Ryan Englin on Aggie Growth Hacks Podcast: The Labor Shortage Doesn't Exist, You're Hiring the Wrong Way

I went on the Aggie Growth Hacks Podcast with Greg Martin and Chris Hunter to talk about why the so-called labor shortage in the trades doesn't exist and what contractors need to do instead of blaming the market.

I opened with the same thing I tell every audience. There is no labor shortage. It's a myth. And it's perpetuated because it's easier to play the victim than to take ownership. I gave Greg and Chris the exercise I give every business owner. Go to your accounting team and ask how many W2s you issued last year. Then compare that to how many people you had on payroll December 31st. For some of you, that number is two or three times higher. That's not a hiring problem. That's a retention problem. And it is fixable.

I shared my backstory. Growing up watching my dad grind six and seven days a week in manufacturing. Telling him I'd never join the family business. Going corporate for a decade, which gave me a love for process and systems. Then starting a marketing company to help contractors like my dad get more business. The pivot happened in 2015 when an HVAC contractor in Phoenix called me in July and said he didn't need more leads. He had four trucks sitting in the yard with no techs and was booking AC repairs three weeks out. I applied marketing principles to his recruiting. Three weeks later he called back and said turn the leads on, we filled all four trucks and ordered two more. That moment changed everything.

But here's the part most people miss. A few weeks after filling those trucks, some of those techs were gone. That forced me to spend years building a complete system that handles attraction, hiring, and retention together. That became the Core Fit Hiring System.

I broke down the foundation of the system for Greg and Chris. It starts with your core. Not culture as a buzzword. Your core is the sum of your behaviors, your leadership style, your communication, why you do what you do, and where you're taking the company. We've all heard the metaphor about getting the right people on the bus. But is your bus going in circles? Is it parked on the same street corner it's been on for six months? People want to get on a bus that's heading somewhere. If that destination aligns with where they personally want to go, you win.

I told them about five guys who ran a nine-figure company like a fraternity. Passive-aggressive, hazing, clicks everywhere. I rewrote their sales job ad to own that culture instead of hiding it. Handed it to their procurement director without telling him it was his own company. He read it and said "this sounds like an awesome place to work." Six weeks after putting it out, they hired salespeople who thrived in that environment. Sales went up. Turnover disappeared. Customer satisfaction improved. Because they hired people who fit.

Chris pushed back the way every contractor does. "Ryan, I need seven people right now. I've got four trucks costing me money. I don't have time for this." I get it. Which is why our system brings people in within 10 days. But here's the thing. People don't leave jobs. They leave bosses. Everyone knows how to finish that sentence. So if we believe it's true, our job ads need to stop reading like a window sticker full of requirements and start telling people who they're going to work for.

I shared my Corvette commercial example. A 60-second Z06 ad shows the sound of the engine, the leather, the G-force, people smiling. No specs. No maintenance schedule. No price. Then I show a picture of the window sticker and ask the room which one their job ads look like. The answer is always the window sticker. GM makes it nearly impossible to find window sticker photos online because they know that's not what sells cars. Switching jobs is an emotional decision. Your job ad needs to sell the emotional experience of working for you.

I also talked about what happens after you hire. Only 9% of people leave for more pay. And usually it's because of a life event. Spouse got sick. Twins on the way. New car needed. If you as the employer haven't shown them a path to get where they need to go, they'll find someone who will. The companies winning right now are the ones investing in the whole person. Bringing in programs like Dave Ramsey's Smart Dollar to teach financial literacy. Giving real paid time off instead of making people wait five years for a single week. Understanding that people work to live, not the other way around.

If you liked this conversation, I go deeper on all of these frameworks on Titans of the Trades.