How HSI is building a smarter, more scalable recruiting function with Workable

HSI, a rapidly expanding Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) organization specializing in workplace health, safety, and compliance solutions, has fundamentally transformed its global talent acquisition strategy through the strategic implementation of Workable’s applicant tracking system (ATS) and, more recently, its innovative AI Recruiting Agent. This pivotal shift addresses the escalating demands of managing high-volume recruitment across diverse geographies, underscoring a commitment to operational excellence and a forward-thinking approach to human capital management. With approximately 700 employees and a burgeoning international footprint spanning the US, UK, Ireland, and the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, HSI operates in an environment where speed, precision, and scalability are not merely advantages but critical necessities for sustained growth.

The intricate and expansive task of orchestrating recruitment for the entire organization—encompassing every function, every geography, and every level—rests primarily on the shoulders of Deanna Surmeier, HSI’s dedicated Human Resources Generalist. From the initial intake calls with hiring managers to the delicate nuances of offer negotiations and seamless onboarding handoffs, Ms. Surmeier owns the entirety of the recruitment lifecycle. Her experience offers a compelling case study in how modern HR technology can empower individual professionals to manage immense responsibility with remarkable efficacy.

The Pre-Workable Landscape: Navigating a Fragmented Recruitment Process

Prior to its partnership with Workable, HSI’s recruitment infrastructure was anchored to a legacy ATS solution. This system, as described by Ms. Surmeier, was characterized by its inherent lack of collaborative features and its inability to keep pace with the dynamic and often complex demands of contemporary talent acquisition. The prevailing methodology for hiring was largely reliant on a fragmented array of emails and direct, informal connections. This ad hoc approach resulted in a significant absence of structured pipelines, leading to limited visibility for the hiring managers and interviewers who were integral to the process.

This operational siloing created numerous inefficiencies. Key stakeholders often found themselves outside the direct communication loop, delaying feedback cycles and prolonging the time-to-hire. The absence of a centralized, transparent system meant that tracking candidate progress, managing communications, and ensuring consistent evaluation criteria were constant administrative burdens. In a fast-growing SaaS company like HSI, where securing top talent quickly is paramount to maintaining a competitive edge and driving innovation in critical sectors like health and safety, such bottlenecks posed a significant operational risk. The global talent market is fiercely competitive, and a slow, opaque hiring process can deter high-caliber candidates who increasingly expect efficiency and clear communication from prospective employers. Industry data consistently highlights that a positive candidate experience is a major differentiator, with organizations losing out on top talent due to cumbersome application processes and poor communication.

The Transformative Impact of Workable: A Paradigm Shift in Talent Acquisition

The transition to Workable heralded an immediate and profoundly meaningful contrast. Where the previous ATS fostered a siloed and largely one-directional hiring process, Workable democratized it, offering genuine visibility and empowering hiring managers to take a more active and informed role. Ms. Surmeier recounted, "When we switched to Workable, we got strong praise from our managers using the system. They love the ease of use and collaboration. They’re able to add in other interviewers – even if they’re just in a reviewer status. It’s made the recruiting process more transparent and collaborative." This feedback underscores a fundamental shift from a recruiter-centric bottleneck to a shared, collaborative effort, enhancing not only efficiency but also the quality of hiring decisions.

Workable’s comprehensive suite of features addressed HSI’s critical pain points, establishing a unified and streamlined approach to talent acquisition:

1. A Centralized, End-to-End Process: HSI now manages every facet of its recruitment within Workable. This includes requisition approvals, strategic job postings across multiple platforms, diligent application review, intricate interview scheduling, robust offer management, and seamless onboarding coordination. For an individual like Ms. Surmeier, who single-handedly manages the full hiring arc across an average of 27 open roles simultaneously and multiple continents, a unified platform is not merely convenient; it is the indispensable operational backbone that prevents the entire system from unraveling. This centralization dramatically reduces the administrative overhead associated with juggling disparate tools and spreadsheets, freeing up valuable time for more strategic engagement.

2. Self-Scheduling: Accelerating Candidate Progression: In an environment characterized by high application volumes and Ms. Surmeier’s perpetually packed calendar, Workable’s self-scheduling feature emerged as a critical enabler. This functionality empowers candidates to book interviews directly into available slots, effectively eliminating the cumbersome back-and-forth of manual coordination. This automation significantly reduces the administrative burden that would otherwise consume countless hours each week, allowing candidates to progress through stages more swiftly. Research indicates that automated scheduling can cut interview scheduling time by up to 75%, a substantial gain for organizations processing hundreds, if not thousands, of applications. For HSI, this translates into a faster time-to-hire, which is crucial for filling vital roles in a competitive market.

3. Collaborative Hiring: Scaling Across Teams and Geographies: Perhaps one of the most palpable changes since adopting Workable is the elevated degree of engagement from hiring managers. The platform’s ability to seamlessly integrate interviewers and reviewers, each with appropriate access levels, has fostered a more inclusive, defensible, and transparent hiring process. Managers can actively participate in candidate evaluations, provide direct feedback within the system, and stay informed about the status of their open requisitions. This collaborative framework not only improves communication but also enhances the quality of hires by leveraging diverse perspectives and ensuring alignment with departmental needs. This mirrors broader industry trends emphasizing the importance of team-based hiring to reduce bias and improve decision-making.

