If you’re a recruiter trying to fill open positions, it’s often a challenge to manage the large volume of data these searches require. Workable is an applicant tracking software (ATS) platform that makes your job easier by offering a range of HR features.
Workable’s AI sourcing capability gives you access to over 400 million candidate records. The software also provides access to over 200 free and premium job boards and mobile-friendly application forms. It features more than 70 third-party integrations, including background checks and assessments.
I’ve studied Workable in detail, and put together this review that highlights everything you need to know about this recruiter technology software.
Read on to find if Workable is right for you.
Workable Pros and Cons
Pros
- Exclusive AI Recruiter technology
- Submission to over 200 job boards
- Integrates with more than 70 apps
Cons
- Little integration with larger HR platforms
- No automated reference checks
- Searching job descriptions is clunky
How Workable Compares to the Best Applicant Tracking Software
Workable is a good piece of applicant tracking software. It offers customizable visual pipelines, worldwide 24/7 customer support, and submission to over 200 free and premium job boards. The ability to search millions of candidate profiles using the AI recruiter is noteworthy.
However, Workable didn’t make our top picks list due to its lack of integration with larger HR platforms and absence of automated reference checks, among other reasons.
We spent hours researching and reviewing the best applicant tracking software, and you can see our in-depth guide here. Our top seven picks were the following:
Our first top pick is BambooHR for its excellent recruiting, onboarding, and team collaboration tools.
Our second pick is JazzHR for the unlimited number of users and 21-day free trial.
Workable Hiring Volume and Frequency
Almost all ATS software has some form of cap on the number of open job positions you can list at any one time.
Workable isn’t much different, although it doesn’t present its limitations in the same way. The software features a limited number of what it calls “job slots” at one time—although this is now only true for the older plan type.
For example, on several of the older annual plans, there is a cap on the number of active jobs you can have. The “Legacy Starter 10” plan only allows you to have up to 10 active jobs, and if you try to add a job past this, you’ll have to archive one of your existing ones.
These older plans are still accessible but only to existing users, although Workable has hinted at similar options in the future.
The more up-to-date Workable plan, named “Pay As You Go,” is $99 per job per month. There isn’t a limit to the number of jobs you can list in this model, but of course, it quickly adds up, and you’ll need some serious budget to list numerous job listings at once.
Hiring volume is essential to keep in mind.
For example, you might need to hire less than ten employees per year and don’t need more than, say, three active openings at any one time. On the older Workable plans, this would be suitable, and on the newer plans wouldn’t break the bank either.
However, a larger business might find themselves greatly limited on the older Workable model with only ten active jobs at a time. They’re more likely to have the necessary resources at $99 per job per month on the newer plans.
Some ATS software charges per user and not by the number of active jobs in the system. Be sure to factor this in when looking at other ATS software in general.
Workable Software Type
Workable is for companies of all sizes across multiple industries. The software helps manage in-house recruitment and enables you to hire top talent.
With that said, Workable is usable by both in-house recruiters and other HR professionals. That’s not to mention recruiting agencies that are hiring employees for companies as well.
There isn’t a limit to who can use the software, unlike some solutions on the market explicitly geared towards staffing and recruitment agencies. Whatever your hiring purposes, then, Workable will be a solid choice.
Workable Human Resources Features
If you don’t need HR software, there’s no reason to pay extra for a total HR solution—you can look for applicant tracking as a standalone product instead. Keep in mind that Workable offers both applicant tracking capabilities and HR features.
I’ll go into some more of these HR features later on in the review, but Workable has plenty of them overall and stands tall among the competition.
It offers complete job ad creation, the ability to customize job application forms, and you’ll be able to find candidates for each of your job openings. On top of that is the option to screen candidates.
Take the job ad creation. With it, Workable allows you to create job ads from scratch with added help along the way.
The software provides valuable suggestions and can assist in defining the correct words. It’ll show you the best way to write out job ads for specific industries and target the right audience while doing so.
Templates can speed things up and create accurate and relevant job ads with the correct role responsibilities. You can edit these templates directly, although some are accurate enough and won’t need much tinkering.
Customizing job application forms means you can adapt to an increasingly mobile-focused population. You’ll be able to preview what your job forms look like on desktop and mobile and tweak them as required, making sure there’s consistency across both formats.
You’ll also be able to add in new questions or make specific fields, such as a candidate’s phone number or photo, completely optional with a few clicks.
After that, you can publish your ad to over 17 external sites for free. Alternatively, you may want to keep an ad private, so your team can view it and provide feedback first.
Finding candidates with Workable is easy, especially with AI tech, but that’s something I’ll go into a bit later on.
