Guiding Principles of the Engineering Selection Process

At Agile Lab, the recruitment and selection process is not just a series of steps:
it is a strategic activity that reflects our values and culture.
The way we hire people defines who we are as an organization.

The pillars of our process are:

• 🤝 Collaboration

  • Leverage Agile Lab’s global talent networks.
  • Build a structured referral program to encourage employees to recommend new talent.
  • Promote cross-functional understanding of open positions across the organization.
  • Share responsibility for building teams across all departments.
  • Encourage internal mobility and career growth for existing employees.

• 🎯 Results

  • Attract high-potential candidates from diverse backgrounds.
  • Build long-term talent forecasts and mapping to anticipate hiring needs.
  • Make talent a strategic priority: hiring the right person at the right time.
  • Transform human capital from a cost into a strategic asset.
  • Measure employee engagement and candidate experience, collecting feedback to improve.

• ⚡ Efficiency

  • Respect the time of both candidates and employees.
  • Maintain a standardized, repeatable, well-documented process.
  • Share best practices across the organization.
  • Expand talent search to new geographies when appropriate to optimize investment.

• 🔍 Transparency

  • Document and update every step of the process.
  • Ensure candidates know timelines and stages in advance.
  • Provide feedback to all candidates, regardless of outcome.
  • Share results and difficulties openly within the company.
  • Provide constructive feedback to rejected candidates when requested.
  • Announce open positions internally before publishing externally.

Hiring Process

Roles and Accountability in the Selection Process

The recruitment and selection process at Agile Lab involves several key roles, each with specific responsibilities to ensure efficiency, fairness, and transparency.

• Recruiter (HR Team)
  The recruiter manages the early phases of the process and coordinates the entire selection journey.
  Responsibilities include:

  • Checking the Deny List before contacting a candidate.
  • Monitoring and controlling the candidate journey across processes and tools
  • Communicating with candidates, moving them through the platform stages, and ensuring that all data and feedback are properly recorded.
  • Sending standard offers to candidates and manage communication towards Consulting and Witboost circles.

• Technical Interviewer
  The technical interviewer is responsible for evaluating the candidate’s skills and practical knowledge.
  Duties include:

  • Reviewing written test results and/or conducting 1–2 technical rounds depending on seniority.
  • Providing structured feedback directly into the Talent Center, marking outcomes as positive or negative.
  • Rejecting out-of-scope candidates directly in the system if the outcome is negative.
  • Scheduling and conducting the second technical interview (for mid/senior profiles) within specific due dates.
  • The technical interviewer plays a central role in documenting results and ensuring that decisions are evidence-based.
  • The technical interviewer's evaluation is the primary driver to set the standard compensation.

• Hiring Manager
  The hiring manager usually steps in for more senior profiles and is accountable for the final hiring decision.
  Key tasks are:

  • Conducting a cultural fit interview (mainly for higher-level candidates, e.g., Engineering Level ≥ 3).
  • Collaborating with HR to define contract details and compensation.
  • Approving and formalizing offers in the Talend Manager (statuses: Offered, Accepted, Declined).
  • Providing justification and feedback in case of rejection or cultural misalignment.

Together, these three roles — Recruiter, Technical Interviewer, and Hiring Manager — ensure that Agile Lab’s recruitment process remains structured, transparent, and aligned with company values. The recruiter safeguards compliance and process consistency, the technical interviewer ensures skill alignment, and the hiring manager guarantees cultural fit and business alignment.

The Hiring Process

The Hiring Process follows this flow:

• Capacity & Recruiting Plan
• Application Channels Activation
• Candidate journey
• Onboarding

Capacity & Recruiting Plan

Recruting campaigns are renewed every week in sych with the Capacity Management.

See Consulting Management for further information.

Application Channels Activation

Applications are collected from different channels depending on priorities and opportunities:

• Voluntary applications
• Direct contacts
• Referrals
• Interns
• Suppliers

Voluntary applications

A candidate voluntary applies to a job position from the career portal. We want to receive a single application matching the best match on the basis of skills and competences.

A voluntary application can be for an open job position (linked to a business need) or as expression of interest for future positions.

Agile Lab benefits also include the ability to earn a bonus via Referral.

Job positions currently closed but open to applications report the following message:

Spontaneous application: the position is currently closed, but don’t miss the chance to submit your application! We will get back to you as soon as the selection process reopens, if your profile matches our needs.

We retain such applications for six months after which we consider them expired.

