LandCare, a formidable presence in the commercial landscape management sector, has successfully overhauled its talent acquisition strategy through the implementation of Workable, an advanced applicant tracking system. This strategic shift has not only streamlined the company’s recruitment processes but has also yielded significant, measurable improvements, including a 23% reduction in time-to-hire and a substantial increase in hiring velocity across critical roles. The transformation has positioned LandCare’s talent acquisition function as a strategic partner within the organization, bolstering its credibility and fostering a more efficient, data-driven approach to attracting and retaining top talent in a highly competitive industry.
Navigating a Fragmented Landscape: LandCare’s Pre-Workable Challenges
LandCare stands as a national commercial landscape management powerhouse, boasting 76 locations spread across 23 states. At its operational zenith, the organization employs approximately 4,000 individuals, making it one of the largest field-based workforces within the industry. This expansive geographical footprint and significant employee count present unique challenges for talent acquisition, particularly in managing a diverse array of roles ranging from on-the-ground crew members to executive leadership.
Alex Kline, LandCare’s Director of Talent Acquisition and Employee Services, leads a dedicated team of six recruiters. Their primary responsibility encompasses exempt-level, corporate, and executive hiring, while also serving as crucial subject matter experts and strategic advisors to individual branches managing their own crew-level recruitment efforts. The breadth of positions LandCare seeks to fill is considerable, including essential branch administrators, production managers, account managers, and branch managers, alongside various corporate functions such as finance, IT, HR, marketing, and operations. Periodically, the team also undertakes executive searches for Vice President and Director-level roles, requiring a sophisticated and adaptable recruitment infrastructure.
Prior to integrating Workable, LandCare operated without a dedicated, comprehensive applicant tracking system (ATS). Its recruitment efforts were primarily routed through a plugin integrated with UKG, an existing human resources information system (HRIS). However, this UKG plugin functioned more as a rudimentary processing tool rather than a robust ATS. It lacked the advanced functionalities, automation capabilities, and user-friendly interface necessary to support the high-volume, efficient hiring imperative for a company of LandCare’s scale and growth trajectory.
The limitations of the legacy system were profound. Recruiting processes were largely manual, time-consuming, and prone to inefficiencies. As Alex Kline vividly described, "It was a very antiquated process. There was really nothing about it that allowed us to manage our recruitment effort through that system. We were managing it kind of outside and then just processing everything through it." This fragmented approach meant that critical recruitment activities, such as candidate screening, communication, and pipeline management, were handled through a patchwork of external tools and manual spreadsheets, creating significant administrative overhead and limiting visibility.
A particularly acute pain point was job posting. The UKG integration was limited to pushing job roles exclusively to LandCare’s internal careers page. To achieve broader visibility on major job boards like LinkedIn and Indeed, the recruitment team was forced to undertake separate, manual postings for each platform. As LandCare continued its growth trajectory and the velocity of hiring became an increasingly critical business driver, this inherent inefficiency became unsustainable, directly impacting the company’s ability to attract a sufficient volume of qualified candidates in a timely manner. The competitive landscape for skilled labor in commercial landscaping, coupled with the sheer volume of roles, underscored the urgent need for a more agile and integrated talent acquisition platform.
The Quest for a Modern Solution: Simplicity Meets Sophistication
Recognizing the urgent need for a transformative change, Alex Kline embarked on a rigorous and deliberate evaluation process. His objective was to identify an ATS that could not only address the immediate operational inefficiencies but also scale with LandCare’s future growth and support its unique, distributed operational model. This comprehensive search involved evaluating approximately ten different platforms, a list that was meticulously narrowed down to five, then three, and finally two leading contenders.
The selection criteria were multifaceted, encompassing both robust functionality for talent acquisition professionals and, critically, ease of use for a diverse set of stakeholders. One of the competing finalists presented an array of features that initially excited the recruiting team, boasting robust reporting capabilities and a wide range of tools typically favored by talent acquisition specialists. However, LandCare’s operational reality presented a distinct challenge: a significant portion of its hiring managers are field-based, frequently operating on job sites, in vehicles, or away from traditional office desks. Their primary interface with any new system needed to be intuitive, accessible, and require minimal training to ensure genuine engagement and adoption.
Workable ultimately emerged as the clear choice due to its unparalleled user experience, particularly for these field-based hiring managers. As Kline articulated, "If we would have put the other platform in front of our hiring managers, we would have never been able to get the buy-in from them that we have now. Workable makes it so simple for them." This emphasis on simplicity and accessibility proved to be a decisive factor. While Workable also offered the necessary reporting capabilities and functional depth required by the TA team, its ability to deliver this without overwhelming complexity for its most frequent end-users – the hiring managers – was the key differentiator. The platform’s intuitive design and streamlined workflows meant that even individuals with limited technical proficiency or time for extensive training could quickly become proficient in managing their recruitment pipelines. This combination of powerful functionality and exceptional ease of use cemented Workable’s position as the ideal solution for LandCare’s unique operational demands.
