RefScore Transparenz

Wie Ihr professioneller Referenz-Score funktioniert

Zuletzt aktualisiert: 2026-01-20Geschatzte Lesezeit: 10 Minuten

Quick Summary

RefScore is a behavioral score (1-5) calculated from your verified professional references. It helps employers understand your workplace behaviors, but cannot be the sole basis for any hiring decision. You have full control: view, contest, or delete your score at any time.

See Your Score

Definition

RefScore is a behavioral score calculated on a scale of 1 to 5, based on assessments provided by your verified professional and personal references.

Important: RefScore is a decision-support tool. It does not replace the job interview, the employer's human judgment, or your CV. No hiring decision can be made solely on the basis of this score.

Purpose

Provide structured and verifiable information about your workplace behaviors
Replace informal and non-standardized telephone reference checks
Give you a portable "professional passport" between employers
Protect the anonymity of your references while ensuring assessment authenticity

What RefScore Measures

RefScore measures observable workplace behaviors, as reported by people who have worked with you.

What RefScore Does NOT Measure

Your intelligence or cognitive abilities
Your job-specific technical skills
Your personality or character traits
Your future potential
Your political, union, or religious opinions
Any characteristic protected by law

Data Used

Your RefScore is based on your references' responses to a standardized questionnaire. Each reference answers multiple questions on a scale of 1 to 5.

Example Workplace Behaviors Assessed

The RefScore questionnaire assesses 96 Behaviorally Anchored Observations (BAOs) across 21 Work Styles. Here are examples of the professional behaviors evaluated:

Behavior	What It Measures	Example
Reliability / Punctuality	Meeting commitments, schedules, and deadlines	Arriving on time, meeting deadlines
Work Quality	Attention to detail, rigor, precision	Careful work, few errors
Teamwork	Collaboration, helpfulness, communication	Helps colleagues, shares information
Adaptability	Flexibility in changing conditions, learning	Adapts to new situations
Professionalism	Ethical behavior, integrity, attitude	Respectful, honest, positive
Problem-Solving	Ability to identify and resolve difficulties	Finds solutions, takes initiative
Customer Service	Attention to others' needs	Listens, responds to requests
Integrity	Honesty, moral reliability, trustworthiness	Trustworthy, keeps promises

Reliability / Punctuality

Meeting commitments, schedules, and deadlines

Example: Arriving on time, meeting deadlines

Work Quality

Attention to detail, rigor, precision

Example: Careful work, few errors

Teamwork

Collaboration, helpfulness, communication

Example: Helps colleagues, shares information

Adaptability

Flexibility in changing conditions, learning

Example: Adapts to new situations

Professionalism

Ethical behavior, integrity, attitude

Example: Respectful, honest, positive

Problem-Solving

Ability to identify and resolve difficulties

Example: Finds solutions, takes initiative

Customer Service

Attention to others' needs

Example: Listens, responds to requests

Integrity

Honesty, moral reliability, trustworthiness

Example: Trustworthy, keeps promises

Calculation Logic

Collection

Your references answer the questionnaire. Each response is rated from 1 (low) to 5 (excellent).

Weighting

Responses are weighted according to relationship duration, recency of contact, reference type, and professional relevance.

Aggregation

The weighted scores from all your references are combined into an overall score.

Display

The score is displayed with a margin of uncertainty (confidence interval).

Weighting Factors

Factor	Effect	Reason
Relationship duration	Longer = more reliable	More behavioral observations
Recency of contact	More recent = more relevant	Better reflects current behaviors
Reference type	Variable weight	Adapted to your experience level
Professional relevance	Similar context = more predictive	Reference from similar job more relevant

Display Threshold

To protect your references' anonymity, your RefScore is only displayed after at least 5 verified references. Before this threshold, your score is "under construction" and is not visible to you or employers.

Like any measurement tool, RefScore has a margin of uncertainty. We communicate this uncertainty transparently via a confidence interval.

