Unlocking New Efficiency: How Bullhorn Delivers Integrations in 10s of Hours Instead of 100s

In today’s staffing and recruiting landscape, seamless integration between systems is essential to maintaining efficiency and delivering value to clients. At Bullhorn, the leading provider of staffing and recruiting software, Ben Sommer, Senior Director of Global Solutions and DevOps, leads the team responsible for not only deploying software and managing DevOps but also creating tools that enhance efficiency for Bullhorn’s customers and employees.

The Build vs. Buy Dilemma

Historically, integrating pay and billing systems, such as ADP, with Bullhorn’s platform was out of reach due to high complexity and cost. “Before Workato, we just didn’t do these types of integrations,” Ben explains. Bullhorn faced a pivotal decision: should they invest significant resources into making these integrations a core part of their product, or look for an external solution? Workato presented a compelling alternative, providing a robust integration solution without the need to overhaul Bullhorn’s existing roadmap and R&D commitments.

By integrating Workato, Bullhorn could provide seamless connections between its platform and various pay and billing systems. This move also supported Bullhorn’s expansion into the “middle office” of the staffing and recruiting industry, where data flow between front and back office systems is critical. Workato became the “linchpin” of this strategy, effortlessly linking Bullhorn’s software with clients’ systems.

Moving Away from Bespoke Integrations

In the past, Bullhorn handled integration requests as bespoke, custom projects—an approach that became unwieldy and costly over time. Larger customers with unique needs could request these custom integrations, but it required using disparate tools and kits, leading to technical debt. This one-off method was inefficient and resource-intensive. Today, when Bullhorn encounters older custom integrations in need of modernization, they rebuild them with Workato.

Workato’s intuitive interface and reusable templates bring tremendous value. Ben recalls that one of his lead engineers estimated it would take Bullhorn’s engineering team 100-200 hours to develop integrations that Workato accomplishes in just a few dozen hours. Not only does Workato save Bullhorn time and resources, but it also ensures that integrations are more scalable and maintainable.

Building Maturity and Productization Around Workato

As Bullhorn has continued to adopt Workato, they’ve applied a product management approach to integration. They’ve identified popular systems for their clients and focused on creating repeatable, out-of-the-box integrations. However, Workato’s flexibility poses a unique challenge: it’s tempting to respond to every client’s unique integration needs, which can lead to complexity. To counteract this, Bullhorn applied its standard product management principles & practices to its portfolio of integration work, and also began adopting Workato’s “Environments” feature, allowing for a more structured rollout of integrations.

“Workato is so flexible it can turn into a trap because you’re able to react so quickly,” Ben notes. With the new product management approach – together with the Environments feature – Bullhorn now has a structured way to balance rapid response with stability and scalability, building a more productized integration suite that’s easy to deploy and maintain.

Empowering Non-Developers and Enhancing Internal Efficiency

Workato doesn’t just benefit Bullhorn’s customers—it’s also a powerful tool internally. Bullhorn’s IT department uses Workato to drive internal automation, simplifying operations and supporting the company’s mission to enhance efficiency. With Workato’s low-code interface, even employees without a strong software engineering background can contribute to automation projects, driving new efficiencies without heavy engineering resources.

Impact and Future: A Bright Partnership

The impact of Bullhorn’s Workato-driven integrations is both immense and wide-reaching. Ben describes how Workato-powered integrations positively affect Bullhorn’s customers and their employees’ experiences. From streamlining payroll processes to managing essential staffing tasks, Workato has become a foundational tool, enhancing Bullhorn’s ability to support clients efficiently and reliably.

Securing a three-year deal with Workato solidifies the partnership and allows Bullhorn to focus on innovation rather than renegotiating contracts. “The future is very bright with Workato,” says Ben, looking forward to more of the “good stuff” as Bullhorn continues to streamline staffing industry integrations with Workato’s support.