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Companies looking to fill new positions face lengthy selection processes. But open hiring is another route that can fill posts bypassing traditional screening methods by simply taking on the first qualified applicant for a job.
Believe it or not, you can land a job without having an interview or a selection process thanks to “open hiring.”
The usual procedures are familiar: A company posts a job, applications pour in, the personnel department examines them and passes the promising ones on to the respective company departments.
Then managers review the applications, debate the comparative merits of the applicants and interview them. Then comes further discussion as to which candidate is the best for the post.
One candidate is chosen, the others receive rejection letters. Some promising candidates might be put on a waiting list for later.
The problem with this selection process is that, beside the time invested, there is a major danger that employers might unconsciously show prejudice in their choice – and possibly not fill the job opening with the best candidate.
It is such wrong choices that open hiring seeks to avoid. So how does it work? Here are some questions and answers provided by leading human resources experts:
What exactly is meant by open hiring?
The open hiring idea comes from the United States. A major bakery producing brownies began the practice back in the early 1980s. Job openings are filled without a selection process, says Monika V. Kronbuegel, an executive board member of the German Federation of Human Resource Managers (BPM).
The job is posted and the first application, often filed electronically, wins. A German Labour Office publication calls this “first come, first served.” Other applicants are put on a follow-up list.
The idea is that employers should be as open-minded as possible when meeting talented candidates. Age, gender, appearance, background: All these factors which come to play in a job interview and influence a decision fall by the wayside.
How widespread is open hiring in actual practice?
“So far, open hiring is only a peripheral phenomenon,” says Professor Enzo Weber of the Institute for Labour Market and Occupational Research (IAB) in Nuremberg. To date in Germany, only a small proportion of employers have tried open hiring but the concept could catch on in the future.
The sometimes pronounced shortage of labour and skilled workers is virtually forcing this trend, says Kronbuegel, who is chief executive officer of the consulting company Global Division in Hamburg. Open hiring is quick, and does not involve testing standards which possibly could stand in the way of even filling a job opening.
Ideally, open hiring would go well for example in facility management, truck driving or warehouse work. On the other hand, the practice would not be suited for every business branch — and above all not for more highly-qualified positions, he says. Jobs with more complex demands, such as medical practitioners or lawyers, are not suited to the open hiring process.
What is to be said for open hiring, what against?
According to Weber, open hiring can boost diversity. Kronbuegel cites one further advantage: “Possible gaps in a resume are irrelevant because they don’t even become an issue in the application process.” This prevents people with such gaps from being pigeonholed, she says.
However, there are also disadvantages, the most pertinent one being that important information as to how well a person is suited for the position is not known. “As such, open hiring in a pure form has less potential for more complex job positions than for those with simpler demands,” Weber says.
In his estimation, the open hiring principle could in future be part of a mixed approach, meaning that conventional application and selection processes are not completely abandoned, but might be greatly simplified and digitalized.
A further disadvantage, Weber says, is that the “first come, first served” principle does not absolutely guarantee equal opportunity.
What should companies and job candidates keep in mind with open hiring?
Companies should see to it that the job is clearly described, what demands the applicants should be able to fulfill, and what tasks will be expected of them. “Flowery descriptions make no sense here. Facts must be presented in the job posting,” Kronbuegel says.
Job candidates for their part must be aware that companies which choose them in open hiring are giving them their trust up front, she adds. “Therefore they should be absolutely honest about their capabilities and knowledge and not try to deceive themselves and potential employers in this area.”
At this point, those who do not stick to the truth will sooner or later be exposed — and possibly also be quickly out of a job again.
Written by Sabine Meuter for DEUTSCHE PRESSE-AGENTUR GMBH as “Does open hiring work when it comes to filling job vacancies?” and republished with permission.
