The Saskatchewan Roughriders, one of the Canadian Football League’s (CFL) most celebrated and uniquely structured franchises, have significantly streamlined their talent acquisition and people operations through the implementation of Workable, an advanced applicant tracking system. This strategic move has yielded immediate and tangible benefits, including a substantial increase in candidate volume, flawless communication reliability, standardized evaluation processes, and unprecedented mobile flexibility for their lean human resources team. The transformation marks a critical step forward for the community-owned club, enabling them to manage a diverse workforce and an impactful annual internship program with enhanced precision and strategic oversight.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders: A Community-Owned Legacy
The Saskatchewan Roughriders stand apart in the landscape of professional sports. As reigning 2025 Grey Cup champions, their on-field success is matched only by their extraordinary connection to their fan base, which is deeply rooted in the province of Saskatchewan. Unlike most professional sports organizations, the Roughriders are community-owned, a distinction that embeds the team not just culturally but structurally within the fabric of its province. This unique model fosters unparalleled loyalty, exemplified by the staggering $13 million in merchandise revenue generated solely in the aftermath of their recent championship victory – a testament to a fan base that extends far beyond Saskatchewan’s borders.
The club operates within the Canadian Football League, a distinct professional sports entity known for its rich history and passionate following across Canada. While CFL teams typically manage a core staff, the Roughriders’ community-owned status adds layers of public accountability and engagement, influencing everything from local hiring practices to fan outreach. The organization employs approximately 80 salaried, year-round staff members, a figure that expands to roughly 100 additional hourly roles during the intense football season. These positions span a wide array of departments, including accounting, marketing, creative services, and digital production. Crucially, the Roughriders also run a significant annual internship program, which introduces a high-volume recruiting challenge that demands operational excellence.
Overseeing these intricate people operations is Kim Gallagher, the Director of Talent Management and People Operations. With 15 years dedicated to the organization, Gallagher holds a groundbreaking distinction as the first dedicated HR professional in the entire history of the CFL. Her two-person team is responsible for the full spectrum of HR functions, from executive-level hiring to the meticulous management of the club’s extensive internship program, all requiring the utmost operational precision. This lean team’s ability to manage such a broad portfolio underscores the necessity for highly efficient and intuitive tools.
Overcoming Previous Hurdles: The Pre-Workable Era
Prior to integrating Workable, the Saskatchewan Roughriders navigated their recruitment landscape with a system that, while functional at a basic level, presented significant challenges. The club had transitioned from an earlier era of managing applications primarily through email inboxes to utilizing Teamworks Online for two years. While this move offered a slight improvement, Teamworks Online introduced its own set of frictions at nearly every stage of the hiring process.
Kim Gallagher candidly described the previous system as feeling "really chunky." This clunkiness translated into practical difficulties for her small HR team and, perhaps more critically, for the hiring managers who needed to interact with the system. The lack of an intuitive interface made it tough to manage the process effectively and visualize where candidates stood in the pipeline. For hiring managers, who often have diverse primary responsibilities beyond recruitment, the system was not user-friendly enough to facilitate independent navigation and consistent engagement.
These operational inefficiencies had real consequences for a small HR team supporting a growing, dynamic organization. Posting open roles across multiple job boards, a necessary step to attract diverse talent across Canada and specifically within Saskatchewan (e.g., SAS Jobs), required manual effort on each platform individually. This repetitive, time-consuming task compounded quickly for a team of just one or two people, diverting valuable resources from more strategic HR initiatives. Furthermore, the absence of a visual candidate pipeline made it difficult to track applicant progress, ensure timely responses, or monitor hiring managers’ adherence to evaluation timelines. The Roughriders recognized an urgent need for a recruitment solution that was not only robust but also lean, fast, and intuitive enough to be easily adopted by any hiring manager, eliminating the need for extensive tutorials.
The Strategic Shift: Why Workable Became the Solution
The impetus to explore new recruitment platforms emerged from conversations at the league level, prompting Kim Gallagher to investigate Workable’s capabilities. Her assessment revealed a solution that perfectly matched the Roughriders’ organizational scale without the unnecessary complexities and overhead associated with larger, enterprise-level systems. Gallagher noted that "With being a small organization, it was tough to find a system that matched our size as opposed to implementing a massive program with all the bells and whistles we weren’t even going to utilize." This focus on right-sized technology was critical for a team operating with limited HR personnel.
Two key features of Workable ultimately sealed the decision for the Roughriders. The first was the highly intuitive visual pipeline. This capability offered a stark contrast to their previous experience, providing a clear, stage-by-stage overview of candidates moving through the hiring process. This visual clarity was not merely an aesthetic improvement; it provided critical transparency and improved process management, allowing both HR and hiring managers to quickly grasp the status of any recruitment drive.
