The Body Shop’s New Approach to Hiring

How The Body Shop is helping to break barriers with its fair hiring policy.

The Body Shop was originally founded by Anita Roddick in 1976 with the goal to offer quality skincare products that focused on natural ingredients and sustainability. Since The Body Shop opened its doors, it has grown into a global retailer and now has stores in over 70 countries. Throughout its operation The Body Shop has positioned itself against animal testing and focused on sourcing ingredients sustainably to create a range of natural beauty products. 

At the beginning of November, 2021 The Body Shop announced it will be adopting an ‘open hiring’ practice, whereby the first individual who applies for the role will be hired, regardless of their experience. The Body Shop has implemented this practice to be fair and inclusive to all potential candidates. 

Upon applying, all candidates will be asked if they are legally authorised to work in Australia, if they can lift up to 11kgs and work an eight-hour shift in one day, and if they are happy to work with customers. However, the answer to the last question won’t disqualify them from being hired.  

This radical approach was born from a bakery in New York when it opened its doors in 1982. The aim of this hiring technique was to provide opportunities to all individuals, irrespective of their personal, health or housing difficulties at the time. After proving to be a success, many companies throughout the world have started to adopt this practice, with the latest being The Body Shop.

This new approach to hiring deeply aligns with the beliefs of Anita, who passed away in 2007. Throughout her life, Anita was passionate about animal and human rights and focused heavily on social issues, putting people before profit. 

Since The Body Shop’s birth in 1976 it grew exponentially due to Anita’s values, until it was hit with various scandals in the mid 90s. Following these scandals and failed attempts to realign the company, Anita sold The Body Shop to L’Oréal in 2006. This partnership confused many due to the different values of L’Oréal, then when The Body Shop was sold to Natura & Co in 2017 the brand re-aligned to the values Anita held when she opened the business. 

With the mission “to be a business that is a force for good,” The Body Shop continues to uphold this position by implementing practices such as open hiring.

If you would like to learn more about open hiring and how The Body Shop is employing this practice you can visit its website here. 

By Zoe Moffatt