Rewiring the Staffing World: How Workify Came to Life

By Ron Rice, Workify Chief Marketing Officer

Some people start companies because they dream of being founders. We started Workify Staffing because… well, because we’re stubborn, a little idealistic, and maybe just naïve enough to believe we can help make the skilled trades staffing industry better.

But really, it began with something simpler: a group of people who actually like each other. Not just in the “we tolerate each other during conference calls” way, but in the real way—where you trust the people sitting next to you, want to see them win, and know they’ll have your back when work gets hard or life gets messy.

All of us had success in the staffing business before Workify. We learned a lot, we grew a lot, and we met thousands of skilled tradespeople whose work ethic and character inspired us daily. But over time, it became impossible to ignore a truth that was staring the entire industry in the face: construction and skilled trades staffing is going through a seismic shift, fueled by massive investments in technology, artificial intelligence, and digital jobsite tools. Everything is changing—how contractors plan, how crews work, how safety is managed, how productivity is measured, and how the whole ecosystem communicates.

We could see the future. And frankly? We wanted to run toward it, not wait for someone in a corporate tower to give us permission.

Big Firms Are Great… Until They’re Not

There’s no disrespect intended to the large firms we came from—many of them gave us incredible experience and opportunities. But anyone who’s ever worked inside a big, heavily matrixed organization knows the feeling: you’ve got a breakthrough idea, you know it could work, you know the market needs it… and then you spend six months navigating committees, approvals, hierarchies, and all the other well-intentioned organizational traffic jams that kill momentum.

Meanwhile, the industry is evolving at light speed. Technology is reshaping entire project workflows. Contractors are expanding into renewable energy. Skilled trades shortages are intensifying. And we realized that if we didn’t jump out of the “slow lane,” we were going to watch the future pass us by—along with our own career momentum.

So, we did the most rational thing possible: we transitioned from our stable jobs together and launched a business from scratch. (This is the self-deprecating part. Our families deserve medals.)

The Grind, The Grit, and the Gratitude

Starting Workify has been hard. Not in the “sounds hard on a podcast” kind of way, but in the “actual late nights, early mornings, and more coffee than any human should drink” kind of way. At the beginning, you push forward on nothing but belief—belief in your partners, belief in your mission, and belief that the world needs what you’re building even if the world doesn’t know it yet.

But something amazing happened: that belief started to spread. One person after another said, “I want to be part of this.” Then momentum arrived — slowly at first, then faster. Opportunities showed up. Clients and partners believed in our vision. Skilled tradespeople trusted us with their careers. And suddenly, this crazy idea didn’t feel so crazy.

What Brings Us Together

If Workify has a magic ingredient, it’s not technology—though we embrace it aggressively. It’s not process—though yes, we obsess over doing things right.

It’s our people.

Our team is connected by:

• Kindness

• Respect

• A deep belief in the dignity of labor

• And a shared mission: to improve the lives of hardworking blue-collar workers who are literally building the future of America

  
  

We didn’t start Workify to build a staffing company that looks like everyone else’s. We started it to build a place where skilled tradespeople feel valued, supported, respected, and proud of the work they do.

Why Our Story Matters to You

For our contractor clients, vendor partners, prospective investors, and the tradespeople we put to work, this origin story matters because it defines how we operate. Workify wasn’t built from a formula or a corporate playbook — it was built from real relationships, shared values, and a genuine thirst to do things differently.

Our culture isn’t a marketing tagline; it’s the engine that drives better communication, better accountability, better jobsite performance, and better outcomes for everyone. When you work with us, you’re not just engaging a staffing firm — you’re shoulder to shoulder with a team that’s personally invested in your success and deeply committed to elevating the skilled trades.

Looking Ahead

We can see around the curve now. The future feels bright—not because it’s guaranteed, but because we’re building it together. We’re grateful for the people who took the leap with us, for the tradespeople who trust us, and for the partners who see what we see: that the next chapter of this industry belongs to those willing to innovate, adapt, and care deeply.

Workify isn’t just a company. It’s a reflection of the people behind it—and a promise that we’re just getting started.