The second decisive factor was Workable’s multi-board job posting functionality. For a small team, the manual effort required to post roles individually across various relevant job boards, including specialized provincial platforms like SAS Jobs, represented a significant time sink. Workable consolidated this effort into a single action, enabling the Roughriders to disseminate job advertisements widely and efficiently from one central platform. Gallagher emphasized the profound impact of this feature, stating, "The time it takes to go to each one of those boards as a one-to-two person team is massive. Being able to spread our ad as far as possible from one place was a big decision maker." This efficiency gain was vital for maximizing reach while minimizing the operational burden on the HR team.
Seamless Implementation and Widespread Adoption
The rollout of Workable at the Saskatchewan Roughriders was, in Kim Gallagher’s words, "so smooth. It just kind of flicked over." This rapid and effortless transition was a testament to Workable’s user-friendly design and robust integration capabilities. A primary concern prior to implementation was ensuring seamless integration with the Roughriders’ existing website, allowing candidates to transition smoothly into the new hiring pipeline without disruption. This critical technical challenge was handled flawlessly, ensuring continuity for applicants. During the transition, the old system remained open briefly to finalize any existing postings, while all new roles were launched exclusively through Workable from day one, minimizing operational overlap and confusion.
What particularly impressed Gallagher and her team was the minimal onboarding required for hiring managers. The platform’s inherent intuitiveness meant that users could navigate and utilize its features independently, without the need for extensive training sessions or constant HR support. Gallagher observed, "It was so user friendly that you could just just figure it out. Everything was right there on the screen." This ease of use extended even to the highest levels of the organization. Notably, when the CEO served as a hiring manager for a recent search, they required no additional instruction. They were simply added to the job, granted access to the platform, and participated effectively in the recruitment process without any assistance from the HR department. This widespread, self-directed adoption across all levels of the organization underscores Workable’s design for accessibility and efficiency, a crucial factor for lean teams like the Roughriders’.
Elevating Talent Evaluation and Fostering Collaboration
With Workable firmly in place, the Saskatchewan Roughriders were able to standardize and refine their candidate evaluation processes in ways previously unattainable. The implementation of scorecards across all searches became a mandatory practice, ensuring that hiring managers provided consistent, structured feedback for every candidate. A significant enhancement came with an upgrade from a basic "thumbs up/thumbs down" system to a more nuanced five-star rating scale. This improvement, a suggestion from their dedicated Workable account executive, Nick, made an immediate and profound difference. Gallagher described it as "Life-changing. Sometimes you’re just not quite sure. Our hiring managers loved having that nuance," highlighting how the increased granularity in feedback facilitated more informed and consistent evaluations.
The platform’s AI screening capability also emerged as an invaluable tool, particularly in periods of high application volume. Following the Roughriders’ Grey Cup championship win, the organization experienced a surge in job applications, necessitating an efficient method for sifting through a large pool of candidates. The AI screening allowed Kim Gallagher to prioritize applicants by "match percentage," effectively identifying "warm leads" at the top of the queue. This strategic approach ensured that while every applicant was reviewed, the most promising candidates could be engaged more quickly. Gallagher noted, "I would sort by match percentage and start with the 100% ones first – almost like a warm lead. I got through all the applicants, but when you’re tight for time and the volume is that high, it helps to know where to start."
Furthermore, Workable’s customized application questions added another layer of precision to the screening process. The team leverages these questions to address specific requirements, such as clarifying work authorization for Canadian roles – a critical filter given the common misconception among some international applicants that a U.S. passport grants the right to work in Canada. Questions are also utilized for role-specific requirements, such as requesting portfolio links for creative positions or, in a truly distinctive use case, audition tape links from mascot candidates. Gallagher emphasized the strategic intent behind these questions: "We don’t use questions to screen people out, but they tell us a lot about who’s serious and who’s mass applying," indicating their role in identifying genuinely engaged and qualified candidates.
Data-Driven HR: Earning a Seat at the Executive Table
One of the most significant operational and strategic shifts brought about by Workable’s implementation has been Kim Gallagher’s enhanced ability to quantify and communicate the impact of her team’s work to executive leadership. The platform’s intuitive reporting features have transformed HR from a purely operational function into a data-driven strategic partner. Gallagher praises the ease of reporting, stating, "The reporting is so easy. You click and the stuff shows up. What I like is that it’s already prepopulated – you don’t have to build it from scratch or risk selecting one wrong criterion and getting an empty report." This reliability and simplicity ensure that accurate, actionable insights are always at hand.
The candidate pipeline report has become a particular favorite, offering a clear, comprehensive view of total interviews conducted, messages exchanged, and overall pipeline movement over specific periods. Earlier this year, Gallagher utilized this report to demonstrate that over 900 messages had been exchanged with candidates, a figure that powerfully communicates the sheer volume and meticulous care invested by the HR team – metrics that executive leadership can immediately appreciate and understand as indicators of operational rigor and candidate engagement.
