O2 rewarded for Scottish recruitment drive

O2 has won a prestigious award in recognition of its successful drive to recruit up to 1500 employees at its flagship contact centre based in Glasgow.

Last night, O2 won the Industry Recruiter of the Year Award at the Scottish Recruitment Awards 2007, which recognises achievers in the recruitment industry who have excelled in the marketplace.

The accolade recognises O2ís implementation of a new recruitment process to attract additional high-calibre staff to its contact centre which was researched, designed by an external company and supported by management in-house in Glasgow.

The recruitment drive was crucial to support the growth and expansion of O2 in Scotland over the last year and an informed, structured campaign was implemented to attract and hire the best and broadest range of talent.

Using a process of Performance Based Selection to attract the right candidates, O2 undertook a process to effectively recruit, develop and retain talented individuals. This process is an auditable recruitment method that not only delivers results but ensures that employee engagement begins at the selection stage and continues throughout the employeeís career.

Since O2 opened for business at its contact centre in the Skypark, Finnieston, last year, it has recruited 950 employees ñ 300 of which were signed up from January 2007 using the new performance-based process.

By using Performance Based Selection, candidates engage with management from the outset, allowing them to grow, develop and expand their skills. Each candidate is assessed against the specific role requirements, which helps applicants to clearly understand the role they are applying for.

The recruitment team are using a process where candidates provided feedback both pre and post hire, to ensure a continued experience for the new employee and to monitor and utilise feedback to make the candidate experience even better. A full training programme was rolled out to managers and assessors so they fully understood the new recruitment process and its design.

Kirk Croal, Head of Consumer Offline at the Skypark in Glasgow, said, ìWe are delighted to win this award as weíve really worked hard to get best quality people into the Skypark in Glasgow. We have continually updated the way that we recruit new staff so that we get the best quality people for the job.

ìWe are sitting at 950 employees at the Skypark, ranging from customer service advisors to e-care and broadband advisors, which is a fantastic achievement in less than a year. O2 in Scotland is developing and expanding every day and we will continue to recruit more good people for our team to help support this business growth.

ìQuality customer service underpins O2ís core business so recruiting the best possible people is a priority, particularly with the on-going business expansion in Scotland.î