KPMG has combined the process of assessment into one day, so that applicants will find out the result within two days. Previously, the three assessments were spread out over the course of a few weeks.
With three quarters of the workforce expected to be made up of millennials by 2025, big businesses like KPMG feel they have to work harder to attract these graduates, described as the “best brains and talent leaving university” by the chairman of KPMG in the UK, Simon Collins.
“Getting our graduate recruitment right is crucial to the long-term success of our business,” he added. “Millennials no longer feel the need to play it safe and most are now equally happy to work for a start-up or tech firm as they are a large traditional employer.”
The changes are partly to combat the increasing competition from smaller businesses, which have shorter recruitment processes. It has also been suggested that smaller businesses are more likely to appeal to millennial workers by providing a better work-life balance and encouraging personal passions.
KPMG’s survey of 400 of this summer’s graduate applicants to big businesses found that more than half of those interviewed were frustrated by the lack of information provided after an unsuccessful application, while one third were unhappy about the lengthy recruitment process.
