AI recruiting is overhyped at the macro level and underused at the workflow level. For a NZ auto repair shop, that gap is where the actual ROI lives - and where most of our work happens.
AI candidate screening, built around how an auto repair shop actually works.
Our goal is to give auto repair shops a three-day weekend, so people can spend more time with their families and the people they love :)
What AI recruiting actually does
Job ads written for SEEK, Trade Me, and LinkedIn. CVs screened against role criteria with reasoning. Phone screens done by voice AI - so shortlists land on your desk ready to interview.
- 01 Drafts compliant NZ job ads with realistic salary bands
- 02 Screens CVs and ranks by fit with written rationale
- 03 Voice AI runs first-round phone screens 24/7
- 04 Bias checks built in - flagged in the audit log
Built on: Claude Vapi Workable SEEK API Vercel
What you actually get
Every engagement is scoped and quoted up front. This is what is in the box.
- A working pilot, in productionNot a prototype on someone's laptop. The first slice of AI recruiting runs against real work within weeks.
- Your data stays yoursIt runs on your accounts and your tools. If we part ways you keep the system and everything in it.
- The workflow mapped before codeWe write down what good looks like for auto repair shops first, so nobody is guessing at handover.
- Support after it landsThe people who built it stay reachable when the business changes shape around it.
How AI recruiting compares
The two things most businesses do instead, and where each one runs out.
| Hiring for it | An off-the-shelf tool | Kiwi Dynamics | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fit to how you work | Fits perfectly, costs a salary | You bend your process to suit the tool | Built around the workflow you already run |
| Time to something useful | Immediate, and permanent | Quick to switch on, slow to make fit | A working slice in weeks, then hardened |
| Who owns the data | You do | The vendor, on the vendor's terms | You do, in your own accounts |
| When it breaks | That person sorts it, if they are in | A support queue and a ticket number | The people who built it |
| What it costs | A salary, every year, forever | Per seat, forever, used or not | Scoped and quoted up front |
Auto repair shops run their businesses unlike anyone else.
- Mechanics quote from underneath a car and answer the phone from underneath a car, and one of those always loses.
- Booking, quoting, and parts follow-up are the admin layer that decides how many cars a workshop can turn over in a week.
How we build AI recruiting for auto repair shops.
We scope narrow, ship a working pilot, then harden it into production. The first slice is the highest-leverage workflow for an auto repair shop business, so value lands before the build is finished. AI candidate screening.
Talk to usHow the work runs
- Find the one workflowWe look for the job costing auto repair shops the most hours or the most leads, and deliberately ignore the rest for now.
- Ship a working sliceA narrow version goes into production in weeks, against real work, so the value shows up before the build is finished.
- Prove it, then widenWe measure it against what the work cost before. If it does not pay for itself, we say so rather than scaling it.
- Harden and hand overLogging, fallbacks and a real handover, so it keeps running when we are not in the room.
The outcome for auto repair shops
We'd call the engagement a success when auto repair shops are using the system without thinking about us. Time-to-shortlist drops from 3 weeks to 4 days.
Not your typical AI agency.
Honest about what AI can and cannot do
Ships the one workflow that pays for itself
Hours given back, never the size of the invoice
*Every engagement is scoped and quoted up front. Results vary by workflow and business.
FAQ
When does AI recruiting actually pay back?
Inside the first quarter, in our experience. We pick the first slice specifically because it's the highest-leverage workflow for an auto repair shop - so the savings start landing before the rest of the build is finished.
Do you do hourly billing or fixed price?
Fixed price for the pilot, every time. After that it's your call - fixed price per milestone or a small monthly retainer for ongoing iteration. We don't run open-ended T&M because it disincentivises us from finishing.
Do you have proof this works for auto repair shops?
Direct case study: Time-to-shortlist drops from 3 weeks to 4 days. Happy to walk you through full numbers on a call.
Will this run on our own infrastructure?
Yes, where it makes sense. AI recruiting can sit entirely in your cloud account, with model calls routed through endpoints you control. We default to Claude, Vapi, Workable, SEEK API, Vercel but the architecture supports your existing platform choices.
Talk to us about this
Tell us what you're trying to do and we'll reply with how we'd build it - no obligation.