🎯 Free Tools for Growing Trade Businesses: https://tradie.wiki/pod
🫱🏻‍🫲🏼 Book a Free Strategy Call with Tradie Web Guys: https://tradie.wiki/tssyt

Hiring good people has never been harder. And it’s not getting easier in 2026.

If you’re a tradie or contractor struggling to find, keep, or motivate good staff, this episode will change how you think about hiring forever.

In this 480th episode of The Site Shed, Matt sits down with Tom Reardon, founder of PeopleIN and one of Australia’s most experienced workforce leaders, to break down what actually works when labour is tight and why most trade businesses are unknowingly making hiring harder than it needs to be.

This isn’t theory. It’s real-world, boots-on-the-ground advice from someone who’s scaled teams across Australia and New Zealand.

If you’re sick of reacting to hiring problems and want a long-term game plan, this episode is a must-listen.

Key Chapters:
00:00 - Teaser
01:18 - Tom's Background and People Infrastructure Explained
03:36 - Culture is Not Static: How it Evolves as Your Business Grows
06:39 - The "Rotting Apple" Problem: How One Bad Attitude Kills a Team
09:16 - The Astronomic Cost of a Bad Hire (It's 3 Times Their Salary)
12:26 - Beyond Salary: Attracting Talent with a Career Path, Not Just a Job
15:47 - The Danger of Promoting Sideways (Don't Damage a Good Career)
18:01 - Can Bad Attitudes Be Turned Around? (Only with a Strong Culture)
21:20 - Performance-Based Remuneration: The Future of Trade Incentives
24:59 - Using NPS (Net Promoter Score) for Accountability
27:48 - Why Most Trade Businesses Lack Strategy
30:38 - Stop the Doing: The Importance of 90-Day Resets
33:02 - Inaccurate Data Trap: Net Profit Percentage vs. Dollar Value
36:26 - Culture Must Evolve: Everyone is Responsible for the Core Values
39:19 - Promoting Leadership: Markers of Action and Results
42:47 - Why Australian Trades Are Globally Sought After (Quality and Standards)

👤 About the Guest: Tom Reardon
Tom Reardon is the founder of PeopleIN, one of Australia’s largest workforce and labour hire groups. With over 20 years in recruitment, labour hire, and workforce strategy, Tom has helped businesses scale without losing culture, even in the tightest labour markets.

CONNECT WITH TOM REARDON
Website: https://www.peoplein.com.au/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/convos_on_the_couch/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-reardon-555b614/

CONNECT WITH THE TRADIE WEB GUYS!
Website: https://www.tradiewebguys.com.au/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TradiewebguysAus
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TradieWebGuysOfficial
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tradiewebguys/
LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/company/tradie-web-guys
Matt’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamthematt

Your Next Step:

Join Tradie Academy, our free community packed with templates, checklists, and resources shared by podcast guests, coaches, and successful tradies.

👉 Join free and grab your next growth tool here: https://tradie.wiki/pod

Follow The Site Shed:

• Facebook: The Site Shed
• Instagram: @thesiteshed
• LinkedIn: Matt Jones
• Website: thesiteshed.com
• YouTube: @TheSiteShed

If you enjoyed this podcast and this series, please take 5 to leave us a review:
⭐ https://lovethepodcast.com/TheSiteShed

Love the audio version of this podcast? Subscribe to the link below:
⭐ https://followthepodcast.com/TheSiteShed

🎯 Free Tools for Growing Trade Businesses: https://tradie.wiki/pod
🫱🏻‍🫲🏼 Book a Free Strategy Call with Tradie Web Guys: https://tradie.wiki/tssyt

2025 was a big year, and for many trade businesses, it came with some hard lessons.

In this solo episode, Matt Jones looks back on what actually worked and what didn’t across hundreds of trade businesses he’s worked with throughout the year. It’s a real-world review from inside the trenches of marketing, sales, and business growth.

If you felt busy in 2025 but didn’t see the results you expected, this episode will help you understand why and what needs to change if 2026 is going to be different.

