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  • The brief
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  • This week · 6
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  • Big bets · 3
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Generated Oct 23, 2026
  1. Programmable
  2. Playbooks
  3. Openwork
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growth playbook · Oct 23, 2026

openwork.com (opens in a new tab)

Openwork growth playbook

Diagnosis

Openwork is a fast-growing, acquisitive staffing firm (Inc. 5000 and SIA Fastest Growing in 2025) building out markets, professional staffing and healthcare, and its hiring shows a turn toward operating discipline: a Growth Operations Director to run every market on the same metrics and an AI & Automation partner to remove manual work.

The website is holding that growth back in fixable ways: job markup that Google cannot read (with pay listed as $0.00), broken canonical tags on the main pages, 76 near-identical city pages with no jobs on them, proof numbers that only appear in script, and a homepage that fails Google's layout-shift test for real users.

This playbook fixes those first, then adds a Spanish path, faster follow-up, market scorecards, cross-selling between the family's brands and a repeatable acquisition plan.

Growth Score

6/10

Biggest Opportunity

Make every open job findable in Google's job search and on local city pages, then answer every applicant within minutes.

Biggest Risk

Express, PeopleReady, Staffmark and local agencies compete for the same hourly candidates, and each acquisition that keeps a separate site can leak clients and search traffic.

01

Start here

The three moves to make first. Each one is written up in full below.

  1. 1

    Fix the job-posting markup so every Openwork job can appear in Google's job search

    Run one job page through Google's Rich Results Test and save the error.

    High impact First result in 2 weeks
  2. 2

    Fix the broken canonical tags and take the test pages out of the sitemap

    Change the canonical template and check six pages.

    Medium impact First result in 2 weeks
  3. 3

    Write a real search description for every job and industry page from the job data

    Write the template and preview ten jobs.

    Medium impact First result in 1 month

02

Your idea portfolio

22 ideas, grouped by when to run them. Open any idea for how to run it: the steps, who to approach, copy you can use, and how to measure it.

  • 7 ideas are marked Unexpected: plays you are unlikely to have tried.

Every idea placed by the effort it takes against the impact it could have. Quick wins sit top left; select a number to open that idea. The filters below narrow the list by status, timing, category and what Programmable can build.

Effort vs impactEach number is an idea. Select one to open it.
Impact →
Quick wins · 2Big bets · 8Fill-ins · 7Reconsider · 5
Effort →

Showing 22 of 22 ideas

This week 6

Quick wins with a clear first action.

  • 01

    Every Openwork job page tries to tell Google it is a job, but the markup is written with escaped quotes ("), so it is not valid JSON and Google cannot read it. Decoded, it also says the pay is $0.00 an hour, even on a $118k direct-hire role. Jobs that Google cannot parse do not show in its job search results, which is where many hourly and professional candidates start.

    High impactLow effort First result in 2 weeks Technology Partner

    First action

    Run one job page through Google's Rich Results Test and save the error.

    How to measure it

    Applications per job from organic search

    Now
    –
    Target
    +30%
    By
    60 days

    Steps

    1. 1

      Confirm the error

      Rich Results Test on three job pages.

      Technology Partner, AI & Automation 1 hour

    2. 2

      Fix the output

      Raw JSON in the script tag.

      Technology Partner, AI & Automation 1 day

    3. 3

      Map pay

      Hourly and yearly pay into baseSalary.

      Technology Partner, AI & Automation 1 day

    4. 4

      Map types

      Direct hire, temp and contract to Google values.

      Technology Partner, AI & Automation 2 hours

    5. 5

      Add dates

      validThrough and remove filled jobs.

      Technology Partner, AI & Automation 1 day

    6. 6

      List all jobs

      Every live job in the sitemap.

      Technology Partner, AI & Automation 1 day

    7. 7

      Measure

      Search Console job reports and applications by source.

      Growth Operations Director weekly

    First result
    2 weeks
    Cost
    $0
    Owner
    Technology Partner, AI & Automation

    Smallest test

    Fix the markup on one job and request indexing.

    Why it works

    Output the JobPosting script as raw JSON (in Next.js, JSON.stringify inside dangerouslySetInnerHTML instead of a text child), fill baseSalary from the pay already on the page (hourly or yearly, with minValue and maxValue for ranges), map "Direct Hire" and contract types to Google's employmentType values (FULL_TIME, TEMPORARY, CONTRACTOR), add validThrough and the hiring organization's logo, and test five jobs in Google's Rich Results Test. Then list every live job in the sitemap and ping the Indexing API when jobs open and close.

    Google's job search is free, high-intent traffic for exactly the roles Openwork fills, and it is the first job the new automation hire can ship with a number attached: applications per job before and after.

    Ready to use

    ChecklistJobPosting fix list

    [ ] Script content is raw JSON (no ")
    [ ] title, description, datePosted, validThrough
    [ ] hiringOrganization with name, sameAs and logo
    [ ] jobLocation with street, city, region, postal code
    [ ] baseSalary from posted pay (unitText HOUR or YEAR), omitted if unknown
    [ ] employmentType FULL_TIME / PART_TIME / TEMPORARY / CONTRACTOR
    [ ] Rich Results Test passes on 5 jobs
    [ ] All live jobs in sitemap, filled jobs removed

    Risks and how to handle them

    • Pay missing on some jobs

      Leave baseSalary out where pay is not posted, never send 0.

    • Filled jobs stay listed

      Expire jobs from the ATS feed.

    Evidence

    • Your websiteJob pages (checked October 22, 2026, on three jobs in Houston, Oklahoma City and Pearland): each carries schema.org JobPosting markup, but the JSON inside the script tag is HTML-escaped (every quote is written as "), so it does not parse as JSON. Decoded, it lists baseSalary as "0.00" per hour even where the page says "Pay: $118k" or "$23-$27/hr", and employmentType as "Direct Hire".Source
    • Your websiteSitemap (135 URLs, checked October 22, 2026): 76 location pages, 21 job pages, 14 articles, 8 industry pages; no Spanish-language pages. City pages are templates: the Woodstock and Marietta, GA pages are 98.7% identical word for word, with the same Kennesaw address and no local jobs listed.Source
    • HiringTechnology Partner, AI & Automation (GA, NC, SC or TX, posted October 15, 2026): will "identify opportunities to use AI, automation, and existing technology to improve how we work across Openwork", "reduce manual work" and "connect existing tools and systems"; "You don't have to be a traditional software developer".Source
    • HiringRecruiting hiring: Bilingual Recruiters in Suwanee and Locust Grove, GA and Charlotte, NC; a Healthcare Recruiter and Healthcare Staffing Coordinator in Houston; and a Healthcare Staffing Specialist for Openwork Health in Wichita, KS (posted October 16, 2026) who helps "facilitate timely shift placement for new healthcare professionals, ideally within their first two weeks of activation" and encourages "contract renewals and extensions".Source
  • 02

    The main pages for job seekers and employers (Our Story, Discover Talent, Find Work, Contact, Referrals, Client FAQ) declare canonicals like "https://www.openwork.comour-story", which is not a real address. The sitemap also lists /homepage, /homepage-copy and a test page titled "f".

    Medium impactLow effort First result in 2 weeks Technology Partner

    First action

    Change the canonical template and check six pages.

    How to measure it

    Main pages indexed with the right canonical

    Now
    –
    Target
    100%
    By
    30 days

    Steps

    1. 1

      Fix template

      Add the missing slash.

      Technology Partner, AI & Automation 1 hour

    2. 2

      Check pages

      All single-segment pages.

      Technology Partner, AI & Automation 1 hour

    3. 3

      Clean sitemap

      Drop homepage copies and the test page.

      Technology Partner, AI & Automation 1 hour

    4. 4

      Redirect copies

      /homepage and /homepage-copy to /.

      Technology Partner, AI & Automation 1 hour

    5. 5

      Resubmit

      Sitemap in Search Console.

      Technology Partner, AI & Automation 10 minutes

    6. 6

      Watch

      Coverage report for two weeks.

      Marketing Manager 2 weeks

    First result
    2 weeks
    Cost
    $0
    Owner
    Technology Partner, AI & Automation

    Smallest test

    Fix the canonical on Discover Talent today.

