The 360 Talent 4-Step ARM (Agile Recruiting Model) Overview
- February 19, 2023
- Posted by: Chris Stanzione
- Category: Digital Assets
In October 2019, I was introduced to Trent Cotton, and Sprint Recruiting ⓒ, through a mutual connection. Trent had designed the original framework for applying Scrum to recruiting and after diving in and seeing the logical application of the framework, I was hooked. By early 2021, I completed my Scrum Master Certification and Agile Coach training and started working on developing Sprint Recruiting for our team. Over the last two years, I adopted Cotton’s approach and made some modifications for our business model that made more sense in the consulting and third-party recruiting space.
In the 360 Talent 4-Step ARM™(Agile Recruiting Model), we learn how to approach recruiting from an agile perspective to increase the speed of hire, quality of candidates presented, and positive candidate and client experiences. The four elements of this framework are Itemize, Prioritize,Mobilize, and Optimize. I’ve highlighted each phase below:
- Itemize: By listing all of the positions we are responsible for and the difficulty of each, we are able to get a holistic view of the workload. In this stage, we prioritize individuals and interactions ove3r processes and tools.
- Prioritize: By prioritizing the positions, we are able to understand which roles need to be worked first, second, and so on. In this stage, we prioritize customer collaboration over contract negotiation.
- Mobilize: By working in two-week sprints, we are able to forecast the amount of work we can accomplish in the definitive time frame and provide better estimates to business partners as to our forecasted progress. In this stage we prioritize working product over documentation.
- Optimize: By conducting retrospectives after each sprint, we are able to optimize our workflow, processes and communication with our key stakeholders to ensure a most efficient process. In this stage we prioritize responding to change over following a plan.
Each phase is associated with an agile principle and coincides with Scrum’s lightweight framework which can easily be adopted for virtually any recruiting environment.
| 360 Talent Framework | Scrum Framework | Agile Methodology |
| Itemize | Sprint Planning | Individuals & interactions over processes and tools |
| Prioritize | Sprint Planning | Customer Collaboration over contract negotiation |
| Mobilize | Sprint, Daily Scrum | Working product over documentation |
| Optimize | Retrospective | Responding to change over following a plan |
During the Itemize stage, team members work with hiring leaders to understand the requisitions which are open, how difficult they will be to fill and what the time commitment needed to work on each role will be. It is during this stage that all known needs and unknown needs are taken into consideration. The Itemize stage should be done at the end / beginning of each new sprint as things will change rapidly in a fast moving organization.
In the Prioritize stage, team members will take the itemized assessment done in the Itemize stage and force rank them based on the largest business priority. It is critical to have the key stakeholder involved in the prioritization exercise as their input is critical to understanding the organization’s truest priorities. In this stage, requisitions will be allocated to recruiting team members based on bandwidth and capacity based on the prioritization exercise.
During the Mobilize stage, the recruiting team will conduct Sprints which average two weeks per incident in addition to a Daily Scrum meeting for 15-20 minutes each day. Since 360 Talent’s 4-Step ARM™ is based on the sprint methodology used in agile software development, most of the Scrum artifacts and events are similar or identical. A sprint is a short, fixed period of time (usually two to four weeks) during which a development team works to complete a specific set of tasks or goals. Sprint recruiting applies this concept to the hiring process, breaking down the recruitment process into unique sprints each with a specific goal or set of tasks to complete. For example, the first sprint may focus on sourcing candidates, the second sprint on initial screening, and the third sprint on interviews and assessments.
At the end of each sprint, the recruitment team evaluates their progress and adjusts their strategy for the next sprint in the Optimize stage. This approach allows recruiters to quickly adapt to changing needs or priorities, and to make incremental progress towards their hiring goals. Sprint recruiting also emphasizes collaboration and communication among the recruitment team and hiring managers. Regular meetings and reviews are held to discuss progress, identify challenges, and make adjustments as necessary.
Application of the 360 Talent 4-Step ARM™will help consulting and third-party Talent Acquisition firms operate more efficiently and effectively with clients. Additionally, it is a highly focused and iterative approach to hiring that can help organizations streamline their recruitment process, reduce time-to-hire, and improve the quality of their hires.
