Open Hiring is a recruitment method in which employers hire people without an application procedure. The concept was launched in 1982 by Greyston Bakery founder Bernie Glassman. In 2019 the Open Hiring concept spread to the Netherlands.
The idea behind Open Hiring is to give people a chance at work and to make the barrier as low as possible. Regardless of someone's past, educational background, or experience, a person can get a job. For example, it concerns people with anxiety about job interviews, lack of work experience, a criminal record, or people with a disability. Employers solve their staffing shortages with Open Hiring while people in a vulnerable position get a chance at a job.
Open Hiring brings various advantages and disadvantages. The benefits of Open Hiring Open Hiring offers employers a broader pool of applicants, but there are many other benefits:
Employees are more loyal and more motivated to keep their jobs. By offering people a job who would otherwise be excluded by other companies, you are more likely to have employees who appreciate the opportunity — and therefore are less likely to leave.
Employers who apply the Open Hiring concept are more likely to have a diverse workforce.
Hiring new candidates proceeds quickly. Because of the absence of preliminary interviews and screening, it is a short recruitment process. The money saved in this way can, for example, be used as a training budget for employees.
Employees acquire new skills while at the same time helping the community. The organization is seen as an entity that helps the community.
Although the concept brings many benefits for both employers and job seekers, there are nonetheless a number of drawbacks to Open Hiring.
Because no screening takes place beforehand, you don't know who you're bringing into your home. Depending on the workplace – for example a daycare center – you can ask for a VOG.
Because there are no preliminary interviews, you never know for sure whether you are bringing people into your organization with the right knowledge and skills. When it turns out there is not a good match, staff turnover in your organization increases. Therefore make sure you make it clear right at the door what you really must be able to do to be suitable for the job.
Keep in mind that a new employee does not have the right experience and diplomas. Depending on your industry, guiding a new employee costs time and money.
Open Hiring offers employers the opportunity to operate sustainably. By applying Open Hiring an inclusive organization is created in which all employees can flourish, regardless of their age, life stage, gender or background. Stefan Faaij, director at Van Alem Schoonmaak, is very positive about Open Hiring. “Open Hiring is for us partly a solution to the labor shortage. At the same time we want to remove the barriers for people to be able to come into our employment. We assume that someone who has come to us has the intrinsic motivation to get to work.”
Like any recruitment method, Open Hiring has advantages and disadvantages. When applying the concept in practice, you as an organization can set conditions. As an employer you have the final say in how the recruitment process can look within the organization. You can opt for a trial period or require that they take a course. Open Hiring gives people in vulnerable positions a chance to enter the workforce where they can thrive with the right support.
