World Duty Free Recruitment Projects – Edinburgh, Glasgow & Birmingham Airport
Recruiting Retail Talent for a High-Profile Airport Environment
Retail Human Resources (RHR) partnered with World Duty Free Group (WDFG) to deliver a targeted recruitment campaign for Edinburgh, Glasgow and Birmingham Airports, supporting the business with the appointment of both permanent and seasonal retail colleagues.
The project focused on the recruitment of:
- 30 Permanent Retail Positions
- 120 Seasonal Retail Positions
Operating within a fast-paced airport retail environment, the campaign required a high-volume attraction strategy combined with a robust screening and candidate management process to ensure only the most suitable candidates progressed through to interview and onboarding.
Multi-Channel Candidate Attraction Strategy
To generate a strong pipeline of talent, RHR launched a comprehensive advertising campaign across a range of specialist retail recruitment channels, including:
| RHR.co.uk | The Retail Appointment (TRAP) |
| Indeed | The Retail Appointment Magazine |
As part of the campaign, The Retail Appointment magazine was distributed to retail and hospitality businesses within commuting distance of Edinburgh Airport, helping to maximise local candidate reach and attract experienced customer-facing professionals.
End-to-End Candidate Management
RHR managed the entire recruitment process from application through to offer stage, providing a seamless experience for both candidates and the client.
This included:
| Application management and candidate screening | CV shortlisting against agreed hiring criteria |
| Telephone interviews and suitability assessments | Candidate feedback and communication |
| Interview scheduling and attendance management | Offer administration and referencing support |
Every shortlisted candidate completed a structured telephone screening process designed to assess their suitability for working in a busy airport retail environment and to ensure alignment with WDFG's customer service standards.
Interview Coordination and Attendance Management
Following successful telephone screening, candidates were booked onto assessment and interview events with the World Duty Free hiring team.
To maximise attendance and minimise recruitment delays, RHR:
| Confirmed candidate attendance 48 hours prior to interviews | Managed candidate withdrawals and cancellations |
| Replaced interview slots wherever possible | Maintained regular communication throughout the process |
This proactive approach helped reduce candidate drop-out rates and ensured assessment events operated at maximum capacity.
Offer Management and Onboarding Support
Following interviews, RHR managed all candidate communications, informing applicants of outcomes and providing feedback where appropriate.
For successful candidates, RHR continued to support the recruitment process by:
| Managing offer acceptance | Coordinating employment references |
| Liaising with the appointed referencing provider | Maintaining candidate engagement throughout pre-employment checks |
| Supporting onboarding administration |
This level of ongoing candidate care helped reduce attrition during the critical period between offer acceptance and employment commencement.
Project Volumes
Based on previous recruitment campaigns of a similar nature, the project was designed to accommodate a significant volume of applications:
| 2000 applications received | 1200 telephone screenings completed |
| 800 candidates booked for assessment | 400 candidates interviewed |
| 200 employment offers made | 150 successful hires on boarded |
Project Outcome
The campaign demonstrated RHR's expertise in delivering efficient, high-volume recruitment solutions within the retail and hospitality sectors. By combining targeted attraction methods, structured screening processes and proactive candidate engagement, RHR successfully supported World Duty Free Group in securing high-quality retail talent for one of the UK's busiest airport environments.
Key Project Highlights
| Full end-to-end recruitment management | Multi-channel advertising campaign |
| 2000+ applications managed | 1200 candidate telephone interviews conducted |
| Interview and assessment coordination | Offer, referencing and onboarding support |
| Successful recruitment of both permanent and seasonal retail colleagues |
This project showcases RHR's ability to deliver scalable recruitment campaigns that balance candidate quality, recruitment efficiency and exceptional candidate experience.
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