    Why it works

    Fix the canonical template so it adds the slash, set each page's canonical to itself, remove /homepage, /homepage-copy and /playground from the sitemap and redirect or noindex them, then resubmit the sitemap in Search Console.

    Search engines may ignore or misread pages whose canonical points nowhere, and duplicate homepages split signals; this is a one-line template fix.

    Risks and how to handle them

    • Other templates have the same bug

      Crawl the whole site once after the fix.

    Evidence

    • Your websiteCanonical tags on top-level pages are missing a slash: /our-story, /discover-talent, /find-work, /contact, /referrals and /clients-faq all declare canonicals such as "https://www.openwork.comour-story". The sitemap also lists /homepage, /homepage-copy (copies of the homepage) and /playground (a test page titled "f").Source
    • Your websiteSitemap (135 URLs, checked October 22, 2026): 76 location pages, 21 job pages, 14 articles, 8 industry pages; no Spanish-language pages. City pages are templates: the Woodstock and Marietta, GA pages are 98.7% identical word for word, with the same Kennesaw address and no local jobs listed.Source
  • 03

    Job, industry and Find Work pages all share one generic description ("At Openwork we're building your future, together"). In search results every Openwork job looks the same, and pay, schedule and town, the things candidates scan for, are missing.

    Medium impactLow effort First result in 1 month Marketing Manager

    First action

    Write the template and preview ten jobs.

    How to measure it

    Search click-through on job pages

    Now
    –
    Target
    +20%
    By
    60 days

    Steps

    1. 1

      Write template

      Title, town, pay, shift.

      Marketing Manager 2 hours

    2. 2

      Build it

      From job fields.

      Technology Partner, AI & Automation 1 day

    3. 3

      Industry pages

      Eight hand-written descriptions.

      Marketing Manager 1 day

    4. 4

      Other pages

      Find Work, Referrals, Discover Talent.

      Marketing Manager 2 hours

    5. 5

      Check previews

      Search and link previews.

      Marketing Manager 1 hour

    6. 6

      Measure

      Click-through in Search Console.

      Growth Operations Director monthly

    First result
    1 month
    Cost
    $0
    Owner
    Marketing Manager

    Smallest test

    Rewrite the description on the ten most-viewed jobs.

    Why it works

    Generate each job's description from its fields: title, town, pay, shift and type ("Welder/Fabricator, 1st shift, Oklahoma City. $23-$27/hr, Mon-Fri. Apply in minutes."). Write the eight industry pages' descriptions by hand.

    Pay and shift in the snippet lift click-through for hourly roles, and it is a template change.

    Risks and how to handle them

    • Pay missing on some jobs

      Fall back to shift and benefits.

    Evidence

    • Your websiteJob, industry, Discover Talent, Find Work and Referrals pages all share one meta description: "At Openwork we're building your future, together. Because our dream job is helping you find yours." Only the homepage, locations, Our Story and FAQ pages have their own.Source
    • Your websiteJob pages (checked October 22, 2026, on three jobs in Houston, Oklahoma City and Pearland): each carries schema.org JobPosting markup, but the JSON inside the script tag is HTML-escaped (every quote is written as "), so it does not parse as JSON. Decoded, it lists baseSalary as "0.00" per hour even where the page says "Pay: $118k" or "$23-$27/hr", and employmentType as "Direct Hire".Source
    • Your websiteSitemap (135 URLs, checked October 22, 2026): 76 location pages, 21 job pages, 14 articles, 8 industry pages; no Spanish-language pages. City pages are templates: the Woodstock and Marietta, GA pages are 98.7% identical word for word, with the same Kennesaw address and no local jobs listed.Source
  • 04

    Openwork's strongest proof (years of experience, talent and client NPS, placements, time to fill) sits in a stats band whose numbers are empty in the HTML and only appear when a script runs. Search engines, AI assistants and link previews read the empty version, and the counting animation is what shifts the layout.

    Medium impactLow effort First result in 2 weeks Technology Partner

    First action

    View source on the homepage and confirm the numbers are blank.

    How to measure it

    Pages with numbers in HTML

    Now
    –
    Target
    All
    By
    2 weeks

    Steps

    1. 1

      Confirm

      View source on both pages.

      Technology Partner, AI & Automation 30 minutes

    2. 2

      Render server-side

      Numbers in the HTML.

      Technology Partner, AI & Automation 1 day

    3. 3

      Keep animation optional

      Visual only, fixed size.

      Technology Partner, AI & Automation 2 hours

    4. 4

      Reuse the numbers

      Descriptions and FAQ.

      Marketing Manager 2 hours

    5. 5

      Date them

      State when each figure was measured.

      Marketing Manager 1 hour

    6. 6

      Review

      Update quarterly.

      Growth Operations Director quarterly

    First result
    2 weeks
    Cost
    $0
    Owner
    Technology Partner, AI & Automation

    Smallest test

    Hard-code the current numbers into the homepage HTML.

    Why it works

    Render the final numbers in the HTML on the homepage and Discover Talent, keep any animation purely visual on top, and add the same figures to the meta descriptions and the Client FAQ.

    Proof that machines can read gets quoted in AI answers and previews, and it fixes the layout-shift problem at the same time.

    Risks and how to handle them

    • Numbers go stale

      Pull them from one source and date them.

    Evidence

    • Your websiteHomepage and Discover Talent: the stats band ("yrs experience", "% talent NPS score", "% client NPS score", "k job placements", "hrs avg time to fill") ships with the numbers empty in the HTML and fills them in with script; the homepage says Openwork matches candidates "12x faster than the average staffing company" and shows two testimonials. Every page's footer asks "Our JDs are good, but have you seen our e-mails?" with one email box.Source
    • PageSpeedGoogle PageSpeed (mobile, October 22, 2026): lab performance score 64, Largest Contentful Paint 11.3 s. Real Chrome users fail Core Web Vitals on layout shift: homepage CLS at the 75th percentile is 0.82 and the whole origin 0.49 (good is under 0.1); interaction (INP 161 ms) and origin LCP (2.4 s) are fine. The stats band is the element that shifts.Source
    • Your websiteClient FAQ: "Research has shown that we fill positions 12x faster than our average client and cost 3x less"; costs "depend on a number of factors" and are shared "upfront". The industries listed are Accounting & Finance, Customer Service & Call Center, Human Resources, IT & Engineering, Office & Administrative and the industrial trades; healthcare and life sciences are not in the menu. The site has no case studies.Source
  • 05

    Google's real-user data shows the homepage layout shifts badly on phones (CLS 0.82 at the 75th percentile, the whole site 0.49; good is under 0.1), while speed of interaction is fine. Candidates tapping "Apply" or "Search Jobs" as the page jumps hit the wrong thing.

    Medium impactLow effort First result in 1 month Technology Partner

    First action

    Record the homepage loading on a phone and note what moves.

    How to measure it

    Origin CLS

    Now
    –
    Target
    Under 0.1
    By
    60 days

    Steps

    1. 1

      Find shifts

      PageSpeed and a phone recording.

      Technology Partner, AI & Automation 2 hours

    2. 2

      Fix the stats band

      Fixed height and real numbers.

      Technology Partner, AI & Automation 1 day

    3. 3

      Fix the banner

      Reserved space for the Meador banner.

      Technology Partner, AI & Automation 2 hours

    4. 4

      Fix media and fonts

      Dimensions and fallbacks.

      Technology Partner, AI & Automation 1 day

    5. 5

      Test

      Mid-range Android phone.

      Technology Partner, AI & Automation 2 hours

    6. 6

      Track

      CrUX after 28 days.

      Growth Operations Director monthly

    First result
    1 month
    Cost
    $0
    Owner
    Technology Partner, AI & Automation

    Smallest test

    Give the stats band a fixed height and recheck.

    Why it works

    Reserve space for the stats band, banner, marquee and hero media with fixed heights, load fonts with matching fallbacks, and test on a mid-range phone. Recheck the Chrome UX Report after 28 days.

    Core Web Vitals feed Google's page experience signals, and a stable page loses fewer mobile taps.

