From Spreadsheets to Scale: The Valard Construction Story
In the world of large-scale utility construction, the ability to hire quickly, efficiently, and at volume is not a competitive advantage — it is a survival requirement. Valard Construction, one of Canada's leading utility contractors specializing in power line construction and infrastructure, knows this reality better than most. With a workforce that fluctuates between 1,100 and 2,000 employees depending on project demands, the company's talent acquisition engine must operate with precision, speed, and professionalism. For nearly a decade, that engine has been powered by Workable.
Since becoming a Workable customer in 2015, Valard has transformed its hiring process from a fragmented, spreadsheet-driven operation into a streamlined, data-informed talent acquisition function. This is the story of how that transformation happened — and why it continues to matter.
The Challenge: High-Volume Hiring in a Demanding Industry
The construction and utilities sector presents unique recruitment challenges. Projects are large, timelines are tight, and workforce requirements can spike dramatically within a short period. Valard regularly hires between 200 and 250 employees annually, and during major project cycles, that number can scale even further as the workforce surges toward 2,000 people.
Before Workable, Valard's hiring process was managed through spreadsheets and email chains — tools that were never designed for the complexity of high-volume recruitment. Communication was inconsistent, tracking was manual, and the overall process lacked the professionalism that a company of Valard's caliber deserved. As the organization began to grow and professionalize its operations, it became clear that a purpose-built applicant tracking system was essential.
"We've been with Workable for about 10 years. Before that, hiring was done through spreadsheets and email. Workable came in as we began professionalizing the organization."
That shift — from informal processes to a structured hiring framework — set the foundation for everything that followed.
The Solution: A Purpose-Built ATS That Grows With You
Workable's Applicant Tracking System gave Valard the infrastructure it needed to manage recruitment at scale without sacrificing quality or consistency. Rather than juggling multiple inboxes and manually updating spreadsheets, Valard's HR team gained a centralized platform where every application, communication, and hiring decision could be tracked, reviewed, and acted upon in one place.
This centralization was transformative. Hiring managers across different projects and locations could collaborate on open roles, review candidates against standardized criteria, and move applicants through defined pipeline stages. The result was a more transparent, accountable, and efficient process — one that could handle the volume and velocity that Valard's business demands.
Key Results: What a Decade of Partnership Delivers
Eliminating Candidate Ghosting Through Better Communication
One of the most significant outcomes of adopting Workable was a dramatic improvement in candidate communication. Candidate ghosting — where applicants simply stop responding mid-process — is a persistent problem in high-volume hiring environments, often caused by delayed responses, unclear next steps, or a lack of engagement from the hiring team. Workable's automated messaging tools and structured communication workflows helped Valard stay responsive and consistent, reducing the friction that causes candidates to disengage.
By keeping candidates informed at every stage of the process, Valard was able to build stronger relationships with applicants, improve offer acceptance rates, and develop a reputation as an employer that communicates with respect and clarity.
Professionalizing Employer Branding
First impressions matter enormously in recruitment. A company's careers page is often a candidate's first point of contact with the organization, and it signals — immediately and powerfully — what kind of employer the company is. Through Workable, Valard was able to build a modern, branded careers page that accurately reflected the company's scale, culture, and opportunities.
This upgrade was not merely cosmetic. A professionalized careers presence helped Valard attract higher-quality applicants, reduce drop-off rates in the application process, and distinguish itself from competitors in a sector where employer branding is often underdeveloped. For a company that hires hundreds of people per year, even a marginal improvement in application quality and volume translates into meaningful business value.
Increased Efficiency and Visibility Across Talent Acquisition
Visibility is one of the most underrated assets in talent acquisition. When hiring teams can see where every candidate stands, how long roles have been open, and where bottlenecks are forming in the pipeline, they can make faster, smarter decisions. Workable gave Valard's HR team exactly this kind of real-time visibility, enabling them to identify delays, optimize job postings, and allocate resources more effectively.
Over time, this operational clarity compounded. What began as a tool for managing applications became a strategic asset that informed workforce planning, sourcing strategies, and process improvement across the entire talent function.
A Support Partnership Built on Responsiveness
Technology is only as valuable as the support behind it. One of the consistent themes in Valard's experience with Workable has been the quality of the partnership — not just the platform. Workable's support team has been a responsive, reliable resource throughout the relationship, helping Valard adapt to new features, troubleshoot challenges, and continuously optimize their use of the system.
In a long-term partnership spanning nearly ten years, that kind of sustained responsiveness is rare and genuinely valuable. It reflects a vendor relationship built on mutual investment in outcomes rather than transactional support.
Why the Right ATS Is a Strategic Investment
Valard Construction's journey with Workable is more than a technology success story. It is a case study in what happens when a growing organization invests in the right tools at the right time and commits to using them strategically over the long term.
- High-volume hiring becomes manageable when processes are centralized, automated, and visible to all stakeholders.
- Employer branding is not a luxury — it is a recruitment tool that directly impacts the quality and quantity of applications received.
- Candidate experience drives business outcomes, from offer acceptance to employer reputation in competitive labor markets.
- Long-term vendor partnerships generate compounding returns, as teams deepen their platform expertise and platforms evolve to meet growing needs.
For construction and infrastructure companies navigating the persistent challenges of skilled labor shortages, project-based hiring cycles, and geographic dispersal of work sites, Valard's experience offers a clear and practical roadmap.
Looking Ahead: Ten Years In, With More to Come
After nearly a decade of partnership, Workable remains central to Valard Construction's talent acquisition strategy. The platform has evolved alongside the company, supporting its growth from a regional contractor into one of Canada's most prominent utility construction firms. As the industry continues to face workforce pressures and project pipelines remain robust, the need for reliable, scalable recruitment technology will only grow.
Valard's story is a powerful reminder that the foundations of great hiring — clear communication, strong branding, efficient processes, and dependable tools — do not change, even as the scale and complexity of the challenge increases. And when those foundations are in place, growth becomes not just possible, but sustainable.