We are thrilled to announce that RPO1 by Morson Group Onsite at Manchester United are finalists at the In-House Recruitment Awards 2022.

IHR is the largest, most inclusive community of In-house recruiters. Their members benefit from over 70 thought-leading live and virtual events each year. They’re also distributors of industry-leading digital content, community forums and an all-inclusive supplier directory.

The awards recognise the UK’s best in-house recruitment teams across all areas of the industry, from candidate experience to executive search strategies.

This nomination recognises RPO1’s work with Manchester United Football Club (MUFC). In 2021, we launched RP01 as a dedicated recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) service. We developed RP01 to support businesses that want to attract the best talent to their organisation, but can’t dedicate enough internal resources to the task.  Many Morson clients use the service, including globally-renowned businesses like MUFC.

Our team

A team of six from RP01 oversee all ‘off pitch’ recruitment for MUFC – both permanent and fixed term. We cover everything from traditional roles, such as those in head office, through to more niche requirements like account managers. We recently brought community engagement experts into the team to support school-aged children who want a career in football.

We’ve extended the scope of our relationship to support the Venue Ops team in casual hiring. They need c.800 stewards and ticket marshals for match days. To help reach this figure, we’ve boosted their talent attraction campaigns by advising on attraction techniques. We’ve also adapted the wording of job adverts to make roles appeal to a wider range of suitable candidates. We attend careers fairs that help people in the local community understand how to tailor their CVs to the club.

Digital strategy

Morson Digital Studio has launched a two-strand programme of activity for MUFC. Strand one utilises social media to ensure a high volume of applications across the various roles with a two-week lead time. We also use video content across social media to drive applications through to a CV drop. We received more than 1,000 applications in three days and there were more than 1 million impressions on Instagram. Strand two established a media partnership with leading HR and recruitment titles to promote the club’s approach to hiring. We drafted thought leadership and case study pieces which set new standards in recruitment amongst football clubs. Recently, we’ve produced a series of confidential marketing campaigns which will see some of the club’s media channels take a new direction.

We’ve also expanded MUFC’s potential talent network by enabling the co-signing of the Armed Forces Covenant. Our in-house team of ex-forces recruiting experts supported MUFC’s submission to the covenant. We acted as advocates for the club and utilised our own Gold Award. The club has organised an event welcoming potential ex-forces candidates for a tour to find out more about roles available. We look forward to seeing how this partnership develops.

Our RPO1 team at MUFC have successfully hired 239 vacancies across all departments at the club during the 21/22 season. The diversity of roles ranges broadly from specialist medical, coaching and academy roles within football, right through to finance, digital and partnerships vacancies across corporate commercial functions, and operational roles within Old Trafford stadium and Carrington training ground. No matter how unique or specialist a vacancy might be, we are never lacking in confidence with advice, and a plan to attract the best talent to the role.

For us It’s not just about filling roles, it’s about optimising the entire recruitment experience. Placing your ambitions at our heart, we become one with your organisation empowering you to transform your talent strategy. Visit the RPO1 website to find out more