JEANI RINGKOB
STORYBUILT
The $ 250K Problem You’ re Not Tracking:
How Crew Turnover Quietly Wrecks Profitability( Part 1 of 3-part series)
For paving contractors and equipment dealers alike, labor churn is more than a nuisance— it’ s a profit leak that compounds daily. Here’ s how to calculate what it’ s really costing you( and what to do next).
JEANI RINGKOB
If you lost a crew tomorrow,( or even just a roller operator) how much would it cost you? Most contractors answer with a groan, a guess, or a resigned,“ Too much.” But very few track the number. And that’ s the problem. In our work with dozens of paving businesses— crews from 3 to 300— we’ ve seen it time and again: turnover isn’ t just an HR headache. It’ s a six-figure drag on margin, production, and customer confidence. And the worst part? The impact hides in plain sight.
What You Think Turnover Costs You( And What You’ re Missing)
You probably already know you lose time and money when a good operator walks. But most businesses only count surface-level costs:
• Ads and job board fees
• Onboarding time
• Maybe a few training hours
But here’ s what most teams miss: » Lost margin on jobs that ran short-handed. » Delayed projects that dinged your reputation. » High-performer burnout from carrying extra load. » Bids you didn’ t even submit because you lacked the crew.
These“ opportunity costs” are where the real hit lands— and we’ ve seen them add up to over $ 250,000 / year in lost revenue and profit for midsize paving teams.
A Real Example: What Turnover Cost One Multi-State Contractor
We recently conducted a Strategic Growth Audit for a multi-state asphalt producer / contractor who had normalized turnover as“ just part of the business.” But when we did the math over a 5-year span, here’ s what we uncovered:
• $ 5,000,000 in missed job revenue due to unstaffed crews and delayed project schedules
• $ 678,000 in recruiting costs( ads, agency fees, internal staff time)
• $ 74,250 in hiring / training expenses( onboarding, safety training, rework) Total impact: $ 5.75 million lost— without ever touching the bid pipeline. This was an extreme case but throughout the year we see an average of $ 250,000 annual wasted by lack of attention in the companies we are auditing for employer brand performance. The ripple effect? Reduced bonding capacity, crew morale issues, and a cycle of underperformance that compounded over time.
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