City Wide Facility Solutions, a venerable third-generation, family-owned enterprise in the building services management sector, has dramatically enhanced its talent acquisition strategy through a strategic partnership with Workable, a leading applicant tracking system (ATS). Founded in 1961, City Wide operates a vast network spanning 110 locations across the United States and Canada, managing a comprehensive suite of services from janitorial operations and landscaping to specialized facility maintenance. This expansive, distributed model, which relies on a unique B2B approach partnering with independent contractors, presented significant challenges in maintaining a cohesive and efficient hiring process. The adoption of Workable has streamlined recruitment across diverse roles, yielding an impressive average time-to-fill of just 16 days and a commitment to 100% applicant response, thereby setting a new standard for operational excellence in talent management within the facility services industry.
City Wide Facility Solutions: A Legacy of Service and Growth
For over six decades, City Wide Facility Solutions has cultivated a reputation for excellence and reliability in facility management. Its foundation in 1961 marked the beginning of a journey that has seen the company grow from a local service provider into an international powerhouse. As a third-generation, family-owned business, City Wide prides itself on a culture that blends traditional values with modern operational strategies. The company’s distinctive business-to-business (B2B) model is predicated on forging strong partnerships with independent contractors, allowing for localized expertise and agile service delivery across its vast geographical footprint. This model covers a broad spectrum of building services, ensuring that facilities, from corporate offices to industrial complexes, operate seamlessly and efficiently. The complexity inherent in managing such a diverse service portfolio across 110 distinct locations, each with its unique staffing requirements and market dynamics, underscored the critical need for a robust and scalable talent acquisition infrastructure.
The company’s continuous expansion necessitated a dynamic approach to talent sourcing, not just for its core operations but also for its corporate functions. Hiring at City Wide encompasses a wide array of positions, ranging from critical field roles such as night managers and maintenance specialists to strategic sales executives and top-tier C-suite leadership. With an annual hiring volume of 30 to 50 new employees for the franchisor and its extensive franchisee network, the task of recruitment is both continuous and complex. Kelsey Herbig, a pivotal figure in City Wide’s human resources leadership, recognized early on the imperative for a centralized yet flexible ATS that could support this intricate, distributed organizational structure. The challenge was not merely to fill positions but to do so efficiently, consistently, and in a manner that upheld the company’s brand and values across all its operations.
The Evolving Landscape of Talent Acquisition for Distributed Enterprises
The modern economic environment presents unique hurdles for organizations with multi-location or franchise-based business models. Maintaining brand consistency, ensuring regulatory compliance across different jurisdictions, and managing a diverse array of role types – from entry-level positions to executive leadership – are persistent concerns. Traditional, siloed hiring practices often lead to inefficiencies, inconsistent candidate experiences, and escalating costs. For a company like City Wide, where operational continuity and service quality are paramount, delays in staffing can directly impact client satisfaction and business growth. The limitations of outdated or fragmented recruitment systems become particularly acute in such scenarios, often manifesting as prolonged time-to-fill metrics, high administrative burdens, and a diminished ability to compete for top talent in competitive labor markets.
Before the transition to Workable, City Wide utilized CareerPlug, an ATS that, while functional, struggled to provide the centralized control and scalable flexibility required by an organization of City Wide’s magnitude and growth trajectory. The need for a modern, integrated platform became a strategic imperative. The previous system lacked the advanced automation features and comprehensive reporting capabilities necessary to manage high-volume recruitment across a vast, geographically dispersed network without incurring prohibitive costs, particularly concerning per-user fees that can quickly multiply across dozens of independent locations. This situation highlighted a growing gap between City Wide’s ambitious expansion plans and the capabilities of its existing talent acquisition tools. The search for a new ATS was not merely an upgrade; it was a fundamental re-evaluation of how City Wide would secure its most vital asset: its people.
The Search for a Modern ATS: A Strategic Imperative
Approximately five years ago, City Wide embarked on a comprehensive evaluation process to identify a new applicant tracking system that could meet its evolving and complex talent acquisition demands. This initiative, spearheaded by Kelsey Herbig, was driven by the recognition that the company’s existing ATS, CareerPlug, was no longer adequate to support its rapid growth and distributed operational model. The objective was clear: find a solution that offered robust functionality, scalability across numerous locations, and a cost-effective pricing structure that wouldn’t penalize growth.
The rigorous evaluation involved a comparative analysis of several prominent ATS platforms in the market. City Wide meticulously assessed Workable alongside industry giants such as UKG, ADP, BambooHR, and JazzHR. Each platform was scrutinized for its capabilities in managing high-volume recruitment, supporting diverse job types, facilitating seamless communication, and integrating with other HR technologies. A crucial consideration was the system’s ability to handle City Wide’s unique organizational structure, specifically its 110 franchise locations, each potentially requiring separate departmental structures and user spaces without incurring exorbitant per-user licensing fees. This aspect proved to be a significant differentiator in the selection process.
