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Workable
- 15-day free trial
- Job posting to 200+ sites
- 200+ integrations
- Fast, global support
- Customization options are limited
- Restricted search capabilities
If you’re a small business owner looking to hire your first couple of employees, you’re likely feeling some growing pains.
The hiring process can be overwhelming, time-consuming, and just plain confusing — which is why you need an ATS (applicant tracking system) to guide you through.
Workable is a cloud-based ATS aimed primarily at small businesses. It’s easy to use, great for beginners, and reasonably priced.
But it’s not right for every business.
In this guide, we’ll discuss Workable’s pros and cons, its pricing structure, and key features so you can decide if it’s the right solution for your hiring needs.
SMB Guide’s Verdict for Workable
The truth is, Workable isn’t going to be the right fit for all businesses out there. If your business is small and hasn’t grown much yet, the price point might not make the most sense.
Other the other hand, if your business is large and has a complex hiring and onboarding process, Workable may not offer the variety of features you need — especially if you want to keep your hiring and HR processes all in one place.
For an applicant tracking system without many bells and whistles, we give Workable a rating of 8.6 out of 10.
Here’s the detailed breakdown of the scoring for each factor:
In this review of Workable, I’ve followed SMB Guide’s detailed criteria for evaluating the applicant tracking software.
Pricing & Plans
Workable uses a tiered pricing model depending on how many employees your company has. For example, pricing is different for companies with 1-20 employees, 21-50 employees, 51-100 employees, etc.
On the Starter and Standard plans, Workable also gives you the option to access “premium” tools — video interviews, texting, and assessments — with your subscription for an additional cost.
These tools are already included with the Premier plan, so if they’re something you’re looking for in an ATS software, this option may be a better bang for your buck.
Starter
Workable’s Starter plan provides a variety of robust features at a fair price point for mid-sized companies.
Price
- $149 per month
- No annual subscription option
Features
- Features available in all plans
- Up to 2 active jobs
- 200 AI sourcing profile views per month
Who it’s for: Small- to medium-sized companies who only do occasional hiring.
Standard
Workable’s Standard plan provides all of the features available in the Starter plan, plus the ability to post an unlimited number of jobs.
Price
- Starts at $360 per month
- Starts at $3588 per year
Features
- Features available in all plans
- Unlimited active jobs
- 1000 AI sourcing profile views per month
- Assisted account onboarding (with annual subscriptions only)
Who it’s for: Medium- to large-sized companies who hire on a consistent basis.
Premier
Workable’s Premier plan is a step up from the Standard plan and is designed for strategic hiring within mid- to large-sized companies.
Price
- Starts at $599 per month
- Starts at $7188 per year
Features
- Features available in all plans
- Unlimited active jobs
- 20,000 AI sourcing profile views per year
- Hiring plan with requisition approvals
- Five native language options
- Dedicated account manager
- Single sign-on support
- Custom account onboarding
Who it’s for: Medium- to large-sized companies looking to get more strategic with their hiring process.
Workable allows you to find, hire, onboard, and manage the right person for every job.
Job Posting and Candidate Sourcing
Workable’s job posting functionality is easy to use and provides tips as you move through the process. This way, you’ll have the best chance of finding and attracting the right candidate.
Once you’ve filled out your job details, you can create the job application, create a workflow for skills assessments/interviews, and share on a number of job boards.
Here’s an example of what your job posting might look like after you’ve published it in Workable:
Once you’ve published your job, it’s easy to share to social media platforms. Just click “Share this job” and you’ll be able to cross-post to platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn.
Universal Search and Candidate Database
Workable offers a People Search function that allows you to quickly locate potential candidates based on keywords, location, company, or even university they went to.
However, it’s important to note that if you’re on Workable’s free trial, you’ll need to have 1 job posting published and approved before you can access this feature.
Workable’s AI Recruiter is another extremely helpful feature if you want to search for candidates that may not have seen or applied to your job posting.
This allows you to auto-source candidates that fit your description and qualifications and potentially add them to your hiring pipeline.
All of your sourced candidates from applications, People Search, and AI Recruiter will be available in the “Candidates” tab.
Resume Management and Screening
While demoing the software, I was unable to find a straightforward way to manage and organize candidate resumes.
Unfortunately, this is going to be a major con for many companies considering Workable.
Upon further investigation, I discovered that while you can search through candidate resumes, doing so is a hassle and the functionality is extremely limited.
Applicant Tracking and Candidate Management
Workable makes it easy to track applicants. Inside each of your jobs, there’s a list of all candidates grouped by qualified/disqualified.
At the top of the page, you’ll see how many people are in each stage of the hiring process.
You can view all of a candidate’s information in their profile and move them through the hiring pipeline, even skipping stages if you need to for whatever reason.
There’s also a timeline for each candidate, so you can see exactly when certain actions took place.
This is particularly helpful if your hiring team consists of multiple people and not just yourself.
Candidate Evaluation and Assessment
Workable offers two different “modes” of candidate evaluation: basic mode and scorecard mode.
