Bridge is a service that matches laid off employees with new opportunities. In an unexpected economic situation where you may have to lay off employees (through no fault of their own), upload those employees to Bridge. They'll be connected to relevant jobs and have an extra edge to stand out in front of companies that are hiring.
The hiring company will also have the option to contact you for a reference, enabling you to speak to the employee's performance and professionalism and help them secure the role.
Activating Bridge
You must have an active Workable subscription to use Bridge.
Contact your Account Manager or the Support Team to let them know you want to use Bridge. Once activated, a square icon will appear in the upper right of your Workable account which you can click to access Bridge.
Note: For our self-service annual plans this is not offered automatically. In case you want to use it contact us and we will do our best to accommodate you. If you are currently under one of our older plans and you already have Bridge you will continue to have it and use it normally.
Customize the Bridge welcome email
Customize the subject line and the text of the welcome email that former employees will receive when invited to Bridge:
- Access Bridge and then click your user icon in the upper right
- Select Email Settings
- In the text editor that appears, update the subject line and email message
- Click Save to save what you’ve entered or Preview to see how it will look
Your company logo is included automatically. The logo can be changed in the Company Profile section of your account, but bear in mind that the logo is also used for your careers page and job posts.
A “Complete my profile” button will appear at the end of the email by default, along with an option to opt out of Bridge.
Click Revert to default template to switch back to Workable’s original uncustomized template.
See more of the full employee experience here.
Uploading former employees
Access Bridge through the square icon in the upper right of Workable.
On the Bridge dashboard, click Add former employees and select the upload method (single employee or bulk).
Important: Since you will be adding former employees' personal data (name and email) to Bridge, get the consent of any former employees before uploading them.
When adding employees you must include:
- Employee's first and last name
- Their personal email address (where they can be contacted after leaving your company)
You have the option to include their previous manager's name and email as well. The details you enter will be used as the point of contact if a company requests a reference for the candidate. If no information is entered, the uploader's email address will be used.
Single employee upload
- In Bridge, click Add former employees
- Select Single addition
- Fill in the fields that appear and click Add
- The candidate will receive an email with instructions about how to opt in and upload their resume
Bulk upload
To begin a bulk upload, create a CSV file with the details of employees you wish to upload.
Each entry in the CSV should look like:
- employee first name,employee last name,employee personal email,previous manager name,previous manager email
The easiest way to create a CSV file is through a program like Excel or Google Sheets. Use one row per employee. Separate each piece of candidate info into its own cell.
So in practice your CSV file might look like:
Here the employee (Cindy) will be uploaded with her manager (Megan) as the point of contact for a reference. Be sure to download or save the list as a .csv file.
To upload:
- In Bridge, click Add former employees
- Select Bulk addition
- Drag and drop your CSV (or select from your files)
- The file will be processed and you'll be alerted if any employees could not be uploaded
- When processing is complete, uploaded employees will receive an email with instructions about how to opt in and upload their resume
Providing a reference
If a candidate applies or is sourced for a job through Workable, the hiring company may request a reference. The manager listed in Bridge (or the uploader) will receive an email that includes the request. By clicking a link in the email the point of contact will be taken to a page where they can review the employee's resume and write a reference. Upon submitting the reference it will go directly to the hiring team for review.
Tracking and reporting
The Bridge dashboard is filterable to show former employees who have been hired, have opted out of Bridge, or who are still looking for work.
Selecting the Reports tab will provide more key details about your success with Bridge, including number of interviews, offers and hires.
Editing former employee details
On the Bridge dashboard, click three dots to the right of an employee entry to edit the 'previous manager' information.
You have the option to remove former employees as well. Though employees can opt out on their own any time, this effectively removes them from Bridge. They will no longer be matched to relevant jobs and you will not be able to provide a reference through Workable.