In an increasingly competitive global talent landscape, leading social-first creative agency We Are Social has fundamentally transformed its talent acquisition strategy, moving from a fragmented, spreadsheet-dependent system to a unified, data-driven approach powered by Workable, a prominent applicant tracking system (ATS). This strategic shift, initiated four and a half years ago, has yielded significant improvements, most notably a reduction in time-to-hire by an average of five to ten days, bolstering the agency’s ability to attract and secure top-tier talent in a rapidly evolving industry.
The Agency at a Glance: We Are Social’s Global Footprint
We Are Social stands as a global powerhouse in the social-first creative agency space, distinguished by its unique approach to integrating culture, creativity, and data to craft impactful social content and campaigns at scale. With a formidable presence across multiple continents and a workforce exceeding 1,000 employees, the agency boasts an impressive client roster featuring some of the world’s most recognizable brands, including Adidas, Amazon Music, and Lucozade. The nature of its work necessitates a remarkably diverse talent pool, encompassing a wide array of disciplines—from hands-on content creators and community managers to strategic global heads of research and insights. This breadth of roles, coupled with the imperative to recruit across numerous international markets, positions talent acquisition not merely as an operational function but as a critical strategic priority, albeit one fraught with logistical complexities. The agency’s commitment to delivering cutting-edge, culturally relevant campaigns means that its success is intrinsically linked to its capacity to identify, attract, and onboard exceptional individuals efficiently and effectively.
Pre-Workable Era: A Patchwork of Challenges
Before the integration of Workable, We Are Social’s recruitment infrastructure was emblematic of the challenges faced by many rapidly growing global enterprises attempting to scale operations without a centralized technological backbone. The agency’s talent acquisition efforts were largely managed through a disparate collection of Google Sheets. This decentralized system meant that critical candidate information was fragmented across multiple trackers, often maintained by different teams in various global offices, leading to inconsistent updates and a lack of real-time data synchronization. There was no single, authoritative repository for candidate feedback, making collaborative decision-making cumbersome and prone to delays. The absence of a standardized process meant that the quality and consistency of the candidate experience varied significantly; while some applicants might navigate a swift and well-managed hiring journey, others would inevitably fall through the cracks, experiencing delays or a lack of clear communication. This inconsistency not only damaged the agency’s employer brand but also created significant operational inefficiencies for the talent acquisition team.
Furthermore, the strategic oversight of global recruitment performance was severely hampered. Without unified data, the talent acquisition leadership lacked a clear, comprehensive picture of hiring performance across different markets and departments. This data vacuum made it nearly impossible to identify systemic breakdowns in the hiring process, benchmark performance metrics, or make informed, data-driven decisions regarding where to allocate resources for improvement. As one internal leader, Simon, articulated, the previous hiring process was "pretty slow" and "very clunky," highlighting the urgent need for "one source of truth, an opportunity to have everything in one place, and an understanding of what that looked like globally." This statement encapsulates the core problem: a global agency operating without a global view of its most critical asset—its people pipeline.
The Tipping Point: Recognizing the Need for Transformation
The decision to seek a robust Applicant Tracking System (ATS) was not merely a reaction to operational bottlenecks but a strategic imperative driven by We Are Social’s ambitious growth trajectory and its commitment to excellence. As the agency expanded its global footprint and diversified its service offerings, the limitations of its manual, spreadsheet-based recruitment system became increasingly apparent and unsustainable. The cost of a slow, inconsistent hiring process began to weigh heavily, encompassing not only direct financial expenditures related to prolonged vacancies but also the intangible costs associated with missed opportunities, reduced productivity, and a compromised employer brand in a fiercely competitive talent market. Industry data consistently shows that every day a critical position remains vacant can cost an organization between $500 and $1,000, depending on the role and industry, factoring in lost productivity, potential revenue, and team morale. For an agency like We Are Social, which thrives on agility and continuous innovation, these costs quickly escalated.