In basic evaluation mode, job candidates can be given a thumbs up, thumbs down, or star rating if they’re your dream candidate.
You can also add a comment explaining your reasoning. In scorecard evaluation mode, you can rate the candidate for specific skills or individual questions asked in the interview.
You can also add notes for each skill or question.
User Interface and User Experience
Workable’s interface is relatively simple and easy to navigate. The menu is straightforward with only a few different tabs to navigate between:
With reports organized by type and explained in a brief snippet, it’s easy to find the insights you need:
One area that’s not very intuitive is the onboarding features. As of July 2023, Workable onboarding is still in beta, so it’s still being tested and worked on.
That said, one thing I noticed is that once I added a candidate to my company directory, I couldn’t figure out how to actually move them through the onboarding process.
Another small thing to note is Workable’s overall design. While the neutral color scheme is very subtle and easy to look at, I found that my eyes struggled with where to go next on the page.
Integrations, Compatibility, & Supported Platforms
Workable integrates with over 200 popular third-party applications like Gmail, Microsoft 365, LinkedIn, Talent.com, Zapier, and more.
For a full list of integrations, visit their Partners page. Workable also offers a mobile app for both iOS and Android so you can hire on the go even if you don’t have your laptop with you.
The app has a 3.3 star rating on the App Store and a 3.1 star rating on Google Play.
Customer Support
Workable offers several different ways to get help when you need it. If your issue is relatively simple, Workable’s Help Center has a ton of resources to assist you.
Arguably the most helpful section is the Video Library, which has videos demoing the software and showcasing just about feature there is.
They also have a support chatbot that can be easily accessed by clicking your profile in the top right corner, selecting “Help,” then “Ask a question.”
If you have a more complex issue and would rather talk to a real human, you can do that too. Workable lists 2 different phone numbers on their website depending on your location:
- Americas: +1-857-990-9675
- Europe & rest of the world: +44 203 826 8149
Workable’s regular support hours are Monday to Friday, 2:30 am – 5:30 pm ET (6:30 am – 9:30 pm GMT), excluding holidays or special events.
What the Experts Say About Workable
Here’s an at-a-glance view of Workable’s ratings on the major software review communities:
- G2: 4.6/5 (409 reviews)
- Capterra: 4.4/5 (443 reviews)
- TrustRadius: 7.8/10 (74 votes)
“Workable was able to fix a few issues. Excellent work, in my opinion. Online Video Interview and Online Assessment Test services have already been incorporated, and this was undoubtedly one of the tool’s most significant enhancements. As a result, when you purchase the ATS, you get both services for free.‘”
Jessica D., Game Programmer – Verified Capterra review
“Not what I expected, although I really like a lot of the features, many I do not and it’s very frustrating the lack of support, and the system is not cheap at all, so you do expect much better customer support. I will most likely look for a new system, for next year as it is very unlikely we will be renovating the contract next year.”
Sofia T., Director of HR – – Verified Capterra review
Workable Alternatives
If your company is larger or you want access to additional features like onboarding and HRIS capabilities, Workable may not be the right fit for you.
Here are some good alternatives to try:
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VIVAHR
VIVAHR starts at a lower price point than Workable. Its feature set is simplified so you have the hiring tools you need without having to wade through the other stuff.
Starting Price: $79/month or $948/year
Best For: Small businesses that are just starting to hire
Try VIVAHR for free with a 7-day trial!
Lever
Lever is better suited to serving larger businesses with its Enterprise plan. If you’re looking for HR functionality that Workable lacks, Lever has it.
Starting Price: Custom pricing
Best For: Mid- to large-sized businesses looking to streamline their hiring and HR processes all in one place
Request a free demo of Lever today!
Greenhouse
Greenhouse is an extremely versatile ATS that’s suitable for businesses of all sizes. It offers more support than Workable in the onboarding process.
Starting Price: Custom pricing
Best For: Growing businesses who need to scale their hiring process
Getting Started with Workable
Workable is a cloud-based applicant tracking system aimed at mid-sized businesses looking for a software that can scale as they grow.
And getting started is easy — all you need is your name, email, and a few details about your company.
No credit card information is required! If it sounds like Workable might be the ATS solution for you, start your free 15-day trial today.
FAQs
Is Workable a legit site?
Yes, Workable is legit and an excellent recruitment tool for many small to medium-sized businesses. Since they’ve been in operation, Workable has helped more than 27,000 companies hire 1.5 million candidates.
How does Workable AI work?
Workable’s AI Recruiter reads your job description and then searches for the best candidates that would fit the role. You could literally have a list of qualified passive candidates before you even publish your job posting, making the hunt for that perfect fit that much easier.
How old is Workable?
Workable was founded in 2012 by Nikos Moraitakis and Spyros Magiatis. That makes the company 11 years old in 2023.
Related reading:
Workable allows you to find, hire, onboard, and manage the right person for every job.
Workable
Workable is a software-as-a-service that provides applicant tracking system and recruitment software to support and manage the hiring process.
Product Brand: Workable Technology Limited
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