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.
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. If 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. 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 employee upload
To begin a bulk upload, create a CSV file with the details of the employees you wish to upload. Some things to keep in mind:
- 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 and separate each piece of candidate info into its own cell
- Be sure to download or save the list as a .csv file
So, in practice, your CSV file might look like this:
Here, the employee (Cindy) will be uploaded with her manager (Megan) as the point of contact for reference.
To upload the CSV file:
- 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 cannot be uploaded
- When processing is complete, uploaded employees will receive an email with instructions about how to opt in and upload their resume
Tracking and reporting
The Bridge dashboard is filterable to show former employees who have been hired, have opted out of Bridge, or are still looking for work.
Selecting the Reports tab will provide more key details about your success with Bridge, including the 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 at 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.
FAQs
- How can I request a reference from the former manager?
- If a candidate applies or is sourced for a job through Workable, the hiring company may request a reference from the former manager. Check here for the best way to request and record reference check details.