Automate candidate and stakeholder surveys, map fields, and prioritize feedback with Starred + Greenhouse

The Starred integration for Greenhouse connects candidate feedback and recruiter/hiring manager surveys directly to your ATS workflow, delivering real-time candidate experience data and ready-to-use dashboards. It automates survey delivery, maps answers to Greenhouse fields, and turns open-text feedback into prioritized actions so teams can improve hiring speed and quality without manual data wrangling. This article explains what the integration does, who should consider it, and the measurable benefits you can expect — from higher survey response rates and clearer performance benchmarks to faster operational improvements. It also provides practical implementation steps, sample survey timings, KPIs to track, and common troubleshooting tips for teams moving from ad-hoc feedback to structured candidate experience management.

What the Starred–Greenhouse integration actually does

• Automates targeted surveys Sends personalized surveys automatically at defined Greenhouse lifecycle stages (application, interview, offer, rejection) to candidates, hiring managers, and recruiters.
• Maps Greenhouse data for precise reporting Mirrors Greenhouse custom fields (job, stage, office, recruiter) into Starred so feedback can be filtered and reported using the same segmentation you already use.
• Presents real-time dashboards Converts responses into dashboards and cNPS benchmarks to show performance by job, department, recruiter, or location without manual spreadsheets.
• Transforms comments into action Applies comment analysis and a Priority Matrix to surface recurring issues and help teams build focused improvement plans.
• No-code setup Connects with Greenhouse via a non-technical setup so recruitment teams can launch surveys and dashboards quickly.

Who needs this integration? Organizations that hire at scale, run distributed recruitment teams, or prioritize candidate experience will gain the most value. Typical adopters include centralized talent teams at mid-market and enterprise companies, recruitment operations teams that need consistent metrics across hiring funnels, and hiring managers seeking measurable recruiter performance data. Smaller teams can also benefit: when hiring volume or stakeholder touchpoints increase, the effort of manually sending surveys and aggregating results becomes a bottleneck. Starred reduces that overhead and provides benchmarking so even compact teams can understand where to focus improvements.

Starred + Greenhouse vs. Manual candidate feedback

Key benefits delivered by the integration

• Faster, scalable feedback collection Automated touchpoints increase coverage across candidates and stakeholders without adding headcount.
• Actionable insights, not raw data Priority Matrix and comment analysis turn qualitative feedback into ranked issues and tasks for teams to act on.
• Consistent metrics across systems Mapping to Greenhouse fields ensures everyone reports on the same slices of data (role, location, recruiter).
• Improved recruiter and hiring manager accountability Performance dashboards identify where processes slow or stakeholders need coaching.
• Higher response rates Personalized invitations and branding typically lift response rates — Starred reports average response rates near 30%.

How the integration works technically: once connected, Starred listens to candidate lifecycle events in Greenhouse and triggers the appropriate survey template. It pulls contextual fields (job, team, office, candidate status) into the survey payload and writes survey metadata back to Greenhouse where needed for reporting. No-code configuration means recruiters can choose which stages trigger surveys, assign recipient groups, and customize email templates without developer support.

Sample survey templates and recommended timing

• Application Acknowledgement Trigger: Immediately after application submission. Purpose: Measure initial clarity of job ad and application flow.
• Post-Interview Feedback Trigger: Within 24–72 hours of interview stage completion. Purpose: Capture interviewer experience and candidate perception while fresh.
• Rejection Experience Trigger: After rejection is logged in Greenhouse. Purpose: Understand candidate closure experience and employer brand impact.
• Offer & Onboarding Handoff Trigger: On offer acceptance or first day. Purpose: Measure handover quality and early onboarding impressions.
• Hiring Manager Review Trigger: After hire or close of requisition. Purpose: Survey hiring managers on process efficiency and role fit.

Metrics and KPIs to track with the integration

Using dashboards and the Priority Matrix: Starred's dashboards let you filter feedback by any Greenhouse field, and the Priority Matrix ranks issues by frequency and impact so teams can pick high-leverage fixes first. A practical approach: run a 30-60 day review cycle where you (a) identify the top three repeat issues via comment analysis, (b) build an owner-assigned action plan in Starred, and (c) measure impact via cNPS and reduction in repeat complaints.

Common questions about the integration

Implementation checklist (practical steps to go from sign-up to insight): 1) Define the stages in Greenhouse to instrument (e.g., application, interview, offer, rejection). 2) Choose and customize survey templates for each stage. 3) Map Greenhouse custom fields you want reflected in Starred dashboards. 4) Configure triggers and test with a pilot job or team. 5) Enable dashboards and set a 30–60 day review cadence with clear owners and action items.

Best practices to maximize response rates and actionable results

• Personalize email invites Use recruiter or hiring manager names in the invitation and reference the specific role or stage to increase relevance.
• Send surveys quickly Trigger surveys while experiences are still fresh — within 24–72 hours for interviews delivers clearer feedback.
• Keep surveys short and focused Limit surveys to 3–6 targeted questions with one open-text field to balance depth and completion rates.
• Close the loop Share action plans and improvements with stakeholders to show feedback leads to change — that encourages future participation.
• Segment and benchmark Filter by job, location, and recruiter to find high-impact opportunities and compare against industry cNPS benchmarks.

Potential challenges and how to mitigate them: common issues include low initial response rates, overlapping outreach (too many emails), and inconsistent field mapping. Mitigate these by starting with a small pilot, scheduling surveys to avoid candidate fatigue, validating field mappings through test records, and assigning clear ownership for action items. Use Starred’s dashboards to surface any anomalies early and adjust cadence or templates accordingly.