Smashing Boxes partnered with EmployUs to create an enterprise-grade recruitment software platform, transforming their manual, fragmented system into a sophisticated, automated solution that facilitated referrals, improved data accuracy, and scaled the business, ultimately leading to EmployUs' acquisition by Hireology in 2021.
EmployUs, co-founded by Ryan O’Donnell and Jeff Stocks, was founded based on a simple adage – the best employees are referrals. The platform leverages the power of professional networks to match top talent with great companies, democratizing the referral process and rewarding connectors for their contributions.
When EmployUs joined the Citrix-Red Hat Startup Accelerator, they faced several challenges. Although they secured Citrix as their first customer, they were missing an in-house development team to build out their product. The accelerator provided them with essential support, but EmployUs needed a robust platform to test its concept within large organizations. Their initial setup was basic, relying on disparate point-tools like Google Forms for referral submissions and Mailchimp for communications. This manual process was unsustainable for scaling their operations and delivering a seamless user experience.
To address these challenges, Smashing Boxes partnered with EmployUs to develop a comprehensive app for referrals, connectors and the businesses using the platform. They tackled the problems in the following ways:
To make it easy for highly-connected individuals at organizations to refer to their network contacts on the go, Smashing Boxes created a native iOS app. The app allowed connectors to login through their social networks, view job opportunities and refer candidates directly from their profiles. Smashing Boxes also integrated the LinkedIn API, allowing EmployUs to capture user information and generate contact files.
Smashing Boxes wanted to make it easy for referrals to update their profiles and add new or missing information. Since this work is mostly done from a computer, they made a web experience for referrals. This application also included an onboarding process which walked the users through all of its controls.
Recruiters at enterprise companies work from their desks, so a robust web application was essential on the business side of the platform as well. Smashing Boxes built a CMS for managing the job listings which included live referral opportunity pages. To maintain data consistency and reduce manual entry, the CMS was then linked to a Bullhorn ATS integration that automated job listings, referrals, and candidate management.
With Smashing Boxes’ help EmployUs transitioned from a manual, fragmented system to a sophisticated, automated platform. The mobile and web applications enhanced user engagement, making it easy for connectors to refer candidates and for clients to manage their hiring needs. The integration with Bullhorn ATS streamlined operations and reduced administrative overhead and improved data accuracy.
EmployUs successfully tested its concept in large organizations, proving the platform’s value in the real world. This robust foundation allowed EmployUs to scale, attracting more customers and ultimately leading to its acquisition by Hireology in 2021. Today, EmployUs continues to thrive as part of a larger ecosystem with its founders contributing to its ongoing success and growth.
