Kanban
Kanban is a way of visualising and managing work so that it flows smoothly rather than piling up. Its core elements are a board that makes every item and its status visible, and work-in-progress (WIP) limits that cap how many items can sit in each stage at once. When a slot frees up, the team pulls the next item forward; when a column hits its limit, the team’s attention shifts to unblocking flow rather than starting yet more work. The aim is to reduce bottlenecks, shorten how long work takes, and expose where a process is getting stuck.
Kanban differs from Scrum in that it is continuous rather than iterative: there are no time-boxed sprints, no prescribed roles, and no fixed commitments per cycle. This makes it well suited to work that arrives unpredictably or needs to be reprioritised often — support queues, operations, and any team fielding a steady stream of incoming requests. Many teams blend the two, using Scrum’s cadence with Kanban’s flow and WIP limits.
For HR and talent teams, Kanban is often the easiest agile method to adopt, because much of their work is a flow of requests rather than a planned product. A recruitment team can put every open requisition on a board — sourcing, screening, interviewing, offer — cap the number of live roles per recruiter to protect quality, and immediately see where candidates are stalling. That visibility turns a vague sense of being overloaded into a clear picture of where the pipeline is blocked.
Frequently asked questions
What is Kanban in simple terms?
Kanban is a method for managing work as a visible, continuous flow. Work items move across a board of columns from start to finish, and limits on how much can be in progress at once keep the team focused and expose bottlenecks.
What is the difference between Kanban and Scrum?
Scrum organises work into fixed-length sprints with set roles and commitments, while Kanban manages a continuous flow with no sprints, using a board and work-in-progress limits. Scrum is iterative; Kanban is flow-based, and many teams combine elements of both.
What are work-in-progress limits?
Work-in-progress (WIP) limits are caps on how many items can be in a given stage of the board at once. They stop a team from starting too much work simultaneously, which reduces bottlenecks and shortens the time each item takes to finish.
Can recruiters use a Kanban board?
Yes. Recruiters often manage open requisitions on a Kanban board with columns such as sourcing, screening, interviewing, and offer. It makes the pipeline visible, limits how many roles are worked at once, and shows exactly where candidates are getting stuck.