    Risks and how to handle them

    • Lab tests look fine already

      Judge by real-user data, not the lab score.

    Evidence

    • PageSpeedGoogle PageSpeed (mobile, October 22, 2026): lab performance score 64, Largest Contentful Paint 11.3 s. Real Chrome users fail Core Web Vitals on layout shift: homepage CLS at the 75th percentile is 0.82 and the whole origin 0.49 (good is under 0.1); interaction (INP 161 ms) and origin LCP (2.4 s) are fine. The stats band is the element that shifts.Source
    • Your websiteHomepage and Discover Talent: the stats band ("yrs experience", "% talent NPS score", "% client NPS score", "k job placements", "hrs avg time to fill") ships with the numbers empty in the HTML and fills them in with script; the homepage says Openwork matches candidates "12x faster than the average staffing company" and shows two testimonials. Every page's footer asks "Our JDs are good, but have you seen our e-mails?" with one email box.Source
  • 06

    Openwork has 76 "staffing agency in" city pages, but they are 98.7% the same text with the branch address swapped in, and none lists a job. A candidate searching "jobs in Marietta" lands on a page with no jobs on it.

    High impactMedium effort First result in 1 month Marketing Manager

    First action

    Add a jobs list to the Kennesaw and Marietta pages first.

    How to measure it

    Applications from city pages

    Now
    –
    Target
    3x
    By
    90 days

    Steps

    1. 1

      Build the widget

      Nearest jobs by distance.

      Technology Partner, AI & Automation 1 week

    2. 2

      Add pay ranges

      From local postings.

      Technology Partner, AI & Automation 2 days

    3. 3

      Write local lines

      Two per town.

      Marketing Manager 2 weeks

    4. 4

      Add recruiter faces

      One per branch.

      Market Manager 1 week

    5. 5

      Roll out

      All 76 pages.

      Technology Partner, AI & Automation 1 week

    6. 6

      Measure

      Applications by page.

      Growth Operations Director monthly

    First result
    1 month
    Cost
    Staff time only
    Owner
    Marketing Manager

    Smallest test

    Add the widget to five city pages and compare applications.

    Why it works

    Add a live list of the nearest open jobs (by distance from the city), the pay range of local roles, the branch hours and a recruiter photo to each city page. Add two lines unique to each town: main employers and industries served.

    Live jobs make the pages useful, which is what search engines reward for local pages, and every job listed is a direct path to an application.

    Risks and how to handle them

    • Towns with no jobs

      Show the nearest jobs and a talent-pool sign-up.

    Evidence

    • Your websiteSitemap (135 URLs, checked October 22, 2026): 76 location pages, 21 job pages, 14 articles, 8 industry pages; no Spanish-language pages. City pages are templates: the Woodstock and Marietta, GA pages are 98.7% identical word for word, with the same Kennesaw address and no local jobs listed.Source
    • Your websiteLocations page: 13 offices in Georgia (Duluth, Kennesaw, Locust Grove, Savannah), Mississippi (Olive Branch), North Carolina (Charlotte, Greensboro), South Carolina (Greer) and Texas (Austin, Clear Lake, Dallas, Deer Park, Houston). No Oklahoma office or page, although the sitemap lists five Oklahoma City jobs, and no Fort Worth page despite Fort Worth jobs.Source
    • Your websiteJob pages (checked October 22, 2026, on three jobs in Houston, Oklahoma City and Pearland): each carries schema.org JobPosting markup, but the JSON inside the script tag is HTML-escaped (every quote is written as "), so it does not parse as JSON. Decoded, it lists baseSalary as "0.00" per hour even where the page says "Pay: $118k" or "$23-$27/hr", and employmentType as "Direct Hire".Source

This quarter 10

The core plays for the next three months.

  • 07

    Openwork is hiring bilingual recruiters in Suwanee, Locust Grove and Charlotte, but the site has no Spanish pages: jobs, apply, FAQ and referrals are English only.

    High impactMedium effort First result in 1 quarter Bilingual Recruiter

    First action

    Translate the apply form and Find Work page.

    How to measure it

    Applications in Spanish

    Now
    –
    Target
    150 a month
    By
    1 quarter

    Steps

    1. 1

      Pick pages

      Apply, Find Work, FAQ, Referrals.

      Bilingual Recruiter 1 day

    2. 2

      Translate

      With recruiter review.

      Bilingual Recruiter 2 weeks

    3. 3

      Spanish jobs

      Roles where Spanish is welcome.

      Bilingual Recruiter 2 weeks

    4. 4

      Route

      Spanish applicants to bilingual recruiters.

      Technology Partner, AI & Automation 1 week

    5. 5

      Promote

      City pages and local groups.

      Marketing Manager 1 month

    6. 6

      Measure

      Applications and placements.

      Growth Operations Director monthly

    First result
    1 quarter
    Cost
    Translation time
    Owner
    Bilingual Recruiter

    Smallest test

    Publish one Spanish job and the Spanish apply form.

    Why it works

    Translate Find Work, the job-seeker FAQ, Referrals and the apply form, publish Spanish job pages for roles where Spanish is welcome, add a "Hablamos español" line and a text number to the city pages in those markets, and route Spanish applicants to the bilingual recruiters.

    Recruiters who speak the candidate's language fill faster, and Spanish job searches have far fewer staffing firms competing.

    Risks and how to handle them

    • Clients need English skills

      Show the language level each job needs.

    Evidence

    • HiringRecruiting hiring: Bilingual Recruiters in Suwanee and Locust Grove, GA and Charlotte, NC; a Healthcare Recruiter and Healthcare Staffing Coordinator in Houston; and a Healthcare Staffing Specialist for Openwork Health in Wichita, KS (posted October 16, 2026) who helps "facilitate timely shift placement for new healthcare professionals, ideally within their first two weeks of activation" and encourages "contract renewals and extensions".Source
    • Your websiteSitemap (135 URLs, checked October 22, 2026): 76 location pages, 21 job pages, 14 articles, 8 industry pages; no Spanish-language pages. City pages are templates: the Woodstock and Marietta, GA pages are 98.7% identical word for word, with the same Kennesaw address and no local jobs listed.Source
    • Your websiteReferral page: "For every qualified referral you make as an Openwork ambassador, you can earn $100+ and your friend can earn up to $25", paid after the referral works 160 hours (the friend's bonus after 40 hours); referrers get "a personal link to include in your posts".Source
  • 08

    The sitemap lists five Oklahoma City jobs and Fort Worth roles, and a Market Manager is being hired for Dallas-Fort Worth, but the locations page has no Oklahoma office or page and no Fort Worth page.

    Medium impactMedium effort First result in 1 quarter Market Manager

    First action

    List every city with open jobs and no page.

    How to measure it

    Leads from new pages

    Now
    –
    Target
    40 a month
    By
    1 quarter

    Steps

    1. 1

      Find gaps

      Cities with jobs and no page.

      Growth Operations Director 1 day

    2. 2

      Write pages

      Oklahoma City and Fort Worth.

      Marketing Manager 1 week

    3. 3

      Add jobs

      Live list on each.

      Technology Partner, AI & Automation 1 day

    4. 4

      Business profiles

      Where there is an address.

      Market Manager 2 weeks

    5. 5

      Link

      From locations page.

      Marketing Manager 1 hour

    6. 6

      Measure

      Leads by page.

      Growth Operations Director monthly

    First result
    1 quarter
    Cost
    Staff time only
    Owner
    Market Manager

    Smallest test

    Publish the Oklahoma City page.

    Why it works

    Add real location pages for Oklahoma City and Fort Worth with their jobs, a recruiter contact and an employer form, link them from the locations list and set up Google Business Profiles where Openwork has an address.

    Local pages capture "staffing agency near me" searches in markets that already have open work to fill.

    Risks and how to handle them

    • No office yet

      Say clearly who serves the area.

