Short answer
From roughly five people there is usually enough repetition to gain from. Smaller works too, but then it hangs on the volume in one task, not on the technology.
Why roughly five people
Not because the technology stops below that line. A system that screens CVs costs the same to build at five CVs a week as at fifty. At five you just get little out of it.
A small agency, and still worth it
It can work. At Match Masters Recruitment we built a dashboard for owner and recruiter Steijn Tersteeg that saves him two hours a day on average. From intake to live took two weeks.
At Forta Solutions it was one recruiter and her own way of working. What those two have in common is volume in one task: for Steijn the tracking, for Linda the scoring of CVs.
What it costs at a small agency
We do not publish rates, because the scope differs per agency. After the first call you get a proposal within two days with a fixed pilot price and a fixed monthly amount. Agreed up front, no bill afterwards.
When we say no
When the repetition is not there. In the first call we look at what passes through per week, and you hear it when the answer is no. That is cheaper than a pilot that delivers nothing.