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When it comes to hiring for the holiday season, the United Parcel Service moves fast. For some roles, like package handling which makes up 70% of the company’s holiday-season hiring, the average time from application to offer letter is now down to eight minutes.
The packaging business set a goal earlier this year to hire 125,000 workers for the end-of-year rush. And this year, because Thanksgiving was a bit later than usual, the company needed to ensure it was fully staffed before the compressed 17-day crunch before Christmas. To prepare for that final sprint, UPS started figuring out how to optimize their process for part-time hourly employees hires in February.
“We had this old, homegrown hiring system and when we wanted to make changes to it, we had to have a team of programmers go in and change the hard code, which could take months,” Dan Hawksworth, president of the U.S. human resources and geo services team at UPS, tells Fortune. “We’re now able to offer a more modern experience for applicants, generate data to help us make better decision, and make changes on the fly.”
To do this, UPS company traded in its old applicant tracking system and started using a workforce management platform from Fountain in 2023, which was built for high-volume hiring. That platform allowed the company to edit its hiring process on the fly. It also uses AI to make the process easier through an autofill feature, and chatbots that can help answer questions from workers during the process. New hires can also complete applications and onboarding right on their phones.
“Through the integration of AI and automation, we’ve transformed our recruitment process, enabling greater efficiency, faster decision-making, and an elevated candidate experience,” Darrell Ford, the CHRO of UPS, tells Fortune.
UPS is one of several companies that are trying or have already figured out how to dramatically cut down on hiring times for hourly or seasonal workers using AI tools. Earlier this year, Chipotle announced a new tech recruiting tool that it anticipated would reduce hiring times by 75%. McDonald’s also uses its own virtual assistant to cut down on hiring time for hourly workers by 60%.
Prior to its HR overhaul, UPS collected 200 pieces of data on any individual before hiring them, which included screenings, disclosures, and multiple lengthy forms candidates had to read during the process. Over the last few years, UPS has cut the bulk of those requirements out and now uses less than 30 pieces of information to determine whether or not someone is fit for a job, which includes providing basic contact information and filling out an online application.
“We decided that if we don’t do it for compliance or a legal reason or to get you paid accurately and on time, then we don’t need it,” says Hawksworth. “When going after service workers, the quickest wins the race.”
The company used to give physical tours to prospective employees around their future working space, which includes warehouses and fulfillment centers. Now it requires applicants to watch a video showing that space and what the work entails.
“I cringed when I saw the video for the first time because I was like, no one’s ever going to want to work here,” says Hawksworth. “[Package handling] is the hardest job I’ve ever had, so we needed the video to be realistic and show that this is not for the faint of heart.”
The company has sped up its processes for hiring other roles as well. Drivers, for example, take much longer to hire than package handlers because they have to take a driving test and undergo additional background checks for the Department of Transportation. But the company now uses automated scheduling tools to book testing times; that’s shortened the process from four weeks to just eight days. The company also used to require drivers to take a physical test on pen and paper to ensure they have the aptitude needed to make it through the training process. This step has since been removed.
“We’ll continue to search, refine, and tweak that right blend of, you know, human touch and digital experiences to transform our practices and processes, including this one,” Hawksworth says.
The elimination of so many human elements in the hiring process has come with drawbacks. Hawksworth says that sometimes people decide not to show up on their first day. They also question whether the very real offer is a scam. Roughly 80% of jobs at UPS don’t require an interview. Hawksworth argues that judging human interactions isn’t entirely necessary when hiring for roles like package handlers and often isn’t a strong predictor of how well someone will do in this role.
“What we have found with our years and years of data is that it’s tough to figure out who’s gonna stick and who’s not based on an interview,” he says.
Brit Morse
brit.morse@fortune.com
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