How CLEAR transformed their manual hiring process to increase speed & quality with Fountain

Hear from CLEAR’s VP of People and Performance for Airport Operations, Philip Royer, and their Senior Manager of Field Recruiting, Natalie Khalifa, on how Fountain helped the company scale fast, reduce manual hiring work, and build a better experience for both candidates and recruiters.

CLEAR is a leading identity and security company operating in some of the busiest airports across the country. To support its rapid growth and high-volume frontline hiring needs, CLEAR required a hiring approach that could move fast, maintain quality, and scale efficiently across distributed airport operations.

By partnering with Fountain, CLEAR modernized its frontline hiring process, reducing time-to-hire, improving candidate quality, and freeing operational leaders to focus on running the business rather than managing administrative work.

From Manual Hiring to Measurable Speed

“One of the biggest wins that we saw when launching Fountain, we knew that we were going to have a win on days to hire. Now we have a fully end to end, automated and integrated process that has saved a week or more off of the hiring process, which is great for us. It’s great for the candidate. And that was the first moment that I really saw the power of the tool coming to life for us.”

— Philip Royer, VP of People and Performance at CLEAR

Before Fountain, CLEAR’s frontline hiring relied heavily on manual processes. Airport leaders spent significant time reviewing applications, coordinating interviews, and managing offers—slowing hiring at moments when speed was critical.

With Fountain, CLEAR implemented an automated, end-to-end hiring workflow that removed friction from every stage of the process. The impact was immediate and measurable: time-to-hire was reduced by a week or more, improving operational readiness while also delivering a faster, more seamless candidate experience.

Hiring for Quality, Not Just Volume

“We want to make sure that we’re bringing in a high quality candidate versus just hiring bodies that essentially won’t make it through our training process. We’ve been able to attract a wider array of candidates to our roles, and really have seen success with the Fountain Assist product from a sourcing perspective.”

— Natalie Khalifa, Senior Manager of Field Recruiting at CLEAR

For CLEAR, speed alone was not enough. Frontline roles require candidates who can meet rigorous standards and succeed in training and on the job.

Fountain enabled CLEAR to expand its candidate reach while maintaining a strong focus on quality. Through Fountain Assist, CLEAR attracted a broader and more diverse pool of candidates, particularly during hiring events, without compromising standards.

“The last time we did a hiring event and we used the Fountain Assist product, we did see that volume significantly go up, and the quality was tremendous.”

The result was a stronger pipeline of candidates who were better aligned to the role and more likely to succeed long term.

Better Data, Earlier in the Process

“Prior to using Fountain, we used a different applicant tracking system… We didn’t really have much context or intel about that person other than what was on their resume. With Fountain, that has significantly changed. We have more candidate data up front.”

— Natalie Khalifa, Senior Manager of Field Recruiting at CLEAR

CLEAR’s previous hiring tools limited visibility into candidates early in the process, forcing teams to make decisions based largely on resumes.

Fountain changed that dynamic by providing richer candidate data upfront. With more insight at their fingertips, CLEAR’s recruiting and operations teams could move faster, make more informed decisions, and ensure alignment across stakeholders.

“Our team is able to really focus on the quality of candidates versus just a high quantity of candidates.”

A True Strategic Partnership

“The partnership with Fountain has been a big part of why I’m such an advocate of the technology itself. On day one, it didn’t feel like a vendor customer relationship.”

— Philip Royer, VP of People and Performance at CLEAR

Beyond technology, CLEAR valued Fountain’s consultative approach. From the outset, the relationship was centered on understanding CLEAR’s strategic priorities and operational challenges.

“The conversation really started with Fountain wanting to understand what were our strategic priorities, what were our big mountains that we were trying to move, and immediately showed up to the table trying to help us solve those.”

That partnership mindset continues to guide how CLEAR and Fountain work together, ensuring the hiring process evolves alongside the business.