Using Kanban in HR - Part 2 of 3
Applying Kanban to HR, including some examples.
TL;DR Summary
This article explores how Kanban can be used in HR, with examples including recruiting, onboarding, performance reviews, training and development, and employee requests. The article also provides resources for Kanban in HR and lists companies that use Kanban for various purposes. Part 3 will cover the risks and challenges of using Kanban in HR and some resources for continuous learning.
Some examples of how can you use Kanban in HR
Recruitment process, You can create a board with columns for each stage of the process (e.g., sourcing, screening, interviewing, offer) and cards representing candidates. WIP limits can be used to prevent a backlog of candidates at any one stage, while cycle time and throughput metrics can be used to track progress and identify areas for improvement.
Example: https://kanbanzone.com/2020/agile-recruitment-process-with-kanban/New employee onboarding process: You can create a board with columns for each stage of the process (e.g., paperwork, orientation, training) and cards representing new hires. WIP limits can be used to ensure that new hires are not overloaded with too much information or too many tasks at once, while cycle time metrics can be used to track the time it takes for new hires to become fully productive.
Example: https://kanbanzone.com/2023/how-to-use-kanban-for-onboarding-new-employees/Employee performance reviews: You can create a board with columns for each stage of the process (e.g., self-assessment, manager review, feedback) and cards representing each employee. WIP limits can be used to ensure that reviews are completed in a timely manner, while throughput metrics can be used to track the number of reviews completed over time.
Example: http://agilopedia.blogspot.com/2013/09/using-kanban-board-and-retrospective.html?showComment=1384249801103#c8426568778002464177Employee training and development: You can create a board with columns for each stage of the process (e.g., needs assessment, course selection, scheduling) and cards representing each employee. WIP limits can be used to ensure that employees are not overloaded with too much training at once, while cycle time metrics can be used to track the time it takes for employees to complete training and acquire new skills.
Example: https://www.spreadsheet.com/template/employee-trainingEmployee requests and overall workload of HR: You can create a Kanban board with columns that represent the different stages of the request process (e.g., request received, under review, approved, denied). Employee requests can be represented as cards on the board, with WIP limits set to ensure that the team is not overwhelmed with too many requests at once. Cycle time metrics can be used to track the time it takes for requests to be processed, while throughput metrics can be used to track the number of requests completed over time.
Example: https://businessagility.institute/learn/do-you-dare-to-ask-your-hr-manager-to-practise-kanban/130
Kanban resources for HR
With such wide application, it’s natural that there are solutions and templates out there specifically targeting HR departments. Here are a few of them:
https://www.atlassian.com/software/jira/work-management/hr
https://www.atlassian.com/itsm/esm/hr-service-management-and-delivery
https://kanboapp.com/departments/hr/
https://trello.com/templates/team-management
https://kanbanize.com/blog/how-to-kanban-with-your-hr-team/
https://kantree.io/blog/tips/3-top-project-templates-for-hr-and-recruiting
https://www.pipefy.com/template-category/hr-human-resources/
Who else is using Kanban
Of course, if it can be used for HR, it can be used for any other business operations functions. Here’s a list of some companies currently using Kanban for various purposes:
https://kanbanzone.com/2022/big-companies-using-kanban-for-business-operations/
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/lean-tool-kanban-embraced-pixar-zara-spotify-dennis-lean-six-sigma/
https://www.leankor.com/what-departments-can-use-kanban-boards/
https://www.cprime.com/resources/blog/using-kanban-for-flow-in-non-tech-teams/
Interested? Subscribe to be alerted of part 3 of this series, which will include some examples of some of the risks and challenges of using Kanban in HR, as well as some resources to keep learning.