This case focuses on the types of employees that Deloitte, a transnational ‘Big Four’ accounting firm, seeks to recruit and retain. Deloitte, like other firms, goes to extraordinary lengths to recruit the ‘best and brightest’ as well as to retain talented employees. A key means by which Deloitte recruits talented employees is seeking out graduates of England’s Teach First program, which was launched in 2002 and is loosely modeled on the Teach For America program in the United States. “Teach First recruits top [university] graduates by offering them a challenge: intensive training, full teacher certification, and the chance to help turn around a failing school—all within two years.” Another means for securing the best and brightest is through appropriate abilities and skills screening to ensure that prospective employees can perform required job tasks. Deloitte also uses personality testing, vocational interest testing, and other forms of diagnosis as an aid in the redirection and retention of existing employees who are talented but not particularly satisfied with their work situation or career prospects.

A key focus of Chapter 3 is the discussion of different personality characteristics and traits, including the “Big Five” personality factors of extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, and openness to experience; locus of control; self-efficacy; and self-esteem. All of these personality dimensions are relevant to Deloitte’s recruitment of the best and brightest employees. In addition, the Myers-Briggs personality theory is relevant to the Deloitte Career Connections (DCC) program that helps “dissatisfied staff to figure out interests and skills that might be a better fit somewhere else in the organization.” Chapter 3 also discusses social perception and attribution, both of which can be related to recruiting graduates of the Teach First program and helping existing employees through the DCC program.

Question

1. Using the descriptions of different behaviors, attitudes, and abilities that Deloitte seems to deem desirable in its applicants, describe the key personality characteristics that you think the company is seeking in its employees? Explain the reasoning behind your answer.
2. How might the characteristics of the perceiver, the target, and the situation affect the social perceptions that employers like Deloitte likely have regarding participants in the Teach First program?
3. What attributions are prospective employers like Deloitte likely making regarding participants in the Teach First program? Why are employers making these attributions?
4. How can the use of personality and vocational interest testing benefit Deloitte? What risks might be associated with Deloitte’s use of these testing devices?
5. How might social perception and attribution processes factor into the operation of the Deloitte Career Connections (DCC) program?