In what has become an increasingly prominent project management term in recent decades, the agile methodology has transformed how software development companies and technological innovators operate. At its core, agile’s basic tenets are rooted in frequent collaboration and continuous improvement, where contributors are encouraged to adapt and respond to changing demands or objectives in real-time.

As the world has witnessed the positive impact that an agile approach can have on accomplishing projects and other collaboration-heavy assignments, this twenty-first-century way of thinking has made its way into the world of recruiting and laid the foundation for a more effective talent acquisition approach. But what does the future hold for this modern recruitment methodology, and how can it help leaders within the industry in improving candidate quality?

What is agile recruiting?

Agile recruitment strategies are rooted in the promotion of greater efficiency, which is done by breaking down projects into smaller tasks. In agile project management, the term “sprints” is commonly utilized to define short and delineated periods of time where certain tasks are allocated to different team members. An example of a sprint plan is below:

• Week #1: Source candidates and submit information for review from the hiring manager
• Week #2: Review feedback with the hiring manager before reaching out to the downselected candidates
• Week #3: Connect with candidates by scheduling in-person/virtual interviews

Notice how each week is meant to focus on a particular part of the recruitment process. Rather than trying to accomplish multiple different sourcing and recruiting tasks at one time, it has been proven that separating these recruitment-related tasks into smaller chunks is more effective. By taking this project management approach and transitioning it into the world of recruiting, companies hope to foster a more efficient means of sourcing and recruiting qualified candidates.

What are the benefits of agile recruiting?

Here are a few primary benefits to utilizing agile recruiting strategies:

Consistent communication

Whether your teams are enhancing internal collaboration efforts or connecting more frequently with client hiring managers, this communication is critical to overall recruitment success. Not only will your recruiters be more apt to discuss their most successful sourcing strategies or candidate outreach methods, but they will also experience greater recruitment success when building stronger relationships with hiring managers. This continuous feedback is pivotal to improving their knowledge of positional requirements and overall client expectations.

Increased flexibility

Much like the state of the labor market, hiring demands can be volatile and easily prone to significant change. To ensure that your recruitment teams are prepared to adjust to potential hiring spikes, the utilization of an agile recruiting approach is critical to overall success. Your recruiters will be well-equipped to adjust to expedited deadlines or sudden program ramp-ups.

Greater recruitment speed

Not only will you likely notice an uptick in your team’s performance and productivity when using an agile approach, but the speed at which candidates are approved to advance within the recruiting timeline should also improve. By establishing more routine touchpoints and greater collaboration between the hiring manager and recruiting teams, a more seamless process will take hold.

Improved candidate quality

Under an agile approach, recruiting teams can more easily establish KPIs—such as job offer acceptance, cost per hire, and time to hire—to benchmark their performance. By tracking these metrics, teams will be able to examine pain points within the recruiting cycle and make necessary adjustments. This, in turn, will lead to a simplified and streamlined process—one that generates a more consistent stream of high-quality candidates.

Summary

When implemented properly, agile recruitment strategies promote expanded flexibility, increased scalability, and greater participation from all parties involved in the recruiting process. As this recruitment methodology continues to gain traction, it will ideally lead to the construction of stronger candidate pools and improved recruiting performance for years to come.

For more recruitment insight and thought leadership content from our team of industry experts, be sure to check out the Acara blog.

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