Onboarding and Mentoring New Employees is a Team Effort

RCS Influencer Heidi Ellsworth says that it’s important to find the right team of people to mentor and onboard new hires.

RoofersCoffeeShop® (RCS) is not that different from other small businesses or even roofing companies. We are working every day to bring value to our audience and customers. When you look at a company, what is the most important part of that company? Of course, it is the people. I love our team and feel that they are the best of the best. But I ask myself every day, “How do I continue to find the talent we need and keep our current employees motivated and engaged?”

A unique and exciting part of RoofersCoffeeShop was the early vision that Vickie Sharples and myself had for RCS. We wanted to bring talented men and women in the roofing industry together every day online. We knew that we needed to build a team who would understand our commitment to being more than advertising, we want to be partners with our customers. For our contractors and the roofing industry as a whole we are always committed to being the place Where the Industry Meets.

So, Roofing Respect is our number one commitment and our team is in 100%. I have seen our team grow and although not understanding roofing up front, like many new professionals to discover roofing, they now love roofing and the people in the roofing industry. I love the feedback that our Coffee Shop team is looking at roofs as they drive down the road, checking out roofs and roofing companies online and celebrating the amazing things the industry is doing for their communities.

With a majority of the team being women, the Coffee Shop team mostly works virtually. We have been dedicated to creating a model of flexibility for our employees. This is one key mentoring and onboarding belief that we continually stand by and I believe that it will become the new normal - the need for flexibility with employees. As we deal with COVID it could be become even more important to let families work virtually with increased flexibility in order to handle both family and career.

It is a core value of the Coffee Shop to support women and men who want to combine a career and family. We support our team as they work from their home on their time schedule with the flexibility that works for raising a family, going to school or pursuing and creating their own freelance businesses. That may not be the best culture for all companies, but we have found that for us, it creates an environment that promotes confidence, growth and engagement. Finding the right culture for your company is one of the most important mentoring things you can do.

I also believe that you need to find the right people to onboard and mentor at the right times. I tell new employees that I am a better mentor while my teammate, Karen Sharples is the best teacher. Karen Edwards, our editor, is amazing at processes and sharing knowledge of the industry. So, between the three of us, we have the bases covered. I believe that is what needs to happen with mentoring and onboarding, being honest and finding the best people to provide the best direction.

As I look at the next generation of upcoming, talented professionals at RoofersCoffeeShop I have to call out Lauren White, Charlotte Galland, Nicole Hougland, Hannah Swanson, Megan Ellsworth, AJ Gehley and Colin Sheehan. They are embracing this roofing industry. And of course, the mentors and teachers who are helping to welcome new employees into roofing like Karen Sharples, Karen Edwards, Monica Vornbrock, Tim Ellsworth and all of us original RCSers. That is what it is all about, the older generation welcoming the younger generation whether you are in the office, on the roof or creating a place for us all to talk about it online.

Heidi J. Ellsworth is owner of HJE Consulting Group and a partner in RoofersCoffeeShop.com. See her full bio here.