Introduction
The outbreak of the pandemic has left a drastic impact on several industries, and the recruitment industry is no different too. With living rooms transforming into workspaces, businesses face difficulties in organizing work as employees are often distracted by personal obligations when trying to manage their schedules. The recruitment process has completely transitioned, with talent acquisition professionals conducting virtual interviews and using other online resources for recruiting. Employee rights have evolved to include health insurance and mandated paid sick leaves, along with extending their help to leverage safety to their staff and partners.
The changes have led to an evolution in businesses with the need for effective and instant responses and better online management, which has seen a rise in the need for agile HR and talent management.
What is agile methodology?
The agile methodology process is an effective project management technique that breaks down tasks of a project into several short phases. Constant communication is ensured between the teammates and with well-defined deadlines for the tasks, time management and quality of work fall into place effortlessly. The agile HR approach allows project management and software development teams to iteratively achieve short-term goals that lead to faster and hassle-free results.
With agile project management, clients receive continuous updates and delivery of results, even if in small parts, keeping them involved in the developments of the project and leaving them satisfied. One of the most valuable agile HR benefits is that modifications and improvements can easily be accommodated at intermediate stages without affecting the final outcome of the project.
With remote working and online resources being the new normal, agile principles are being embraced more than before by organizations to enhance the overall performance of businesses. Here are the top three reasons why agile development is essential in an organization during the socio-economic crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic.
1. Employee prioritization
The onset of the pandemic has resulted in added care and concern when it comes to the personal health and health of the family of employees. Feeling safe, healthy, and being close to loved ones are priorities of the new normal.
Organizations have revamped the working policies to allow remote working either on a long-term, weekly, or monthly basis after analyzing the circumstances like emergencies, health, commute, efficiency, and other factors of each employee.
Recruitment companies now have to include COVID-19 regulations released by the government as part of their own policies to alter the terms of work. Some companies even have a COVID-19 crisis management team, which keeps communication active regarding COVID-19 updates and also ensures there is no panic amongst employees should anyone in the team be affected by the virus. Employee hiring takes a new avatar with the adoption of new online tools, making it essential to learn and develop new skills to recruit using virtual tools while working remotely.
With changing circumstances, teams need to evolve, be flexible and agile to accommodate risk factors and ensure work is unaffected if and when their teammates are absent due to trying circumstances.
2. Client requirements
The changes in the economy due to COVID-19 have also had a massive impact on client behavior. Some organizations have opted for a period of dormancy to escape the pandemic. Some other companies are modifying their services based on emerging demands, to survive in the current market.
With almost everyone affected by the pandemic, empathy goes a long way in building better relationships with clients. This also allows room to understand client problems better and offer relevant solutions. Tweaks in the budget, services offered, and tasks assigned become essential to satisfy customers. The agile way is to accommodate a lot more time and patience to clients to enable changes, improvements, and enhanced relationships.
3. Self-sustenance
The pandemic has left the economy unstable and unpredictable, and it is important for organizations to inculcate an agile framework within their system. With some agile HR best practices in place, an organization can assess the strengths and weaknesses of the team to assign tasks and ensure goals are achieved realistically. It also gives scope for lesser damage and quicker recoveries from failed strategies. To implicate an agile process, being competitive is necessary, which can be achieved by watching and predicting the next steps of rival companies. An aggressive branding strategy will be an added bonus to reassure loyal customers.
Agile: The future of HR?
COVID-19 along with the already existent strain on recruiting agencies has led to a radical transformation in the corporate space. While the future of recruitment firms seems to rely on remote working, business agility will play a major role in the operations of recruiting companies. A safe agile system paves the way for collaboration, quick response, and adaptability to change—all essential features in the virtual working scenario of today. Employees are looking for flexibility in schedule and working arrangements, and working remotely has become the norm. In such a scenario, agile HR ensures providing a fast-paced solution-driven approach that accommodates empathy, leading to better relationships and results—a necessity for the unpredictable future of businesses.