Moreover, the shift towards a more structured and equitable hiring approach, particularly skills-based hiring, was gaining traction within the industry. We Are Social recognized that to effectively implement such methodologies, it required a technological platform that could embed these principles into its workflow, rather than relying on ad-hoc processes. The agency understood that a modern ATS was not just a database for resumes but a comprehensive tool capable of standardizing workflows, facilitating collaboration, enhancing candidate engagement, and providing the analytical insights necessary for strategic talent management. The search was for a partner, not just a product—a platform that could offer the flexibility to adapt to diverse local market nuances while enforcing global consistency, empower hiring managers, and render the complex work of talent acquisition visible and measurable to leadership. This strategic foresight marked the turning point, signaling a decisive move towards modernizing and optimizing its global talent acquisition function.
Workable as the Strategic Solution
We Are Social’s comprehensive evaluation of potential solutions ultimately led to the selection of Workable, an ATS that promised to address the agency’s multifaceted recruitment challenges. The core appeal of Workable lay in its ability to offer a centralized, unified platform for managing candidates globally. This meant consolidating all candidate data, communication history, and feedback into a single system, effectively eliminating the fragmented data silos that had plagued the agency’s previous operations. The platform’s robust automation capabilities were a critical factor, designed to significantly reduce the manual coordination efforts that consumed valuable recruiter time. Automated stage-based communications, feedback notifications, and evaluation prompts streamlined workflows, ensuring consistency and timeliness across the entire hiring pipeline.
Crucially, Workable provided sophisticated reporting and analytics tools that could surface data points that had previously been non-existent or incredibly difficult to compile. Real-time insights into candidate sources, time-to-hire, and time-to-fill metrics offered an unprecedented level of visibility into global recruitment health, allowing the talent acquisition team to identify bottlenecks, measure performance, and make data-informed decisions for continuous improvement. Furthermore, Workable’s inherent structure supported We Are Social’s commitment to skills-based hiring. By integrating customizable scorecards directly into the hiring workflow, the platform enabled structured, evidence-based evaluations for every role and market, promoting fairness, reducing unconscious bias, and ultimately leading to better-quality hires without necessitating a complete overhaul of existing team dynamics. This blend of global standardization with local flexibility, coupled with powerful analytics and user-friendly design for hiring managers, positioned Workable as the ideal strategic partner for We Are Social’s talent acquisition transformation.
Transformative Outcomes: A Deeper Dive into Key Metrics
The implementation of Workable at We Are Social has ushered in a new era of efficiency, consistency, and strategic insight across its global talent acquisition function. The impact is quantifiable and demonstrably positive across several key performance indicators:
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Streamlined Time-to-Hire: The most immediate and impactful outcome has been a substantial reduction in the average time-to-hire and time-to-fill, by five to ten days. This improvement is critical in the fast-paced creative industry, where top talent is often off the market quickly. Faster offers translate directly into a competitive advantage, enabling We Are Social to secure desirable candidates before competitors. Beyond the competitive edge, reducing vacancy costs is a significant business impact. With the average cost of an unfilled position estimated to be in the thousands of dollars per day for specialized roles, saving five to ten days per hire represents substantial financial savings and minimizes productivity gaps within teams. This also contributes to a more positive candidate experience, as applicants appreciate a prompt and decisive process.
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Elevating the Candidate Experience: Workable’s automated stage-based communications have revolutionized how We Are Social interacts with candidates. Previously, communication quality and timeliness were inconsistent, risking a negative perception of the agency. Now, candidates receive prompt, consistent, and professional responses at every touchpoint, from initial application acknowledgment to interview scheduling and offer letters. This consistent communication builds trust, enhances the agency’s employer brand, and ensures that even unsuccessful candidates leave with a positive impression, which is vital for future talent pipelines and market reputation. A positive candidate experience is increasingly recognized as a crucial differentiator, influencing a candidate’s decision to accept an offer and even their willingness to refer others.
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Achieving Global Process Consistency: The transition from disparate Google Sheets to a single, unified ATS has established a "one source of truth" across all of We Are Social’s global offices and hiring teams. This eliminates confusion, ensures data integrity, and fosters better collaboration among recruiters and hiring managers worldwide. Standardized workflows mean that regardless of location, the core hiring process remains consistent, enabling easier training, clearer expectations, and more reliable data collection. This consistency is paramount for a global agency managing diverse teams and ensuring equitable hiring practices across different regions.