    Evidence

    • Your websiteLocations page: 13 offices in Georgia (Duluth, Kennesaw, Locust Grove, Savannah), Mississippi (Olive Branch), North Carolina (Charlotte, Greensboro), South Carolina (Greer) and Texas (Austin, Clear Lake, Dallas, Deer Park, Houston). No Oklahoma office or page, although the sitemap lists five Oklahoma City jobs, and no Fort Worth page despite Fort Worth jobs.Source
    • Your websiteSitemap (135 URLs, checked October 22, 2026): 76 location pages, 21 job pages, 14 articles, 8 industry pages; no Spanish-language pages. City pages are templates: the Woodstock and Marietta, GA pages are 98.7% identical word for word, with the same Kennesaw address and no local jobs listed.Source
    • HiringSales and market leadership hiring: an Account Executive to "grow our professional staffing business in the Houston market" (posted September 2, 2026); a Business Development Manager in Kennesaw who trains first as a Staffing Specialist and then owns a territory; Market Managers for Dallas-Fort Worth and Olive Branch, MS who "lead both the sales and operations side" and own the branch P&L.Source
  • 09

    The Growth Operations Director is hired to find "what's working and what isn't" across markets and to improve recruiting and sales conversion. Today the web side of each market (job views, applications, employer form fills) is not tied to placements.

    High impactMedium effort First result in 1 quarter Growth Operations Director

    First action

    Agree the eight measures with two Market Managers.

    How to measure it

    Markets reporting weekly

    Now
    –
    Target
    All 13
    By
    1 quarter

    Steps

    1. 1

      Agree measures

      Eight per market.

      Growth Operations Director 1 week

    2. 2

      Tag sources

      Market on every lead.

      Technology Partner, AI & Automation 2 weeks

    3. 3

      Join data

      Web, ATS and payroll.

      Technology Partner, AI & Automation 1 month

    4. 4

      Build view

      One page per market.

      Technology Partner, AI & Automation 2 weeks

    5. 5

      Review weekly

      With Market Managers.

      Growth Operations Director weekly

    6. 6

      Act

      One fix per market per month.

      Market Manager monthly

    First result
    1 quarter
    Cost
    Staff time only
    Owner
    Growth Operations Director

    Smallest test

    Build the scorecard for one market by hand.

    Why it works

    Build one weekly scorecard per market: job views, applications, time to first contact, interviews, placements, employer leads, fill rate and gross margin. Tag every application and lead with its market from the job and city pages.

    The director can compare markets on the same funnel and spot whether a weak branch has a traffic, follow-up or sales problem.

    Risks and how to handle them

    • Data in many systems

      Start with what the ATS already records.

    Evidence

    • HiringGrowth Operations Director (Atlanta, 25-50% travel, posted October 5, 2026): partners with market and regional leaders to "evaluate performance, identify gaps", monitors "key metrics across sales, recruiting, service delivery, productivity, and profitability", strengthens "recruiting and sales strategies, activity, conversion, and operating rhythms", and supports "new market openings, acquisitions, and M&A integration".Source
    • HiringSales and market leadership hiring: an Account Executive to "grow our professional staffing business in the Houston market" (posted September 2, 2026); a Business Development Manager in Kennesaw who trains first as a Staffing Specialist and then owns a territory; Market Managers for Dallas-Fort Worth and Olive Branch, MS who "lead both the sales and operations side" and own the branch P&L.Source
    • Your websiteLocations page: 13 offices in Georgia (Duluth, Kennesaw, Locust Grove, Savannah), Mississippi (Olive Branch), North Carolina (Charlotte, Greensboro), South Carolina (Greer) and Texas (Austin, Clear Lake, Dallas, Deer Park, Houston). No Oklahoma office or page, although the sitemap lists five Oklahoma City jobs, and no Fort Worth page despite Fort Worth jobs.Source
  • 10

    Openwork says candidates are "always a phone call (or text message) away", and the new AI & Automation partner is hired to reduce manual work. Hourly candidates apply to several agencies at once; the first one to reply usually wins them.

    High impactMedium effort First result in 1 month Technology Partner

    First action

    Measure today's time from application to first contact.

    How to measure it

    Time to first contact

    Now
    –
    Target
    Under 15 minutes
    By
    1 quarter

    Steps

    1. 1

      Measure now

      By branch.

      Growth Operations Director 1 week

    2. 2

      Write texts

      Two questions and a link.

      Bilingual Recruiter 2 days

    3. 3

      Connect

      ATS to texting tool.

      Technology Partner, AI & Automation 2 weeks

    4. 4

      Consent

      Opt-in on the apply form.

      Technology Partner, AI & Automation 1 week

    5. 5

      Pilot

      Two branches.

      Market Manager 1 month

    6. 6

      Roll out

      All branches.

      Technology Partner, AI & Automation 1 month

    First result
    1 month
    Cost
    Texting tool costs
    Owner
    Technology Partner, AI & Automation

    Smallest test

    Pilot in one branch for two weeks.

    Why it works

    When an application arrives, send an automatic text within 15 minutes with the recruiter's name, two screening questions and a booking link, in English or Spanish. Recruiters get the answers in the ATS before they call.

    Speed to first contact is the strongest driver of fill rate in light industrial and office staffing.

    Risks and how to handle them

    • Texting rules

      Collect consent and honor opt-outs.

    Evidence

    • HiringTechnology Partner, AI & Automation (GA, NC, SC or TX, posted October 15, 2026): will "identify opportunities to use AI, automation, and existing technology to improve how we work across Openwork", "reduce manual work" and "connect existing tools and systems"; "You don't have to be a traditional software developer".Source
    • Your websiteHomepage and Discover Talent: the stats band ("yrs experience", "% talent NPS score", "% client NPS score", "k job placements", "hrs avg time to fill") ships with the numbers empty in the HTML and fills them in with script; the homepage says Openwork matches candidates "12x faster than the average staffing company" and shows two testimonials. Every page's footer asks "Our JDs are good, but have you seen our e-mails?" with one email box.Source
    • HiringRecruiting hiring: Bilingual Recruiters in Suwanee and Locust Grove, GA and Charlotte, NC; a Healthcare Recruiter and Healthcare Staffing Coordinator in Houston; and a Healthcare Staffing Specialist for Openwork Health in Wichita, KS (posted October 16, 2026) who helps "facilitate timely shift placement for new healthcare professionals, ideally within their first two weeks of activation" and encourages "contract renewals and extensions".Source
  • 11

    Openwork pays $100+ per referral after 160 hours worked and gives each referrer a personal link, but the ask lives on a web page. Associates on assignment are the best source of people like them.

    Medium impactLow effort First result in 1 quarter Market Manager

    First action

    Count referrals per branch last quarter.

    How to measure it

    Placements from referrals

    Now
    –
    Target
    +40%
    By
    2 quarters

    Steps

    1. 1

      Baseline

      Referrals by branch.

      Growth Operations Director 1 week

    2. 2

      Write messages

      Paycheck and 160 hours.

      Marketing Manager 2 days

    3. 3

      Automate

      Triggered texts.

      Technology Partner, AI & Automation 2 weeks

    4. 4

      Show counts

      Branch leaderboard.

      Market Manager 1 week

    5. 5

      Pay on time

      Fixed weekly day.

      Payroll ongoing

    6. 6

      Measure

      Referred placements.

      Growth Operations Director monthly

    First result
    1 quarter
    Cost
    Referral bonuses
    Owner
    Market Manager

    Smallest test

    Text 100 associates their link with this week's pay.

    Why it works

    Text each associate their referral link with their first weekly paycheck and again when they pass 160 hours, show the referral count by branch, and pay bonuses on a fixed day each week.

    Referred hourly workers stay longer, and well-timed asks raise referral rates without raising the bonus.

    Risks and how to handle them

    • Low-quality referrals

      Pay only after the 160 hours, as now.

    Evidence

    • Your websiteReferral page: "For every qualified referral you make as an Openwork ambassador, you can earn $100+ and your friend can earn up to $25", paid after the referral works 160 hours (the friend's bonus after 40 hours); referrers get "a personal link to include in your posts".Source
    • Your websiteHomepage and Discover Talent: the stats band ("yrs experience", "% talent NPS score", "% client NPS score", "k job placements", "hrs avg time to fill") ships with the numbers empty in the HTML and fills them in with script; the homepage says Openwork matches candidates "12x faster than the average staffing company" and shows two testimonials. Every page's footer asks "Our JDs are good, but have you seen our e-mails?" with one email box.Source
  • 12

    Openwork owns Openwork Health (nurses), ARC (national life sciences recruiting), Meador (Houston) and Aerospace Solutions, but the industries menu and Client FAQ list neither healthcare nor life sciences, and the sister sites are only linked from Our Story.

