Streamlining success: The implementation of Bullhorn One at NSC

As a light industrial staffing firm, what was the value you saw in Bullhorn One?

Lindsay Kedy: When I joined NSC, our team was using two separate instances of Bullhorn. We needed to assess both options to determine which would better support our growing operations, especially as we planned for future acquisitions. Given these goals, moving to the Bullhorn One platform was an obvious choice over sticking with an older, legacy Bullhorn back-office system.

What were some of the robust capabilities that stood out to you?

Kedy: I really wanted to focus on a platform that had zero application swivel. So everything from front, middle, to back office needed to be seamlessly and fully integrated for me to even consider it as a partner. Bullhorn One gave us that functionality, so we are able to utilize the Bullhorn ATS system as our central source of truth.

In evaluating other products, everything else was going to essentially make us pivot from application to application to accomplish our goals. Bullhorn One drives our billing, payroll, and information to our general ledger. So from a recruiter perspective, as well as operations, support, and sales, there really should be no reason to ever leave the tool.

Walk me through your implementation process and experience.

Kedy: We had a unique implementation experience. While we were already using the system, we faced the challenge of merging a company with strong practices in a legacy Bullhorn system into Bullhorn One, which, to be honest, was somewhat disjointed.

Having that partnership with Bullhorn was tremendous through that process, because a typical implementation or database migration at our scope would take anyone else 12 to 18 months. We did it in less than six months. And having the right internal resources and the right partnership with Bullhorn is the only reason we were able to get it done in such a short period of time.

How was your implementation experience different from your expectations? 

Kedy: We approached this implementation and this consolidation in a very different way, given that we already had access to the tool.

2023 was the year of getting the tech stack intact. We had to make sure that it was working properly. To do this, one of the first things I did was go on an internal roadshow. I listened to the recruiters, salespeople, and support staff to understand what was working, where there was room for improvement. Then, we built the system around that feedback.

2024 has really been about optimization. So now we’re back in the field doing a training roadshow. So now that the tech stack is built, and everything is integrated, we’re going to focus on ensuring that everyone knows exactly what tools they have access to with the use cases that are appropriate. Then, we’ll teach the team things they didn’t even know existed. Now, we’re focused on capturing those ROI’s and ensuring that our recruiters can recruit more efficiently and our salespeople can go to market more efficiently.

What strategies did your team use to ensure rapid implementation and seamless integration of your Bullhorn One platform?

Kedy: I think our team expected to get the implementation done in two years. We were thrilled that our implementation team got it done in six months.

During our most recent acquisition, we finalized the deal the Monday after Thanksgiving. These were legacy businesses that had been part of our portfolio for years but hadn’t been fully integrated. The tech stack was tested and proven, and the results were clear—within 45 days, we could acquire and onboard a $20 million-plus company. We trained the team on how to make placements, post jobs, and manage front-end activities. This delivered massive ROI right away and gave confidence to the board to pursue more acquisitions. We had the entire organization’s headcount, payroll, and billing integrated into our Bullhorn One platform in less than two months.

It wasn’t about forcing change on our people but leveraging the technology and ecosystem we built. As long as we followed the right order of operations and adhered to the principles we established, the system would work. The proof is in the results—everyone got to spend time with their families over the holidays. By January 2, we were up and running, but for me, the biggest win was accomplishing all of this in such a short timeframe while still respecting our people, especially considering the holiday season.

What key metrics did Bullhorn One help improve for NSC?

Kedy: I think we’re just seeing productivity metrics across the board increase. We’re seeing our recruiters be able to get to the candidates faster. We’re able to identify the right candidates faster. Since implementing Bullhorn One, our team has seen significant improvements, including an increase in submittals, placements, and a higher ratio of submitting candidates to successful starts.

Our recruiters are now learning to effectively leverage the tool, which helps them navigate their day more efficiently. When I first joined, their initial response to getting a job was to post the opportunity across job boards and wait for applications instead of utilizing the rich candidate data already in our database. This approach often led to us paying for the same candidate two, three, or even four times, despite already having their information readily available in our system.

With Bullhorn One, those behaviors started to shift almost immediately by getting everyone in the same database and really just understanding how to leverage the tool. We’re getting the right person in the right place in a much shorter period of time.

How has access to real-time data and analytics transformed your approach to workforce management, client relationships, and strategic business decision-making?

Kedy: I think access to real-time data allows us to start looking forward, and I think it’s going to start allowing us to use the information to make decisions in real-time.

Instead of being reactive to the business, we can be proactive. We can look at trends and the compensation for our people. We can say, ‘How much money do you want to make this year? Okay, these are the exact activities I need you to view based on your historical data that are going to get you where you need to be.’

We are also able to look at metrics like client health and ask the questions, “Where are we spending a ton of money and not getting a ton of return on the back-end? Where are our margins compressed? Where do we have opportunities for cross-selling?’ So, having analytics is really going to take us to the next level from a business conversation perspective, and I’m super excited about it!

How would you describe your experience working with the Bullhorn team? 

Kedy: There’s no product like Bullhorn. With its Marketplace partners and the synergies between various vendors, Bullhorn provides the platform necessary to scale your business. From a cost perspective, there’s really no comparison.

Want more information about NSC’s implementation with Bullhorn One? Check out the full video of our interview with Lindsay Kedy!