Airport security is something many travellers may take for granted, but it takes significant work behind the scenes to ensure it. Few travellers are even aware that half of an airport’s workforce may be Security Officers.
London serves as the largest aviation hub in the world by passenger traffic, and London’s Heathrow airport is the largest airport in the UK, typically handling over 80 million international passengers annually. Heathrow has always paid close attention to effective recruitment of Security Officers. And, when they recognised an opportunity to develop a greater culture of customer service, they looked to this community too.
This case study recounts how Heathrow introduced a creative and novel recruitment strategy to help them identify a ‘new brand’ of Security Officers who could demonstrate the aptitude and the behaviours to do this critically important role.