Item: Greenhouse
Rating: 8
Author: Jeanne Schroeder

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

My last company used Greenhouse. At the time of implementation, the company was a quickly scaling software start-up. We needed an ATS that could allow us to keep track of all of the hiring demands that a scaling company has. Moreover, the company values inclusion and diversity, and fair hiring practices, which Greenhouse aims to address by building in features that are made to mitigate bias.

Pros and Cons

Agility/Customization
Reporting
Removing Bias
Automation

Complex
Finicky
Not always intuitive

Return on Investment

Reporting was far quicker.
Automation saved time.
Could maintain more applicants and jobs.

Usability

Once you get the hang of it it's great. But the learning curve is steep and not the most intuitive. Plus, one small command made somewhere deep in the settings can be a huge pain to go find if you want to update it.

Alternatives Considered

BambooHR

I've worked with BambooHR's ATS and Greenhouse is hands down far better. BambooHR is bare-bones, and it works. I wouldn't personally recommend upgrading until you need to (Greenhouse is pricey!), but once that need arises Greenhouse is a good next step.

Key Insights

Do you think Greenhouse delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Greenhouse's feature set?

Yes

Did Greenhouse live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Greenhouse go as expected?

I wasn't involved with the implementation phase

Would you buy Greenhouse again?

Yes

Likelihood to Recommend

Greenhouse is excellent if you have a dedicated person/team to learn the ropes and take advantage of all the features that it has. If you truly need a powerful, complex ATS it's the software for you. It really is extremely agile and able to do many functions, everything we needed in recruiting could live in Greenhouse. The biggest downside I found was, due to the intricacy of the software, one small command buried in the settings could affect something very visible on the front-end and it's a pain to go digging to find the original trigger. That being said, the support chat is very helpful and readily available. Also, one of the best parts of Greenhouse (its reporting and bias removing capabilities) can also be a downside. You need to set everything up and maintain it, which can create many steps that are harder to streamline down the road. The learning curve can be steep too.

Greenhouse - Powerful ATS, Steep Learning Curve

Overall Satisfaction with Greenhouse