5 Tips for Mastering Agile Recruiting in 2024

In the modern world of work, change is the name of the game. To keep up with customer needs and staffing demands, businesses must adapt to survive.

Luckily, there’s a process for that. It's called agile recruiting.

When you hear the word “agile” in a business setting, it’s usually a reference to the Agile Manifesto written by a group of developers back in 2001. These devs got fed up with the rigid waterfall method for developing software and set out to create a better, more dynamic approach to getting stuff done.

Agile methodology prioritizes individuals and interactions over processes and tools. It’s all about functionality, collaboration and the ability to respond to change as needed. And when you incorporate this approach into your recruitment strategy, you can respond proactively to any changes that hit your radar.

What is agile recruiting? 

Based on the software development concept of agile methodology, agile recruiting processes encourage real-time feedback and clear communication, helping hiring stakeholders fill roles quickly while making micro-adjustments as needed to boost candidate experience and hire better employees.

With an agile recruiting methodology, you can:

• Adjust your recruitment strategies with every hiring round
• Empower employees to make confident hiring decisions
• Respond to changing markets with flexibility and speed
• See change as an opportunity vs. a threat
  

From the Great Resignation to quiet quitting, employers have witnessed a lot of changes (and the birth of many new buzzwords). 

The concept of agile recruiting gives business owners a blueprint for applying dynamic – or even “trending” – recruitment principles on a practical level. These are important characteristics for any business, especially now.

Benefits of agile recruiting 

With the rise of the fractional workforce, you need a recruitment method that keeps everyone on the same page – while appealing to changing demands in the talent market.

Here are just a few of the reasons to give agile recruiting a try:

• Agile transformations helped teams operate five to ten times faster.
• Enterprise agility boosted employee engagement by 30%.
• Agile processes have been shown to increase operational performance 30% to 50%, accelerating speed and target achievement.
  

Agile isn’t just a theory. It’s an action plan. Take it from UBS group heads Mike Dargan and Stefan Seiler:

“Consider the traditional organization: There are barriers created by structures, titles, processes, and legacy issues. There are often large, long projects that start with the best intentions and urgency, but by the time they’re delivered, conditions have shifted and requirements may have changed,” write Mike and Stefan.

After switching to an agile way of working, the 72,000-person global wealth management company saw results so staggering, they decided to transition more than a quarter of the workforce to agile working in 2022.

5 tips for an agile recruiting process 

Agile recruitment can transform the way companies hire.

But the transition isn’t always easy. Here are a few key tips to make your journey to agile recruitment as seamless as possible.

1. Use data to determine your recruitment cycles

While hiring can seem continually high-stress, there’s a pattern to the madness. And it’s your job to find it.

“By leveraging insights from candidate interactions and engagement metrics, recruiters can refine their strategies in real time, optimizing their efforts for maximum impact,” CEO of Symphony Talent, Kermit Randa writes for Forbes.

A data-driven approach to your recruiting can help you analyze market conditions and roll with the punches – not get stuck in the legacy workflows of the past.

Follow these steps to pulse-check your current recruitment process:

• Decide how you’ll collect your data. Will you use an applicant tracking system (ATS)? Calculate careers page conversion rates with Google Analytics? Or manually crunch the data from your candidate feedback surveys?
• Determine when your hiring needs are heaviest. Whether you need seasonal employees for the holiday retail rush or additional auditors for Q1, there may be a specific time of year when you regularly ramp up your hiring efforts. 
• Create a plan to clear the hurdle. Sourcing issues? Commit to growing your pipeline. Problems with screening? Invest in skills assessments and background checks.
  

By leveraging your data analytics, your recruitment team can maximize results at the right times throughout the year.

“From identifying the most effective recruitment channels to fine-tuning messaging and content, data-driven decision-making can empower organizations to stay agile and responsive in an ever-evolving talent landscape,” says Randa.

2. Implement sprints for recruitment tasks 

In agile terminology, a ‘sprint’ is exactly what it sounds like – a set period when you fast-track a specific task. Sprints keep projects on a consistent schedule, while also leaving room to look back and improve for the next phase.