    High impactLow effort First result in 1 quarter Account Executive

    First action

    Add the two menu items this week.

    How to measure it

    Referrals between brands

    Now
    –
    Target
    20 a quarter
    By
    2 quarters

    Steps

    1. 1

      Add menu items

      Healthcare and Life Sciences.

      Marketing Manager 1 day

    2. 2

      Write pages

      Short, linking to sister sites.

      Marketing Manager 1 week

    3. 3

      Footer strip

      Family of brands.

      Technology Partner, AI & Automation 2 hours

    4. 4

      Referral process

      Shared form and credit.

      Growth Operations Director 2 weeks

    5. 5

      Train sellers

      What each brand fills.

      Account Executive, Professional Staffing 1 week

    6. 6

      Track

      Referrals and revenue.

      Growth Operations Director quarterly

    First result
    1 quarter
    Cost
    Staff time only
    Owner
    Account Executive, Professional Staffing

    Smallest test

    Ask ten top clients if they hire nurses or lab staff.

    Why it works

    Add "Healthcare" and "Life Sciences" to the industries menu with pages that hand over to openworkhealth.com and arcstaff.com, add a "family of brands" strip to the footer, and give account executives one referral process between brands with credit for both.

    A client that buys light industrial staffing from Openwork may also need nurses or lab staff; making the family visible turns acquisitions into cross-sell.

    Risks and how to handle them

    • Clients confused by many names

      Use "an Openwork company" on each brand.

    Evidence

    • Your websiteOur Story: founded in 1967 in Austin as Evins Personnel Consultants (healthcare division since the early 1970s), rebranded Openwork in 2022; acquired Aerospace Solutions (2019), Rock Staffing in Atlanta (2022) and QS Nurses in Kansas (2022, rebranded Openwork Health in 2025). Sister companies link out to separate sites: openworkhealth.com, arcstaff.com and aerospace-solutions.com; the Meador link goes to meador.com, which now 301-redirects every address (including meador.com/jobs) to the Openwork homepage.Source
    • Your websiteNews: Openwork acquired Alternative Resources Company (ARC), a national life sciences recruiting firm founded in 1990 (announced November 12, 2025), and Meador Staffing Services, a Houston firm founded in 1968; a site-wide banner says "Meador Staffing Services has joined the Openwork Family!"Source
    • Your websiteClient FAQ: "Research has shown that we fill positions 12x faster than our average client and cost 3x less"; costs "depend on a number of factors" and are shared "upfront". The industries listed are Accounting & Finance, Customer Service & Call Center, Human Resources, IT & Engineering, Office & Administrative and the industrial trades; healthcare and life sciences are not in the menu. The site has no case studies.Source
    • HiringRecruiting hiring: Bilingual Recruiters in Suwanee and Locust Grove, GA and Charlotte, NC; a Healthcare Recruiter and Healthcare Staffing Coordinator in Houston; and a Healthcare Staffing Specialist for Openwork Health in Wichita, KS (posted October 16, 2026) who helps "facilitate timely shift placement for new healthcare professionals, ideally within their first two weeks of activation" and encourages "contract renewals and extensions".Source
  • 13

    Openwork's job pages already show pay by role and town ($23-$27/hr welders in Oklahoma City, a $118k supply chain manager in Houston). Employers asking "what should I pay a forklift driver in Kennesaw?" have few current sources.

    Medium impactMedium effort First result in 2 quarters Account Executive

    First action

    Pull pay ranges for the top ten roles in Houston.

    How to measure it

    Employer leads from guides

    Now
    –
    Target
    30 a quarter
    By
    2 quarters

    Steps

    1. 1

      Pick roles

      Top ten per market.

      Account Executive, Professional Staffing 1 week

    2. 2

      Pull data

      Postings and placements.

      Technology Partner, AI & Automation 2 weeks

    3. 3

      Write guides

      One per market.

      Marketing Manager 2 weeks

    4. 4

      Add form

      Custom rate check.

      Technology Partner, AI & Automation 1 day

    5. 5

      Use in outreach

      BDM and AE sequences.

      Business Development Manager ongoing

    6. 6

      Refresh

      Quarterly.

      Marketing Manager quarterly

    First result
    2 quarters
    Cost
    Staff time only
    Owner
    Account Executive, Professional Staffing

    Smallest test

    Publish the Houston warehouse guide.

    Why it works

    Publish a quarterly pay guide per market (warehouse, production, office, skilled trades): median and range from Openwork's own postings and placements, with an employer form for a custom rate check.

    Pay guides are a reason for HR leaders to contact Openwork and a ready opener for business development calls.

    Risks and how to handle them

    • Small samples

      Show ranges and suppress thin roles.

    Evidence

    • Your websiteJob pages (checked October 22, 2026, on three jobs in Houston, Oklahoma City and Pearland): each carries schema.org JobPosting markup, but the JSON inside the script tag is HTML-escaped (every quote is written as "), so it does not parse as JSON. Decoded, it lists baseSalary as "0.00" per hour even where the page says "Pay: $118k" or "$23-$27/hr", and employmentType as "Direct Hire".Source
    • HiringSales and market leadership hiring: an Account Executive to "grow our professional staffing business in the Houston market" (posted September 2, 2026); a Business Development Manager in Kennesaw who trains first as a Staffing Specialist and then owns a territory; Market Managers for Dallas-Fort Worth and Olive Branch, MS who "lead both the sales and operations side" and own the branch P&L.Source
    • Your websiteLocations page: 13 offices in Georgia (Duluth, Kennesaw, Locust Grove, Savannah), Mississippi (Olive Branch), North Carolina (Charlotte, Greensboro), South Carolina (Greer) and Texas (Austin, Clear Lake, Dallas, Deer Park, Houston). No Oklahoma office or page, although the sitemap lists five Oklahoma City jobs, and no Fort Worth page despite Fort Worth jobs.Source
  • 14

    Meador served Houston since 1968, and meador.com now redirects every address, including its old jobs page, to the Openwork homepage. Long-time Meador clients and candidates who search for "Meador Staffing" or follow an old link land on a generic page that does not mention Houston or the Meador team.

    Medium impactMedium effort First result in 1 quarter Market Manager

    First action

    Check what ranks today for "Meador Staffing" and where it lands.

    How to measure it

    Leads from meador.com visits

    Now
    –
    Target
    +50%
    By
    2 quarters

    Steps

    1. 1

      Check rankings

      Brand searches and old links.

      Marketing Manager 1 day

    2. 2

      Houston page

      Combined team, offices, jobs.

      Marketing Manager 1 week

    3. 3

      Repoint redirects

      meador.com to the Houston page.

      Technology Partner, AI & Automation 1 hour

    4. 4

      Map old pages

      Jobs to Houston jobs.

      Technology Partner, AI & Automation 1 day

    5. 5

      Tell clients

      Personal note from the branch.

      Market Manager 2 weeks

    6. 6

      Measure

      Leads from Meador traffic.

      Growth Operations Director monthly

    First result
    1 quarter
    Cost
    Staff time only
    Owner
    Market Manager

    Smallest test

    Repoint meador.com to the Houston jobs list.

    Why it works

    Build a Houston page for the combined team ("Meador Staffing is now part of Openwork"), with the Houston offices, live Houston jobs and an employer form. Point meador.com there, map any old Meador pages that still get visits to the matching Openwork pages (jobs to Houston jobs), and keep the Meador name on the page for brand searches.

    Acquired brands hold search and referral value that is easy to lose when every old address lands on the homepage.

    Risks and how to handle them

    • Losing Meador clients

      Keep the Meador name visible on the Houston page.