The decisive factor that ultimately led City Wide to choose Workable was its distinctive pricing model and unparalleled structural flexibility. As Kelsey Herbig articulated, "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 underscored Workable’s unique value proposition: the ability to provide a unified hiring system that allowed individual locations and departments to operate with autonomy within a shared framework, all without the financial burden of per-user charges. This cost efficiency, combined with Workable’s comprehensive feature set, made it the clear frontrunner, promising not just a solution to current challenges but a scalable foundation for future growth.
Workable Emerges as the Optimal Solution
Workable’s architecture offered a compelling blend of centralization and localized control that perfectly aligned with City Wide’s operational demands. Its ability to create distinct user spaces and departments within a single platform meant that while the corporate entity maintained oversight and consistency, individual franchisees and hiring managers could manage their specific recruitment needs effectively. This structural flexibility was crucial for a company where roles vary significantly from one location to another, and where local market conditions dictate specific hiring strategies. Beyond the pricing model, Workable’s suite of features further solidified its position as the ideal partner. These included intuitive job posting capabilities, automated candidate screening tools, robust communication functionalities, and comprehensive reporting and analytics. The platform’s user-friendly interface also promised a smoother adoption process across a diverse user base, from seasoned HR professionals to first-time hiring managers in franchise locations.
Transformative Impact: Redefining Hiring Metrics
The integration of Workable into City Wide’s talent acquisition framework ushered in a period of unprecedented efficiency and strategic improvement across all hiring metrics. The impact was immediate and profound, demonstrating Workable’s capacity to not only solve existing challenges but also to elevate the entire recruitment function.
Rapid Implementation and User Adoption: The rollout of Workable across City Wide’s extensive network of franchise teams was notably seamless. Kelsey Herbig attested to the ease of this transition, stating, "It was pretty easy. The implementation was great. It was easy to train. Customer service with Workable has been great." This swift and straightforward implementation was critical for a distributed organization, minimizing disruption and accelerating the realization of the platform’s benefits. The intuitive design and comprehensive support from Workable ensured that users across all 110 locations could quickly become proficient, fostering widespread adoption and consistent application of best practices.
Accelerated Time-to-Fill: One of the most significant achievements post-Workable implementation has been the dramatic reduction in time-to-fill. City Wide now boasts an average time-to-fill of just 16 days. To put this into perspective, industry benchmarks for time-to-hire across all sectors typically range from 24 to 36 days, and often extend longer for specialized or hard-to-fill roles. City Wide’s 16-day average represents an exceptional level of efficiency, enabling the company to staff critical positions rapidly and maintain operational momentum. This speed is crucial in the facility services sector, where timely staffing directly impacts service delivery and client satisfaction. Kelsey Herbig emphasized, "My current time-to-fill is 16 days… Everything runs through Workable, so it’s a true one-stop shop." This metric not only highlights the efficiency of the hiring process but also translates into tangible business advantages, such as reduced labor shortages, improved project initiation times, and enhanced competitive positioning.
Enhanced Candidate Experience and Employer Branding: In an increasingly competitive labor market, a positive candidate experience is paramount for attracting and retaining top talent. Workable has empowered City Wide to maintain a best-in-class candidate experience by ensuring 100% applicant response. This commitment to timely communication, even for unsuccessful candidates, significantly strengthens City Wide’s employer brand. Studies consistently show that a positive candidate experience can influence a job seeker’s perception of a company, even if they don’t receive an offer, potentially turning them into brand advocates or future applicants. Workable’s automated and scheduled communication features allow City Wide to manage high volumes of applications without overwhelming recruiters. As Herbig noted, "We have to respond to 100% of applicants… We send the thank you/no thank you out of Workable." This ensures that every applicant receives professional, timely feedback, reinforcing City Wide’s reputation as a considerate and organized employer.
End-to-End Process Consolidation: Workable has transformed City Wide’s hiring process into a truly integrated, end-to-end workflow. The platform consolidates critical recruitment tasks that traditionally required multiple disparate systems or manual intervention. Assessments, the generation and delivery of offer letters, and the initiation of background checks are all handled directly within Workable. This consolidation eliminates the need for data re-entry, reduces the risk of errors, and provides a centralized repository for all candidate information. The result is a streamlined, efficient, and transparent hiring journey from initial application to final offer.
