From Frustration to Foundation: How ATS Integration With Sinecure Technology Made McKinney a Sourcing Powerhouse

The Challenge

McKinney’s recruiting team needed a better way to tap into the candidates already in their system. Their ATS, Greenhouse, handled the core of their recruiting workflow well enough, but for passive candidate sourcing, it fell short. Thousands of past applicants, many of whom were still relevant, remained buried and hard to act on.

Melissa Shaeen, Director of Recruiting, McKinney

“Every recruiter with an ATS is sitting on a massive mine of people. We didn’t know how to use it effectively, and many teams don’t.”

When McKinney first adopted Sinecure’s AI-powered software, Sinecure.ai to recruit for open roles, the platform showed promise but wasn’t yet meeting their needs for finding passive candidates either. With Greenhouse handling the basics and LinkedIn Recruiter serving as the primary sourcing tool, “Sinecure felt more like an add-on than part of our process,” Melissa said.

The Turning Point

Sinecure’s integration with McKinney’s ATS changed the equation. Connecting the two gave McKinney immediate access to passive candidates already in their data and helped surface quality matches fast.

“When we successfully hired a candidate through the Sinecure integration,” said Melissa,  “that was the moment we said: okay, this really works.”

Integrating Sinecure.ai with Greenhouse made the ATS a more complete recruiting tool for McKinney, and embedded Sinecure into McKinney’s standard sourcing workflow and a core driver of the company’s search strategy. 

Melissa added, “Now we start every search by looking at internal passive candidates through the Sinecure integration before going external.”

The Results

The integration of McKinney’s ATS into the Sinecure platform transformed their sourcing approach. It strengthened how they began each search, the quality of the candidate matches they made, and the speed with which they connected to the right prospects.

A Smarter Starting Point:  With Sinecure.ai linked to the Greenhouse ATS, McKinney’s recruiting team could finally put their dormant candidate database to work. What was once a static archive is now a smarter starting point for searches and an active source of hires. 

“It makes us more efficient. It increases our visibility with passive candidates and helps us target a search better,” noted Melissa.

Better Candidates, Better Matches: The change wasn’t just about quantity, it improved quality, as well. During a search for art directors, Sinecure surfaced two standout candidates, including the number one match, both of whom were ultimately hired.

“That was a moment where the results spoke for themselves,” added Jamie Weber, McKinney’s lead creative recruiter.

Faster, More Precise Performance:  Earlier frustrations about speed and accuracy have given way to confidence in the platform. By tapping directly into structured ATS data, Sinecure reduced the noise in McKinney’s searches and delivered faster, more relevant matches. 

“It’s gotten better and faster,” Melissa noted. “It used to feel like churning butter, but now it’s much more responsive and precise.”

What’s Next?

McKinney expects Sinecure to keep building on the gains they’ve already seen, particularly in workflow efficiency and the ability to surface the right candidates faster. With more powerful, agentic AI features on the horizon and continued refinements to search and integration capabilities, the team sees even greater speed, accuracy, and value ahead.

“We believed in what the product could be and now it’s an essential step in our process,” Melissa said.

From Sinecure’s perspective, McKinney has been the ideal partner by helping us prove what’s possible – and together, we are just getting started.

About McKinney

McKinney is a full-service creative agency that generates unfair attention for brands. In 2024 and 2025, McKinney was named to both Ad Age’s A-List and its list of Best Places to Work – two years in a row – and was recognized as one of Fast Company’s Best Workplaces for Innovators in 2024, reinforcing the agency’s commitment to providing an exceptional workplace culture where employees thrive and creativity flourishes.

McKinney Health, the agency’s Pharma and Wellness practice launched in 2022, was named as the Manny’s 2025 Agency of the Year, Category III.

McKinney is part of the Cheil network and has offices across North America, including Durham, New York, Dallas, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Toronto. McKinney has been recognized by Cannes Lions, Effies, The One Show, D&AD, ANDY, CLIO, LIA, the Shortys, and The Webby Awards, among others. Client partners include brands such as Popeyes, Blue Diamond Growers, Little Caesars, Pampers, Henkel, Samsung, Indivior, Sherwin-Williams, Biogen and the Ad Council.

Callout: The Customer Success Difference

Sinecure’s Customer Success team played a pivotal role in transforming early skepticism into lasting adoption. Their hands-on approach building searches, resetting passwords and proactively solving problems, kept McKinney on track during the platform’s evolution.

“If it weren’t for our dedicated support lead, we wouldn’t still be here,” Melissa said. “He just kept showing up, never said no, and always found a way to make it work.”