Next generation work
Open hiring
Open Hiring® means that you just get a job if you want to. Without a job interview, a CV or any government interference.
This project is co-financed by the European Social Fund (ESF), the European Union and the Flemish Government.
Open Hiring® is a new recruitment technique from the USA, which is currently being tested in the Netherlands. There are no concrete results yet, but the initial response in the Netherlands has been generally positive. In 2020, Ghent University, in collaboration with the City of Ghent, UNIZO East Flanders and Antwerp Management School, will investigate if and how Open Hiring® can be applied in Flanders. If it turns out that Open Hiring® is applicable in Flanders and that employers are open to it, Open Hiring® will be tested with a limited number of companies in 2021.
"No job interview needed. Open Hiring® means that you just start a new job if you want to. Without a job interview, CV or any interference from the government. Everyone is welcome, no matter your history, education or experience. We all have our own story. All that matters is what you want to, and will, do today, what you're realizing right now. No questions asked.
During our recruitment and selection processes we consciously and unconsciously exclude numerous people. Open Hiring® leaves no opportunity for the usual biases and reservations. As an employer, you put people's potential on top of your list, and you engage with the local community to which your organization belongs. The door is open."
More information about the Dutch experiment can be found here.
Feasibility study
The project will be launched in January 2020. We will start with a feasibility study, in which we will examine how Open Hiring® can be applied in Flanders (e.g. for which jobs, using which employment contracts or with which support). In January 2021 we will test this recruitment technique with a limited number of employers in the Ghent region. The labor reserve of the City of Ghent mainly consists of low skilled job seekers and inactive persons with a migration background. During these pilot tests we will investigate why, and for whom, Open Hiring® works best.
innovative recruitment technique
Open Hiring® is an innovative recruitment technique that does not require a CV, motivation letter, reference check or job interview. Everyone is welcome, regardless of his or her background, education or experience. The aim is to avoid conscious or unconscious discrimination.
Pilot test Ghent region
Starting point of this project’s research design is the question if Open Hiring® is applicable in Flanders. The Open Hiring® model from the US and the Netherlands cannot be transferred automatically to the Flemish labor market and legislation. During the feasibility study (2020), Ghent University will investigate if, and in what form, Open Hiring® can be applied in Flanders (Type of employment contract? For which job titles? Required framework? Which assessment procedure? Etc.). Only if Open Hiring® turns out to be feasible and desirable, the technique will be tested on a small scale with a limited number of companies (2021) in the Ghent region. This pilot test will be combined with an impact measurement, in which the concrete effects of Open Hiring® will be monitored.
