recipients, who might have faced long-term unemployment or are low-wage earners, get connected to employers who are actively hiring. And tax credits are key incentives for employers facing a talent shortage, which senior executives identified as a business risk in a recent survey.
The employee-driven labor market, with historically low unemployment rates, has increased pressure on recruiters to find qualified applicants and fill openings in a timely way to curb high recruiting costs. Talent professionals and recruiters have been forced to expand the pool of potential candidates beyond traditional sources. Making it easier for employers to connect with EBT recipients who are looking for jobs broadens the labor pool, which has already extended to be more inclusive of people with disabilities, former employees, customers, and formerly incarcerated candidates.
Attracting talent has moved up on HR's list of priorities in recent years, by some measures eclipsing perpetual headaches like compliance with state and federal regulations. According to a recent Paychex Pulse of HR Survey, attracting talent was HR professionals top worry for the first time this year. In 2017 and 2018 by contrast, regulatory compliance was the top challenge for HR, Paychex said. Over two-thirds of HR leaders surveyed said it is challenging to find hires.