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

Treat recruiting as marketing, not HR
Build an email list of prospective candidates
Focus on retention before recruitment
Create systems that deliver on your employment promises
Measure and reinforce key behaviors, not just hours worked
Provide immediate feedback instead of waiting for reviews
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

More from Martin Holland

theprofitproblem.com

annealbc.com

Email Martin

Meet With Martin

LinkedIn

Facebook

Instagram

More from Khalil

benali.com

Email Khalil

Meet With Khalil

LinkedIn

Facebook

Instagram

More from The Cash Flow Contractor

Subscribe to our YouTube channel

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Follow On Social: LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X(formerly Twitter)

Visit our website

Email The Cashflow Contractor

Connect With Us

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.

Börsenradio Schlussbericht, Mo., 20.10.2025: DAX zieht 1,8 % an, Raketen-IPO von TKMS von 60 auf 89 Euro. AWS Ausfall