AI and Agile Recruitment: Winning in a Tough Market

The current economic conditions present a unique challenge for recruiters. Only a few years ago, recruiters were tasked with filling a surplus of job openings. Now, the exact opposite is happening, and they need to pivot. As companies adjust to this new market, with some unfortunately resorting to layoffs, recruiters face a changing landscape—high job demand and a low supply of openings. At the same time, recruiters are tasked with finding ways to make themselves more efficient as budgets tighten across the board—enter agile recruitment. 

Agile recruitment was inspired by the Agile software development method, designed to help streamline processes and increase a team’s productivity. HR teams and recruitment firms adopted the core tenets of this methodology, creating an Agile recruitment approach that’s integral to their strategy. Such a plan fits well with the current state of the economy. 

However, an Agile recruitment practice alone won’t optimize your time-to-hire and quality-of-hire metrics. We’ll discuss how AI recruitment software can make Agile recruiting more viable. But first, let’s delve a little deeper into what we mean by Agile recruitment. 

What Is Agile Recruiting?

Developed in 2001, Agile methodology was created by software developers in an attempt to make the development process more efficient. The plan Manifesto for Agile Software Development involves segmenting the development process, working on each individual step in a focused manner before moving on to the next. 

In comparison to the traditional linear, waterfall progression of a project, where one discipline contributes to the product before handing it off to the net contributor, agile calls for a more collaborative, cross-functional approach. While a project manager typically owns it and prioritizes the work that must be delivered, the teams take the lead in determining how the work will get done.

Agile methodology accelerates recruitment by breaking it into “hiring sprints.” Each step of the process is conducted across a two-week segment. 

So, let’s take the basic hiring process:

  • Define the position requirements.
  • Source candidates.
  • Prepare for and schedule interviews.
  • Select a candidate for an interview OR start from step one.
  • Interview the candidate.

Defining the position requirements would then be completed in a two-week sprint where the team would collect the necessary information about the role, gain the necessary approvals, and prepare for the next phase. Following this approach fosters greater efficiency in meeting goals and hiring on schedule. So, how does AI fit into all of this? 

How Can AI Recruitment Software Help?

Using specific, targeted tools that help your team’s efforts can further speed up your recruitment plan and bolster the consistency of your quality of hire. That’s especially important when you have a massive influx of candidates for a single job, as we see today. That’s where artificial intelligence (AI) software can be especially potent in supporting Agile recruitment processes due to its inherent flexibility. 

For instance, capabilities like conversational AI can learn from candidates’ input, giving each of them a personalized experience. It can also be easily shifted from one priority to another while retaining the knowledge it’s gained. This works well with Agile recruitment’s tendency to shift course or change plans. 

Another area in recruitment where teams have to shift course or change their plans comes into play when trying to attract talent. Running ad campaigns to source the best talent for a job requires constant optimization to maximize campaign budget and ROI. AI can help make those micro-adjustments at scale so teams can stay focused on other areas of the process that require their attention. Let’s look at this in practice and how AI fits into an Agile recruitment strategy. 

AI-Powered Chatbots in the Agile Recruitment Process

AI chatbots can communicate with candidates autonomously, providing them with the information they need about your listed job, company culture, or any other related subject. When talking with an interested party, chatbots are capable of holding a real conversation at a near-human level. 

While most chatbots are limited to these informative discussions, other more advanced pieces of AI software are capable of more. Wendy of PandoLogic’s Wade & Wendy can send personalized messages, scout talent, and even schedule interviews if necessary. With agile recruitment plans, you may not use all of a chatbot’s features, but having them on hand could save you plenty of time.

How AI Analytics Align with Agile Recruiting

The end goal of the Agile method is a sustainable pace that can be continued indefinitely while maintaining employee satisfaction and a quality end result. Yet, at the same time, Agile promotes changing plans to boost efficiency. But in the real world, changing plans is not done on a whim. That decision is usually supported with data. During a time of tightening budgets and increasing pressure to maximize ROI, making the right decisions at the right time is even more critical.  

As such, data collection is necessary to determine what changes must be made, but aggregating the necessary proof points can take extra time. AI recruitment software allows your Agile recruitment plan to change without dropping out of the loop. 

For instance, AI software tools can recommend changes to the recruitment plan based on how candidates are engaged. If a problem arises, such as a higher-than-average number of applicants dropping out of the process, the data and analytics your AI recruitment software has collected will help you determine the cause and change accordingly. 

AI in Job Ad Placement Software

One of the most difficult parts of effective sourcing is choosing which job aggregates will produce the most diverse, qualified candidate pool. AI-powered job ad placement software optimizes your ad placement, taking into account what type of candidate you’re looking for — including experience, mindset, and other skills. 

With pandoIQ, employers can easily adjust their media spend or pause campaigns as needed, rather than paying a retainer for a staffing service they may not even need. This enables them to spend their advertising budget throughout the year more judiciously. For Agile recruitment, job ad placement software like PandoIQ can help you source active candidates quickly and efficiently. This allows your HR team to focus on sourcing passive candidates or looking internally to select someone for reskilling or advancement. 

Using AI and Agile Recruitment in Today’s Economy

Everyone feels the current economic conditions. Just like all teams, recruiters will have to adjust their plans accordingly. Combining Agile recruitment methodologies with the power of AI is a way that can give your teams that extra edge to source the best candidates while maximizing budgets and ROI. 

If you’re looking for a way to bolster your recruitment efforts, PandoLogic’s suite of AI recruitment tools has everything you need to get started quickly and efficiently. Our flexible software will bolster your team by helping them extract more value out of each decision made in your operations, preventing wasted resources at a time when every dollar counts. 

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