Putting out fires is what human resources executives at distribution companies do every day. They may be reacting to a spike in safety incidents at a particular warehouse, a resignation of a key employee, or signs of reduced productivity in this or that team.
Before these problems turns into crises, artificial intelligence can help distributors spot and deal with them, Tracie Sponenberg told attendees at Distribution Strategy Group’s third Applied AI in Distribution conference Wednesday in Chicago.
“We have to get better at being those fire-prevention specialists and predicting what’s going to happen,” she said. “And AI is how we do that.”
Sponenberg, a consultant who has held senior HR roles at distributor The Grante Group and other companies, proceeded to describe scores of AI-enabled tools that allow distributors to more effectively recruit, train, and retain personnel. What makes them so useful, she said, is that they are always on, continually taking in and analyzing data, and then sending alerts to managers suggesting they act.
She offered the hypothetical example of a warehouse where accident reports suddenly go up, absenteeism is increasing, a forklift driver resigns, all amid an increase in heavy equipment deliveries. An AI-enabled agent could put together all that information and suggest to managers speaking to the forklift operator before he quits in hopes of retaining him, scheduling safety training, and ways to revise work schedules to address absenteeism.
That AI agent, Sponenberg said, is “your HR coordinator who never sleeps and can manage multiple people processes simultaneously. This is possible now.”
And companies are putting such AI tools to work today to manage personnel more effectively, she said.
She gave the example of a Swedish appliance manufacturer Electrolux using an AI-powered personnel platform called Phenom to recruit and train employees. The company reports an 84% increase in application conversion rate, a 51% decrease in incomplete applications, and a 9% decrease in time to hire.
The many ways AI can help HR
One of the AI-enabled tools she highlighted, called Harriet, is a chatbot that can answer employee questions about schedules and HR-related processes 24/7, including at times when HR personnel are not in the office. She said Harriet can personalize answers depending on the employee’s location, assignment or team and is confidential so that people can seek answers to sensitive questions. Complex questions or those that require human judgment get escalated to HR managers.
It’s an inexpensive way for any employee, even someone without an email address or laptop who works nights, to get the information they need, Sponenberg said. “If someone can text someone and get an answer, their experience will be better,” she said. And that can help to retain good workers.
Sponenberg cited many other ways AI tools on the market today can benefit distributors’ HR managers. They include:
- Screening resumes to identify the most suitable candidates. These tools can cut screening time by 80%, she said.
- Schedule deliveries based on traffic patterns, driver preferences and customer needs.
- Predicting with 85% accuracy employees thinking about leaving within the next 60-90 days. “Imagine having those conversations early, instead of exit interviews,” Sponenberg said.
- Provide performance insights by analyzing employee communication patterns, work habits and collaborations. That can highlight employees who might excel in a different role or who need some type of support.
- Suggest ideas for recruitment emails that an HR manager can polish before sending out.
- Analyze the last 12 months of shift attendance data to identify peak absenteeism days and suggest scheduling adjustments to minimize disruptions.
Sponenberg also addressed how to overcome resistance to AI. A common question, she noted, is: Will AI replace my job?
“The answer might be, ‘I don’t know,’ or it might be ‘No.’ But we’re not doing this to cut a bunch of positions. If you’re doing this well, you’re going to redeploy these people to do new things.”
And, she added, because AI can help distributors identify skills they are missing, it can create new jobs that offer employees new opportunities.
“People want to grow,” she said. “And if they’re not going to grow with you, they will grow with somebody else.” She said companies that use AI to help employees grow and advance will gain a reputation as good places to work. And that, she said, will help them attract more good people and win new business.
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Don Davis, former editor-in-chief of Internet Retailer magazine and Vertical Web Media, is a freelance writer based in Chicago. His experience in retail and distribution goes back to his childhood when he worked in the toy wholesale business founded by his father and two uncles and in their discount department stores located throughout the New York metropolitan area.