City Wide Facility Solutions, a distinguished third-generation, family-owned enterprise, has fundamentally reshaped its recruitment strategy and operational efficiency through a five-year partnership with Workable, a leading applicant tracking system (ATS). Founded in 1961, City Wide has grown into a formidable presence across 110 locations in both the United States and Canada, managing a vast spectrum of building services from essential janitorial operations to intricate landscaping, comprehensive maintenance, and specialized facility management. This expansive footprint is underpinned by a unique B2B model that leverages partnerships with independent contractors, necessitating a robust and scalable hiring infrastructure to support its continuous growth and diverse staffing needs.
The organization’s recruitment demands are broad and complex, spanning critical roles from night managers and skilled technicians to sales executives and even C-suite leadership. With an average of 30 to 50 hires annually for its franchisor and extensive franchisee network, the imperative for a centralized, highly scalable ATS capable of supporting a sophisticated, distributed operational model became paramount. This critical need was identified and championed by Kelsey Herbig, whose role in talent acquisition requires managing a high volume of diverse recruitment pipelines across numerous geographically dispersed entities. Workable emerged as the definitive solution, delivering a suite of capabilities that have not only streamlined City Wide’s hiring processes but also significantly enhanced its employer brand and operational agility.
Addressing the Unique Challenges of a Distributed Franchise Model
The inherent nature of City Wide Facility Solutions’ business model presents a unique set of challenges for talent acquisition. Operating through a franchise system means managing recruitment not just for a central corporate entity, but for over a hundred independent business units, each with its own specific staffing requirements, local labor market dynamics, and operational nuances. Historically, such a decentralized structure can lead to fragmented hiring processes, inconsistent candidate experiences, and a lack of unified data, ultimately hindering efficiency and scalability. Before Workable, City Wide utilized CareerPlug, a system that, while functional, began to show limitations in supporting the organization’s evolving scale and complexity.
Franchise organizations, by their very design, require an ATS that can offer both autonomy at the local level and centralized oversight for compliance and strategic planning. This duality demands a system that can create separate departmental and user spaces for each location while still providing a consolidated view for corporate HR. Without such a system, the risk of disparate hiring practices, manual administrative burdens, and a diluted employer brand across different territories becomes significant. The evaluation process led by Kelsey Herbig involved a thorough comparative analysis of several prominent ATS providers, including UKG, ADP, BambooHR, and JazzHR. The objective was clear: identify a modern, intuitive, and cost-effective platform that could seamlessly integrate into City Wide’s intricate operational fabric.
Workable’s Differentiating Factors: Pricing and Structural Flexibility
The pivotal factor that distinguished Workable from its competitors was its innovative pricing structure and unparalleled structural flexibility. For an organization like City Wide, with its 110 distinct locations, traditional ATS models often levy per-user fees, which can quickly become cost-prohibitive and administratively cumbersome. Workable’s approach, allowing for individual user spaces within a single, unified platform without additional per-user charges, proved to be a game-changer. Kelsey Herbig eloquently articulated this advantage, stating, “We have 110 locations. We needed each person to not have their own platform, but their own user space… A lot of other places will charge you user fees for everybody. Workable is a one stop shop.” This economic and structural efficiency directly addressed a core pain point for multi-location businesses, enabling widespread adoption without compromising budgetary constraints or centralized control.
Beyond its pricing model, Workable’s robust feature set further solidified its position as the ideal partner. The platform offered intuitive dashboards, customizable workflows, and a comprehensive suite of tools designed to manage the entire recruitment lifecycle from job posting to onboarding. The promise of enhanced collaboration among hiring teams, streamlined communication with candidates, and integrated functionalities for assessments and background checks presented a compelling case for its adoption. This blend of cost-effectiveness, scalability, and comprehensive features positioned Workable as a strategic asset for City Wide’s continued expansion and operational excellence.
