This article originated from a conversation between BuildOps CEO Alok Chanani and Harvard Business School podcast host Bill Kerr. Listen to the full episode here.

The skilled labor shortage is putting immense pressure on commercial contractors. By 2028, an estimated 2.4 million trades jobs will go unfilled. Layer on rising project complexity and higher client expectations, and the result is a perfect storm. According to McKinsey, the combined impact of labor shortages and productivity loss could lead to a $40 trillion shortfall in construction output by 2040.

Scaling an operation under these conditions is near impossible. Siloed data and outdated systems create confusion, costly mistakes, and burnout among skilled tradespeople—the very people who are already in short supply.

Throwing more headcount at the problem won’t fix it. The way forward lies in doing more with the team already in place—by giving them the tools and clarity needed to perform at their best.

Why Hiring Won’t Close the Labor Gap

The numbers tell a hard truth: the gap between demand and supply of skilled tradespeople is too wide to bridge through hiring alone. Even with increased trade school enrollment and government investment, the workforce won’t grow fast enough to meet rising needs.

And hiring isn’t cheap. Offering higher salaries to lure talent away from competitors can work temporarily—but it’s a costly, unstable strategy. Every new hire also comes with onboarding time, productivity ramp-up, and no guarantee of long-term retention. For many contractors, aggressive recruiting simply won’t keep pace with workload.

But while it’s difficult to bring in more talent, there’s still a powerful opportunity: increasing productivity through operational clarity. That starts with a connected, end-to-end system that removes friction from the daily work.

Connect Ops to Maximize Time and Talent

To unlock labor productivity, every part of the business—dispatch, scheduling, job tracking, payroll, invoicing—needs to work together. When information flows across departments, it becomes possible to eliminate idle time, reduce handoff delays, and keep jobs moving.

For labor- and time-intensive work, small changes can create big gains. One contractor reduced technician downtime by over 40% just by modernizing scheduling and dispatch. Same team. More jobs completed. Less stress.

Scattered data, on the other hand, drags teams down. Manual entry, inconsistent documentation, and endless back-and-forth around POs and quotes all waste valuable hours. Centralized platforms have helped some contractors cut payroll processing time by as much as 90%. That time gets reinvested into serving customers, managing projects, and supporting crews.

With unified systems, technicians show up with full job context. Admin teams stop chasing down paperwork. Invoices go out faster. And leadership gets the visibility to make smarter decisions—all without hiring a single extra person.

From Real-Time Visibility to Predictive Action

Once systems are connected and data flows in real time, the next step is turning that visibility into forward-looking decisions. Clean, structured data highlights where projects stall, where resources bottleneck, and where teams are stretched thin.

Smart dispatching is one clear example. With insights into skill sets, job history, location, and equipment needs, it’s possible to match the right tech to the right job—no guesswork. These systems also surface early signals: who’s overloaded, where performance is slipping, and where more support or training might be needed.

From there, predictive analytics takes the lead. With a connected tech stack, it becomes possible to identify patterns before they become problems: recurring delays, eroding margins, repeat equipment failures. Spotting these trends early allows teams to course-correct before deadlines are missed or profits disappear.

This kind of foresight used to be a luxury. Now, it’s table stakes for staying competitive.

Building a Workforce That’s Ready for What’s Next

The labor shortage isn’t going away. But it can be turned into a catalyst for smarter operations.

Rather than chasing headcount, the most resilient contractors are investing in systems that elevate the teams they already have. The result: more jobs completed per crew, less admin drag, and better job satisfaction across the board.

Unifying operations and embracing data-driven decision-making lays the foundation for a stronger, more agile workforce. It builds resilience. It reduces waste. And it gives tradespeople what they need to do their best work—because when the right people are backed by the right tools, anything gets built.

The challenge is real. But so is the opportunity.