The Multiplier Effect: How to Hire A-Players for Your Engineering Business

Every engineering business owner I work with eventually hits the same wall. They've grown the business to a certain point—maybe £500k, maybe £1m—and now they're stuck. Not because there isn't more work available, but because they physically cannot do any more themselves.

The solution seems obvious: hire more people. But here's where most engineering businesses go wrong. They hire reactively, desperately, and cheaply. They end up with a team of B and C players who create more work, not less. And the owner ends up more trapped than before.

This is the opposite of the Multiplier Effect. Let me explain what I mean.

SectionWhat is the Multiplier Effect?

The Multiplier Effect is a simple principle: every hire should multiply your capacity, not just add to it. An A-player doesn't just do their job—they make everyone around them better. They solve problems before you know they exist. They take ownership. They free you up to focus on growth instead of firefighting.

A B or C player, on the other hand, requires constant supervision. They create problems. They need you to check their work, answer their questions, and clean up their mistakes. Instead of multiplying your capacity, they divide it.

Here's the maths that most engineering business owners get wrong:

The C-player looks cheapest on paper. But when you factor in your time—which is worth far more than £25/hour—they're actually the most expensive hire you can make.

SectionWhy Engineering Businesses Hire the Wrong People

I see the same pattern repeatedly. An engineering business owner is drowning in work. They need help yesterday. So they put out a job ad, interview whoever responds quickly, and hire the first person who seems "good enough."

This reactive hiring creates three problems.

Problem One: You're hiring from desperation, not strategy. When you're desperate, you lower your standards. You convince yourself that someone is better than they are because you need them to be. You ignore red flags because you don't have time to start the search again.

Problem Two: You're not clear on what you actually need. Most engineering business owners hire for skills when they should be hiring for attitude and capability. Skills can be taught. Attitude cannot. A motivated person with basic skills will outperform a skilled person with poor attitude every single time.

Problem Three: You're competing in the wrong talent pool. If you're offering average pay for average conditions, you'll attract average people. A-players have options. They're not scrolling through job boards looking for the cheapest opportunity. They want to work somewhere that values them, challenges them, and gives them room to grow.

SectionThe A-Player Hiring Framework

After years of building my own engineering business and helping others do the same, I've developed a framework for consistently hiring A-players. It's not complicated, but it requires discipline.

Step 1: Define the Outcome, Not the Tasks

Most job descriptions are lists of tasks. "You will answer phones. You will process orders. You will update spreadsheets." This attracts people who want to tick boxes, not people who want to drive results.

Instead, define the outcome you need. "You will ensure every customer enquiry is handled within 2 hours and converted at a rate of 40% or higher." Now you're attracting people who think in terms of results, not activities.

Step 2: Pay at the Top of the Market

This is where most engineering business owners baulk. "I can't afford to pay top rates." But here's the reality: you can't afford not to.

An A-player at £30/hour who requires minimal oversight and delivers exceptional results is cheaper than a C-player at £15/hour who needs constant supervision and makes expensive mistakes.

When I increased salaries in my own business by 20%, my staff turnover dropped to nearly zero, productivity increased by 30%, and I got my weekends back. The maths works.

Step 3: Hire Slow, Fire Fast

Take your time in the hiring process. Multiple interviews. Practical assessments. Reference checks that actually dig into performance, not just verify employment dates.

But once someone is hired, evaluate quickly. The first 90 days will tell you everything you need to know. If someone isn't performing, don't wait and hope they'll improve. They won't. Cut your losses and start again.

Step 4: Create an Environment A-Players Want

A-players don't just want money. They want autonomy, mastery, and purpose. They want to work somewhere that respects their time, values their input, and gives them room to grow.

This means having clear systems and processes so they're not constantly asking you what to do. It means giving them ownership of outcomes, not just tasks. It means investing in their development and showing them a path forward.

SectionThe True Cost of Bad Hires

Let me share a story from one of my clients. He hired a workshop supervisor at £35k because he couldn't find anyone at £45k. Within six months, that "saving" had cost him over £100k.

The supervisor made quoting errors that underpriced three major jobs. He failed to order materials on time, causing delays that triggered penalty clauses. He upset two key customers with his attitude, one of whom took their business elsewhere. And my client spent an average of 15 hours per week managing problems that the supervisor should have prevented.

When we finally replaced him with an A-player at £52k, the business transformed within three months. Jobs ran on time. Customers were happy. My client took his first proper holiday in four years.

The £17k difference in salary was the best investment he ever made.

SectionHow to Spot an A-Player in an Interview

A-players reveal themselves in how they talk about their work. Here are the questions I use to identify them:

"Tell me about a problem you solved that nobody asked you to solve." A-players don't wait to be told what to do. They see problems and fix them. B and C players will struggle to answer this question because they've never done it.

"What's something you've taught yourself in the last year?" A-players are constantly learning and improving. They're curious. They don't wait for training courses—they figure things out.

"Describe a time you disagreed with your boss. What happened?" A-players have opinions and aren't afraid to voice them respectfully. They push back when they think something is wrong. B and C players either never disagree (because they don't think critically) or disagree badly (because they lack emotional intelligence).

"What would you do in your first 30 days here?" A-players come prepared. They've thought about the role. They have ideas. B and C players give vague answers about "learning the systems" and "meeting the team."

SectionBuilding a Team That Runs Without You

The ultimate goal of the Multiplier Effect isn't just to hire good people—it's to build a team that can run the business without you. This is what separates a lifestyle business from a true asset.

When you have A-players in key positions, something magical happens. They start solving problems you didn't even know existed. They improve processes without being asked. They train new hires better than you could. They become the system.

This is how you go from working 70-hour weeks to working 20-hour weeks while the business grows. This is how you build something that someone would actually want to buy one day.

SectionYour Next Steps

If you're stuck in the trap of doing everything yourself because you "can't find good people," I want you to consider that the problem might not be the talent market. It might be your approach to hiring.

Here's what I recommend:

Start by auditing your current team. For each person, ask yourself: do they multiply my capacity or divide it? Be honest. If someone is dividing your capacity, you need to address it—either through training and development, or through replacement.

Next, look at your hiring process. Are you hiring reactively or strategically? Are you paying enough to attract A-players? Are you clear on the outcomes you need, not just the tasks?

Finally, consider whether you're creating an environment that A-players want to work in. Do you have clear systems? Do you give people autonomy? Do you invest in their development?

If you'd like help implementing the Multiplier Effect in your engineering business, book a free discovery call. I'll help you identify where you're losing capacity to bad hires and create a plan to build a team that actually multiplies your results.