Rapid Implementation and Seamless Integration
The transition to Workable across City Wide’s extensive franchise network was remarkably smooth and efficient. Implementation is often a significant hurdle for large-scale technology rollouts, but Workable’s intuitive design and dedicated customer support facilitated a swift and seamless integration. Kelsey Herbig commended the process, noting, “It was pretty easy. The implementation was great. It was easy to train. Customer service with Workable has been great.” This ease of adoption was crucial for ensuring buy-in and proficiency among a diverse group of hiring managers and franchisees, many of whom may have had varying levels of technical expertise.
The immediate impact was palpable, with Workable quickly becoming the central nervous system for all recruitment activities. This swift integration meant that hiring teams across the U.S. and Canada could almost immediately leverage the platform’s capabilities, reducing downtime and accelerating the journey toward enhanced recruitment efficiency. The seamless rollout underscored Workable’s commitment to user experience and client success, laying a strong foundation for the transformative results that would follow.
Transformative Impact on Hiring Efficiency and Candidate Experience
Workable’s integration has yielded quick and quantifiable results for City Wide, fundamentally transforming its hiring landscape.
Unprecedented Hiring Speed: A standout achievement has been the dramatic reduction in time-to-fill, now averaging an impressive 16 days. To put this into perspective, industry benchmarks typically range from 20 to 40 days for similar roles, with some complex positions extending even longer. City Wide’s ability to consistently fill roles in just over two weeks signifies a competitive advantage, enabling faster deployment of critical personnel and minimizing operational gaps. This speed is particularly vital in the fast-paced facility services sector, where rapid staffing directly impacts service delivery and client satisfaction. Kelsey Herbig affirmed this efficiency, stating, “My current time-to-fill is 16 days… Everything runs through Workable, so it’s a true one-stop shop.”
End-to-End Process Consolidation: Workable has become the singular platform for the entire hiring journey. Critical stages such as candidate assessments, the generation and delivery of offer letters, and the initiation of background checks are all managed directly within the system. This consolidation eliminates the need for multiple disparate tools, reducing administrative overhead, minimizing data discrepancies, and providing a unified audit trail. The streamlined workflow ensures that candidates move efficiently through each stage, while hiring teams benefit from a cohesive, centralized management system.
Exemplary Candidate Communication and Employer Branding: City Wide maintains an unwavering commitment to a best-in-class candidate experience, exemplified by its policy of responding to 100% of all applicants. This commitment is not merely aspirational but a measurable reality facilitated by Workable’s advanced automation features. The platform enables the automatic scheduling and sending of professional communications, including thank-you notes and rejection letters, ensuring that every applicant receives timely feedback. This level of engagement significantly strengthens City Wide’s employer brand, fostering goodwill even among unsuccessful candidates and positioning the company as a respectful and organized employer. “We have to respond to 100% of applicants… We send the thank you/no thank you out of Workable,” Kelsey Herbig confirmed, highlighting the platform’s role in upholding this critical standard.
Time Savings Through Automation and Scheduling: Workable significantly reduces the administrative burden on recruiters and hiring managers. Features such as automated interview scheduling, which seamlessly integrates with calendars and sends invites to all relevant parties, eliminate countless hours of manual coordination. “I love the feature that I can send a calendar invite and it goes to myself and my hiring team. It keeps me from having to do an extra step,” Herbig noted. Beyond scheduling, Workable streamlines:
- Candidate feedback collection: Ensuring structured and timely input from interviewers.
- Job posting distribution: Automatically syndicating openings to various job boards.
- Reporting and analytics: Providing insights into recruitment metrics for continuous improvement.
These automated processes free up valuable time for strategic tasks, allowing HR professionals to focus on higher-value activities such as candidate engagement, talent pipelining, and strategic workforce planning.
Leveraging Indeed Talent Scout for Strategic Sourcing
City Wide Facility Solutions was selected as a beta partner for Indeed Talent Scout, an innovative sourcing tool integrated directly within Workable. This partnership immediately demonstrated its profound value, particularly for hard-to-fill roles.
Immediate Success Story: Kelsey Herbig recounted a notable success: “I loved it. I hired an account manager in seven days off of it.” This rapid hire underscores the efficacy of Talent Scout in quickly identifying and engaging suitable candidates, drastically shortening the recruitment cycle for critical positions.