    Evidence

    • Your websiteNews: Openwork acquired Alternative Resources Company (ARC), a national life sciences recruiting firm founded in 1990 (announced November 12, 2025), and Meador Staffing Services, a Houston firm founded in 1968; a site-wide banner says "Meador Staffing Services has joined the Openwork Family!"Source
    • Your websiteOur Story: founded in 1967 in Austin as Evins Personnel Consultants (healthcare division since the early 1970s), rebranded Openwork in 2022; acquired Aerospace Solutions (2019), Rock Staffing in Atlanta (2022) and QS Nurses in Kansas (2022, rebranded Openwork Health in 2025). Sister companies link out to separate sites: openworkhealth.com, arcstaff.com and aerospace-solutions.com; the Meador link goes to meador.com, which now 301-redirects every address (including meador.com/jobs) to the Openwork homepage.Source
    • Your websiteLocations page: 13 offices in Georgia (Duluth, Kennesaw, Locust Grove, Savannah), Mississippi (Olive Branch), North Carolina (Charlotte, Greensboro), South Carolina (Greer) and Texas (Austin, Clear Lake, Dallas, Deer Park, Houston). No Oklahoma office or page, although the sitemap lists five Oklahoma City jobs, and no Fort Worth page despite Fort Worth jobs.Source
  • 15

    Openwork wins ClearlyRated client and talent awards, but the site shows two testimonials and no scores; city pages mention the awards in a sentence.

    Medium impactLow effort First result in 1 quarter Marketing Manager

    First action

    Pull current scores and review counts per branch.

    How to measure it

    Reviews per branch

    Now
    –
    Target
    +50
    By
    2 quarters

    Steps

    1. 1

      Collect scores

      ClearlyRated and Google.

      Marketing Manager 1 week

    2. 2

      Add to pages

      Branch and employer pages.

      Technology Partner, AI & Automation 1 week

    3. 3

      Ask at 40 hours

      Review text.

      Technology Partner, AI & Automation 1 week

    4. 4

      Reply

      All reviews.

      Market Manager weekly

    5. 5

      Compare branches

      Monthly.

      Growth Operations Director monthly

    6. 6

      Refresh

      Scores quarterly.

      Marketing Manager quarterly

    First result
    1 quarter
    Cost
    $0
    Owner
    Marketing Manager

    Smallest test

    Add scores to the Discover Talent page.

    Why it works

    Add the current client and talent satisfaction scores with review counts to Discover Talent and each branch page, ask placed associates for a Google review at 40 hours, and reply to every review.

    Employers and candidates compare agencies on reviews, and branch-level reviews also help local search.

    Risks and how to handle them

    • Negative reviews

      Reply and fix the cause.

    Evidence

    • Your websiteAwards on the news page: 2025 Inc. 5000 fastest-growing private companies, SIA Fastest Growing Staffing Firms (2023, 2024, 2025), 2025 Best Staffing Firms to Work For, and ClearlyRated Best of Staffing client and talent awards.Source
    • Your websiteHomepage and Discover Talent: the stats band ("yrs experience", "% talent NPS score", "% client NPS score", "k job placements", "hrs avg time to fill") ships with the numbers empty in the HTML and fills them in with script; the homepage says Openwork matches candidates "12x faster than the average staffing company" and shows two testimonials. Every page's footer asks "Our JDs are good, but have you seen our e-mails?" with one email box.Source
    • Your websiteSitemap (135 URLs, checked October 22, 2026): 76 location pages, 21 job pages, 14 articles, 8 industry pages; no Spanish-language pages. City pages are templates: the Woodstock and Marietta, GA pages are 98.7% identical word for word, with the same Kennesaw address and no local jobs listed.Source
  • 16

    Openwork is hiring an account executive in Houston, a business development manager in Kennesaw and two Market Managers, but the site has no case studies, only two short testimonials. New sellers need proof for the client in front of them.

    High impactMedium effort First result in 1 quarter Business Development Manager

    First action

    Pick eight clients with good results and permission.

    How to measure it

    Meetings per seller per month

    Now
    –
    Target
    +25%
    By
    2 quarters

    Steps

    1. 1

      Pick clients

      One per industry.

      Market Manager 2 weeks

    2. 2

      Get permission

      Or anonymize.

      Account Executive, Professional Staffing 2 weeks

    3. 3

      Write

      One page each.

      Marketing Manager 1 month

    4. 4

      Publish

      Industry pages.

      Technology Partner, AI & Automation 1 week

    5. 5

      Use in sequences

      AE and BDM outreach.

      Business Development Manager ongoing

    6. 6

      Measure

      Reply and meeting rates.

      Growth Operations Director monthly

    First result
    1 quarter
    Cost
    Staff time only
    Owner
    Business Development Manager

    Smallest test

    Write one warehouse case study.

    Why it works

    Write eight one-page case studies, one per industry, each with a named market, the role, volume, time to fill and retention, and an optional client quote. Put them on the industry pages and in sales sequences.

    Specific proof shortens the sale with HR and operations managers, and new sellers ramp faster.

    Risks and how to handle them

    • Clients decline to be named

      Use the industry and town only.

    Evidence

    • HiringSales and market leadership hiring: an Account Executive to "grow our professional staffing business in the Houston market" (posted September 2, 2026); a Business Development Manager in Kennesaw who trains first as a Staffing Specialist and then owns a territory; Market Managers for Dallas-Fort Worth and Olive Branch, MS who "lead both the sales and operations side" and own the branch P&L.Source
    • Your websiteClient FAQ: "Research has shown that we fill positions 12x faster than our average client and cost 3x less"; costs "depend on a number of factors" and are shared "upfront". The industries listed are Accounting & Finance, Customer Service & Call Center, Human Resources, IT & Engineering, Office & Administrative and the industrial trades; healthcare and life sciences are not in the menu. The site has no case studies.Source
    • Your websiteHomepage and Discover Talent: the stats band ("yrs experience", "% talent NPS score", "% client NPS score", "k job placements", "hrs avg time to fill") ships with the numbers empty in the HTML and fills them in with script; the homepage says Openwork matches candidates "12x faster than the average staffing company" and shows two testimonials. Every page's footer asks "Our JDs are good, but have you seen our e-mails?" with one email box.Source

Big bets 3

Larger plays that can change the trajectory.

  • 17

    Openwork is building professional staffing in Houston and posts direct-hire roles up to six figures, but those jobs sit in the same board and menus as hourly shifts, and the employer pages speak mostly to volume hiring.

    High impactHigh effort First result in 3 quarters Account Executive

    First action

    List last year's direct-hire placements by function.

    How to measure it

    Direct-hire placements

    Now
    –
    Target
    +30%
    By
    3 quarters

    Steps

    1. 1

      Size the base

      Past direct-hire placements.

      Account Executive, Professional Staffing 2 weeks

    2. 2

      Define offer

      Process and guarantee.

      Account Executive, Professional Staffing 1 month

    3. 3

      Build pages

      Employer and candidate.

      Marketing Manager 1 month

    4. 4

      Recruiter profiles

      By specialty.

      Marketing Manager 2 weeks

    5. 5

      Promote

      LinkedIn outreach.

      Account Executive, Professional Staffing ongoing

    6. 6

      Measure

      Leads and placements.

      Growth Operations Director quarterly

    First result
    3 quarters
    Cost
    Staff time only
    Owner
    Account Executive, Professional Staffing

    Smallest test

    Publish the Houston professional staffing page.

    Why it works

    Create a "Professional & Direct Hire" section: employer page with search process, fees approach and guarantee, a candidate page for salaried roles, recruiter profiles by specialty, and filtered jobs. Run LinkedIn outreach from it.

    Professional placements earn higher fees, and they need a different pitch than light industrial staffing.

    Risks and how to handle them

    • Brand reads as hourly staffing

      Use professional case studies.