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Embracing Skills-Based Hiring: Workable’s integrated scorecards, built directly into the hiring workflow, have been instrumental in reinforcing We Are Social’s commitment to skills-based hiring. This structured evaluation methodology ensures that candidates are assessed based on objective criteria and demonstrated abilities rather than subjective biases. Each interviewer uses the same scorecard, leading to structured, evidence-based evaluations that are consistent across every role and market. This approach not only improves the quality and fit of hires but also promotes diversity and inclusion by focusing purely on merit, aligning with modern best practices in equitable talent acquisition.
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Enhancing Hiring Manager Accountability: A common challenge in recruitment is securing timely feedback from hiring managers. Workable addresses this through automated feedback notifications and evaluation prompts, significantly reducing the need for recruiters to "chase" managers for their input. This system encourages hiring managers to act faster and more consistently, streamlining the decision-making process and preventing bottlenecks. Increased accountability on the part of hiring managers frees up recruiter time to focus on strategic sourcing and candidate engagement, rather than administrative follow-ups.
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Unlocking Data-Driven Decisions: The real-time data provided by Workable on candidate source, time-to-hire, and time-to-fill offers We Are Social an unparalleled "clearer picture of global recruitment health and areas for improvement." This analytical capability empowers the talent acquisition team to move beyond reactive problem-solving to proactive strategic planning. They can identify the most effective sourcing channels, understand where processes might be slowing down, and forecast future talent needs with greater accuracy. This data-driven approach transforms talent acquisition from a transactional function into a strategic business partner, capable of informing broader organizational decisions and optimizing resource allocation.
Beyond the Platform: A Partnership Approach
While the technical features and functionalities of Workable have been transformative, Simon, a key leader within We Are Social’s talent acquisition team, singles out Workable’s customer service as a defining aspect of their enduring relationship. For a lean talent acquisition function operating across multiple time zones and diverse markets, access to responsive and genuinely helpful support is not merely a convenience but a critical operational necessity. The ability to quickly resolve technical queries, understand system nuances, or troubleshoot issues without significant delays ensures that recruitment processes remain fluid and efficient, irrespective of geographical location or local challenges. Simon’s commendation, stating, "In addition to Workable being a great product, the customer service is definitely one of the key highlights. Super supportive, super helpful, and always on hand when we need them," underscores the value of a vendor relationship that extends beyond just providing software. This level of partnership signifies a shared commitment to success, fostering trust and enabling We Are Social to maximize its investment in the platform. In a globalized operational environment, where recruitment teams often work asynchronously, having a reliable support system acts as an invaluable extension of the internal team, ensuring continuity and effectiveness in talent acquisition efforts worldwide.
Broader Business Impact and Strategic Advantage
Four and a half years into its partnership with Workable, We Are Social now operates with a talent acquisition function that is demonstrably faster, more consistent, and deeply data-driven—a stark contrast to its historical operations. The strategic migration from a fragmented spreadsheet-based system to a unified, intelligent platform has systematically removed structural friction at every stage of the hiring process. This transformation has far-reaching implications that extend beyond the immediate efficiency gains within the recruitment department.
The enhanced accountability among hiring managers, driven by automated prompts and streamlined feedback loops, has fostered a culture of shared responsibility for talent acquisition, aligning recruitment goals more closely with departmental objectives. Concurrently, the consistently positive candidate experience, orchestrated through automated and personalized communications, significantly strengthens We Are Social’s employer brand, making it a more attractive destination for top creative and strategic talent in a highly competitive market. In an industry where reputation and talent perception are paramount, this improved candidate journey directly contributes to the agency’s ability to attract and retain high-caliber professionals.
Crucially, the talent acquisition team now possesses unparalleled visibility into its global operations, supported by robust, real-time data. This newfound clarity enables the team to manage a complex, multi-continental recruitment landscape with strategic precision. They can identify trends, pinpoint areas for continuous improvement, and make informed decisions that optimize resource allocation and enhance overall recruitment effectiveness. For a dynamic creative agency whose core value proposition is built upon the exceptional talent of its people across diverse disciplines and geographies, this transformation is far more than a mere "back-office improvement." It represents a profound enhancement of We Are Social’s operational agility and strategic capability, directly translating into a significant competitive advantage in the global marketplace. By securing the best talent more efficiently and effectively, We Are Social is better positioned to innovate, deliver outstanding client work, and sustain its leadership position in the social-first creative agency sector, thereby underpinning its future growth and continued success.
