1 rich Libsyn https://www.libsyn.com 90 600 There is no labor shortage in the trades. Ryan Englin, founder of Core Matters, has the receipts: pull last year's W-2 count and compare it to who was still on payroll on December 31. You are hiring just fine. What you are not doing is training, onboarding, and keeping people. In this episode, Tersh Blissett and Josh Crouch sit down with Ryan to turn that hard truth into a plan you can run. You will learn why performance reviews fail in the field and how to fix them, why a best friend at work makes a tech six times more likely to stay, and how to capture the tribal knowledge walking out the door as your veterans retire. From there they get into where owners quietly become the bottleneck, how to use AI without drowning in the slop, and what actually makes a job seeker worth interviewing. Timestamps are below. CHAPTERS 0:00 – Why Fast AI Is Not the Same as Good AI 1:42 – Meet Ryan Englin and the People Problem He Solves 4:14 – How FieldCon Cuts Performance Review Time by 75% 8:04 – There Is No Labor Shortage, There Is a Training Crisis 12:14 – When the Owner Becomes the Bottleneck 14:47 – The Wasted Motion Killing Your Install Margins 16:36 – Capturing Tribal Knowledge Before the Boomers Retire 21:06 – Apprenticeships, Licensing, and a Faster Path to the Truck 26:36 – Why a Best Friend at Work Makes Techs 6x More Engaged 30:23 – Monday Callouts and the New Workforce 32:54 – Teaching the Next Generation to Have Real Conversations 34:46 – How Job Seekers Actually Stand Out 39:46 – Using AI Without Drowning in the Slop 49:10 – Where to Find Ryan Englin THIS EPISODE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY UPFROG System replacement leads from paid ads, nurtured and booked into sold jobs before your team arrives: upfrog.com TRAINUAL Trainual is an AI-powered training and knowledge platform for growing teams. Describe the training you need and it builds the steps, structure, and quiz: https://trainual.com/mastery MARKETSTORM An AI-powered advertising platform. Results vary by market, budget, and campaign configuration: https://marketstorm.ai/ CALLRAIL CallRail's Voice Assist is a 24/7 AI voice assistant that answers every call, handles customer questions, and books jobs directly onto your calendar, all without you ever having to step away from the current job. Try Voice Assist for free today at https://www.callrail.com/sbmpod PHONETAP Your calls hold the key to growing your business. PhoneTAP gives you instant AI analysis, real customer lifetime value, and tools to coach your team. Learn more: https://phonetap.ai/demo COMPANYCAM Capture work, track job progress, and stay connected from the field to the office with photo documentation and AI tools that keep work moving. Start a free trial at https://companycam.com/ CONNECT WITH OUR HOSTS AND GUEST Tersh Blissett: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tershblissett/ Josh Crouch: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-crouch/ Ryan Englin, Founder, Core Matters: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanenglin/ Core Matters: https://corematters.com/ FieldCon Field Test (free trial for one crew): https://fieldcon.io/fieldtest ABOUT SERVICE BUSINESS MASTERY Service Business Mastery helps home service owners run better, more profitable companies. Every week, Tersh Blissett and Josh Crouch break down the operations, technology, and leadership behind growing an HVAC, plumbing, or electrical business, with the operators actually doing the work. More at https://servicebusinessmastery.com/ Want the frameworks from each episode in your inbox? Join the free Service Business Mastery newsletter: https://service-business-mastery.beehiiv.com/subscribe Subscribe on YouTube and follow us on Spotify and Apple Podcasts so you never miss an episode. If this one helped, share it with an owner who needs it. #ServiceBusinessMastery #HomeServices #HiringInTheTrades #EmployeeRetention #HVAC Service Business Mastery for Skilled Trades: HVAC, Plumbing &amp; Electrical Home Service https://www.servicebusinessmastery.com <iframe title="Libsyn Player" style="border: none" src="//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/43724729/height/90/theme/custom/thumbnail/yes/direction/forward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/88AA3C/" height="90" width="600" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen></iframe> https://assets.libsyn.com/secure/content/208796889