How ACE Handyman Owners Are Using AI to Improve Skilled Labor Hiring

Executive Summary

In a recent webinar, Ace Handyman Services, Franchise Consultant Frank Foti, and Classet’s Johnny Rooney explored how AI-powered screening is helping franchise owners hire skilled trades professionals more effectively. AI is improving candidate engagement, surfacing personality and service traits that matter in customer-facing roles, and giving owners a faster way to identify the right fit. This article highlights the main takeaways and insights from that discussion.

How AI Is Transforming Skilled-Trades Recruiting: Insights from Ace Handyman Services

Skilled-trades recruiting looks different today than it did even a few years ago. Service businesses face rising customer expectations, tight labor markets, and the constant challenge of identifying candidates who not only have strong technical backgrounds but can also excel in customer-facing roles.

In a recent webinar with Frank Foti, Franchise Consultant at Ace Handyman Services, and Johnny Rooney, Head of Partnerships at Classet, we discussed how AI is changing the way franchise owners source, engage, and qualify talent.

Below are the major themes from that conversation, supported by direct quotes and video snippets.

AI Is Redefining the Hiring Experience, Not Just Improving Efficiency

“AI is no longer just about efficiency, it's about creating a better experience for both the candidates and the employers that are hiring and fundamentally reshaping how companies can really compete for talent.”

— Johnny Rooney, Head of Partnerships at Classet

AI used to be associated with speed and automation. Today, its value is measured by how well it improves the experience for both sides of the hiring process. This is especially important for service-based organizations that compete for scarce and highly skilled talent. A strong early experience helps candidates stay engaged and helps employers understand fit sooner.

Recruiting Has Evolved from Simple Automation to Meaningful Transformation

“We have seen recruiting evolve a ton from simple automations such as scheduling, creating job descriptions, and resume filtering into real transformation. AI can go beyond speeding up workflows and improve candidate engagement and help companies identify the best-fit candidates for the role.”

— Johnny Rooney, Head of Partnerships at Classet

Recruiting technology once handled mostly administrative tasks.

Modern AI-powered tools now support deeper conversations, provide instant answers for candidates, and give hiring teams more signal and less noise. For skilled labor, where resumes often fail to highlight personality or communication skills, this shift is especially valuable.

Conversational screening uncovers qualities that matter on the job but rarely appear on a resume.

Service Excellence Depends on People Skills as Much as Technical Skills

“We have learned that the actual service aspects are almost equal to or greater than the construction skills. Our guys have to be affable and personable. AI and Classet’s Joy can help bring that out of candidates and really pre-qualify them for our franchisees.”

— Frank Foti, Franchise Consultant at ACE Handyman Services

Frank emphasized something that is becoming more common across the service industry. Technical ability is essential, but great customer service often determines whether a client recommends a business.

Reliability, communication, empathy, and problem-solving are qualities that shape the customer experience. Joy’s conversational screening helps surface these traits early so franchise owners can invest time in candidates who match both the technical and interpersonal needs of the role.

AI Helps Franchisees Scale Quickly During Seasonal or High-Volume Hiring Needs

“We have had franchise owners who were provided with 10 or 12 candidates from Classet within a week and ended up hiring two or three of them, which is tremendous. With Classet, it is basically pushing a button.”

— Frank Foti, Franchise Consultant at ACE Handyman Services

Franchise owners often balance customer service, scheduling, operations, and recruiting at the same time.

Hiring usually spikes when demand increases, and this can overwhelm teams. AI-powered screening helps by engaging candidates instantly and filtering out applicants who are not a match. Owners can more easily qualify groups of candidates, which makes scaling easier and faster during busy periods.

Watch the Full Webinar with Ace Handyman Services

If you want to explore the full discussion, including candidate experience, AI customization, and how franchise owners are using AI to create better hiring outcomes, you can watch the entire webinar below.

Curious to learn about how ToF Automation and your customized screening agent can benefit your hiring team? Book a personalized demo with our Head of Partnerships, Johnny Rooney, Here.