World Duty Free Recruitment Projects – Edinburgh, Glasgow & Birmingham Airport
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.
Recruiting Retail Talent for a High-Profile Airport Environment
The project focused on the recruitment of:
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:
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:
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:
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:
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:
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
This project showcases RHR's ability to deliver scalable recruitment campaigns that balance candidate quality, recruitment efficiency and exceptional candidate experience.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was RHR's role in the World Duty Free recruitment project?
RHR partnered with World Duty Free Group (WDFG) to deliver a targeted recruitment campaign for Edinburgh, Glasgow and Birmingham Airports, managing the entire process from candidate attraction through to offer and onboarding for both permanent and seasonal retail colleagues.
How many positions were recruited?
The project focused on 30 permanent retail positions and 120 seasonal retail positions across the three airport locations, operating within a fast-paced, high-profile airport retail environment.
How did RHR attract candidates for the campaign?
RHR ran a multi-channel advertising campaign across specialist retail recruitment channels, including RHR.co.uk and The Retail Appointment, as well as Indeed and The Retail Appointment magazine, which was distributed to retail and hospitality businesses within commuting distance of Edinburgh Airport to maximise local candidate reach.
What did the candidate management process involve?
Every shortlisted candidate went through structured telephone screening, followed by coordinated assessment and interview events with the World Duty Free hiring team. RHR confirmed attendance 48 hours ahead of interviews, managed withdrawals and cancellations, and replaced slots wherever possible to keep assessment events running at full capacity.
What were the results of the campaign?
The campaign was designed to accommodate around 2,000 applications, 1,200 telephone screenings, 800 candidates booked for assessment, 400 interviewed, 200 offers made and 150 successful hires onboarded — demonstrating RHR's ability to run efficient, high-volume recruitment at scale for a busy airport retail environment.
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