Should You Hire for Soft Skills or Technical Expertise? A No-Nonsense Guide for Construction Leaders
Hiring in the construction industry is no longer just about who can read blueprints or manage a crew. As businesses grow and team dynamics evolve, construction leaders are facing a new challenge: Should you hire based on technical expertise or soft skills? In this episode of Construction Trailblazers, we dig deep into how construction leaders, project managers, and business owners can make smarter hiring decisions that reduce turnover, boost performance, and build a strong team culture. Whether you're scaling fast, dealing with turnover, or refining your internal processes, this episode offers a practical framework for evaluating candidates and building teams that can actually deliver.
Key Takeaways from the Episode:
Soft skills alone won’t save you if you lack a culture to support them.
Technical expertise is essential when speed, precision, or tight processes matter.
You need to understand what your business needs most right now.
Hiring someone who’s “figuring it out” takes time, training, and the right support system
The right balance of soft skills and technical know-how depends on your growth stage, team structure, and internal bandwidth.
Soft Skills Alone Won’t Save You If Your Culture Can’t Support Them
Soft skills are powerful—especially for roles like office managers, where adaptability, problem-solving, and communication are crucial. But if your business doesn’t have the culture to support a high-performing team member who’s full of ideas, you’ll end up losing them.
Rockstar employees (especially those hired on soft skills alone) won’t sit quietly if they see inefficiencies. They’ll speak up, suggest improvements, and expect to be heard. If they’re met with silence or dismissal, frustration builds, and eventually, they’ll walk. The takeaway? If you're hiring someone who’s light on experience but strong on initiative, make sure you have a culture that actually values their contribution—or you’ll waste time and training.
Ask yourself:
Do we have systems for gathering and acting on team feedback?
Are our managers equipped to mentor and listen?
Does this person have room to grow and contribute meaningfully?
Hire for Technical Expertise When Speed and Structure Matter
Sometimes you don’t have time for a steep learning curve. If you’re in a phase of rapid growth, dealing with client deadlines, or recovering from high team turnover, you need someone who can hit the ground running. This is when technical expertise is essential.
Well-rounded candidates (those with both skills and experience) may cost more, but they also require less hand-holding and can jump into strategic conversations faster. They know the tools, the industry lingo, and what outcomes actually look like in real time. That saves your leadership team hours of backtracking and correction.
This is the right path if:
Your manager doesn’t have the bandwidth to train.
You’ve got a high-stakes client that demands excellence fast.
Internal processes are shaky and you need someone to help stabilize them.
Understand What Your Business Needs Right Now
There’s no one-size-fits-all hiring formula. Your decision to hire for soft skills or technical experience should be based on your current priorities, team dynamics, and growth trajectory.
For example:
If you’re building out processes from scratch, a technically skilled hire can provide clarity and structure.
If your team is full of experienced doers but lacks communication and adaptability, a fresh perspective with strong soft skills could be exactly what you need.
If you’re onboarding large clients or rolling out new services, you may need both.
Before you post that job ad, pause and ask:
What gaps are we trying to fill right now?
What will success look like in the first 90 days of this role?
What are we truly able to train—and what must they already know?
“Figuring It Out” Requires the Right Support System
Hiring someone based on potential (and training them up) can be incredibly rewarding—but it’s not the faster route. It requires dedicated time, clear expectations, and a structured onboarding plan. This was made personal in the episode when Sam shared her experience hiring her own mom—someone with all the right soft skills but very little industry experience.
It worked. But only because:
She had the patience to guide her through the technical parts.
She carved out time in her schedule for training and mentorship.
She adjusted expectations to give learning room.
If you’re hiring someone who’s never done the job before, you can’t expect immediate results. You have to invest—in them, in training systems, and in support. Otherwise, it’s not fair to you or them.
It's Not Either-Or: Build a Hiring Strategy Based on Balance
There’s a lot of advice out there that tells you to "hire for culture" or "skills can be taught." While that sounds great in theory, it’s not always practical in the real world—especially in industries like construction where the stakes (and costs) of a mis-hire are high.
Instead, assess:
What kind of hire does this specific role require?
Where is your business in terms of growth, support, and structure?
Can your current team absorb a long ramp-up period?
Or do you need someone who can take over on day one?
Your hiring strategy shouldn’t be built on philosophy. It should be built on reality.
Listen to the Full Episode of Construction Trailblazers
This episode is packed with real-life examples, hard-won lessons, and practical advice for construction leaders who want to hire better, train smarter, and build high-performing teams.
🎧 Listen now: Construction Trailblazers Podcast
📩 Got a hiring story to share? Email us at hello@constructiontrailblazers.com or connect on LinkedIn.