    Evidence

    • HiringSales and market leadership hiring: an Account Executive to "grow our professional staffing business in the Houston market" (posted September 2, 2026); a Business Development Manager in Kennesaw who trains first as a Staffing Specialist and then owns a territory; Market Managers for Dallas-Fort Worth and Olive Branch, MS who "lead both the sales and operations side" and own the branch P&L.Source
    • Your websiteJob pages (checked October 22, 2026, on three jobs in Houston, Oklahoma City and Pearland): each carries schema.org JobPosting markup, but the JSON inside the script tag is HTML-escaped (every quote is written as "), so it does not parse as JSON. Decoded, it lists baseSalary as "0.00" per hour even where the page says "Pay: $118k" or "$23-$27/hr", and employmentType as "Direct Hire".Source
    • Your websiteClient FAQ: "Research has shown that we fill positions 12x faster than our average client and cost 3x less"; costs "depend on a number of factors" and are shared "upfront". The industries listed are Accounting & Finance, Customer Service & Call Center, Human Resources, IT & Engineering, Office & Administrative and the industrial trades; healthcare and life sciences are not in the menu. The site has no case studies.Source
  • 18

    Openwork has bought six firms since 2019 and the Growth Operations Director role includes "acquisitions, and M&A integration". Each deal so far has left a separate site and brand.

    High impactHigh effort First result in 3 quarters Growth Operations Director

    First action

    List what was done for the last two deals and what was lost.

    How to measure it

    Acquired-client revenue after 12 months

    Now
    –
    Target
    95%
    By
    4 quarters

    Steps

    1. 1

      Review past deals

      What was kept and lost.

      Growth Operations Director 1 month

    2. 2

      Write the plan

      Brand, web, systems, people.

      Growth Operations Director 1 month

    3. 3

      Template the web part

      Redirect and content map.

      Technology Partner, AI & Automation 2 weeks

    4. 4

      Announcements

      Client and candidate letters.

      Marketing Manager 2 weeks

    5. 5

      Run it

      Next deal.

      Growth Operations Director 1 quarter

    6. 6

      Score

      90 days after close.

      Growth Operations Director quarterly

    First result
    3 quarters
    Cost
    Staff time only
    Owner
    Growth Operations Director

    Smallest test

    Write the redirect and content map for one acquired site.

    Why it works

    Write one integration plan for future deals: brand decision rules, a redirect and content map, job feed and ATS merge, Google Business Profiles, client and candidate announcements, and a 90-day scorecard. Use it on the next deal and revisit past ones.

    A repeatable plan keeps the acquired firm's clients, candidates and search traffic, which is most of what was bought.

    Risks and how to handle them

    • Each deal differs

      Keep the plan a checklist, not a script.

    Evidence

    • HiringGrowth Operations Director (Atlanta, 25-50% travel, posted October 5, 2026): partners with market and regional leaders to "evaluate performance, identify gaps", monitors "key metrics across sales, recruiting, service delivery, productivity, and profitability", strengthens "recruiting and sales strategies, activity, conversion, and operating rhythms", and supports "new market openings, acquisitions, and M&A integration".Source
    • Your websiteOur Story: founded in 1967 in Austin as Evins Personnel Consultants (healthcare division since the early 1970s), rebranded Openwork in 2022; acquired Aerospace Solutions (2019), Rock Staffing in Atlanta (2022) and QS Nurses in Kansas (2022, rebranded Openwork Health in 2025). Sister companies link out to separate sites: openworkhealth.com, arcstaff.com and aerospace-solutions.com; the Meador link goes to meador.com, which now 301-redirects every address (including meador.com/jobs) to the Openwork homepage.Source
    • Your websiteNews: Openwork acquired Alternative Resources Company (ARC), a national life sciences recruiting firm founded in 1990 (announced November 12, 2025), and Meador Staffing Services, a Houston firm founded in 1968; a site-wide banner says "Meador Staffing Services has joined the Openwork Family!"Source
  • 19

    Openwork Health aims to place new nurses within two weeks and works on renewals and extensions. The same idea works across Openwork: an associate whose assignment ends without a next one often goes to another agency.

    High impactHigh effort First result in 3 quarters Healthcare Staffing Specialist

    First action

    Count associates whose assignments ended last month without a next job.

    How to measure it

    Associates redeployed within 7 days

    Now
    –
    Target
    50%
    By
    3 quarters

    Steps

    1. 1

      Baseline

      Ended without next job.

      Growth Operations Director 2 weeks

    2. 2

      Flag endings

      Three weeks ahead.

      Technology Partner, AI & Automation 1 month

    3. 3

      Match jobs

      Skills and distance.

      Technology Partner, AI & Automation 1 month

    4. 4

      Text offers

      Automatic.

      Technology Partner, AI & Automation 2 weeks

    5. 5

      Daily list

      For recruiters.

      Technology Partner, AI & Automation 1 week

    6. 6

      Measure

      By branch.

      Growth Operations Director monthly

    First result
    3 quarters
    Cost
    Engineering time
    Owner
    Healthcare Staffing Specialist

    Smallest test

    Run the ending-soon list by hand in one branch.

    Why it works

    Flag assignments ending in the next three weeks, offer the associate matching jobs automatically by text, and give recruiters a daily "ending soon" list. Measure redeployment rate by branch.

    Redeploying a known, proven worker is cheaper than finding a new one and keeps hours billing.

    Risks and how to handle them

    • Too many messages

      Cap at two offers a week.

    Evidence

    • HiringRecruiting hiring: Bilingual Recruiters in Suwanee and Locust Grove, GA and Charlotte, NC; a Healthcare Recruiter and Healthcare Staffing Coordinator in Houston; and a Healthcare Staffing Specialist for Openwork Health in Wichita, KS (posted October 16, 2026) who helps "facilitate timely shift placement for new healthcare professionals, ideally within their first two weeks of activation" and encourages "contract renewals and extensions".Source
    • HiringTechnology Partner, AI & Automation (GA, NC, SC or TX, posted October 15, 2026): will "identify opportunities to use AI, automation, and existing technology to improve how we work across Openwork", "reduce manual work" and "connect existing tools and systems"; "You don't have to be a traditional software developer".Source
    • HiringGrowth Operations Director (Atlanta, 25-50% travel, posted October 5, 2026): partners with market and regional leaders to "evaluate performance, identify gaps", monitors "key metrics across sales, recruiting, service delivery, productivity, and profitability", strengthens "recruiting and sales strategies, activity, conversion, and operating rhythms", and supports "new market openings, acquisitions, and M&A integration".Source

Wildcards 3

Unexpected experiments, each with a cheap way to test it.

  • 20

    Every page ends with "Our JDs are good, but have you seen our e-mails?" and one email box, with no choice of what to receive. Job seekers want alerts for their town and trade, not a newsletter.

    Medium impactLow effort First result in 1 month Marketing Manager

    First action

    Design the four-field sign-up.

    How to measure it

    Alert subscribers

    Now
    –
    Target
    5,000
    By
    2 quarters

    Steps

    1. 1

      Design form

      Town, industry, shift, channel.

      Marketing Manager 1 day

    2. 2

      Build alerts

      From job feed.

      Technology Partner, AI & Automation 2 weeks

    3. 3

      Consent

      For texts.

      Technology Partner, AI & Automation 1 day

    4. 4

      Place it

      Footer and city pages.

      Technology Partner, AI & Automation 1 day

    5. 5

      Send

      Daily or weekly.

      Technology Partner, AI & Automation ongoing

    6. 6

      Measure

      Applications from alerts.

      Growth Operations Director monthly

    First result
    1 month
    Cost
    Email and text costs
    Owner
    Marketing Manager

    Smallest test

    Launch alerts for one market.

    Why it works

    Replace the box with a job-alert sign-up (town or ZIP, industry, shift, email or text), send new matching jobs weekly or daily, and add the same sign-up to city pages with no current jobs.

    Alerts bring past visitors back when the right job opens, building a candidate pool per market.

    Risks and how to handle them

    • Low engagement

      Only send when there is a match.

    Evidence

    • Your websiteHomepage and Discover Talent: the stats band ("yrs experience", "% talent NPS score", "% client NPS score", "k job placements", "hrs avg time to fill") ships with the numbers empty in the HTML and fills them in with script; the homepage says Openwork matches candidates "12x faster than the average staffing company" and shows two testimonials. Every page's footer asks "Our JDs are good, but have you seen our e-mails?" with one email box.Source
    • Your websiteSitemap (135 URLs, checked October 22, 2026): 76 location pages, 21 job pages, 14 articles, 8 industry pages; no Spanish-language pages. City pages are templates: the Woodstock and Marietta, GA pages are 98.7% identical word for word, with the same Kennesaw address and no local jobs listed.Source
  • 21

    Openwork places welders, assemblers, electrical technicians and machine operators across Texas, Georgia, the Carolinas and Oklahoma. Technical colleges and workforce boards produce those people every term and need employers for graduates.

