Arsenal Football Club Matchday & Stadium Tours Recruitment Project
High-Volume Recruitment Campaign for Over 250 Casual Positions
Retail Human Resources (RHR) was selected by Arsenal Football Club to manage a number of large-scale recruitment campaigns on an annual basis to support matchday and visitor operations at Emirates Stadium.
To deliver these appointments within a tight timeframe, RHR provided a full end-to-end recruitment solution, managing the entire candidate journey from attraction through to offer management and onboarding support.
Attracting Thousands of Candidates
To generate the volume of applicants required, RHR launched a multi-channel recruitment advertising campaign across leading online job boards, alongside Arsenal’s own recruitment channels, including:
All applications were routed through RHR’s online application portal, allowing the Response Management team to efficiently manage and track candidate progress.
Managing a Large-Scale Screening Process
Given the high-volume nature of the campaign, RHR handled all initial candidate assessments through a structured telephone screening process designed to identify candidates who met Arsenal’s requirements.
The campaign processed approximately:
| Casual Retail Assistants | Tour & Museum Hosts |
|---|---|
| 4,000 applications received | 1,000 applications received |
| 2,500 telephone interviews completed | 800 telephone interviews completed |
| 1,500 candidates booked onto assessment centres | 500 candidates booked onto assessment centres |
| 600 candidates assessed | 200 candidates assessed |
| 250 offers made | 70 offers made |
| 200 successful hires | 50 successful hires |
Assessment Centre Management
RHR coordinated all assessment centre activity, including:
Candidate booking and scheduling
Assessment confirmations
Attendance management
Candidate communication
Assessment packs and interviewer schedules
Ongoing reporting and recruitment metrics
Recognising the challenges of large-scale volume recruitment, RHR actively managed candidate engagement throughout the process, including regular follow-up activity to minimise drop-out rates and maximise attendance at assessment events.
Compliance and Onboarding Support
The project also included significant pre-employment and onboarding administration, including:
DBS registration follow-up
Candidate document collection
Offer management
Reference checking
Candidate data capture for payroll and HR onboarding
RHR maintained regular contact with candidates and referees to ensure all employment checks were completed within agreed project deadlines.
Delivering a Seamless Candidate Experience
Successful and unsuccessful candidates were kept informed throughout the recruitment process, ensuring a positive candidate experience and safeguarding Arsenal Football Club’s employer brand.
The campaign concluded with a full handover of successful candidates to Arsenal’s HR team, providing all relevant onboarding information and completed employment documentation.
Project Impact
This recruitment campaign demonstrated RHR’s ability to successfully deliver high-volume recruitment projects for globally recognised brands, managing thousands of applications while maintaining candidate engagement, compliance standards and recruitment quality.
Results at a glance:
applications managed
assessment centre bookings coordinated
successful hires delivered
telephone screenings completed
job offers administered
Full recruitment, compliance and onboarding support provided
The project showcases RHR’s expertise in large-scale recruitment campaigns, assessment centre management and candidate engagement, helping Arsenal Football Club secure the talent needed to deliver an exceptional matchday and visitor experience.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about running a high-volume recruitment campaign like this one.
What is high-volume recruitment?
High-volume recruitment is the process of filling a large number of positions within a tight timeframe, often for a single client or seasonal project. On this project, RHR was engaged to fill an average of 200 Casual Matchday Retail Assistant and 50 Casual Tour & Museum Host positions for Arsenal Football Club, managing the full candidate journey from attraction through to offer management and onboarding support.
How does RHR manage thousands of applications during a large-scale campaign?
RHR runs a multi-channel recruitment advertising campaign across leading online job boards alongside the client’s own recruitment channels. All applications are routed through RHR’s online application portal, allowing the Response Management team to efficiently manage and track candidate progress from first application through to hire.
What does RHR’s assessment centre management involve?
RHR coordinates all assessment centre activity, including candidate booking and scheduling, assessment confirmations, attendance management, candidate communication, assessment packs and interviewer schedules, and ongoing reporting and recruitment metrics. Throughout the process, RHR actively manages candidate engagement with regular follow-up activity to minimise drop-out rates and maximise attendance at assessment events.
What compliance and onboarding support does RHR provide?
RHR handles the pre-employment and onboarding administration behind a high-volume campaign, including DBS registration follow-up, candidate document collection, offer management, reference checking, and candidate data capture for payroll and HR onboarding – maintaining regular contact with candidates and referees to ensure all employment checks are completed within agreed project deadlines.
What results can a high-volume recruitment campaign like this deliver?
On the Arsenal Football Club project, RHR managed over 5,000 applications and 3,300 telephone screenings, coordinated 2,000 assessment centre bookings, administered 320 job offers, and delivered 250 successful hires – all while providing full recruitment, compliance and onboarding support and maintaining a positive candidate experience throughout.
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