If you haven’t fallen truly, madly, deeply for Agile IT recruitment yet, you probably haven’t even heard of it. It’s easy, however, to get fond of it very fast. That’s the case especially if you are fed up with dozens of documents and procedures within months-long recruitment “processes”. Unfortunately, in many companies, they still look as if it was the XXth century and not the XXIst. But, luckily, the fast pace of today’s job market more and more often gets paired with the right approach. Agile approach.
Agile methodology, used by programmers for coding, is dubbed the most cutting-edge, flexible and innovative also within HR world. However, this is not the IT’s help for HR departments, because it’s not about providing work-improving software at all. It’s rather a brand new philosophy, or attitude, to HR tasks in general. It is about attracting and retaining talented employees in a very smart way. But is the feedback control approach, that Agile is regarded as, really marks another breakthrough for the recruitment world?
Flexibility, openness, multi-tasking – that’s what HR teams usually expect from candidates nowadays. Is there something possibly better for hiring and keeping them, than some kind of agile tool? Or, precisely, an Agile tool? More and more companies apply the Agile recruitment approach which reflects a truly fast pace of today’s world. Plus, it’s in line with the expectations of candidates representing Generations Y and Z (Millennials and Post-Millenials).
Agile IT recruitment – what it is all about
But what the Agile recruitment really is about? First and foremost, it means sourcing talents in a more effective, simplified and globally unified way. Agile recruiters use short projects that can be validated very quickly. Regular checkpoints – constant feedback from staff members engaged in the process – speed it up and save money. HR professionals should contact a few fitting candidates at the beginning, and not choose them from the huge pool. One way to get the most outstanding and determined people fast is to give candidates a short writing task.
The Agile recruitment means bigger openness and speedy reactions to changes within the ongoing sourcing process. Another hallmark is effective collaboration within the whole organization – across functions and departments. The aim is to reduce the amount of time needed for contracting the right candidate to even 2 weeks! That is possible thanks to continuous delivery and frequent touchpoints that enable receiving quick feedback from hiring managers.
Checkpoints may be additionally paired with regular Scrum (another IT method!) meetings. They let divide the recruitment process into single, short-term tasks, and control the productivity of particular teams. Thanks to regular, frequent feedback, there are more time and space for recruiters to make progress very fast. But they are also able to change their searching attitude, or be back on track, if needed. That’s possible because HR professionals don’t need to wait long for the hiring manager’s opinion on particular, pre-screened candidates.
Agile IT recruitment – more than hiring
But Agile IT recruitment approach is not limited to hiring per se. Moreover, it applies not only to such areas, as IT contracting or Executive Search within the IT/Telco market. It also embraces such HR activities, as onboarding, training, coaching, talent management, or planning and executing career paths. And the bigger the retention rate, the better the managers regard the Agile HR team’s performance.
What’s important, engaged employees, believing in core company values, also take part in looking for the right candidates. And HR managers do not control those staff members directly, but rather offer constant support for their actions. Moreover, HR team members keep ongoing contact with prospective hires throughout various communication channels. They use LinkedIn and other job platforms, emails or phone calls, and also try to attract passive candidates.
Agile recruitment – why recruiters love it
Why is it so good for the HR world to use the Agile recruitment approach? One thing is the hard data: hiring the best candidates may take 2, 3 or even more times less. Apart from limiting the amount of time needed, it gives the organization a possibility to adapt to ever-changing circumstances. And that allows to save money and develop the company faster, creating a culture of innovativeness. Plus, speeding up the IT recruitment process, is the right solution to acquire the best people ahead of others.
Agile IT recruitment approach lets HR professionals take the best of IT and use it for their purposes. It also makes the whole company more “IT-wise”. The HR team is at the forefront of these changes, showing the whole organization the way to implement it. Although HR specialists start sharing recruitment processes with other company teams, their work is more meaningful, bringing effects faster. The Agile approach certainly is something that takes IT recruitment to a whole new level.
Agile recruitment – candidate-friendly attitude
And there is one more thing: the fact that Agile recruitment is a candidate-friendly attitude. Just like User Experience, so important in shaping services, Candidate Experience becomes the focal point of the employment process. It is supposed to be smooth and nice, and not that lengthy, as it used to be. Moreover, the candidate, and then the employee, is to feel that he or she never stops to grow.
Thanks to the Agile approach, seeking and keeping talents is faster and more pleasant for both recruiters and candidates. And this, of course, adds up to create a positive image of the whole company. On the contrary, good Employer Branding can be ruined easily by a non-agile never-ending recruitment process.