Direct contacts

If we are actively contacting a candidate, it is strongly recommended starting with a Background check.

Referral

Agile Lab benefits also include the ability to earn a bonus via Referral.

In order to be valid, the Referral must be "proactive": the Referrer (i.e. the employee in Agile Lab) must actively recommend the new candidate.

There are two types of Referral fees:

• Type A: Employees can suggest a friend, an ex-colleague, a classmate at University, so a trusted person who will bring added value to the company, with at least 3 years of experience (the suggested person should comply with a senior profile). If that person is hired successfully, the referrer shall be prized with € 1.500 gross value that will be paid when the trial period of the neo-hired person will be over.
• Type B: Employees who suggest people met in a corporate or private setting, or online (webinars, social media, chats such as Telegram, and so on), and tell them about the positive experience in Agile Lab, convincing them to send their CV. If they have at least 3 years experience (the suggested person should comply with a senior profile), and any of them are successfully hired, the referrer will be rewarded with €200 Amazon gift that will be paid when the trial period of the neo-hired person will be over. Only 2 type B referral are available per year per employee.

Please note:
If the candidate, type A or B, has been already previously contacted by Recruiters, the Referral will be not valid. Referral of newly graduated, or without experience, candidates will always be greatly appreciated, even if it will not result in any benefit. We cannot hire people from all companies, please take a look at the recruiting *Deny List (available at sharepoint:BigData/HR/denylist recruiting.xlsx) before suggesting a candidate.

What to do:
Employees can send the CVs to Recruiters and tell them what is their relationship with the candidate and the consequent Type of Referral. If the candidate is eventually hired, the Recruiter will email the Administrative Department, to indicate to whom the referral is due: it will be paid, as said as above, after the end of a successful trial period.

Interns

When an internship is about to finish, in order to move towards a full/time employment a tech interview round is necessary. The interviewer should not know at all the candidate so that we can judge skills and capabilities without personal bias.

Suppliers

Suppliers can submit CVs for their candidates from the dedicated career portal account of the Talent Center.

Candidate journey

The candidate journey is a process structured through the following steps:

• IN ARRIVAL
• FUTURE
• TECHNICAL SCREENING
• TECH ROUND(S)
• HR INTERVIEW
• BACKLOG
• OFFER
• ONBOARDING

IN ARRIVAL

• Applications are collected in the Talent Center.
• Recruiter responsibilities:
  • Check candidate against the denylist (SharePoint).
  • Add contact details into Contact List (SharePoint).
  • Upload CV into Talent Center, tagging source (referral, direct, etc.).
  • Conduct pre-screening call and update candidate status to “Contacted”.
  • Send written test link; update status to “Written Test”.

FUTURE

• Candidates not meeting basic requirements are archived with a courtesy rejection.
• Candidates who cannot yet be hired but might be of interest (e.g., non-urgent need, external constraints) may be placed into a Future Opportunities pool and noticed by email.
• Specific requirements from our current Demand Plan can influence a decision for a move to the state FUTURE. Non-EU citizens or out-of-scope profiles may be flagged here. For instance, specific customers' regulations may restrict our candidates to be only UE citizens or italian speakers.

TECHNICAL SCREENING

• ONLINE SCREENING (Temporary Suspended)
  • Candidates are invited by email to apply to the online screening.
  • Recruiters evaluate online tests to move a candidate to the TECH ROUND.
• CV APPROVED BY INTERVIEWERS:
  • Recruiter reviews CVs from IN ARRIVAL
  • Recruiters evaluate online tests to move a candidate to the TECH ROUND and mark the CV as Approved in the Talent Center.
• If the candidate is not suitable, she/he is rejected by email and rejection reason is logged into the Talent Center.

TECH ROUND(S)

Tech rounds consist of multiple interviews by one or more interviewers that must be at least +1 Engineering Ladder Level of the candidate application level.

• For Junior Profiles (Rookie / DE I)

  • 1 Technical Interview (≈1h).
  • Includes:
    • Mandatory coding challenge (reasoning, problem-solving, computer science fundamentals).
    • Practical technical evaluation based on the Ladder
  • Feedback documented in Talent Center.
  • Positive candidates are reported to the Hiring Manager Public Backlog
  • Direct feedback to the candidate at the end of the interview or an explicit answer by email within 2 days.

