Targeted recruitment earns niche talent for O2

Challenges

Recruitment for niche cyber security roles

O2, part of the Telefonica group, is one of the United Kingdom’s largest and most successful mobile telecommunications 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, the provider has access to more customer information than ever before. For O2, more data means an increased focus on data security.

The provider needed to create a new security operation center team of niche security specialists in an area of the UK without a wide cyber security talent base. So O2 turned to Cielo, its longstanding Recruitment Process Outsourcing and talent solutions partner.

Solutions

Online and offline recruitment

O2 and Cielo collaborated to create 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. The two company’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 offline – such as billboards and print advertisements close to the site and in local newspapers – ensuring blanketed coverage of the area. Alongside this online and offline presence, the Cielo team attended two cyber security events. This allowed the recruitment team to engage top talent for O2’s multiple requirements and position O2 as an employer of choice in this highly niche field.

Results

Targeted recruitment for targeted results

Less than six months after the initial project kick off, the partnership unlocked impactful results for O2. With 600 applications received and 90 interviews completed, all 14 original roles were filled, plus seven cyber specialist positions.

Cielo’s on-site 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 on-site team for internal recognition.