Example

A RefScore displayed as 4.2 +/- 0.7 means: your calculated score is 4.2, the margin of uncertainty is +/- 0.7, and your "true" score is very likely between 3.5 and 4.9.

The confidence interval reflects the normal variation in how different people perceive the same behaviors. Two references may evaluate the same behavior slightly differently, not because one is wrong, but because human observation naturally varies.

For Employers

Two candidates with scores whose intervals overlap should not be considered significantly different. RefScore should be one element among others in their decision.

What Employers See

Your overall score (with confidence interval)
The number of verified references
A general indication (positive references, mixed, etc.)
The diversity of your references (types represented)

What Employers Do NOT See

Your references' identities (names, contact information)
Individual responses from each reference
Specific comments
The source of a positive or negative assessment

Employer Commitments

Not using RefScore as the sole criterion for hiring decisions
Considering RefScore as one piece of information among others
Respecting your right to a human explanation of any decision
Not discriminating based on protected characteristics

Technical Limitations

No automated filtering without human intervention
No automatic rejection decisions
No comparing more than 100 candidates simultaneously

As a candidate using Open HR, you have the following rights, guaranteed by GDPR and applicable law.

Right of Access

View your RefScore and all your personal data at any time.

View my data

Right to Rectification

Correct inaccurate factual information about you.

Request correction

Right to Contest

Challenge your score or request human intervention.

Contest my score

Right to Erasure

Delete your account and all associated data.

Delete my data

Right to Portability

Receive your data in a structured, readable format.

Export my data

Contest Options

Option 1:Enrich your profile by adding new references

Option 2:Request a review at privacy@open-hr.fr

Option 3:Request exclusion from a specific employer

Option 4:Request human intervention for any decision concerning you

Our Commitment

Open HR formally commits that RefScore does not discriminate based on:

Origin, nationality, ethnicity
Sex, sexual orientation, gender identity
Age, disability
Political, union, or religious opinions
Family situation, pregnancy status
Physical appearance, place of residence
Any other characteristic protected by law

Non-Discriminatory Design

No question addresses protected characteristics
Questions focus only on observable work-related behaviors
Aggregation of multiple references reduces impact of individual biases
Weighting is based on ISCO-08 occupational classification, not personal criteria

Fairness Monitoring

Quarterly analysis of score distributions (four-fifths rule)
Annual audit by independent psychometrics expert
Emergency stop procedure if systemic discrimination detected
Publication of aggregated fairness results

Report Discrimination

If you believe you have been discriminated against based on your RefScore, contact us immediately. We will acknowledge receipt within 48 hours and provide a report within 30 days.

discrimination@open-hr.fr

Methodological Foundations

Structured questionnaire with behavioral anchors
Multi-source aggregation (multiple references)
Weighting based on academic research
Confidence intervals to communicate uncertainty

Scientific References

Principles for the Validation and Use of Personnel Selection Procedures (SIOP, 2018)
Research on structured reference checks (Conway & Huffcutt, 1997; Taylor et al., 2004)
French and European standards for professional assessment

Ongoing Validation

Validation studies after launch (correlation with job performance)
Publication of study results
Continuous algorithm improvement based on empirical data

Questions About RefScore

privacy@open-hr.fr

Response time: 5 business days maximum

Data Protection Officer

dpo@open-hr.fr

Open HR SASU, DPO, 60 rue Francois 1er, 75008 Paris

Complaint to Supervisory Authority

If you believe your rights are not being respected after contacting Open HR, you can file a complaint with the CNIL:

CNIL - Commission Nationale de l'Informatique et des Libertes

https://www.cnil.fr

Legal Basis

GDPREU AI ActCode du travail

GDPR Articles 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 20, 21, 22
Code du travail L1221-8 (recruitment methods)
Code du travail L1132-1 (non-discrimination)
CNIL Deliberation No. 2018-326 (DPIA required)

Open HR SASU

SIREN: 994 927 242

60 rue Francois 1er, 75008 Paris, France