A Blueprint for Seamless Integration: Orchestrating a Smooth Transition
The successful implementation of a new, company-wide ATS across 76 locations and involving thousands of employees is a complex undertaking. Alex Kline personally spearheaded this initiative, taking on the crucial role of project manager for the entire rollout. He worked in close collaboration with Workable’s dedicated implementation partner, Kashaw, to ensure a seamless and strategically phased deployment.
Rather than attempting a simultaneous, all-encompassing rollout, Kline opted for a deliberate, phased approach, delegating specific components to relevant internal teams. This strategic division of labor proved instrumental in managing the complexity and ensuring smooth integration. For instance, the talent acquisition team was responsible for building out and customizing candidate communication templates within Workable, ensuring consistency and efficiency in candidate outreach. Concurrently, the HR team focused on aligning the organizational structure within Workable with the company’s existing HRIS. This critical step ensured that candidate flow and data synchronization made logical sense across both systems, preventing data silos and promoting data integrity.
The collaboration between LandCare’s internal teams and Workable’s implementation partner was characterized by a highly symbiotic relationship. Kline noted, "The relationship was very symbiotic. We’d bring things to their attention in the afternoon and come back the next morning to viable solutions." This agile and responsive partnership allowed for rapid problem-solving and customization, tailoring the platform precisely to LandCare’s specific needs and workflows. This iterative approach minimized disruptions and optimized the user experience from the outset.
The result of this meticulous planning and collaborative execution was an exceptionally swift and effective phased rollout. The core talent acquisition team became fully operational on Workable within a remarkable six-week timeframe. Following an initial two-week period of internal use, during which the TA team refined workflows, documented edge cases, and provided crucial feedback, the platform was then launched to the broader business. This strategic internal testing period allowed for fine-tuning and ensured that the system was robust and ready for company-wide adoption. Within just eight weeks of the initial implementation, LandCare achieved full company-wide adoption of Workable, a testament to the platform’s intuitive design and the effectiveness of the phased deployment strategy. This rapid transition underscored the organizational readiness and the clear benefits perceived by all stakeholders.
Tangible Outcomes: Elevating Talent Acquisition’s Role
The implementation of Workable at LandCare has yielded a cascade of positive and measurable outcomes, fundamentally transforming the company’s talent acquisition landscape. Beyond mere operational efficiency, one of the most significant and perhaps unexpected results has been the newfound clarity and visibility it brought to the business regarding the intricate work performed by the talent acquisition team.
Previously, the TA function’s efforts were largely opaque to other departments. With hiring managers now having direct access to the Workable platform, they can directly observe the pipeline for their own job requisitions. This transparency has allowed them to gain a profound appreciation for the extensive effort involved in every single hire. A striking example involved LandCare’s marketing director, who posted a graphic designer role and was astonished to receive 2,000 applications within a single month. This direct exposure to the sheer volume of candidates and the subsequent filtering process entirely reshaped her understanding of the TA team’s work.
Kline elaborated on this transformative insight: "For her to understand that yes, you may only be seeing five candidates you like to talk to, but this is the level of effort that went into it. Out of 400 candidates, we disqualified 350, scheduled calls with 50, only 30 showed up, we liked 15 of those, 10 made it through the behavioral assessment, and those are your top five. It really gave the TA team a lot of street credit in the business." This newfound transparency has been instrumental in strengthening the relationship between the talent acquisition department and the various business units it serves. It has also significantly elevated the function’s credibility with senior leadership, positioning TA as a strategic and indispensable partner rather than merely an administrative support function.
The quantitative impact of Workable, implemented in the fall of 2023, has been equally impressive and has compounded year over year. Examining four core branch-level positions, LandCare’s hiring volume saw a marked increase. In 2023, the last full year operating on the UKG system, the company hired 122 individuals for these roles. Following Workable’s implementation, this number grew to 136 hires in 2024 and further to 138 hires in 2025. This consistent growth in hiring volume for critical positions underscores the system’s ability to facilitate greater recruitment capacity.
Concurrently, the crucial metric of time-to-hire moved in the opposite direction, demonstrating enhanced efficiency. From 2024 to 2025, LandCare’s time-to-hire decreased by an impressive 23%. This significant reduction means that the company is filling essential roles much faster, which has direct positive implications for operational continuity, project timelines, and overall business productivity. Crucially, these gains in speed have been achieved while maintaining, and arguably enhancing, the quality of candidates reaching hiring managers, a direct result of Workable’s robust screening and pipeline management tools.
Furthermore, LandCare has observed an improvement in employee turnover rates since the implementation of Workable. While Alex Kline cautiously noted that this reduction cannot be attributed to a single factor, the synergistic benefits of the new system have undoubtedly played a role. The ability to move faster through the recruitment cycle, reach a broader pool of candidates, and provide hiring managers with genuine, real-time visibility into their pipelines has collectively contributed to better hire quality and stronger retention outcomes across the organization. This suggests a direct link between an optimized hiring process and improved long-term employee engagement and stability.
The Technological Edge: Features Driving Success
Workable’s suite of features has fundamentally reshaped LandCare’s recruitment operations, offering practical solutions to long-standing challenges and providing new avenues for efficiency and engagement.