The Roughriders’ impactful internship program has particularly benefited from this newfound visibility. The program is founded on a clear mission: to break the cycle where students cannot gain experience without a job, nor a job without experience. Workable’s reporting capabilities allow Gallagher to document not just the number of interns hired, but crucially, how many students received invaluable interview experience with a professional sports organization. This metric captures the full scope of the program’s community impact, allowing the team to present tangible data on their commitment to youth development and skill-building to executive leadership. Gallagher articulates the program’s broader value, noting, "We like to do as many interviews as we can. Even though we can only hire so many students, being interviewed by the Roughriders – that itself is something." This data-driven approach elevates the internship program beyond a mere hiring initiative, positioning it as a key community development strategy.
Unwavering Reliability and Enhanced Candidate Experience
The Saskatchewan Roughriders conduct every stage of the candidate journey through Workable, from initial outreach and interview scheduling to the final offer letters and onboarding communications. This comprehensive and consistent use of the platform is not merely for convenience; it is a deliberate strategic choice driven by the platform’s unwavering reliability. This trust in Workable’s deliverability has profoundly shaped the team’s operational protocols and enhanced the candidate experience.
The consistent use of Workable for all communications ensures that every interaction is recorded and easily accessible, providing a single source of truth for all candidate engagements. This centralized approach is crucial for a small team managing a high volume of applicants and diverse roles. When a hiring manager recently suggested meeting two candidates for an informal coffee, Kim Gallagher still routed the outreach through Workable rather than a personal email. This decision underscores the importance of having all communications consolidated in one place, which benefits both the HR team’s tracking efforts and, significantly, the candidates themselves.
The reliability of Workable’s communication system fosters a sense of trust and professionalism among applicants. Gallagher observes a tangible reaction from candidates: "When I make an offer and tell a candidate it will come through Workable, you can hear the relief. They know the message is going to arrive. It gives them peace of mind." This peace of mind translates into a superior candidate experience, enhancing the Roughriders’ employer brand and ensuring that promising talent feels respected and well-informed throughout the hiring process. In an increasingly competitive talent market, where candidate experience plays a pivotal role in attraction and retention, this reliability is a distinct competitive advantage.
The Mobile App: Recruiting Without Boundaries
As the Saskatchewan Roughriders navigate one of their busiest hiring periods in a decade, Workable’s mobile app has emerged as an indispensable tool for Kim Gallagher. Managing two distinct roles simultaneously as effectively a team of one, the mobile app provides the critical flexibility required to maintain her rigorous pace. The ability to manage recruiting functions from anywhere, at any time, has proven transformative.
Gallagher credits the mobile app with enabling her to keep up with the demands of the current hiring surge. "We have more jobs open right now than I’ve seen in 10 years. The mobile app is allowing me to keep up. It gives me a lot of flexibility and I can work from anywhere." This unparalleled mobility ensures that critical recruitment tasks are never delayed, regardless of Gallagher’s physical location.
Key functionalities, such as access to saved templates directly from the mobile app, mean that a candidate follow-up that might otherwise have to wait until the next morning can be sent in real time, maintaining momentum and responsiveness in the hiring process. For the high-volume scheduling demands of intern interviews, Workable’s self-scheduling feature, with built-in buffer time between calls, has become an essential tool. This automates a traditionally labor-intensive task, allowing the HR team to manage numerous interviews efficiently without compromising the quality or individual focus of each conversation. The mobile app therefore extends the reach and capabilities of the HR team, ensuring recruiting continuity and responsiveness in a fast-paced environment.
A Resounding Endorsement and Future Implications
Without hesitation, the Saskatchewan Roughriders unequivocally recommend Workable. For sports organizations, which often grapple with the complexity of year-round operations alongside high-volume seasonal and internship hiring, Workable offers a rare combination: a platform robust enough to scale with growth, yet simple and intuitive enough that anyone – from a first-time intern manager to a CEO temporarily stepping in as a hiring manager – can use it effectively from day one.
For Kim Gallagher, who has dedicated 15 years to building the HR infrastructure at the Roughriders and pioneered the dedicated HR function across the entire CFL, this combination is not merely a "nice-to-have." It represents the foundational technology upon which all other talent management initiatives are built. Workable has not only resolved immediate operational inefficiencies but has also empowered the Roughriders’ HR department to become a more strategic, data-driven partner within the organization.
The success story of the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Workable offers valuable insights for other small-to-medium enterprises and specialized organizations facing similar talent acquisition challenges. It demonstrates that strategic investment in intuitive, scalable HR technology can yield significant returns in efficiency, candidate experience, and strategic reporting, ultimately contributing to the overall success and stability of the organization. As the Roughriders continue their journey, Workable remains a cornerstone of their commitment to attracting, evaluating, and retaining top talent, ensuring their continued success both on and off the field, and reinforcing their deep connection to the community they proudly represent.
