276 - The #1 Mistake Contractors Make When Hiring (and How to Build a Team That Stays) with Ryan Englin

The Cash Flow Contractor

Discover why your hiring struggles might be a marketing problem, not an HR issue. Ryan Englin of Core Matters shares how treating recruitment as a marketing activity transforms your ability to attract and retain quality talent. Learn practical strategies to build a team that stays without constantly fighting the revolving door of employees that plagues many contractors.

What You’ll Learn

• Why recruitment is a marketing activity, not an HR function
• How to build a "bench" of quality candidates before you need them
• The true cost of a bad hire beyond just wages
• Why measuring behaviors instead of just hours leads to better team performance
• How to create systems that deliver on the promises you make to potential employees

Time Stamps

• 01:00 - Episode & Guest Intro
• 02:26 - Core Matters: Marketing for Recruitment
• 04:20 - Building a Recruitment Funnel
• 06:59 - Retention and Training Challenges
• 11:27 - Creating a Positive Work Environment
• 14:24 - The Importance of Growth and Reputation
• 24:27 - Measuring Behaviors, Not Hours
• 26:59 - Defining and Tracking Core Behaviors
• 28:04 - Behavioral Core Values
• 28:43 - Tracking Punctuality and Learning
• 30:55 - One-on-One Meetings and AI Assistance
• 33:10 - Immediate Feedback and Tough Conversations
• 38:23 - The Cost of a Bad Hire
• 42:08 - Profit Per Employee
• 43:33 - Owner's Role and Return on Investment
• 45:34 - Communicating Profitability to Employees
• 47:49 - Using Analogies for Better Understanding
• 49:32 - Establishing Daily or Weekly Huddles

Snippets from the Episode

• "Recruiting is not an HR activity. When you're looking to recruit people, you need to think of it as a marketing activity. It's putting your opportunity to work in front of the right people when they're ready to make a decision about who they want to work for."— Ryan Englin, Core Matters
• "Construction has five times the national average suicide rate. Why? Because they get beat up at home. They get beat up on the job site. Nobody values them. Nobody appreciates them. They have no one to turn to."— Ryan Englin, Core Matters
• "We do not have a labor shortage in the trades. What we have is a retention problem and a lack of training problem."— Ryan Englin, Core Matters
• "Why is it we always have time to do it over, but we never have the time to do it right?"— Ryan Englin, Core Matters
• "People should never be surprised at what you think of their performance. Ever."— Ryan Englin, Core Matters

Key Takeaways

1. Treat recruiting as marketing, not HR
2. Build an email list of prospective candidates
3. Focus on retention before recruitment
4. Create systems that deliver on your employment promises
5. Measure and reinforce key behaviors, not just hours worked
6. Provide immediate feedback instead of waiting for reviews
7. Establish daily or weekly team huddles

Resources

• 24 Things Construction Business Owners Need to Successfully Hire & Train an Executive Assistant

• Schedule a 15-Minute Roadblock Call

• Check out OpenPhone

• Build a Business that Runs without you. Explore our GrowthKits

• Need Marketing Help? We Recommend Benali

• Need Help with podcast production? We recommend Demandcast

More from Ryan Englin

• Core Matters website

• Titans of the Trades podcast

• Ryan Englin on LinkedIn

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• annealbc.com

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More from Khalil

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Subscribe to The Cashflow Contractor podcast for more insights on building a profitable contractor business. Leave a review if this episode helped you rethink your hiring approach. Visit cashflowcontractor.com for more resources and past episodes.