How the Big Four accountants are shaking up traditional interviewing

Big Four auditor Deloitte has become the latest major company to abandon traditional academic requirements for employing career starters, but how are leading employers innovating their recruitment practices to find the best talent for their organisation?

For most business leaders, recruitment is one of their biggest challenges. Long gone are the days when employers were simply interested in hiring someone who can only carry out their job role. With the extensive costs and time spent acquiring new members to the team, many managers want to find candidates who fit in with the workplace culture, enjoy their work, display leadership qualities, show a willingness to learn new things and are likely to develop their careers long-term within the company. This is not to mention the positive impact superstar performers, especially in client-facing roles such as sales, can have on the company bottom line.

Therefore, getting hiring right is vital.

According to recent research by the Prince’s Trust and HSBC, almost three quarters (73%) of British businesses believe a skills crisis will hit the UK within the next three years. Almost a third (32%) of organisations report skills shortages at entry level, while 72% believe that the recruitment of young people into the workforce is vital to avert a skills crisis.

Firms are reacting by distancing themselves from traditional selection procedures. Deloitte has taken the surprising step of hiding the name of where applicants went to school or university from recruiters to prevent any "unconscious bias" from selectors.