Operational Efficiencies Through Automation: Beyond process consolidation, Workable’s automation capabilities have significantly reduced the administrative burden on City Wide’s recruitment team, freeing up valuable time for more strategic activities. Automated scheduling features, for instance, simplify the coordination of interviews across multiple calendars. Herbig praised this functionality, stating, "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." Furthermore, Workable streamlines the creation and distribution of interview kits, standardizes reporting, and automates various steps in the offer letter and background check processes. These efficiencies accelerate hiring cycles, minimize manual effort, and ensure consistent application of hiring protocols across all locations.
Leveraging Sourcing Innovations: The Indeed Talent Scout Advantage
City Wide’s partnership with Workable extended to pioneering new sourcing methodologies through their participation as a beta partner for Indeed Talent Scout, integrated directly within the Workable platform. This strategic collaboration yielded immediate and impressive results, particularly for challenging-to-fill positions. Indeed Talent Scout is designed to help recruiters proactively identify and engage passive candidates who may not be actively applying but possess the desired skills and experience.
The effectiveness of this integration was swiftly demonstrated when City Wide successfully hired an account manager in just seven days using Talent Scout. Kelsey Herbig enthused, "I loved it. I hired an account manager in seven days off of it." This rapid placement highlighted the tool’s capability to quickly connect employers with suitable candidates, drastically shortening the sourcing phase of recruitment.
Indeed Talent Scout proved particularly invaluable for roles that traditionally struggle for visibility on professional networking sites like LinkedIn. Night managers, for example, are often considered among the hardest positions to fill in the facility services industry. These candidates are typically less active on LinkedIn but maintain strong profiles on Indeed, a platform known for its extensive database of hourly and field-based workers. 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." This strategic insight allowed City Wide to tap into a previously underutilized talent pool, directly addressing critical staffing needs.
Through Talent Scout, City Wide gained the ability to:
- Proactively search and identify candidates: Moving beyond reactive application processing to actively seek out qualified individuals.
- Connect directly with candidates: Facilitating immediate engagement with potential hires who match specific criteria.
- Track candidate interactions: Maintaining a clear record of communication and progress within the Workable system.
As a direct consequence of its proven efficacy, Indeed Talent Scout has become an indispensable component of Kelsey Herbig’s permanent sourcing toolkit. Its integration within Workable provides a seamless experience, allowing recruiters to manage both inbound applications and outbound sourcing efforts from a single, unified platform, thereby maximizing efficiency and broadening talent reach.
Broader Implications for Distributed Operations and the Facility Services Sector
City Wide Facility Solutions’ success with Workable provides a compelling case study and a practical blueprint for other multi-location and franchise-based businesses grappling with similar talent acquisition challenges. In an era characterized by dynamic labor markets and intense competition for skilled workers, the ability to hire efficiently and effectively is a significant competitive differentiator. By centralizing its ATS while allowing for localized operational flexibility, City Wide has demonstrated how technology can bridge the gap between corporate oversight and the diverse needs of individual locations.
For the broader facility services and building maintenance sector, where frontline roles are often critical and can be challenging to staff, City Wide’s achievements offer valuable insights. Faster time-to-fill rates directly translate into reduced operational disruptions, improved service delivery, and enhanced client satisfaction. Furthermore, a consistent and positive candidate experience strengthens the employer brand, making the company a more attractive prospect for future talent. This strategic advantage is particularly potent in an industry that relies heavily on a skilled and reliable workforce. The adoption of advanced ATS platforms like Workable, coupled with innovative sourcing tools like Indeed Talent Scout, empowers traditional industries to modernize their recruitment practices, attract a wider talent pool, and build resilient, high-performing teams.
A Testament to Partnership: Five Years of Success and Counting
When questioned about her recommendation of Workable, Kelsey Herbig’s response was unequivocal and enthusiastic: "I actually have! So much so that I joke that I should get a referral bonus!" This strong endorsement underscores the profound positive impact Workable has had on City Wide’s operations and its talent acquisition strategy over the past five years.
For companies operating in facility services, building maintenance, or any distributed operational model, Workable offers a suite of benefits that address core recruitment challenges:
- Scalability: Supporting extensive networks without prohibitive per-user costs.
- Efficiency: Dramatically reducing time-to-fill and administrative burdens through automation.
- Candidate Experience: Fostering a positive brand image with consistent, timely communication.
- Consolidation: Streamlining the entire hiring workflow from sourcing to onboarding.
- Sourcing Advantage: Providing integrated tools to reach both active and passive candidates effectively.
Having utilized Workable for five years and continuing, City Wide Facility Solutions stands as a testament to the transformative power of strategic technology adoption in human resources. The partnership has not only streamlined processes and improved candidate experience but has also enabled City Wide to hire efficiently and effectively across its extensive network in the U.S. and Canada, positioning it for sustained growth and leadership in the facility management industry.