Streamlining Outreach and Brand Presence: The operational shift in job posting alone has had a profound impact. Where the archaic UKG plugin limited roles to the company’s careers page and demanded laborious manual reposting to external platforms, Workable offers a transformative "one-click" solution. With a single action, job requisitions are now automatically distributed to 15-plus job boards, dramatically expanding reach and saving invaluable recruiter time. While platforms like LinkedIn and Indeed remain primary candidate sources, this broader distribution carries an invaluable brand awareness benefit. As Kline highlighted, "Just having your brand out there in all the different areas ultimately drives applicants to you in other ways as well." This pervasive online presence reinforces LandCare’s employer brand, attracting both direct applicants and passive candidates who may encounter the company’s listings across various digital touchpoints.
Mobilizing Recruitment for a Distributed Workforce: For a company like LandCare, where a significant portion of its hiring managers are constantly in the field—on job sites, in company vehicles, or otherwise away from traditional desks—the Workable mobile app has emerged as a cornerstone of its recruitment strategy. It is, in fact, the primary interface for these crucial stakeholders. The app’s design allows for seamless, on-the-go engagement. When a candidate progresses to a new stage in the workflow, the hiring manager receives an instant notification on their phone. From there, they can click directly into the Workable app, swiftly review the candidate’s resume, and immediately signal their approval or pass on the candidate. This eliminates the need for a laptop, removes delays associated with waiting to return to an office, and drastically speeds up decision-making. Even Alex Kline leverages the mobile app daily, regularly approving offer letters directly from his phone, underscoring its utility at all levels of the TA function. "That is probably one of the biggest highlights of the system," Kline affirmed, "Our hiring managers — that’s all they use."
Data-Driven Insights and Candidate Experience Enhancements: Workable also empowers LandCare with robust reporting capabilities, essential for strategic talent management. The platform’s built-in reporting provides a quick, operational view of key metrics such as hiring velocity and time-to-hire, offering an immediate pulse on recruitment performance. Beyond these native functionalities, LandCare’s team demonstrates sophisticated data utilization by pulling Workable’s raw data directly into Power BI. This integration with their own data warehouse enables the generation of highly customized reports, providing deeper analytical insights that might not be available through standard dashboards. This adaptability, allowing both quick operational checks and in-depth strategic analysis, exemplifies Workable’s fit for LandCare’s model.
Furthermore, Workable’s features extend to enhancing the candidate experience. Self-scheduling links are consistently praised by candidates, who appreciate the convenience of receiving a stage-advancement email and being able to book a Teams interview immediately, without the friction of back-and-forth communication. This streamlined scheduling process reflects positively on LandCare’s efficiency and professionalism. Custom application questions add a crucial layer of precision to the screening process. LandCare utilizes these to gather vital sourcing attribution data from LinkedIn messaging campaigns, helping to refine their outreach strategies. They also employ custom questions to allow intern candidates to indicate their preferred region of the country, providing practical information that aids in routing and prioritizing candidates without adding manual steps to the process. These small yet impactful features collectively contribute to a more efficient, candidate-friendly, and data-rich recruitment ecosystem.
Broader Implications and Future Outlook: Setting a New Industry Standard
The transformative journey undertaken by LandCare with Workable extends beyond mere operational improvements; it signifies a paradigm shift in how the company approaches talent management and positions its talent acquisition function strategically within the organization. For field-based organizations operating with distributed hiring across numerous locations, the ability to genuinely engage hiring managers in the recruitment process without the burden of extensive training is not just a convenience, but a profound competitive advantage. This advantage is particularly pronounced in industries like commercial landscaping, where talent scarcity and high turnover rates often pose significant challenges.
LandCare’s talent acquisition team has successfully transitioned from a manual, fragmented system to a nationally coordinated and highly efficient recruiting function. This evolution has empowered them to demonstrate their impact with concrete data, move candidates through the pipeline at an accelerated pace, and reach a wider talent pool across more than 15 platforms with unprecedented ease. The numbers unequivocally tell a compelling story: a 23% faster time-to-hire, 138 hires across four core branch positions in a single year, and a significant elevation of the TA team’s credibility with leadership, directly attributable to the platform’s ability to make their complex work visible and understandable.
This success story serves as a powerful case study for other large, geographically dispersed enterprises grappling with outdated HR technologies and the demands of modern talent acquisition. LandCare’s experience highlights the critical importance of selecting an ATS that not only meets the technical requirements of recruiters but also prioritizes the user experience for all stakeholders, especially those operating outside traditional office environments. By embracing Workable, LandCare has not only optimized its internal processes but has also enhanced its employer brand, improved candidate experience, and ultimately fortified its ability to attract and retain the skilled workforce essential for its continued growth and success.
The implications for the broader industry are clear: efficient, mobile-first, and data-driven talent acquisition is no longer a luxury but a necessity for sustained competitive advantage. LandCare’s resounding endorsement of Workable underscores the platform’s capability to deliver measurable results and foster a more strategic, transparent, and effective approach to talent management, setting a new benchmark for operational excellence in recruitment.
