Today’s roofing contractors can draw on an unprecedented toolbox of technologies, resources, and information to serve their customers, nurture their teams, and help grow their businesses. But no matter how innovative the tool or sophisticated the technology, nothing can replace the insights and ideas that emerge when contractors get together to talk roofer-to-roofer.
There was plenty for the industry to talk about thru the first quarter of 2023 given interest rate increases, instability in the housing sector, and extreme weather events. Yet listening to contractor conversations, it’s clear that roofing companies that seek to “lean in” to opportunity can take their teams to new levels of success regardless of external distractions.
A recent panel featuring three Owens Corning Roofing Platinum Preferred Contractors at the 2023 Platinum Conference spotlighted some of the creative ways roofing contractors are leaning into opportunity and taking their teams and businesses to new levels of success.
Derric Stull, founder of Ridge Valley Exteriors headquartered in Marco Island, Florida, Tara Calopy, president of The Third Estimate Corporation based in Solon, Ohio, and Jeff Gunhus, co-founder and CEO of Home Genius Exteriors headquartered in Hyattsville, Maryland, shared their thoughts on how coaching and culture can conspire to build a strong team.
Staying True to Purpose
Cultivating a winning team demands a strategy and should leverage factors that make a business unique. “We didn’t always start right when it came to our culture, but over time it has become really energetic and unique,” noted Stull, who says Ridge Valley Exterior’s culture has become a powerful differentiator when recruiting. “The number one thing we hear when people come in is, ‘Wow, I’ve never walked into a roofing office like this,’” Stull remarked.
The Third Estimate has a management team that is roughly 90 percent women. Calopy says the female leadership perspective brings a unique aspect to the company’s culture. “As women, we connect differently with staff and I can offer a female’s perspective to help guide an employee through trials and tribulations,” she said.
In living out the Home Genius culture, Gunhus says the team focuses on the qualities that make an employee a “genius” — and that includes being an overachiever. The company’s Slack channel, which is used for internal communication, serves up a constant barrage of shout outs to celebrate team members’ success and keep the energy level dialed up.
Purpose is an essential component when it comes to building a strong team, according to Calopy. The Third Estimate has integrated its purpose into its vision statement and into employees’ job descriptions. Whereas a mission statement tells the outside world what a company is about, Calopy says the vision statement is a powerful tool for helping employees understand how their job description contributes to a greater purpose.
Tracking Success
Moving toward more tangible aspects of teambuilding, measurement can be a powerful tool to help foster teamwork across a business. “You gain traction in your culture when everyone clearly understands what they’re measured on,” noted Stull. Clear, simple, concise measurement of performance metrics can be applied to every job function. “The whole purpose behind the culture idea is how do you become a recruiting machine and magnetize people to want to become part of the organization,” said Stull. Sales roles can be easily measured via door knocks, the number of inspections, etc. In retail, leads, demos, and estimates should be measured. Tracking open estimates is an especially valuable activity to assess how many sales opportunities may be missed.
Daily checklists can help clarify expectations for team members. These checklists can also serve as tools for incentivizing employees and building enthusiasm. For example, when call center employees at Ridge Valley Exteriors mark set appointments on a board, they ring a bell and the entire team celebrates. At its core, culture is relational. Whereas online tracking systems can generate gift cards or other rewards for achieving certain metrics, Stull says recognizing employees for their achievements is just as important.
Expressing appreciation can be as simple as looking someone in the eye, according to Calopy. “Just saying ‘thank you, I appreciate you,’ is so important,” she noted. The gesture of appreciation can be a phone call, a lunch, or a personal note of gratitude.
Funneling Recruits
Getting the culture right and building a strong team is a continuous exercise, and recruitment efforts should strive to perpetuate strengths and defend against threats. As such, senior leadership should be involved in the interviewing process. “Every one of our home experts is vetted by two talent acquisition representatives and then goes through a one-on-one with a VP who considers ‘who’s the right fit to be a genius on our team,’” said Gunhus of his company’s talent acquisition process. And just as the company tracks its sales numbers, Home Genius tracks its recruiting statistics to target and retain top talent. Investing in the hiring process pays off, noted Gunhus, who added, “It always costs more to make bad hires.”
The concept of funneling leads that is commonly used in sales can also support recruiting efforts. “We’re always trying to work prospects through the sales funnel, and recruiting team members through a funnel uses the same process,” said Stull. Applicants at Ridge View Exteriors receive an instant text message followed by a video and the contact process continues over seven phases. The company has found that the hire rate is over 90 percent when an applicant makes it through all seven stages.
Calopy remarked that social media can be an efficient and cost-effective way of leveraging the authenticity of employees’ stories. “It’s really easy to take out an iPhone and position your top employees in front of a sheet talking about why they like their jobs,” she said. “Put those videos on all of your social platforms. Word of mouth — including social video — is the best way to find someone fantastic to work for you.” Calopy also is an advocate of referral bonuses. “Even if you pay $1,000 after three months, it’s way cheaper than going through a hiring process,” she said.
Communication is critical to supporting employee retention. The Third Estimate conducts check-in interviews at 30 days with new hires to address concerns and develop a plan to mitigate any issues. While it can be hard to part ways with an employee who performs well but whose values do not align with the company, maintaining integrity must always be the priority. “We have a P > M formula that means, people are greater than money,” said Gunhus.
Valuing personal relationships, experiences, and causes is particularly important to Generation Z employees. “People love you for a cause,” Stull noted. But committing to a cause doesn’t have to mean forfeiting fun. When a group of new hires at Ridge Valley Exteriors deemed themselves the “Mandalorian,” their team manager purchased a Mandalorian helmet.
A strong culture can even sustain a team during tough days or weeks. “This business can be hard and the measure of a good culture is whether people can still enjoy the job even when it’s not going well,” said Stull.
Ultimately, these three businesses have found that vision, metrics, and recognition work together to help employees feel like part of something bigger than their own role.
About the author: Michael Schneider is Strategic Marketing Director at Owens Corning, where he leads the Owens Corning Roofing Contractor Program. For more information, visit owenscorning.com.
Be the first to comment on "Insights on Building a Strong Team"