Frequently Asked Questions

Tent is a network of over 500 major companies across the Americas and Europe that are committed to helping refugees enter the workforce through job preparation and employment.

Tent currently operates in 11 countries around the world: Canada, Colombia, France, Germany, Mexico, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Despite having a variety of backgrounds and professional qualifications, refugees often struggle to secure employment due to structural barriers including:

- Unfamiliarity with online job boards as well as local interview and workplace etiquette
- Lack of professional and social networks
- Limited access to transportation
- Language demands in the interview process that exceed what is needed to perform the job
- HR processes that inadvertently screen out resumes

Tent provides a host of free services to our member companies which may include:

- Tailored guidance on how to set up – and scale up – successful refugee hiring programs
- Resources, trainings, and best practices, distilled from Tent’s global network of companies and tailored to the local context
- Peer-to-peer learning and regular convenings with other member companies
- Support around overcoming structural challenges to hiring and integrating refugees
- Recommendations on best-in-class partners that can connect companies to refugee talent

No. We advise and work with our member companies to hire only refugees with legal work authorization.

No, companies are not required to make a commitment when joining Tent.

A company that makes a hiring commitment is announcing an ambition to integrate more refugees into their workforce by adapting their sourcing, recruiting, and hiring processes – which allows them to address the barriers that refugees commonly face and ensure that qualified refugee candidates are given fair consideration. A commitment is not the establishment of a quota, but rather, a hiring estimate of what the likely outcome of these investments will be.

Absolutely not. In committing to hire refugees, companies are not favoring refugee candidates over others – that would be unlawful and unethical. Rather, it means committing to work with Tent to adapt their sourcing, recruiting, and hiring processes to better address the barriers refugees commonly face – and help ensure qualified candidates can access opportunities and receive fair consideration. In making their HR processes more inclusive, our member companies can reach a larger talent pool and ultimately hire the best candidates for the job.

No. Tent’s work with companies is focused on expanding talent pipelines to reach more qualified candidates, including refugees. This does not mean preferencing or favoring one candidate over another. Rather, the focus is on adapting sourcing, recruiting, and hiring processes to better address the barriers refugees commonly face – and help ensure qualified candidates can access opportunities and receive fair consideration. In making their HR processes more inclusive, companies can reach a larger talent pool while continuing to hire the best candidates for the job.

No, Tent membership and member services are free of charge.

Yes. If you’re interested in helping to accelerate our impact through financial support or pro bono expertise, please get in touch at [email protected].