• For Mid/Senior Profiles (DE II / III)

  • 2 Technical Interviews (≈1h each).
  • Mandatory coding challenge (reasoning, problem-solving, computer science fundamentals).
  • First round → assess fundamental skills, problem-solving.
  • Second round (organized within 3 days) → advanced topics, niche knowledge, technical leadership.
  • After each round → detailed feedback in Talent Center.
  • Direct feedback to the candidate at the end of the interview or an explicit answer by email within 2 days.

• For Senior Profiles (Ladder Level 4+)

  • 2 (or 3) Technical Interviews (≈1h each).
    • First round → assess fundamental skills, problem-solving.
    • Second round (organized within 3 days) → advanced topics, niche knowledge, technical leadership.
    • Third round (optional, organized within 3 days) → project management, stakeholder management, soft skills
    • After each round → detailed feedback in Talent Center.
    • Direct feedback to the candidate at the end of the interview series or an explicit answer by email within 2 days by the final interview.
    • Positive candidates are reported to the Hiring Manager Public Backlog

General Interviewer Duties:

• Report clear feedback and evaluation to the Hiring Manager Public Backlog
• Classify candidate Engineering Level.
• Always provide the candidate with a direct feedback at the end of the interview explicitly stating the final Engineering Ladder positioning.
  • If rejected, mark status as Failed in Challenge Round.
  • If accepted, move candidate forward to HR INTERVIEW and document recommendation.

HR INTERVIEW

• Conducted after technical clearance.
• Evaluates:
  • Motivation for role and company.
  • Cultural alignment with Agile Lab values (flexibility, teamwork, innovation).
  • Availability and notice period.
  • Contractual aspects (benefits, remote work, methodologies).
• All data recorded in Talent Center.
• Candidates are reported to the Hiring Manager Public Backlog as POSITIVE, NEUTRAL or NEGATIVE.

BACKLOG

• Candidates considered positive but not immediately hired:
  • Added to Hiring Manager Public Backlog (internal list).
  • Valid for 6 months.
  • Requires explicit candidates consent for data storage (GDPR compliance) obtained during the application phase.

OFFER

Decision made collectively by HR, interviewers, and hiring manager on the basis of TECH ROUNDS and HR INTERVIEW.

• Offer Presentation
  Recruiters prepare the Commitment Letter including the following:

  • Role, seniority, contractual level (CCNL).
  • Tentative start date.
  • Compensation package (annual salary, bonus, benefits).
  • Pre-employment requirements (medical exam, safety training).
  • Expiration date of the offer (may change depending on internal needs, typically between 2 and 5 working days depending on the priority for this position).
  • Optional call with the Hiring Manager and Recruiters for clarifications and further information

• Mandatory Checks:

  • Criminal record and pending charges.
  • EU anti-terrorism and sanctions lists.
  • Positive match → stop hiring. Negative → continue.

• Contract Preparation

  • Prepared by HR Administration after the Commitment Letter.
  • Signed digitally or physically.
  • Becomes valid once signed by both parties.

REJECTION

Rejection always require a notification to the candidate.

• Retry Policy: candidates can re-enter the recruiting process funnel after a period of 1 year.
  During this period, the candidate should independently work through the feedback provided during the previous process and attempt to address identified weaknesses.
  The recruiting process, in case of re-apply, will start over.

Onboarding

Refers to Onboarding for further details.

Probation Period

• HR schedules 2–3 feedback calls depending on length (e.g., 2 for 3-month probation, 3 for 6-month probation).
• Calls cover:
  • Effectiveness of onboarding.
  • Clarification of goals and expectations.
  • Employee impressions and feedback.
• Final probation evaluation at the end.
• HR remains available for ongoing support after probation.

First day

• COO creates all the accounts (see Onboarding)
• New employee receives onboarding emails and material and start to interact with the buddy (Onboarding)
• People administration adds the daily cost of labour into Elapseit

ex-Agilers

Ex-Agilers aiming at re-entering the company have two options:

• They can re-apply for a more advanced level with respect to the one they left the company with only if they spent at least six months outside.
  • In such a case, the whole process will be applied again with interviewers that are new to the candidate to remove any bias.
• They can re-enter the company at the same conditions re-evaluated with the current ladder.

Agile Lab allows to rejoin the company at most once.

Talent Center

In Agile, we manage the recruiting pipeline through our Talent Center (Team Tailor).

How to apply

• Do you absolutely want to get in touch with us? That's great news, we are waiting for you! The best way to apply is through our Talent Center: https://careers.agilelab.it/
• You will be contacted as per our above process.