Online recruitment connects 3 with top talent

Purpose – Reveals how mobile‐telephone company 3 is using e‐recruitment to attract top talent in a highly competitive market. Design/methodology/approach – Describes how the company made the decision in 2002 to move all recruitment online, and how the firm redesigned its careers website recently to make applying for a job as smooth and straightforward as possible. Highlights the lessons that recruitment specialists can learn from a company's marketers. Findings – Shows that e‐recruitment has increased the efficiency and speed of the hiring process, and made it easier for managers to cope with large volumes of applications and interviews. The company formerly used a combination of Microsoft Excel spreadsheets and Outlook to manage its recruitment, but this was bureaucratic and inconsistent and involved a great deal of co‐ordination between the recruitment teams. Practical implications – Argues that the solution has a positive effect on the employer brand by improving the application experience. Originality/value – Contends that administrative requirements have been reduced and the company has lowered its reliance on external recruitment agencies, which has helped it to save £1,760 per hire on average as a result of not incurring agency fees.