Whenever a vacancy becomes available within your organization, you already know that the process of finding the right person for it might be lengthy and costly. With hiring costs per person increasing every day, it’s easy to understand why business owners are always on the lookout for new and better ways to simplify the process – and save money and frustration.
From the focus on DEI practices to the ever-increasing use ofartificial intelligence, the recruiting industry is experiencing a true revolution, which is why you should approach your recruitment processes with more efficient and forward-thinking methods, too. One such method is Agile recruiting.
While the name itself might give away its meaning, there’s a lot more to uncover – and many exceptional benefits to reap. Let’s dive in.
What is Agile recruiting?
If the “agile” portion in “Agile recruitment” rings a bell, it’s probably because you are familiar with the Agile development method used by software developers. As the name itself suggests, the whole concept behind the Agile methodology is to simplify processes and enhance productivity.
One of the core elements of the Agile approach is the requirement to break the entire project down into short and simple tasks, called “sprints”. The number of sprints varies depending on what each specific project entails, but one thing never changes: each sprint is allocated to a particular member of the team or to a small group of people.
This helps people work more efficiently and productively, communicate more effectively, and reach goals faster. In the case of recruitment, following the Agile method involves assigning a “sprint” to a select member of your HR team and asking them to complete a task – and that task alone – within a predefined time frame.
Once the sprint has been completed, the next sprint can begin, with new people ready to take over and bring the project closer to completion. Many organizations using Agile recruiting adopt a six-week sprint approach:
Weeks one and two: The first sprint takes place during weeks one and two, which are generally dedicated to finalizing any internal details regarding the vacancy (this applies to both outbound andinbound recruiting).
Weeks three and four: The second sprint occurs in weeks three and four, when another person (or team of people) takes charge of promoting the vacancy across a range of channels, including the company website, social media, and job boards.
Weeks five and six: The third and last sprint revolves around selecting the best candidates and interviewing them for the position.
How does Agile recruiting work in practice?
Knowing about “sprints” and what they entail is one thing, but knowing how to put together a solid Agile recruitment process can be a whole different story. In this section, we’ll show you how Agile recruiting works in practice and how you can incorporate it into your own organization.
Define the structure
First of all, build a well-defined structure for your entire Agile project, which means identifying:
The starting point, duration, and team responsibility of each sprint
A clear sequence of tasks, actions, and events
Predefined results to work towards.
Be crystal clear at each step
A successful sprint requires all people involved to communicate clearly and frequently in order to avoid misunderstandings and delays. Don’t be afraid to sound repetitive or to chase people often for the sake of moving the sprint forward.
Check on your staff in multiple ways, including via email andbusiness VoIP phone services, and make sure that everybody fully understands what their tasks are and what timeline they are working towards.
Remain focused and consistent
As much as life – and work – can sometimes throw us unexpected curveballs, you should try not to deviate from your original plan. Even the (seemingly) smallest and most harmless change could have a potentially harmful ripple effect on your entire sprint – not to mention it could delay the subsequent ones and grind the entire hiring process to an abrupt halt.
Therefore, try to stay as focused as you can, keep referring back to your initial plan, and ensure that everyone else involved in the sprint is fully on board.
Rinse and repeat
What we outlined so far should be implemented for each single sprint in your Agile recruiting strategy. So, when one sprint is finalized, take the time to review how it went and ask yourself questions such as:
Did the sprint deliver what it was supposed to?
Did anything not go to plan?
If so, what exactly, and how can this be prevented next time?
Were people able to communicate at all times and work well independently to help the sprint progress efficiently?
Once you have identified the specific elements that enabled a sprint to be successful – whether it was communicating via VoIP phone services (check this for moreVonage VoIP telephone information) or using a collaboration platform – rinse and repeat so that the following sprints are just as effective.
Top five reasons to consider Agile recruiting
It’s now time to take a look at some of the best benefits that adopting an Agile recruitment approach can generate for your company.
1.It makes hiring faster…
We mentioned it in the opening of our article, but it bears repeating: to many business owners – and HR managers – the typical recruitment process can be incredibly expensive and time-consuming.
What can they do, then, to enable faster, more streamlined, and more affordable hiring processes? Embracing Agile recruitment. Because each sprint within Agile recruitment is designed and managed in the most efficient and simplified way possible, the resulting process becomes faster. And with a shorter time-to-hire, you’ll also inevitably save money on securing the best talent.
2.… And more targeted
Just asoutbound call center outsourcing helps companies work more productively by better targeting their audience, following an Agile recruitment process allows organizations to pinpoint the right candidates for each vacancy.
The quality of the available candidates, in fact, can represent another huge hurdle to filling a vacancy. This no longer happens if you embrace Agile recruiting. Because collaboration and communication are at the core of this method, your entire recruitment team will know exactly what essential features your ideal candidate should possess.
In turn, you will be able to eliminate applicants who don’t align with your requirements in favor of those who demonstrate to be a much better fit.
3.It boosts productivity
So far, we’ve talked about how Agile processes help business owners and recruiters with aspects such astime management, cost savings, and the quality of hires. But did you know that adopting this methodology can also enhance the productivity of your hiring team?
Short, focused, and highly specialized hiring sprints boost meaningful and positive interactions among team members. As a result, overall productivity can increase, as well as better, more efficient, and more effective performance from each team member.
4.It allows for frequent feedback
Earlier, we talked about the importance of continuous communication and collaboration among participants in an Agile recruitment process. Not only is this essential to ensure that each sprint – and the hiring process as a whole – goes smoothly, but it’s also vital as it enables team members to offer valuable feedback each step of the way.
Gathering feedback often can allow you to spot potential conflicts or issues and intervene quickly before moving on to the next phase of the sprint or the next sprint altogether.
5. It supports constant improvement through analytics
To ensure that your Agile recruitment process delivers the results you expect, it’s essential to keep track of progress and analyze performance. By doing so, you’ll be able to figure out what worked well, what didn’t, and how to keep improving.
It’s a good idea to assess both each sprint individually and the project as a whole. Analyzing each spring lets you zoom in on specific areas where issues might have arisen, such as candidates dropping out or the interview process not being efficient.
At the same time, having an overall view of your entire process is helpful to determine if and how specific problems have impacted the final outcome of your Agile process.
Agile recruiting: Key takeaways
The Agile methodology is not just the exclusive remit of software developers: it can – and should – be used by recruiters, too. This is called “Agile recruiting” and, when done properly, it can hugely streamline your hiring process.
In this article, we discussed what Agile recruiting entails, how to structure each sprint of an Agile recruitment process, and what benefits you can expect to achieve. Finally, you can wave goodbye to expensive, time-consuming, and frustrating recruitment processes: with Agile recruiting, it’s all about speed, efficiency, and great performance – and finding the best talent, of course.
