Can’t Find Good Employees? Bill Tansey Says To Start Here

When business owners say they cannot find good employees, Bill Tansey Jr. believes they may be looking at the wrong problem. During a recent discussion, Bill Tansey Jr., owner of The OpEx Shop in Saratoga Springs, NY, argued that many hiring challenges are actually onboarding and expectation-setting failures that begin long before a new employee ever walks through the door.

According to Tansey, one of the biggest mistakes employers make is assuming job candidates already understand what success looks like. “Finding good people starts before onboarding,” he said. “Understanding what success looks like starts with the job description of who it is you’re trying to hire.”

For contractors and small business owners across Saratoga County, Warren County, Washington County, and the Capital Region, that distinction can make a significant difference in employee retention and performance.

Clear Expectations Create Better Hires

Tansey said many businesses rely on vague job descriptions and assumptions rather than clearly defined expectations. Using the example of a framing contractor, he noted that employers often assume applicants know exactly what is expected of them.

“There’s no clear expectations on what that means,” Tansey said. “When do you have to show up to work? When don’t you show up to work?”

By defining expectations upfront, employers create a better recruiting process while giving prospective employees a realistic understanding of the role before accepting an offer. Tansey believes that clarity benefits both sides of the hiring equation and helps eliminate mismatches that often lead to turnover.

The Saratoga Springs business owner also pointed out that employee expectations have changed significantly in recent years. Labor market conditions, compensation expectations, and workplace culture all play a role in attracting and retaining qualified workers.

Why Competency Matters More Than Time

One of Tansey’s strongest opinions involved traditional onboarding programs built around arbitrary timelines.

“It’s not 30 days, 60 days, or 90 days,” he said. “This is not a time-bound thing.”

Instead of measuring success by how long someone has been employed, Tansey recommends evaluating employees based on demonstrated competencies. New hires should understand exactly what skills they need to learn, who will mentor them, and what successful performance looks like.

Rather than spending days in a classroom watching videos and taking tests, Tansey advocates getting employees involved in real work as quickly as possible while providing guidance through mentorship and documented processes.

“What I found is that method really accelerates the return on employee investment,” he explained.

The Value of Mentorship and Recognition

Another common mistake, according to Tansey, is assuming the company’s top performer is automatically the best person to train new employees.

“The best guy at the place may not be the best mentor,” he said.

Strong mentors, he explained, are often the employees who communicate clearly and can teach others effectively, not necessarily the most technically skilled workers. By spreading mentorship responsibilities across multiple team members, businesses can help new hires build relationships throughout the organization while learning from different perspectives.

Tansey also emphasized the importance of employee recognition. While compensation remains important, he believes acknowledgment and feedback play a growing role in retention.

“Verbal recognition and other recognition just really seems to go an even longer way than it ever has,” he said.

As workforce challenges continue to affect businesses throughout Upstate New York, Bill Tansey Jr. and The OpEx Shop in Saratoga Springs continue to help organizations build systems that support growth. His advice for business owners looking to improve onboarding is straightforward: “Make the success of that process dependent only on demonstrated successes.” For companies hoping to grow without sacrificing standards, that mindset may be the first step toward building a stronger team.