Rethinking Graduate Recruitment

Allianz

Allianz wanted to improve its graduate recruitment process and identify high-potential candidates who could think differently, innovate, and drive future business success.

The company needed a more efficient and scientifically robust way to select a small number of candidates from a very large global applicant pool.

Allianz received around 10,000 applications each year for its graduate management programme but hired only around 20 candidates.

Applicants progressed through several stages, including cognitive testing, written application responses, CV screening, and assessments based on a learning agility framework.

Although these methods were widely used, they:

Relied heavily on subjective judgement
Required extensive manual screening
Consumed significant time and resources
Included tools with limited scientific evidence for predicting job performance

As a result:

Recruitment was costly and inefficient
HR teams spent large amounts of time reviewing applications
Candidate evaluation lacked consistency
High-potential talent may have been overlooked

We partnered with Allianz to redesign the graduate recruitment process using behavioural science and organisational psychology.

First, we replaced parts of the existing process with assessment methods supported by stronger scientific evidence. We used the Measure of Entrepreneurial Talent (META) to pre-screen applicants and identify candidates with characteristics linked to high performance, innovation, and achievement.

Candidates who progressed were assessed using structured CV screening criteria informed by psychological research. We then developed competency-based telephone interviews based on our entrepreneurial talent framework.

Approximately 300 applicants completed the telephone interview stage, with around 50 candidates recommended for Allianz's assessment centres.

The new process combined psychometric assessment, evidence-based screening, and structured interviews to create a more efficient and scientifically informed approach to recruitment.

The process successfully reduced a pool of 10,000 applicants to a small group of high-potential candidates in a more consistent and efficient way.

Compared with the previous approach:

Recruitment became faster and more efficient
Time spent reviewing applications was significantly reduced
Assessment methods were based on stronger scientific evidence
Candidate quality improved throughout the selection process

The project demonstrated how behavioural science can improve large-scale recruitment and talent identification.

Instead of relying heavily on subjective screening methods, Allianz adopted a more evidence-based approach to candidate selection. This gave the company:

Significant time and cost savings
A faster and more efficient recruitment process
More consistent candidate evaluation
Greater use of scientifically supported assessment methods
Improved identification of high-potential graduate talent

The project showed how applying psychological science to recruitment can help organisations make better hiring decisions while improving efficiency and reducing costs.