Targeting Elusive Talent: One of the most significant advantages of Indeed Talent Scout for City Wide lies in its ability to connect with candidates who are less active on professional networking sites like LinkedIn but maintain strong profiles on Indeed. This is particularly true for roles such as night managers, which are often challenging to fill due to their specific requirements and the demographic they attract. Herbig explained, “Night managers are the hardest job to fill… Talent Scout is awesome because those people aren’t on LinkedIn. They’re on Indeed.” Talent Scout allowed City Wide to:
- Proactively search and identify candidates: Moving beyond passive applications to direct engagement.
- Access a vast, diverse talent pool: Tapping into Indeed’s extensive database of job seekers.
- Directly message qualified individuals: Initiating conversations with candidates who might not otherwise see or apply for specific roles.
This strategic sourcing capability has become a permanent fixture in Kelsey Herbig’s recruitment toolkit, enabling City Wide to effectively address talent shortages for specialized field roles and maintain a competitive edge in attracting essential operational staff. The integration of Indeed Talent Scout within Workable represents a powerful synergy, combining the robust management capabilities of an ATS with the expansive reach of a leading job platform.
Broader Organizational Impact and Scalability for Future Growth
The strategic partnership with Workable has had far-reaching implications beyond mere recruitment efficiency. For a distributed organization like City Wide, the unified platform ensures consistency in hiring practices, compliance with employment regulations across different jurisdictions, and a cohesive employer brand identity. The ability to manage 110 franchise locations with separate user spaces without incurring exorbitant per-user fees has provided unparalleled scalability, allowing City Wide to expand its operations without the recruitment infrastructure becoming a bottleneck. This financial and operational flexibility is a cornerstone of sustainable growth for franchise systems.
Furthermore, faster and more efficient hiring directly translates to operational excellence. With critical roles filled more quickly, franchisees can maintain optimal staffing levels, ensuring consistent service quality for their clients. This, in turn, contributes to higher client satisfaction and strengthens City Wide’s market reputation. The enhanced candidate experience, driven by timely and professional communication, not only attracts better talent but also fosters positive perceptions that can lead to future referrals and a stronger talent pipeline.
Workable has also provided City Wide with invaluable data and analytics, offering insights into recruitment bottlenecks, candidate sources, and overall hiring performance. This data-driven approach allows for continuous improvement, enabling the HR team to refine strategies and allocate resources more effectively. In an increasingly competitive labor market, having such granular control and understanding of the recruitment funnel is a significant strategic advantage.
A Resounding Endorsement and a Blueprint for Success
Kelsey Herbig’s enthusiastic endorsement of Workable speaks volumes about its impact. When asked about recommending the platform, she responded, “I actually have! So much so that I joke that I should get a referral bonus!” This candid reaction highlights not just satisfaction, but a genuine belief in Workable’s transformative power.
For companies operating in facility services, building maintenance, or any industry with a distributed operational model, Workable offers a compelling blueprint for success. It provides:
- Unrivaled scalability: Capable of supporting extensive networks of locations and diverse hiring needs.
- Cost-effective solutions: Eliminating prohibitive per-user fees common in many enterprise ATS platforms.
- Streamlined workflows: Consolidating all recruitment activities into a single, intuitive system.
- Enhanced candidate experience: Fostering positive interactions through automated and personalized communication.
- Strategic sourcing advantages: Integrating powerful tools like Indeed Talent Scout for proactive talent acquisition.
City Wide Facility Solutions’ five-year journey with Workable is a testament to the power of selecting the right technological partner. By embracing a modern, scalable, and user-friendly ATS, the company has not only streamlined its complex hiring processes but also significantly improved its operational efficiency, strengthened its employer brand, and positioned itself for continued growth and success across North America. The partnership exemplifies how strategic HR technology investments can drive tangible business outcomes, creating a resilient and agile talent acquisition function capable of supporting a dynamic and expanding enterprise.
