3 is one of the leading mobile networks in the UK and is known as the challenger brand - constantly striving to improve the industry and offer innovative new products. 3UK is wholly owned by Hutchison Wampoa who operate the 3 network in eight countries with more than 10 million customers worldwide. In the highly competitive mobile market attracting the best talent is critical for market leadership. 3 must therefore ensure its recruitment process is as smooth and efficient as possible in order to provide candidates with a positive experience of the organisation and to portray a career at 3 as an attractive prospect.
An online recruitment strategy
Early in 2002, 3 made the decision to move all recruitment online. It was hoped that an e-recruitment solution would provide candidates with a more positive experience of the company by increasing the efficiency and speed of the hiring process. 3 also wanted to make the process easier as well as more transparent and efficient for managers to enable them to cope better with large volumes of applications and interviews.
3 had historically used a combination of Microsoft Excel spreadsheets and Outlook to manage its recruitment campaign. While this system was adequate, it was admin heavy and involved a great deal of co-ordination between the teams in charge of recruitment. The process was also inconsistent and the reporting system was ad hoc.
Following a pilot phase, Jobpartnersí e-recruitment solution, ActiveRecruiter, which has been designed to manage the entire recruitment process, was rolled out across the UK in 2002. After four years of using ActiveRecruiter, 3 re-tendered at the end of 2006 in order to meet procurement rules and to review the market to ensure it had the best solution available. The company chose to continue to work with Jobpartners based on past successful experience of using ActiveRecruiter and because the proposed solution met 3ís specific requirements for the future.
An impressive candidate experience
3 has five candidate gateways on ActiveRecruiter. Two of these are external ñ one is aimed at finding candidates for 3ís retail stores in the UK, while the second is aimed at recruiting for 3ís UK contact centre and head office functions, including sales, marketing and finance. There is also an external gateway specifically for Ireland plus two internal gateways, one for retail and the other for contact centres and head office functions, to enable existing employees to apply for vacancies. The internal candidate gateways have simplified the process of applying for jobs for current employees.
3 has recently re-designed its careers website. The key driver behind the redesign was to make the website as simple as possible so that applying for a job is a smooth and straightforward process.
ìAs recruitment professionals, we can learn a lot from marketing,î explained Rebecca Baker, head of recruitment and talent at 3. ìI believe that the application process should have the same look and feel as a well designed e-commerce site. The job search function has been greatly simplified and the application process should now take no longer than 10 minutes compared to 30 minutes prior to the redesign.î
Using ActiveRecruiter, candidates can gain an insight into what a career at 3 would be like through watching short video clips of employees talking about life at 3. Candidates can create and update their profile, search for positions and create email alerts for roles matching their criteria. They can also monitor the progress of their application online. If the candidate is a 3 customer, select vacancies can be viewed on their mobile phones.
3 continues to expand its retail network at an impressive rate. To manage the recruitment process in each store, 3 has given every manager direct ownership of the recruitment process for their store. This has enabled 3 to reduce its centrally based retail recruitment team to a minimum.
Enhancing the employer brand
In a very competitive skills market, online recruitment provides a prompt and professional service to 3ís candidates, which helps to differentiate the company and to attract top talent. The solution also has a positive effect on employer brand as Rebecca Baker explains:
ìThe solution has enhanced our employer brand by improving the application experience as candidates can now track the status of their application at every stage, and by ensuring that the recruitment process is consistent across the company.î
Furthermore, administration requirements have been reduced with the introduction of ActiveRecruiter, and the company has lowered its reliance on external recruitment agencies. In 2002, 3 sourced 41 per cent of its total UK hires from agencies ñ this figure has now dropped to just 19 per cent, effectively saving 1,760 per hire on average as a result of not incurring agency fees. 3 has also increased its direct hires from 17 per cent in 2002 to 36 per cent in 2007.
Finally, ActiveRecruiter has opened up the opportunity to simultaneously post jobs to multiple channels such as job-boards, the corporate website, universities and recruitment agencies. This is a huge time saver for the 3 recruitment team and enables them to take full advantage of emerging new technologies and methods in recruitment advertising and selection.
3 Attracts Top Talent with Online Recruitment Solution from Jobpartners
.
