Putting AI to Work in Fleet Personnel Recruitment
There’s no escaping the artificial intelligence hype. Utilities are currently using it to assist with a wide range of tasks, from composing emails and communicating with customers to conducting virtual equipment inspections.
As a utility fleet professional, you’re likely to encounter different types of AI in your daily work. For example, digital assistants like ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot are at your fingertips via your web browser or Microsoft products. Other times, AI is behind the scenes, as with human resources software utilized in employee recruitment and hiring.
Like many industries, the utility sector continues to adopt AI tools that address staffing concerns (e.g., retention, scalability). Employers are primarily using them to source candidates, according to APQC’s AI in the HR Function Survey Report (see www.apqc.org/resource-library/resource-listing/ai-hr-function-survey-report). Overall, survey respondents indicated that data-driven decision-making was the number one reason for AI integration within their human resources departments.
Utility organizations find themselves in various stages of adoption, from considering AI tool use to fully embracing it. Elissa Tucker, APQC principal research lead, said companies in the mature stage have reported hiring cycles that are about 20 days shorter than the previous average.
“The real benefits come when you hit the mature stage of utilizing AI, so it’s not just a pilot or experiment anymore; it’s really embedded into HR’s workflows,” she said.
Mature users emphasize that AI’s greatest value lies in its rapid assistance with volume management and identifying candidate qualifications, not in the replacement of human decision-making.
“In the transportation and fleet fields, there are frequently very high applicant numbers, a plethora of qualifications, time-sensitive hiring processes and numerous needs, and AI can assist in organizing, sourcing the baseline candidates and reducing administrative work – freeing up hiring managers for candidate evaluation,” explained Roger Bible, director of operations at ATC Driveaway (www.atcdriveaway.com).
Pros of AI Use
If you’re thinking about incorporating AI tools into your personnel recruitment efforts, you’ll want to consider the pros and cons before making any final decisions. Let’s start with the pros.
Finding and interviewing ideal candidates. Companies often use AI as a screening tool because it can trim the time it takes to identify the best job candidates, provide relevant data to support good decision-making and reduce administrative burden, such as interview scheduling. Tucker said this offers recruiters and hiring managers more time for other recruitment efforts, including robust preparation for candidate interviews.
“Putting your time toward more of those human aspects of interviewing and assessing and validating actual skills of candidates is where I think some of the greatest promise can come,” she noted.
Shortening time to hire. As Tucker shared earlier, mature AI users have reported hiring cycles almost three weeks shorter than average. Bible underscored the value of processes that enable more efficient identification of job candidates, particularly given the current demand for technicians and other fleet personnel.
Reducing administrative workload. If your human resources department has not adopted enterprise-level AI tools, note that individual employees can still utilize ChatGPT and other digital assistants to offload time-intensive tasks. Be sure to review your employer’s technology policy before accessing any AI tools with company-owned devices.
Increasing interview engagement. Using AI to record and transcribe interviews eliminates the need to take notes, allowing for full engagement with candidates.
Tailoring the screening process. Recruiters and hiring managers can use AI as an informational resource, leveraging that knowledge to engage candidates in technical conversations and assess their proficiency. Questions can be tailored to the specific role and each individual candidate.
In addition, according to Raúl Valentín, executive vice president and chief human resources officer at ABM Industries (www.abm.com), “We’re seeing cases where now AI will say, ‘You’ve applied for this job, but based on your skills and your résumé, you might be better suited for this other job.’ A great recruiter does that all the time, but now they can do it at scale.”
No more ghosting. Employers can work with AI to prompt an automatic email response to each job application submitted, confirming that it’s been received and will soon be reviewed.
Cons of AI Use
Built-in bias. Because AI is trained with existing information, users must remain cognizant of its potential for bias in recruitment efforts. Human resources professionals are obligated to ensure that any AI tool adopted by their employer complies with regulatory and organizational standards. Individual employees could be unaware that responses provided by ChatGPT and other digital assistants could include bias or hallucinations, increasing risk exposure.
Overreliance. AI can streamline processes, but people should be responsible for making hiring decisions.
“Ultimately, I believe AI will be most valuable to organizations that use it to enhance their existing recruiters and hiring managers rather than substitute them,” Bible said. “AI is excellent at routine tasks and data analysis, but human experience is irreplaceable when it comes to long-term fit, culture and leadership.”
Balance Required
As staffing shortages persist in fleet, utilities and various other industries, adoption of AI-assisted recruitment tools will continue to grow. “The difficult aspect,” according to Valentín, “will be striking a balance between efficiency and keeping the human element involved in recruitment, which is ultimately necessary to make a successful hire.”
About the Author: Gary L. Wollenhaupt is a Colorado Springs-based freelance writer who covers the transportation, energy and technology sectors for a variety of publications and companies.