S:2 E:33 Roofing Road Trips with Heidi - One Woman’s Roofing Journey

By Colin Sheehan, RCS Reporter. 

Beacon Building Products’ Chelsea Oesch supports employees and makes work fun.

The manager of the Austin branch of Beacon Building Products, Chelsea Oesch joined RoofersCoffeeShop®’s own Heidi J. Ellsworth to discuss her journey into the roofing industry and her creative methods to support employees.

Chelsea graduated from Texas State University in 2009 with a degree in business and an emphasis on marketing. She came into the job market in the midst of the recession but was able to land a job with Roofing Supply Group through one of her boyfriend’s (now husband) best friends.  

“The roofing industry isn't necessarily an industry you go to school for, and you don't dream of being in the roofing industry as a child, but as an industry that once you get in it, you're in it for life. The people are fantastic. There are great relationships to be made,” said Chelsea. 

She started at the Roofing Supply Group in 2009 before getting an opportunity to go into outside sales with Beacon. Not long after, Beacon acquired Roofing Supply and Chelsea ended up back in the same location her roofing career started off in. “Lesson learned, always leave on good terms,” she said. 

After witnessing the labor-intensive industry, Chelsea decided to take action and support her employees. “When I joined this branch in 2018, we had just gone through the three years of acquisition between Beacon Building Products and Roofing Supply Group, so we weren't always in the best place, but with these employee engagement events that we've had, it's really changed the culture, and it's been really exciting to be a part of it.” 

The success Chelsea’s seen with the implementation of employee engagement events can be rooted in her conscious consideration of the employees working long, hot hours on roofs in Texas. “I know I cannot do what a lot of my employees do every day,” she said, “[and] if I could take one thing off of their plate to make it easier. . .I want to be that employer that does that for them.” 

Be sure to listen to Chelsea’s full story on Roofing Road Trips with Heidi.