City Wide Facility Solutions, a venerable third-generation, family-owned building services management company established in 1961, has solidified its position as an industry leader not only through its extensive operational footprint but also through its innovative approach to talent acquisition. Operating across a formidable network of 110 locations spanning both the United States and Canada, the organization orchestrates a comprehensive suite of facility services, ranging from meticulous janitorial operations and sophisticated landscaping to critical maintenance and specialized facility management. This extensive portfolio is managed through a distinctive B2B model that leverages strategic partnerships with independent contractors, necessitating a robust and adaptable human resources infrastructure.
The scale and diversity of City Wide’s operations translate directly into a complex and continuous demand for talent. The company’s hiring needs are remarkably broad, encompassing a spectrum of roles from essential night managers and dynamic sales executives to pivotal C-suite leadership positions. With an impressive volume of approximately 30 to 50 hires annually for its franchisee and franchisor entities alone, the imperative for a centralized, scalable Applicant Tracking System (ATS) that could adeptly support such an intricate, distributed model became undeniable. This critical responsibility fell to Kelsey Herbig, whose strategic vision led City Wide to a transformative five-year partnership with Workable, an ATS solution that has since become the cornerstone of their recruitment success.
Navigating the Complexities of a Distributed Hiring Landscape
Before the advent of their partnership with Workable, City Wide Facility Solutions faced a common challenge among rapidly expanding, multi-location enterprises: the limitations of a fragmented or less sophisticated recruitment platform. The company’s previous system, CareerPlug, while functional for a certain scale, began to exhibit constraints as City Wide’s footprint grew and its hiring needs diversified. The sheer geographical dispersion of 110 locations, each with unique operational requirements and hiring demands, posed a significant hurdle. Managing various job postings, candidate pipelines, communication streams, and compliance requirements across such a vast network demanded a level of integration and automation that their existing tools could not fully provide.
The challenge wasn’t merely about posting jobs; it was about orchestrating a cohesive, efficient, and branded candidate experience across dozens of independent franchise entities while maintaining central oversight and consistency. Each location, though part of the larger City Wide family, often operated with a degree of autonomy in its day-to-day recruitment activities. This decentralized approach, without a unifying technological backbone, risked inconsistencies in hiring practices, delays in candidate engagement, and ultimately, an elevated time-to-fill for critical roles. For a service-oriented business like City Wide, where the quality and availability of its workforce directly impact client satisfaction and operational efficiency, these challenges represented a tangible threat to sustained growth and service excellence. The need for an ATS that could offer both centralized control and localized flexibility, without incurring exorbitant costs per user, became the primary driver for a comprehensive system overhaul.
The Strategic Selection of Workable
Recognizing the urgent need for a modern, scalable ATS, City Wide initiated a thorough evaluation process five years ago. Kelsey Herbig spearheaded this critical initiative, undertaking a comprehensive comparison of leading industry solutions. The contenders included prominent platforms such as UKG, ADP, BambooHR, and JazzHR, each offering distinct features and pricing models. However, it was Workable that ultimately stood out as the optimal choice, primarily due to its unique combination of structural flexibility and a cost-effective pricing model.
The deciding factor, as articulated by Herbig, revolved around Workable’s ability to cater to their complex, multi-location structure without imposing prohibitive per-user fees. "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 insight underscores a fundamental pain point for large franchise operations: the exponential cost accumulation associated with traditional ATS models that charge per user. Workable’s approach offered a unified hiring system where individual locations or departments could manage their recruitment within dedicated user spaces, all under a single, overarching platform, thereby eliminating the financial barrier to widespread adoption across the entire franchise network. This economic advantage, coupled with the system’s inherent scalability, made Workable an exceptionally compelling proposition. Beyond the pricing structure, other inferred factors likely contributed to Workable’s selection, including its intuitive user interface, comprehensive suite of recruitment tools, and a reputation for strong customer support—elements crucial for a smooth transition and ongoing operational efficiency across a diverse user base.
Accelerated Outcomes: A Deep Dive into Workable’s Impact
The implementation of Workable across City Wide’s vast network proved to be remarkably swift and seamless, a testament to the platform’s user-friendliness and Workable’s dedicated implementation support. Kelsey Herbig lauded the process, stating, "It was pretty easy. The implementation was great. It was easy to train. Customer service with Workable has been great." This rapid deployment and ease of training were critical for ensuring quick adoption across 110 diverse franchise teams, minimizing disruption and maximizing the immediate return on investment. The transition from their previous system was characterized by efficiency, allowing City Wide to quickly leverage the full capabilities of the new platform.
