Bob and Greenhouse Integration: Streamline Offers, Candidate Data, and Onboarding

The Bob and Greenhouse integration connects your applicant tracking system (Greenhouse) to your HRIS (Bob) so that candidate, offer and hire information flows automatically between recruiting and people operations. That flow reduces manual data entry, removes handoffs that cause delays or errors, and ensures new hires are queued into onboarding and payroll processes the moment an offer is accepted. This article explains how the integration works, who benefits most from it, what to expect during implementation, common pitfalls and measurable outcomes. Read on for field-mapping examples, a checklist you can use during rollout, and practical advice for maintaining accurate syncs over time.

What the integration does in practice: it maps candidate records and offer outcomes in Greenhouse to employee records and onboarding flows in Bob; optionally provisions directory accounts and triggers Bob onboarding tasks; and keeps employment status aligned across systems. Depending on configuration, the integration can be one-way (Greenhouse → Bob) or bi-directional for select fields and statuses.

Core integration capabilities

• New hire creation Automatically create a new employee profile in Bob when a candidate accepts an offer in Greenhouse, carrying over name, contact, start date, job title, and employment type.
• Status and lifecycle sync Map Greenhouse candidate stages (e.g., 'Offer Extended', 'Hired') to Bob employment status to keep people data consistent across teams.
• Offer and compensation fields Transfer offer details — base pay, bonus structure, grade/level — to Bob or a compensation module for payroll and reporting readiness.
• Onboarding automation Trigger Bob onboarding workflows, provisioning tasks and document requests based on hire dates and department assignments.
• Custom field mapping Sync role-specific fields or tags from Greenhouse to custom fields in Bob for more granular reporting and segmentation.

Sample field mapping (Greenhouse → Bob)

Who needs the Bob–Greenhouse integration: organizations that hire frequently, have multiple HR systems, or rely on fast onboarding to meet revenue or project timelines. Typical profiles include scaling startups, mid-market companies with decentralized hiring, and companies with complex onboarding requirements (access provisioning, compliance documents, equipment requests).

Key benefits for recruiting, HR and IT

• Reduced manual work HR and recruiting teams spend less time copying offers and candidate details between systems, freeing time for higher-value tasks.
• Fewer errors and inconsistencies Automated mappings eliminate transcription mistakes that lead to payroll issues or incorrect manager assignments.
• Faster time-to-productivity New hires receive required access, equipment and training tasks on schedule because onboarding starts immediately after acceptance.
• Centralized reporting Recruiting outcomes and people analytics reflect consistent data across Greenhouse and Bob for headcount forecasting and budget planning.
• Improved candidate-to-employee experience A seamless handoff reduces the chance of duplicated communications and ensures a consistent welcome experience.

Technical prerequisites and authentication: most integrations use Greenhouse webhooks or API calls and Bob’s API or SCIM provisioning endpoints. To set up, you need admin credentials in both systems, appropriate API key scopes (read/write candidates and offers in Greenhouse; create/update employees in Bob), and agreement on which fields and statuses will be authoritative.

Implementation checklist (practical rollout steps)

• Define objectives and scope Agree which events will trigger syncs (e.g., offer accepted, hired) and whether the sync is one-way or two-way for specific fields.
• Map fields and statuses Create a field-by-field mapping spreadsheet and confirm required vs optional fields.
• Set up API keys and permissions Generate integration credentials, restrict scopes to the minimum required, and store keys securely.
• Configure transformations Add rules for name splitting, date formats, and default values where data may be missing.
• Run staged tests Test with sandbox or test accounts and validate records end-to-end before enabling production sync.
• Monitor and iterate Enable logging, set up alerts for failed syncs, and review data quality after the first 50–100 hires.

Common pitfalls and mitigations

Frequently asked questions about the integration

How to measure success: track quantitative KPIs such as reduction in manual data entry time (hours saved per hire), decrease in onboarding errors (mismatches in payroll or manager assignments), time-to-setup (time between offer acceptance and first-day access), and overall new hire time-to-productivity. Qualitative measures include hiring manager satisfaction and fewer support tickets to HR/IT during onboarding.

Best practices for a reliable sync

• Establish an owner Designate a single integration owner responsible for configuration, monitoring and change control.
• Keep a clear mapping document Maintain an up-to-date spreadsheet of field mappings, defaults and transformation rules accessible to HR, IT and recruitment.
• Run periodic audits Schedule audits after major hires or org changes to confirm mappings still reflect business reality.
• Build rollback plans Have a documented rollback and remediation plan for accidental mass-synces or bad data pushes.

Sample rollout timeline (example): Week 1 — scope, objectives and mapping; Week 2 — API credentialing and initial config; Week 3 — sandbox testing and transformation tweaks; Week 4 — pilot with a small hiring cohort; Week 5 — full production enablement and monitoring. Expect iteration after initial hires as edge cases surface.

Security and compliance considerations

Example ROI snapshot: time saved per hire