6 Ways to Improve Your Hiring Process and Stand Out

Recruiting and retention don’t end with a handshake. That’s the message Team Engine Co-Founder & CEO Carlos del Pozo shared on a recent episode of Toolbox for the Trades, where he spoke with host Amanda Salvatore about how field-service companies can turn hiring challenges into competitive advantages.

Carlos shared his experience and insights for business owners and operators navigating today’s workforce challenges. Below is a summary of the most important takeaways from the conversation and focused approaches for improving hiring, retention, and team communication.

1. Make Retention the Goal of Your Hiring Process

One of the most common mistakes Carlos sees is treating hiring as a one-time transaction: job posted, applicant hired, problem solved. But in reality, hiring is just the first step in a much longer journey. And without a clear plan to support and retain new employees, the effort (and expense) of hiring often goes to waste.

Many companies lose good people within the first few weeks simply because they didn’t have a consistent plan for onboarding, communication, or engagement. And when those employees leave, the cycle starts all over again, draining time, morale, and momentum.

What to do: Shift your focus from hiring to employee retention strategies. That means building a structured 30-60-90 day experience that every new hire goes through, with clear milestones, timely check-ins, and manager accountability. Use automation to keep it consistent, and treat onboarding as a critical phase, not an afterthought.

2. Respond to Applicants With the Same Urgency as Sales Leads

In sales, speed matters. The faster you respond to a lead, the more likely you are to win the deal. The same is true in recruiting: the sooner you follow up with applicants, the better your chances of bringing them in. Yet many companies take days (sometimes longer) to contact new candidates, losing them to faster-moving competitors in the meantime.

Carlos emphasized that in a labor market where applicants have options, delay sends the wrong signal. It communicates disinterest or disorganization, neither of which encourages a strong candidate to stick around.

What to do: Treat applicants with the same urgency you’d apply to high-value leads. Respond quickly (ideally within hours) and use text messaging for your initial outreach. It’s direct, personal, and far more likely to get a response than a missed call or ignored email. These early steps are also where automated hiring tools can help speed things up and reduce delays that cause drop-off.

3. Write Job Ads That Sell the Opportunity, Not Just List Requirements

If your job postings look like internal HR paperwork, you’re missing a huge opportunity. Many companies lead with requirements and responsibilities, turning the job ad into a filter rather than an invitation. But strong recruiting starts with strong messaging, and that means thinking like a marketer.

Carlos urged companies to reframe their job descriptions as a chance to stand out. The goal isn’t just to inform; it’s to attract. And the most effective way to do that is by showing prospective applicants why your company is a great place to work.

What to do: Reorder your job ads so they lead with what matters to applicants: stability, team culture, growth opportunities, and benefits. Save the requirements for later in the listing. Even a simple change in structure can dramatically improve applicant flow.

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4. Fix Gaps in Your Hiring Process Before Blaming a Labor Shortage

Ask any field-service business about their biggest challenge, and “finding people” is likely at the top of the list. But as Carlos explained, many companies aren’t facing a true shortage of applicants. They’re facing a breakdown in their hiring process.

Applicants come in, but follow-up is slow. Screening is inconsistent. Communication is scattered. Onboarding is rushed or incomplete. In other words, it’s not a talent supply problem; it’s a process execution problem.

What to do: Audit your hiring workflow from start to finish. Who’s responsible for each step? How quickly are you moving candidates through? Where are people dropping off? Then identify where automation can remove bottlenecks (like candidate screening software) and create consistency (such as in onboarding). Fixing these gaps can be just as impactful as increasing applicant volume, if not more so.

5. Use Employer Branding to Strengthen Your Reputation and Retention

Many companies treat employer branding as something distinct from marketing or operations. But as Carlos points out, your employer brand is your company brand—especially in industries where employees represent your business in the field every day. How you hire, onboard, support, and communicate with your workforce shapes not only retention, but customer experience and public perception.

What to do: Stop thinking of employer branding as a siloed HR initiative. Instead, treat it as an extension of your brand and business strategy. Make sure your values, expectations, and employee experience align, then communicate that clearly in job ads, interviews, and daily operations.

6. Use AI and Automation to Speed Up (Not Replace) Your Hiring Process

AI is changing the way businesses operate, but not always in the ways people expect. While there’s been concern that automation will replace frontline roles, Carlos emphasized a different, more immediate shift: AI is transforming the processes around hiring and workforce management, not the jobs themselves.

For field-based industries, that’s a major opportunity. Many of the companies Team Engine serves are already struggling to find enough people to do the work. AI won’t solve the labor shortage directly, but it can help companies get more out of the teams they already have. It does this by speeding up repetitive tasks, clearing communication bottlenecks, and keeping candidates from falling through the cracks during hiring and onboarding.

Where AI fits today:

• Responding to applicants faster through automated hiring tools
• Screening resumes and surfacing best-fit candidates
• Sending reminders and instructions via text in multiple languages
• Standardizing the new hire experience with onboarding automation software

These tools don’t replace recruiters or managers; they make them more efficient, more consistent, and more scalable.

Looking further ahead, Carlos sees even greater potential. Companies that learn how to use AI in hiring will gain a strategic advantage—especially when competing for skilled labor. And as AI hiring software evolves, it will become even easier to reduce employee turnover by delivering a smoother, more consistent experience from day one.

AI can help companies move faster and operate smarter—but culture, leadership, and values still have to come from people. Use automation to enable your team, not replace it.

Carlos’ point of view is clear: Hiring and retention should be treated with the same care, urgency, and strategy as sales and customer service. The companies that embrace that mindset (and operationalize it with tools, processes, and leadership) will be the ones that stand out in a tough labor market.