Lastly, when it comes to screening, Workable lets you create specific interview processes where you can screen applicants as you wish. You can screen candidates using video interviews, scorecards, type in job requirements, and other helpful assessments.
There’s a lot of HR functionality to be found in Workable, so if you need that in addition to an applicant tracking solution, it’s a good choice.
Workable and Your Budget
As I mentioned above, Workable offers HR features and serves as applicant tracking software at the same time. This functionality positions it as a valuable package for multiple reasons, but you should always look for ATS software that fits your budget.
Some ATS software is available for as low as $0.50 per employee and as an add-on to HR software. Plans also go as high as $300 per month but will typically fall somewhere between these two numbers.
If your hiring volume is low, it may be better to take advantage of free applicant tracking software instead of opting for Workable. It could well save you money down the line.
For example, Recooty from our top picks offers three active job listings and applicant tracking on top for no charge. If that’s all you need, it won’t make sense to pay for the more expensive Workable. Workable’s free trial expires after 15 days, and you’re only able to post one job during that time.
In other words, think carefully about what you need before signing up for ATS software and make an informed choice.
Workable Automations
Workable offers automation features that help speed up the overall time to hire. Automated “actions,” as it calls them, can automate the most repetitive tasks and deal with emails as needed.
You can develop email templates and then create custom automation per job and department, or even the hiring stage.
For instance, likely, you don’t have the time to send out thank-you notes after each candidate applies in the average busy day. Nor do you typically have the time to send out disqualification emails to all your candidates. Automations come into play here.
You’ll be able to add them in a few clicks. From there, you can personalize your thank you notes after a candidate applies or choose the delay duration for disqualification emails. An example would be disqualification emails sent weekly on Tuesdays at 2:30 pm with no extra input from you. The rest is taken care of automatically.
You can even improve time to hire with native self-scheduling that allows you to send self-schedule emails when candidates move to a specific stage of the hiring process—candidates can quickly book the best times for them.
Perhaps you forget to send candidate emails out or lose meeting invitations in the pits of your inbox? With Workable, you’ll be able to ensure that every single candidate gets a personalized response, and every disqualified person gets transparency and respect straight from your timeline inside the software.
The automation offerings from Workable are all helpful and add some extra functionality to an already sizable package. With that said, they aren’t something you won’t be able to find with other ATS software, so keep that in mind when choosing the best for you.
Workable AI Recruiter Technology
Workable’s “AI Recruiter” technology is an exclusive feature of the ATS software and a powerful one at that.
It uses accumulated AI knowledge from hosting over 85 million candidates across 1.3 million jobs and then makes your hiring decisions far easier.
With every job you post, the AI tech will list the 50 best passive applicants for that role. It provides this in a detailed list as soon as the job is posted—around two minutes. There’s no need to spend hours yourself looking for candidates.
It’s a prominent part of Workable’s software, and best of all, it’s in every plan. Yes, trial accounts can test out AI Recruiter too. However, you’ll receive limited results from a search—up to 25 candidates.
How does it work? Well, with the information you provide. The AI Recruiter brings all of the core criteria and skills you’ve mentioned in your job description and then uses that to find suitable candidates.
Once the AI Recruiter has found your new candidates, you can reach out to them individually or handily via bulk email when pressed for time. These will be passive candidates, not people actively searching for a job—this carries independent benefits.
The ideal scenario for using the tech is when you have a small number of candidates and are not sure where to look for new talent—candidates will come from a broad range of sources, too, not just the ones you know well.
It’s also a great option for those hard-to-fill roles where you don’t expect to receive many applications.
If these scenarios sound familiar, the AI Recruiter won’t disappoint.
Workable Candidate Assessments
Workable offers cognitive and personality pre-employment tests to make it easier for you to hire the best candidates. You can accurately compare how well candidates perform without bias.
There’s no need to work with an additional assessment provider here. You can choose from five personality and cognitive assessments straight from the job editor. Candidates can complete the tests anywhere from any device.
Even better is that you can send the tests straight from the applicant timeline or via the automation features I spoke about earlier. They’re integrated into the software seamlessly.
You’ll be able to review results and use predictive job performance insights as soon as a candidate completes their test. Recruiters are also able to leave feedback in one unified place without leaving the candidate timeline.
The outcome for most will be quicker hiring decisions with better candidate profiles, making the hiring process that little bit easier.
These pre-employment tests aren’t the most critical part of Workable’s offering, but it’s good to see them as part of the package.
Summary
Workable is a good choice when it comes to ATS software. While it didn’t make our ultimate top picks list, don’t let that deter you. With the powerful AI Recruiter tech, a host of top HR features, and 24/7 customer support, it’s more than worthy of your consideration.
Just be aware there are cheaper options available if you need basic applicant tracking alone.