4. Messaging Automation: Elevating the Candidate Experience: In today’s talent market, where a superior candidate experience is a potent competitive differentiator, consistent and timely communication is paramount, even when there are no significant updates to convey. Ms. Surmeier leverages Workable’s messaging automation and customizable templates to dispatch updates at scale. This ensures that every applicant in the pipeline feels acknowledged and valued, irrespective of their current stage in the process. "Recruiting today is all about communication," Ms. Surmeier emphasizes. "Even if it’s just a quick update to say there’s no change, I like being able to easily message candidates or use templates to keep them informed." This proactive communication strategy helps maintain candidate interest, preserves HSI’s employer brand, and mitigates the risk of top talent disengaging due to perceived silence.

Entering the AI Era: HSI and the Workable AI Recruiting Agent

As a technology-driven SaaS organization, HSI approaches the adoption of new technologies with a practitioner’s discerning lens. Tools are evaluated not solely on their promised capabilities but rigorously assessed for their practical fit, measurable performance, and tangible value. When Workable introduced its AI Recruiting Agent, Ms. Surmeier immediately recognized its potential to address one of the most formidable challenges defining her daily operations: sheer volume.

It is not uncommon for a single HSI role, particularly those in high-demand technical or specialized compliance fields, to attract upwards of 1,000 applicants. Across 27 active positions, the initial filtering and screening work alone represents a substantial portion of the recruiting week—time that Ms. Surmeier would much rather allocate to direct engagement with promising candidates and strategic partnership with hiring managers. This administrative burden is a pervasive issue in modern recruitment, with industry reports suggesting recruiters spend an average of 23 hours per week on administrative tasks, much of which involves resume screening.

"One of the biggest things we were hoping the agent could help with is the volume of applicants," Ms. Surmeier noted. "With 27 roles and 1,000+ applications each, there’s a significant amount of filtering. That’s where we see the AI agent adding real value." This perspective aligns with a growing trend in HR technology, where AI is increasingly deployed to automate repetitive, high-volume tasks, thereby augmenting human capabilities rather than replacing them. The global market for AI in HR is projected to reach billions of dollars in the coming years, driven by the need for greater efficiency and data-driven insights in talent acquisition.

A Deliberate, Collaborative Adoption Approach to AI

HSI’s implementation of the AI Recruiting Agent exemplifies a thoughtful, iterative, and collaborative approach to emerging technology. After activating the agent for her inaugural role, Ms. Surmeier quickly identified a crucial workflow adjustment that significantly improved outcomes: integrating the hiring manager into the initial agent setup intake process. The AI agent constructs its evaluation criteria through a structured series of questions posed during role creation. By having the hiring manager present at this critical juncture, HSI ensures that the criteria accurately reflect the most current and precise requirements for the role, rather than relying solely on the recruiter’s anticipated needs.

"I incorporated it into our intake calls so hiring managers can clearly see what’s happening," Ms. Surmeier explained. "That’s led to stronger alignment and better outcomes." This hands-on, collaborative calibration is emblematic of HSI’s pragmatic approach to new technology—characterized by meticulous attention to data, continuous refinement, and a clear vision of desired end-states. This strategy also serves to build trust in the AI’s capabilities, mitigating concerns about a "black box" approach to candidate evaluation and ensuring that human expertise remains central to the process. It also addresses potential ethical concerns by ensuring that human oversight and input are foundational to the AI’s learning and decision-making parameters.

The Vision Ahead: AI as a Strategic Extension of Capacity

Deanna Surmeier is unequivocally candid about her aspirations for the AI Recruiting Agent. As HSI continues its trajectory of aggressive growth—with recruiting volumes projected to escalate in tandem with the company’s expansion—her overarching goal is for the AI Recruiting Agent to evolve into a genuine extension of her personal capacity. The vision is for the agent to proficiently handle the initial CV screening, efficiently move suitable candidates through early pipeline stages, and, crucially, free her to invest more strategic time in the aspects of recruitment that inherently benefit most from the human touch: engaging deeply with top candidates, fostering robust relationships with hiring managers, and contributing to broader talent strategy.

"I’m hopeful that over time it can become a true source of recruiting support," Ms. Surmeier articulated. "Being able to handle initial CV screening and some basic admin work would allow me to spend more time engaging with candidates and partnering with hiring managers, instead of spending hours reviewing resumes." This represents a profound paradigm shift, transforming the recruiter’s role from a largely administrative one to that of a strategic talent advisor.

For a recruitment function that is effectively built around a single individual, tasked with fulfilling a global mandate to hire across multiple continents, this kind of technological leverage is far more than incremental improvement; it is a fundamental transformation. It promises not only to enhance efficiency and accelerate growth for HSI but also to elevate the professional experience of its HR team, allowing them to focus on high-value, human-centric interactions that drive genuine organizational success. The ongoing evolution of HSI’s talent acquisition strategy with Workable and its AI Recruiting Agent serves as a compelling model for how growing enterprises can effectively navigate the complexities of modern global recruitment, leveraging technology to build a more agile, collaborative, and human-centric hiring ecosystem. This strategic embrace of AI positions HSI at the forefront of talent acquisition innovation, ensuring its ability to attract and secure the specialized talent required to lead in the dynamic health, safety, and compliance sectors worldwide.