Hiring in the trades isn’t easy. With approximately 20 new job openings for every one new employee in the trades, there are more jobs than workers, and this imbalance is projected to continue through 2032.
With so much competition, you might think contractors are using sign-on bonuses to attract new workers. Although sign-on bonuses can be an effective short-term strategy, they often don’t work out in the long run. New hires who come to your business for the bonus are more likely to leave as soon as another company posts a job with a big bonus or a higher hourly rate.
Bonuses can also be frustrating for existing employees who wonder why new hires get a bonus, and they don’t.
Many contractors know this well, which is why ACCA and Farmington Consulting Group’s 2025 Contractor of the Future study found that 72% of contractors don’t offer sign-on bonuses. But that means more than one-quarter of all contractors offer a sign-on bonus. How do you compete for top talent when you don’t offer a sign-on bonus?
Here’s what contractors do to appeal to new hires when a sign-on bonus isn’t on the table.
Pay for training and continuing education costs
One of the most popular ways for contractors to attract new talent is to offset the costs of training and schooling. Seventy-four percent of respondents in the 2025 Contractor of the Future report claimed this as a benefit they offer.
This is important because 80% of workers considered professional development and training opportunities to be important when deciding whether or not they will accept a job. Numbers remain high across industries and among all age groups.
If you don’t already offer paid training or cover at least a portion of education costs, now is the time to consider creating a program. Once created, make sure you add it to the list of benefits you include in job postings. That way, applicants can see that you value continuous learning among your employees.
Training is a costly part of expanding your team, but ACCA is currently fighting to change that. New legislation moving through Congress right now could reimburse you for up to 50% of your training costs and put you in control of who gets trained. You can help push this legislation forward by signing our Action Alert and telling your representatives why the Employer-Directed Skills Act is important for your business. TAKE ACTION NOW
ACCA members also receive discounted pricing on all live virtual, in-person, and on-demand trainings. Gold members even have exclusive access to our entire on-demand catalog for free. If you aren’t already an ACCA member or are interested in upgrading your tier, learn more here.
Increase PTO across the board
Paid time off can also be appealing to technicians who are looking for work. Mention of PTO has more than doubled in job posts on Indeed, with construction, installation, and maintenance jobs seeing sharp increases in PTO mentions on job boards. If you aren’t already, make sure you add this information to your job posts, too.
Nationwide, most contractors offer new hires 5 PTO days, though some offer as few as 0 and as many as 10. Only 10% offer 11 or more PTO days to new hires. The more PTO you’re willing to offer new hires, the more attractive your position will be.
You may also want to increase vacation accruals for employees who stick with your company. This helps convince existing employees to stick around, but it also attracts applicants who are less likely to job-hop.
Offer flexibility
Offering high salaries to new employees and raises to current workers isn’t feasible if you’re working with a lean budget. Paying for training and increased PTO can also be a stretch. If money is a concern, you can consider offering flexible working arrangements.
Over 75% of workers prefer flexible scheduling, with over half stating that they actively seek out flexible work opportunities. It can be especially appealing to employees raising families or with other responsibilities outside of work.
One of the biggest benefits of flexible working arrangements is that you can choose the ones that work best for your business. A few ideas include:
- Letting techs work four 10-hour days instead of five 8-hour days each week.
- Allow workers to choose one day each week where they can leave an hour early.
- Allow workers to choose which days they can work overtime and which days they have a guaranteed stop time.
- Implement a system of flex time where employees can take extra time off instead of earning more money when working overtime.
Make your company’s culture tangible
In the HVACR industry, job seekers have the upper hand. With so many open positions, it’s easy for a tech to turn down a job offer if it doesn’t seem like a good fit. Even if the tech does take the job, they may not stick around. Almost one-third of new workers will leave within 90 days if there’s a cultural mismatch, especially if they know they can get another job easily.
It’s essential to communicate your company culture to job applicants. Unfortunately, communicating a positive company culture can be challenging. Saying, “We value our employees,” or “We support career growth,” won’t cut it. You need to get specific:
- You can show that you value consistency and stability by saying, “We guarantee year-round work” or “We guarantee a 40-hour workweek.”
- To show that you value career growth, you can say, “We pay for all required certifications,” or “We offer tuition reimbursement.”
- To show your commitment to work-life balance, you might say something like, “We create a fair on-call schedule and offer flexible start and end times.”
- Instead of saying, “We have an open-door policy,” get more specific by saying something like, “We do quarterly one-on-ones.”
- Share specific statistics, like how many installers moved into service roles or how long it takes apprentices to move into more advanced tech roles.
- Mention exactly how you recognize and reward good work. For example, you might mention that you reward employees by allowing them to pick a day to leave early.
The more specific you can get, either in the job post or during the interview, the more you can show potential employees what your culture is like instead of just telling them.
Utilize monetary perks that go beyond sign-on bonuses
It’s true that workers look for more than just money when searching for a job, but it’s also true that money is still important. After all, a paycheck is the reason why they are in the workforce to begin with.
That doesn’t mean you have to bribe people to join your organization by giving them a sign-on bonus. Instead, consider offering:
- Access to special accounts that you, the employer, contribute to, like and high-deductible health plans that come with an HSA account.
- Guarantee a set increase in pay after a certain period of time or for receiving certain certifications.
- Offer an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) that enables long-term employees to gradually earn shares of ownership and invest in the business as part of their retirement benefits.
Don’t underestimate the power of having a good reputation
Businesses that get the best job applicants are the ones with a good reputation. A whopping 95% of respondents in an Indeed study said that they research the company’s reputation when deciding whether or not to apply for or accept a job.
Potential employees are likely to ask around and may talk to people in their network who have experience working for or interacting with your business, but they will also go online. A few ways you can build a more positive reputation from an HR perspective include:
- Create a structured onboarding process that includes regular check-ins or mentoring partnerships.
- Send out periodic surveys to collect employee feedback and act on the feedback you receive.
- Showcase employee success stories by highlighting promotions, new certifications, and achievements through internal emails or on social media.
- Create community and team engagement programs with volunteer work or team-building events.
You don’t need a sign-on bonus to attract top talent
The contracting businesses that are attracting top talent to their organizations aren’t offering sign-on bonuses — and you don’t have to either. From paying for training and continuing education costs to offering flexibility and making your company’s culture tangible, there are things you can do to find new techs, no matter how big or small your budget.
Additional resources:
- ACCA members: log in to download the PDF that contains all the information in the 2025 Contractor of the Future study that identifies evolving needs, expectations, and the future outlook of HVAC contractors.
- ACCA members: log in to view the webinar that summarizes the information in the 2025 Contractor of the Future
- Read tips on formulating the right job descriptions.
- Learn more about how to build a workforce pipeline.
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