    Medium impactMedium effort First result in 2 quarters Market Manager

    First action

    List the technical colleges near three branches.

    How to measure it

    Partner-sourced placements

    Now
    –
    Target
    30 a quarter
    By
    2 quarters

    Steps

    1. 1

      List partners

      Per market.

      Market Manager 2 weeks

    2. 2

      Approach

      Careers offices.

      Market Manager 1 month

    3. 3

      Share jobs

      Alert feed.

      Technology Partner, AI & Automation 1 week

    4. 4

      Hiring days

      Each term.

      Market Manager quarterly

    5. 5

      Track

      Placements by school.

      Growth Operations Director quarterly

    6. 6

      Expand

      More markets.

      Growth Operations Director 2 quarters

    First result
    2 quarters
    Cost
    Event costs
    Owner
    Market Manager

    Smallest test

    Run one hiring day at one college.

    Why it works

    In each market sign one technical college and the local workforce board: share job alerts, run a hiring day each term, and offer first assignments to graduates.

    Partners bring a steady flow of trained candidates for hard-to-fill trades without ad spend.

    Risks and how to handle them

    • Few graduates

      Add apprenticeship and night programs.

    Evidence

    • Your websiteLocations page: 13 offices in Georgia (Duluth, Kennesaw, Locust Grove, Savannah), Mississippi (Olive Branch), North Carolina (Charlotte, Greensboro), South Carolina (Greer) and Texas (Austin, Clear Lake, Dallas, Deer Park, Houston). No Oklahoma office or page, although the sitemap lists five Oklahoma City jobs, and no Fort Worth page despite Fort Worth jobs.Source
    • Your websiteJob pages (checked October 22, 2026, on three jobs in Houston, Oklahoma City and Pearland): each carries schema.org JobPosting markup, but the JSON inside the script tag is HTML-escaped (every quote is written as "), so it does not parse as JSON. Decoded, it lists baseSalary as "0.00" per hour even where the page says "Pay: $118k" or "$23-$27/hr", and employmentType as "Direct Hire".Source
    • HiringSales and market leadership hiring: an Account Executive to "grow our professional staffing business in the Houston market" (posted September 2, 2026); a Business Development Manager in Kennesaw who trains first as a Staffing Specialist and then owns a territory; Market Managers for Dallas-Fort Worth and Olive Branch, MS who "lead both the sales and operations side" and own the branch P&L.Source
  • 22

    The homepage and Client FAQ say Openwork fills positions "12x faster" and costs "3x less", but there is no method or date behind the claim. Employers increasingly discount unsupported numbers.

    Medium impactMedium effort First result in 2 quarters Growth Operations Director

    First action

    Pull last half-year time to fill by industry.

    How to measure it

    Report downloads

    Now
    –
    Target
    1,000
    By
    2 quarters

    Steps

    1. 1

      Pull data

      Time to fill and fill rate.

      Technology Partner, AI & Automation 2 weeks

    2. 2

      Check the claim

      Against the method.

      Growth Operations Director 1 week

    3. 3

      Write report

      Short and dated.

      Marketing Manager 2 weeks

    4. 4

      Legal review

      Claim wording.

      Legal 1 week

    5. 5

      Publish

      Method page.

      Technology Partner, AI & Automation 1 day

    6. 6

      Update

      Twice a year.

      Growth Operations Director 6 months

    First result
    2 quarters
    Cost
    Staff time only
    Owner
    Growth Operations Director

    Smallest test

    Publish one chart of median time to fill.

    Why it works

    Publish a short twice-yearly report: median time to fill and fill rate by industry and market, how they are measured and the period covered. Use the method page as the source for the claim everywhere it appears.

    A published method turns a slogan into proof that sellers can use and AI assistants can cite.

    Risks and how to handle them

    • Numbers come out lower

      Restate the claim to match the data.

    Evidence

    • Your websiteClient FAQ: "Research has shown that we fill positions 12x faster than our average client and cost 3x less"; costs "depend on a number of factors" and are shared "upfront". The industries listed are Accounting & Finance, Customer Service & Call Center, Human Resources, IT & Engineering, Office & Administrative and the industrial trades; healthcare and life sciences are not in the menu. The site has no case studies.Source
    • Your websiteHomepage and Discover Talent: the stats band ("yrs experience", "% talent NPS score", "% client NPS score", "k job placements", "hrs avg time to fill") ships with the numbers empty in the HTML and fills them in with script; the homepage says Openwork matches candidates "12x faster than the average staffing company" and shows two testimonials. Every page's footer asks "Our JDs are good, but have you seen our e-mails?" with one email box.Source
    • Your websiteAwards on the news page: 2025 Inc. 5000 fastest-growing private companies, SIA Fastest Growing Staffing Firms (2023, 2024, 2025), 2025 Best Staffing Firms to Work For, and ClearlyRated Best of Staffing client and talent awards.Source

03

How Programmable can help

Where an idea in this playbook is something Programmable builds or runs, it's listed here with what we'd do. Everything else is yours to run.

ProgrammableDigital

Show it, don't just describe it

These ideas need something to show: a demo, a video, an animation, graphics or a deck. Digital turns screenshots or the site into all of them, in the company's own brand.

Make a demo (opens programmable.digital in a new tab)
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See every playbook and website review

Independent research. Programmable wrote this playbook from public sources, as they stood on October 23, 2026, and cites them throughout. Openwork did not commission, review or endorse it, and Programmable is not affiliated with Openwork. Company and product names are trademarks of their owners, used only to identify them. The ideas are suggestions and opinion, not professional, legal or financial advice, and not statements about how Openwork runs its business.

Something wrong, or do you represent Openwork? Email [email protected] and we will correct it or take it down.

30/60/90 roadmap

What to focus on in each month, and the ideas that carry it.

  1. Days 1 to 307 ideas

    Job markup, canonicals, job descriptions, proof numbers, layout shift and live jobs on city pages; job alerts in the footer.

  2. Days 31 to 6012 ideas

    Spanish path, new market pages, market scorecard, 15-minute texts, referrals, family-of-brands menu, pay guides, Meador, reviews and case studies; school partners and the time-to-fill report.

  3. Days 61 to 903 ideas

    Commit to the big bets: a professional and direct-hire front door, the acquisition integration plan and redeployment.

The research behind the plan

3 research areas, each summarised in a few lines. Open any of them for the full detail.

Customers

What customers say

Customers value recruiters who listen and let candidates choose. The most cited problem: slow replies from agencies.

  • Real people on the phone or by text
  • Unclear pay and shifts
  • In their words: “dream job”

Market

Competitive landscape

4 competitors compared: Express Employment Professionals, PeopleReady, Staffmark and Local independent agencies.

  • Gap to exploit: Spanish-language job seeker experience
  • Express Employment Professionals: Franchise quality varies by office
  • PeopleReady: Transactional relationships

Hiring signals

Openwork is hiring to run its growth more tightly.

  • Growth Operations Director: Market metrics, conversion and M&A integration. Ideas 9, 18, 22.
  • Technology Partner, AI & Automation: Reduce manual work and connect systems. Ideas 1, 10, 19.
  • Account Executive - Professional Staffing (Houston): Grow professional staffing in Houston. Ideas 13, 17.

From the team that wrote this playbook

All products
  • ProgrammableAgencyWorking AI systems in days, not quarters (opens programmable.agency in a new tab)
  • ProgrammableInfoAn agent that finds, researches and asks first (opens programmable.info in a new tab)
  • ProgrammableDigitalScreenshots in, an animated product demo out (opens programmable.digital in a new tab)
  • ProgrammableWatchKnow the day a supplier falls out of compliance (opens programmable.watch in a new tab)
  • ProgrammableTalkGet registrants for your events, and know who’s coming (opens programmable.talk in a new tab)
  • ProgrammablePageText what you need, your customer gets a page that works (opens programmable.page in a new tab)
  • ProgrammableCommunityForums with labelled AI members, never empty (opens programmable.community in a new tab)
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