THE PRACTICAL VIEW
A roadmap should make the next investment easier to judge. If a proposed project does not connect to an agreed business outcome, it needs a better case before it needs a budget.
01. Run a technology amnesty
Invite the team to show the systems, spreadsheets, browser extensions and AI tools they actually use. Make it a learning exercise. Record what each tool does, who pays for it, what information enters it and which tasks still happen outside the agreed process.
02. Map the work from end to end
Follow a client enquiry through to a placement and beyond. Include sourcing, screening, compliance, onboarding, timesheets, invoicing and redeployment where relevant. Identify duplicated entry, unclear ownership and handovers that regularly stall. Include both the standard path and common exceptions.
WORKED EXAMPLE · ILLUSTRATIVE
Work backwards from a contractor extension
Imagine the goal is to identify contracts approaching their end date and prepare the next conversation. Start with the source of the end date. Then establish who owns the client relationship, whether the contractor is available and where an extension is recorded. Only after those questions are settled does an agent drafting a reminder become useful.
Where it can go wrong
A reminder sent against a superseded end date can create confusion for the client and the consultant. That is why matching records and agreeing the source of truth may deserve priority over the visible automation.
03. Describe the future experience
Run workshops around what good would look like for recruiters, candidates, clients and support teams. An ambitious idea might be a prepared shortlist or an automatically drafted client update. Separate the desired outcome from assumptions about how technology will deliver it.
04. Turn ideas into dependencies
A shortlist needs usable candidate records, agreed criteria, access controls and human review. A reporting view needs matched records and shared definitions. Map these foundations before estimating the final workflow. This reveals which improvements help several future use cases.
05. Prioritise and sequence delivery
Compare business value, effort, risk, data readiness and adoption needs. Give the first project a defined scope and baseline. Agree what success means, who will own it and what must be true before expanding. Include ongoing operating costs alongside implementation costs.
06. Keep the roadmap alive
Review outcomes with the people using the solution. Update priorities when evidence changes. Wiity’s AI Transformation Partnership helps recruitment agencies build this plan and agree a practical path through implementation and adoption.
PUT IT TO WORK
Take this into your next team conversation
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Questions worth asking
Can we begin with one small project?
Yes. Choose a bounded problem that contributes to the wider plan. A focused project can test data quality, integration and adoption before you commit to more extensive work.
What should an AI roadmap actually contain?
Business outcomes, current process constraints, dependencies, candidate projects, sequencing, owners, cost assumptions and success measures. It should also show what remains uncertain and which decisions need further discovery.
Continue with AI for Recruitment Agencies: Where to Start.
This guide builds on Jordan’s Hyper Automate resource library, updated for Wiity. Worked examples illustrate the approach; they are not customer case studies.