What You’ll Learn:
✔ Why strategy must come before marketing
✔ The danger of spending money without systems
✔ Why more leads won’t fix broken processes
✔ How scaling creates new problems if you’re not prepared
✔ The mindset shifts trade business owners resisted in 2025
✔ What you should reflect on before planning 2026

Key Chapters:
00:00 - Teaser
00:42 - Welcome and reflections on the year 2025
01:15 - Thank you for support! (almost 500 episodes!)
02:04 - Appreciating listener feedback and requests
03:48 - Expanding the Academy and resources
04:15 - Upcoming events: Ski Workshop and Surf Workshop
05:12 - Business workshops and making events a business expense
06:14 - Key takeaways from 2025 #1: Strategy
07:37 - Key takeaways from 2025 #2: System
08:32 - Key takeaways from 2025 #3: Scale and Fulfillment
09:46 - Key takeaways from 2025 #4: Spending the money to get the outcome
11:11 - The Profit First Model
12:52 - Stop subscribing to doom and gloom
13:46 - Stop, reflect, and appreciate
14:35 - Do your research
15:16 - Look after yourself (physically and mentally)
16:00 - Closing thoughts on 2026 and making a decision

🎧 Listen to the audio version of this podcast at: https://tradie.wiki/listen

CONNECT WITH THE SITE SHED!
Website: https://www.thesiteshed.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thesiteshed
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesiteshed/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-site-shed/
Matt’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamthemattj/

CONNECT WITH THE TRADIE WEB GUYS!
Website: https://www.tradiewebguys.com.au/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TradiewebguysAus
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TradieWebGuysOfficial
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tradiewebguys/
LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/company/tradie-web-guys
Matt’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamthemattj/

Your Next Step:

Join Tradie Academy, our free community packed with templates, checklists, and resources shared by podcast guests, coaches, and successful tradies.

👉 Join free and grab your next growth tool here: https://tradie.wiki/pod

Follow The Site Shed:

• Facebook: The Site Shed
• Instagram: @thesiteshed
• LinkedIn: Matt Jones
• Website: thesiteshed.com
• YouTube: @TheSiteShed

If you enjoyed this podcast and this series, please take 5 to leave us a review:
⭐ https://lovethepodcast.com/TheSiteShed

Love the audio version of this podcast? Subscribe to the link below:
⭐ https://followthepodcast.com/TheSiteShed

🎯 Free Tools for Growing Trade Businesses: https://tradie.wiki/pod
🫱🏻‍🫲🏼 Book a Free Strategy Call with Tradie Web Guys: https://tradie.wiki/tssyt

HR isn’t why you started your trade business.
But getting it wrong can cost you serious time, money, and stress.

In this 478th episode of The Site Shed, Matt sits down with Karen Hillen from My HR Partner to break down what Fair Work actually cares about when it comes to tradie businesses with employees and contractors.

This isn’t theory or corporate HR talk.
It’s practical, trade-specific advice to help you avoid common HR traps and protect your business.

🕒 Key Chapters
00:59 – Why HR mistakes hurt tradie businesses
02:04 – Meet Karen Hillen & what an HR partner does
03:29 – Employee vs contractor: the core confusion
06:19 – When a contractor is legally an employee
10:04 – Contractor vs casual employee explained
14:39 – Trade award entitlements most tradies miss
17:59 – Redundancy & leave liabilities in trade businesses
23:14 – How Fair Work handles complaints
34:14 – Performance management: act early, not late
40:09 – Contracts, VAs & getting the right HR advice

What You’ll Learn:
✔ The real difference between an employee and a contractor
✔ When a contractor should legally be treated as an employee
✔ Why contracts alone won’t protect you
✔ Trade award entitlements most tradies don’t know about
✔ When redundancy pay applies, even if someone resigns
✔ How Fair Work handles complaints and underpayments
✔ How to deal with performance issues before they explode

📲 Listen On The Go! https://tradie.wiki/listen

CONNECT WITH KAREN HILLEN
Website: https://www.myhrp.com.au
HR Hub: https://myhrp.com.au/hr-hub/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/myhrpartnerau
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MyHRPartnerAustralia
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karenhillen/

CONNECT WITH THE SITE SHED!
Website: https://www.thesiteshed.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thesiteshed
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesiteshed/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-site-shed/
Matt’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamthemattj/

Your Next Step:

Join Tradie Academy, our free community packed with templates, checklists, and resources shared by podcast guests, coaches, and successful tradies.

👉 Join free and grab your next growth tool here: https://tradie.wiki/pod

Follow The Site Shed:

• Facebook: The Site Shed
• Instagram: @thesiteshed
• LinkedIn: Matt Jones
• Website: thesiteshed.com
• YouTube: @TheSiteShed

If you enjoyed this podcast and this series, please take 5 to leave us a review:
⭐ https://lovethepodcast.com/TheSiteShed

Love the audio version of this podcast? Subscribe to the link below:
⭐ https://followthepodcast.com/TheSiteShed