Season 3 Kickoff: Intentional Hiring, Crew Culture, and the Oil Price Surge Hitting Paving Contractors

It's been a few months since we sat down to record, and a lot has changed. In this episode, Kevin and Phil kick off Season 3 of the Pave It Forward Podcast with a real look at how the company rebuilt its crew heading into 2026 — from switching to Google Ads recruiting over Indeed and Facebook, to pre-screening candidates instead of just getting warm bodies in the door.   Kevin walks through the first three weeks of the season, why he chose not to bring back certain guys, and how training new team members with minimal paving experience is actually resetting the culture in a positive way. The crew playbook and formal orientation they built over the off-season are already making a difference in camaraderie and communication.   Then we get into the numbers every contractor needs to hear: asphalt index prices jumped nearly $100/ton in a single month, diesel doubled over the winter, and if you're not adjusting your bids and adding pricing clauses to your contracts, you're working for free. We break down how PIF is handling it and what to watch for.   Episode Length: 46 minutes of season kickoff strategy, hiring reality checks, and margin-saving advice.   Visit the Pave It Forward YouTube channel for more episodes.