Avenues :Agile hiring gaining traction in India

The pandemic was a time for introspection and reformation, not just for individuals and organizations but for the entire corporate sector. With a new world order, those in the corporate segment were forced to think outside the box and develop innovative ways to sustain themselves and continue operations.  One such methodology that enabled organizations to optimize their functioning and utilize human resources efficiently is Agile hiring.

What is agile hiring?

In the simplest terms, agile hiring refers to a method of hiring for projects that allow the team to work in smaller increments and optimize their performance. The process has five phases. The first phase consists of understanding the requirements and the scope of the project and ways of integrating it into the mainstream business model. The team is incepted in the next phase. While hiring members of the team, it is essential to keep in mind that they will be responsible for the entire project from start to end.

In the iteration part of the process, the team works on the blueprint of the project, incorporating feedback at every stem. In the next phase, which is release, quality testing and documentation are carried out. In the production part, the team is responsible for tracking progress and ensuring that the project adheres to its timelines. In the last phase of the Agile methodology, the team reviews the final project and the objectives that it set out to meet.

Why agile hiring gained popularity?

Organizations, before Agile Hiring gained traction, relied primarily on the waterfall methodology. However, this method necessitates excessive documentation and coordination between several teams before the project is implemented.The process is further complicated if the customer requires changes in the final product. This leads to unnecessary wastage in terms of time and resources. Other deficits of this system include its insistence on sequential design, testing only in the last phase, difficulty in coordination, and inability to incorporate unexpected changes.

As opposed to the mentioned drawbacks in the previous system, the Agile method is result oriented, flexible, and efficient.This is because it relies on effective tools like Scrum and extreme programming. In addition, this system offers the benefit of allowing teams to work directly with the clients and cuts the need for middle persons. It allows the team to work in a focused manner with clear goals in mind.

The methodology incorporates best practices and results in customers that are happy and satisfied with the product and its timely delivery. They are more involved in the process of design and production and get regular updates from the team in relation to the milestones achieved. It increases transparency and ownership of the final product. The accountability accorded by this process enables the team to understand and accept iteration goals. Both parties are thus more engaged in the process and work in a coordinated manner.

The State of Agile Report, released in 2018, illustrated that the Agile method resulted in a 46% increase in software quality, a 49% increase in business opportunities, a 55% increase in productivity, and a 17% increase in managerial efficiency, especially in terms of the management of heterogeneous and remote teams.

Bottomline

The post-pandemic world is characterized by several changes in the corporate structure. Agile hiring is one of the most effective of these changes.  It offers companies distinctive advantages like using fewer resources, timely delivery, better coordination between different stakeholders, and greater accountability and transparency of the designing and production process. Due to these advantages, this system is gaining popularity, and many companies are implementing it on a larger scale with greater success.

(The writer, Apurva Sheth, is the executive director, head, enterprise business of  Imarticus Learning)