The impact of Workable on City Wide’s hiring operations has been profound and quantifiable, delivering significant improvements across several key performance indicators:
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Hiring Efficiency: A Remarkable 16-Day Time-to-Fill
Workable has revolutionized City Wide’s hiring cycles, enabling an average time-to-fill of a mere 16 days. This figure is exceptionally impressive when benchmarked against industry averages, which typically range from 30 to 45 days for comparable roles. For a company like City Wide, where operational continuity and service delivery are paramount, faster hiring cycles translate directly into reduced labor shortages, quicker deployment of personnel, and enhanced capacity to meet client demands. This rapid turnaround ensures that business operations remain robust and responsive, minimizing potential revenue loss due to unfilled positions. Herbig proudly states, "My current time-to-fill is 16 days… Everything runs through Workable, so it’s a true one-stop shop." This metric alone highlights the profound operational advantage gained through Workable’s streamlined processes. -
Unparalleled Scalability for a Distributed Model
Workable’s architecture is perfectly suited for City Wide’s expansive and decentralized structure. It adeptly supports 110 franchise locations, each with the ability to maintain separate departments and user spaces within the unified platform. This robust scalability ensures that as City Wide continues its growth trajectory, its hiring system will not become a bottleneck. The absence of per-user fees further amplifies this advantage, allowing for limitless expansion without escalating software costs, a critical consideration for franchise businesses. This structural flexibility provides both centralized oversight for the franchisor and localized autonomy for franchisees, a delicate balance crucial for such a model. -
Enhanced Candidate Experience Through 100% Applicant Response
In today’s competitive talent market, candidate experience is a powerful differentiator. Workable has enabled City Wide to achieve a 100% applicant response rate through its automated and scheduled communication features. This commitment to acknowledging every applicant, regardless of the outcome, significantly strengthens City Wide’s employer brand and fosters goodwill within the talent pool. "We have to respond to 100% of applicants… We send the thank you/no thank you out of Workable," Herbig explains. This systematic approach ensures that candidates feel valued and respected, leaving them with a positive impression of City Wide, even if they aren’t selected. This proactive communication strategy reduces candidate frustration, improves Glassdoor ratings, and enhances the company’s reputation as an employer of choice. -
Streamlined End-to-End Process Consolidation
Workable functions as a true "one-stop shop" for City Wide’s recruitment efforts. Critical hiring stages, including candidate assessments, generation of offer letters, and initiation of background checks, are all seamlessly managed directly within the Workable platform. This consolidation eliminates the need for multiple disparate systems, reducing administrative overhead, minimizing data entry errors, and ensuring a smooth, end-to-end workflow. The integration of these functions not only saves time but also enhances compliance and consistency across all hiring activities. -
Time Savings Through Automation and Smart Scheduling
The automation capabilities within Workable have liberated significant administrative time for City Wide’s recruitment team. The ability to send calendar invites that automatically include both the recruiter and the hiring team eliminates manual coordination steps. Furthermore, Workable streamlines:- Interview scheduling: Reducing the back-and-forth typically associated with arranging interviews.
- Offer letters: Standardizing and automating the generation and delivery of offer documents.
- Onboarding: Integrating with initial onboarding steps to ensure a smooth transition for new hires.
These efficiencies collectively reduce administrative effort, free up valuable time for strategic recruitment activities, and contribute to the accelerated hiring cycles.
Leveraging the Sourcing Advantage: Indeed Talent Scout
City Wide Facility Solutions was selected as a beta partner for the integration of Indeed Talent Scout within the Workable platform, an opportunity that yielded immediate and tangible value. This advanced sourcing tool quickly became an indispensable part of Kelsey Herbig’s recruitment arsenal.
The immediate impact was stark: "I loved it. I hired an account manager in seven days off of it," Herbig recounted. This rapid success demonstrated the power of proactive sourcing for even highly sought-after roles. More importantly, Talent Scout proved particularly effective for "hard-to-fill roles" that traditionally struggle for visibility on professional networking sites like LinkedIn. Herbig highlighted, "Night managers are the hardest job to fill… Talent Scout is awesome because those people aren’t on LinkedIn. They’re on Indeed." This insight is critical for understanding the diverse digital behaviors of different professional segments. While LinkedIn might be the primary hub for white-collar professionals, platforms like Indeed often cater to a broader range of skilled and operational roles, including the crucial night managers vital to City Wide’s service delivery.
