Ryan Englin on Remodelers On The Rise: Why Can't I Find Rockstar Employees?

I went on Remodelers On The Rise with Kyle Hunt to talk about why remodelers can't find rockstar employees. And the answer is simpler than most people want to hear.

You haven't defined what a rockstar looks like.

That's the starting point. Every single time. If you haven't taken the time to get crystal clear on the behaviors, traits, and values that make someone a rockstar in your company, they will walk right past you and you won't even notice. It's the same thing your marketer tells you when you say you can't find good customers. You haven't defined who you're looking for, so you end up attracting whoever shows up.

Kyle and I broke the conversation into three big pieces.

First, get clear on who you are as an organization. Your culture, your vision, your values, your purpose. This is the part that bores people. It's hard work. It's introspection. But it's the foundation of everything. If you want to attract better people, you have to become the company that is attractive to better people. I compared it to going back on the dating scene after 25 years of marriage. You'd get a haircut. You'd put on some new clothes. You'd put in some effort. But most companies skip that step entirely. They attract low-quality people, those people don't work out, and the owner never stops to ask what about us is attracting these low-quality people. The Core Fit Hiring System starts right here, with the core. I spend more time on this than anything else because it's the hardest part and the most important.

The modern workforce has traded a paycheck for a purpose. If you look and talk and act the same as every other remodeler in town, if you don't stand for anything, if you don't have a clear mission of who you are and where you're headed, nobody is going to rally around your flag. That's not a recruiting tactic. That's a leadership requirement.

Second, get clear on where to find these people. Only about three percent of job seekers are actively on the job boards at any given time. Sixty to seventy percent of people want a new job but aren't actively looking. They're sitting in a role right now where the pain of staying the same hasn't yet exceeded the pain of change. Those are the people you need to get in front of. And you don't get in front of them by posting on Indeed. You get in front of them the same way you get in front of customers. You market your business.

I told Kyle about the fishing analogy. If you want salmon but you keep fishing in the inner-city canal, you're going to keep catching bottom feeders. Know the fish first. Know where they swim. Then pick your bait, your gear, and your location. Stop fishing in the wrong pond and wondering why the catch is disappointing.

One of the easiest moves is to give your A-players the tools to promote your company to their friends. A-players hang out with A-players. Like attracts like. When you get rid of the C-players dragging everyone down, the A-players who were being pulled to B-level performance suddenly breathe again. And they start telling people about it. Kyle shared a story about a client who finally cut the toxic team members loose without a safety net. The team that remained immediately lifted up, and recruiting got easier because the culture changed.

I also made the point that switching jobs is one of life's most stressful events. It's on the same list as divorce and death of a loved one. Nobody puts their family through that level of stress for fifty cents more an hour. When someone leaves, money is the excuse. The real reason is they left a manager, a leadership team, a culture. People don't leave jobs. They leave people.

Third, automate the process. This is where most owners push back. They tell me they barely have time to review two applications a week. I tell them our system will bring in a hundred. Their eyes go wide. But with the right applicant tracking system, the software filters and qualifies so you're only talking to the top candidates. It's no different than a CRM for your sales pipeline. You need a system that manages your applicant pipeline so you're not drowning in unqualified resumes and you're not so desperate that you hire the first person who shows up.

I also challenged everyone to rethink the job description. It's a marketing piece. Not compliance. Not HR. Not a legal document. Over sixty percent of job seekers say the number one thing missing from a job description is who they're going to be working for. People aren't looking for another carpentry job. They're looking for a new leadership team. Tell them who that is. Put your story in there. Put employee testimonials in there. Write it like a long-form blog article that makes someone feel something.

And here's the thing I want every remodeler to remember. Good employees take good care of your customers. Good customers take care of your brand through reviews, referrals, and social proof. You don't need two separate strategies for marketing and recruiting. When you have solid A-players and a real recruiting system, the whole flywheel turns together.

If you liked this conversation, I go deeper on building a Core Fit Profile and turning your recruiting into a marketing activity on Titans of the Trades.