But how does it apply to recruitment? Think of your open position like a project. From writing the job description and researching salary ranges to sifting through submitted applications, which of these sub-tasks can be bundled into sprints?

Follow these steps to create your own high-impact recruitment sprints:

• Define your goals and priorities, whether that’s touching base with passive candidates or fine-tuning your sample project.
• Create realistic timelines and assign tasks to team members for each step.
• Schedule a standup meeting after each sprint to discuss.
  

According to Raghu Gollamudi, CEO and co-founder of DEI tech solution Included, his background as an engineer inspired him to apply the sprint project management approach to his hiring processes.

“Sprints are usually two weeks long, and when hiring for a role you can break that into two sprints. The goal is to present an offer by the end of the second sprint…At the end of every sprint, celebrate your wins and have a retrospective meeting to see what went well and where your team can improve,” he advises.

3. Centralize your process

Agile recruiting can dramatically reduce the manual work in your recruitment process, while maximizing your output. But without the right technology, collecting data and staying organized can feel like a full-time job. 

That’s why many hiring managers are utilizing automated systems to execute their agile recruiting strategies.

“By leveraging data and analytics, sales organizations are acquiring, developing, and energizing better talent, and doing it faster using fewer resources,” argue Prabhakant Sinha and the team of researchers at global professional services firm ZS.

Make the most of your agile recruitment tech stack with these three tips:

• Get all applicants into one system for a complete view of your candidate pool.
• Use stage actions to automate everything from sending candidate messages to capturing hiring team feedback.
• Reduce time to hire with interview self-scheduling for candidates and seamless side-by-side team availability views.
  

One of the best systems for the job is a candidate-friendly applicant tracking system.

“An Applicant Tracking System organizes resumes and job applications, schedules interviews, and communicates with candidates, reducing the cycle times involved in hiring,” the authors continue.

By automating your process with the help of a scalable ATS, you can manage sprints, visualize candidate progress through your pipeline, get key data reports and so much more.

4. Boost agility through employee cross-training

In the age of AI, cross-training delivers a host of benefits.

“Cross-training can boost organizational agility because employees can transition between a variety of tasks and roles depending on what is needed at any given time. This flexibility increases resiliency, enables organizations to weather staffing shortages more easily and buys you time while working to fill critical vacancies,” says Eric Friedman, Founder and CEO of eSkill.

Here are some tips to help you create a team that’s pivot-prepared:

• Launch cross-training programs to ensure members of the hiring team can seamlessly transition between a variety of tasks.
• Establish clear key performance indicators (KPIs) for cross-functional projects so team members know what milestones they need to meet.
• Assemble a diverse team from different departments and with different skill sets, bringing subject-matter experts together.
• Launch an internal hiring strategy to move existing employees into new roles.
  

Agile isn’t about training each team member to do everything. It’s about recruiting well-rounded employees and giving them the tools they need to actively learn new skills.

5. Foster open communication and act on feedback

The cornerstones of a successful agile approach? Open communication and frequent feedback.

Get the conversation flowing with daily standup meetings where you actively identify issues, fine-tune requirements and make changes to your recruiting processes where needed.

Your meeting agenda might include items like:

• What you’ve accomplished since the last standup
• What’s going smoothly
• What barriers are impeding progress
• What can be improved
  

Ultimately, continuous improvement is about eliminating silos and boosting morale so everyone can collaborate openly and effectively. But remember, feedback is only useful if you act on it.

Follow these steps to create a feedback loop that supports an agile recruitment process:

• Hold daily standup meetings to discuss accomplishments, challenges, and barriers. Think of this as a time to resolve issues and tweak processes where needed.
• Establish a multidirectional feedback culture where everyone from managers to direct reports regularly provides constructive feedback for one another.
• Utilize technology to support employees and facilitate communication without replacing direct conversations.

Don’t let legacy recruitment processes slow you down

In today’s job market, you need a talent acquisition strategy that moves with your business.

Whether you design a sprint to source candidates or refine your recruitment goals, an agile recruiting approach helps you adapt.

Ready to go from orthodox to outside-the-box? Get customizable recruitment stages and easy automations with a free 14-day trial of Breezy HR.