Through Indeed Talent Scout within Workable, City Wide was able to:
- Proactively source candidates: Moving beyond passive job postings to actively identify and engage potential hires.
- Directly contact passive talent: Reaching out to individuals who might not be actively looking but possess the desired skills and experience.
- Access a broader pool of candidates: Tapping into Indeed’s extensive database, which often includes a wider array of candidates, especially for field and operational roles.
As a direct result of these successes, Indeed Talent Scout transitioned from a beta program feature to a permanent and integral component of Kelsey Herbig’s sourcing toolkit, regularly utilized to address City Wide’s diverse hiring needs. This integration exemplifies Workable’s commitment to providing comprehensive solutions that adapt to evolving recruitment landscapes and leverage strategic partnerships to enhance client capabilities.
Broader Impact and Strategic Implications
The five-year partnership between City Wide Facility Solutions and Workable extends far beyond mere operational efficiency; it has profound strategic implications for the company’s sustained growth and market leadership.
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Strengthening Employer Branding: The commitment to a 100% applicant response rate, facilitated by Workable’s automation, significantly elevates City Wide’s employer brand. In an era where talent is scarce and candidates often share their experiences online, a positive and respectful recruitment process becomes a powerful differentiator. This not only attracts higher-quality candidates but also fosters a reputation as an organization that values its people, even prospective ones. A strong employer brand reduces future recruitment costs and enhances the overall perception of the company.
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Operational Excellence and Competitive Advantage: The cumulative effect of a 16-day time-to-fill, streamlined workflows, and effective sourcing directly translates into operational excellence. Faster hiring means that service contracts can be fulfilled more promptly, new projects can commence without delay, and client needs are met with greater agility. In the highly competitive facility services industry, where responsiveness and reliability are key, this operational efficiency provides City Wide with a significant competitive advantage. It ensures that the company can scale its workforce in line with business demands, avoiding costly bottlenecks and maintaining high service standards.
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Scalability as a Growth Enabler: Workable’s unique pricing model and structural flexibility have effectively future-proofed City Wide’s talent acquisition infrastructure. As City Wide continues to expand its franchise network and service offerings across North America, the ATS will scale effortlessly alongside it. This eliminates the risk of HR infrastructure becoming a constraint on growth, allowing the company to pursue aggressive expansion strategies with confidence that its talent pipeline can keep pace.
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Strategic Partnership and Innovation: City Wide’s participation in the Indeed Talent Scout beta program underscores the collaborative and innovative nature of its relationship with Workable. This is not merely a vendor-client dynamic but a strategic partnership focused on continuous improvement and leveraging cutting-edge technology to address real-world recruitment challenges. Such collaborations often lead to bespoke solutions and an enhanced understanding of client needs, further solidifying the value proposition.
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Data-Driven Decision Making: While not explicitly detailed in the original content, a modern ATS like Workable inherently provides robust analytics and reporting capabilities. This allows City Wide to move beyond anecdotal evidence, making data-driven decisions about their recruitment strategies, identifying areas for further optimization, and understanding the true ROI of their talent acquisition efforts. Metrics on source effectiveness, candidate drop-off rates, and recruiter performance become readily available, enabling continuous refinement of their hiring processes.
A Resounding Recommendation and Future Outlook
When questioned about recommending Workable to others, Kelsey Herbig’s response was unequivocal, delivered with a hint of playful enthusiasm: "I actually have! So much so that I joke that I should get a referral bonus!" This strong endorsement speaks volumes about the tangible benefits and satisfaction City Wide has experienced over the past half-decade.
For companies operating in facility services, building maintenance, or any industry characterized by distributed operations and diverse hiring needs, Workable provides a compelling solution. Its core offerings include: a unified system that brings coherence to fragmented recruitment efforts; significant cost savings through its flexible pricing model; streamlined processes that eliminate manual inefficiencies; and an enhanced candidate experience that bolsters employer branding.
Having utilized Workable for five years and counting, City Wide Facility Solutions continues to leverage the platform to refine its processes, elevate the candidate experience, and achieve highly efficient hiring across its extensive network in the U.S. and Canada. This enduring partnership stands as a testament to Workable’s capability to deliver a comprehensive, scalable, and impactful solution for complex talent acquisition challenges in a dynamic and growing enterprise. The ongoing success story of City Wide and Workable underscores the critical role that advanced ATS technology plays in empowering organizations to thrive in today’s competitive labor market.
