The financial services firm has scrapped multi-stage assessments in a bid to appease frustrated millennials.
Global accountancy firm KPMG is streamlining its graduate scheme recruitment process after internal research revealed that its millennial applicants were frustrated at the multiple stages of its old system.
Applicants for KPMG’s UK graduate scheme were formerly made to go through three separate assessments over several weeks, and research revealed that millennial applicants were not happy.
The firm surveyed 400 new graduates who had applied for roles in the UK this summer, and found that over one-third were annoyed at how long the recruitment process took and the lengthy wait to find out the outcome of their application.
Over half of those surveyed also expressed disappointment at not receiving any feedback if they had been unsuccessful.
The firm says it has now overhauled the process: applicants will be assessed during the course of one day, and will receive a job offer or feedback on why they have not been offered the position within two days.
Simon Collins, UK Chairman and Senior Partner of KPMG, said the company felt it had to make the changes to make sure it could compete with smaller start-up or tech firms, which tend to offer a faster recruitment process, to secure the best graduate employees, BBC News reported.
Collins said: “We are competing with the full gamut for the best brains and talent leaving university: getting our graduate recruitment right is crucial to the long term success of our business.”
Collins suggested that business leaders need to understand and address the fact that “Millennials don’t want to navigate a cumbersome and convoluted recruitment process when applying for a job.”
The move comes hot on the heels of other global companies which have changed their recruitment strategies to better suit millennials.
US investment bank Goldman Sachs announced last month that it would scrap face-to-face interviews on university campuses in favour of video interviews, and accountancy firm Deloitte changed its selection process last year so that recruiters can no longer see which university candidates studied at.
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Applicants for KPMG’s UK graduate scheme were formerly made to go through three separate assessments over several weeks, and research revealed that millennial applicants were not happy.
The firm surveyed 400 new graduates who had applied for roles in the UK this summer, and found that over one-third were annoyed at how long the recruitment process took and the lengthy wait to find out the outcome of their application.
Over half of those surveyed also expressed disappointment at not receiving any feedback if they had been unsuccessful.
The firm says it has now overhauled the process: applicants will be assessed during the course of one day, and will receive a job offer or feedback on why they have not been offered the position within two days.
Simon Collins, UK Chairman and Senior Partner of KPMG, said the company felt it had to make the changes to make sure it could compete with smaller start-up or tech firms, which tend to offer a faster recruitment process, to secure the best graduate employees, BBC News reported.
Collins said: “We are competing with the full gamut for the best brains and talent leaving university: getting our graduate recruitment right is crucial to the long term success of our business.”
Collins suggested that business leaders need to understand and address the fact that “Millennials don’t want to navigate a cumbersome and convoluted recruitment process when applying for a job.”
The move comes hot on the heels of other global companies which have changed their recruitment strategies to better suit millennials.
US investment bank Goldman Sachs announced last month that it would scrap face-to-face interviews on university campuses in favour of video interviews, and accountancy firm Deloitte changed its selection process last year so that recruiters can no longer see which university candidates studied at.
Recent stories:
Union to appeal minimum-wage ruling
Kiwi’s landmark wage case overturned
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