A revolutionary step by professional services giant Deloitte, preventing internal recruiters from knowing where candidates schooled or attended university, is being backed by a leading Midlands recruitment specialist.
Designed to put an end to unconscious bias and to enable companies to tap into a more diverse talent pool, the shift in policy is being welcomed by James Taylor, director of customer development and marketing at Macildowie. This comes just weeks after the East Midlands-based recruitment consultancy appealed to recruiters to scrap the ‘posh test’ – whereby premeditated judgments concerning class and education are made about candidates prior to interview.
James comments: “There has long been an unofficial nod in the recruitment sector to a shared background or network that favours candidates who attended a ‘red brick’ university. However, I believe any criterion that bars talented individuals because of their background is counter-productive.
“This new university-blind approach to selection will enable recruiters to seek out true potential and to prevent the recruitment process producing an intake from a narrow range of universities and social backgrounds.
“Excluding candidates with outstanding potential because of their place of birth or school opportunities is very short sighted and hopefully will become a thing of the past.
“It’s best to recruit someone whose personality and personal values match those of your team culture. You want someone who can fit into the dynamic of the team yet challenge it to become even better.
“Cultural fit is all important. It’s more important to understand whether candidates share the values you and your businesses cherish than to focus on where they were educated. Skills can be taught, but attitude cannot be easily replicated.”