Targeted Recruitment for O2

The Challenge
O2, part of the Telefonica group, is one of the UK’s largest and most successful mobile telecoms providers. Its success is thanks to its adaptation to an evolving market landscape. Today, O2 is much more than a telecommunications provider. With a range of services that includes car insurance and smart metering, O2 has access to more customer information than ever before. For O2, more data means an increased focus on data security.

Faced with the need to create a new Security Operation Centre (SOC) team of niche security specialists in a part of the UK that does not possess a wide cyber security talent base, O2 turned to Cielo, with which it has shared long-standing Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) and talent solutions partnership.

The Solution
Cielo created a branded, multi-tiered brand promotion and attraction strategy, delivered via nine media channels including general and specialist job boards, special events, owned and paid social media, e-flyers and mailshots. Cielo’s and O2’s branding teams worked closely to create the campaign materials. Due to the team’s location and the need for shift work, advertising was also placed on offline channels such as billboards and print advertisements close to the site and in local newspapers, ensuring blanketed coverage of the area. Alongside this on- and offline presence, our team attended two cyber security events. This allowed the recruitment team to engage top talent for O2’s current requirements, but to also position O2 as an employer of choice within this highly specialized field.

The Results
Less than six months after the initial project kick off, with 600 applications received and 90 interviews completed, all 14 original roles were filled, plus seven cyber specialist positions.

Cielo’s onsite team used their talent market expertise to select a wide variety of channels that maximized visibility and successfully attracted the right talent in the right numbers. One third of the open positions were filled by fostering relationships with candidates that were at the cyber security events.

The success of this project had such an impact on the business that O2’s Business Development Director nominated the Cielo onsite team for an internal recognition.