Hannah HammondFounder & CEO, HB Capital & The Firm RE · CEO of HB Capital | Helping CRE Developers & Investors Fund Deals Nationwide | Host of The Hannah Hammond Show

I Asked @ismaelvaldezceo How He Attracts The Best Talent In A Tough Industry

Name: I Asked @ismaelvaldezceo How He Attracts The Best Talent In A Tough Industry
Uploaded: 2026-04-27T18:52:43+00:00
Duration: 7 s
Channel: Hannah Hammond
Description: In this interview segment, host Hannah Hammond asks guest Ismael Valdez how he successfully attracts top talent in the construction industry, which is…

27 Apr 2026 · 0 min

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In this interview segment, host Hannah Hammond asks guest Ismael Valdez how he successfully attracts top talent in the construction industry, which is known for being difficult to staff. Valdez explains that his primary strategy is offering the highest wages in the market and making that fact widely known. He emphasizes that many small, family‑run construction firms may pay well but fail to publicize it, which hampers their ability to draw skilled workers. The conversation highlights the importance of transparent, premium compensation as a core recruiting tool.

So how did you attract talent to actually execute on this? Because I had construction companies and that was not fun.
The number one thing that got me to attract the best talent in the industry was my wages. I paid everybody the best. Not only did I pay them the best though, everybody knew I paid the best. Problem with these small mom-and-pop shopping construction guys, that they might be even paying better than me, but nobody knows that. That's their biggest problem.
Because you were marketing that you were paying the best? Of course.
I'm on social media saying, hey, $5,000 sign-on bonus, you're never going to make more money than with me. NextGen always has leads. Those You guys might be even paying better than me. They might even do better quality of work than me, but nobody knew that. Everybody knew that we were a good company. Everybody knew that we paid really fucking well.