The path to stronger relationships in the roofing world

RCS Influencer Patrick Cochran says the development of employees' soft skills, such as communication and decision-making, creates a stronger, more professional industry.

Roofing professionals can build stronger relationships, and foster professionalism in the roofing industry by being involved more within their communities and training their team with personal and professional skills. This can be accomplished in many ways.  

At Red Dog’s Roofing, we are working with local schools to help get relationships built with administrators, students, parents and other partners of the school. We recently hired a student for an internship to give them experiences in various departments such as our call center and marketing department at our company. In addition, we volunteer on their Employer Advisor Board which allows us an opportunity to be involved with the next generation and understand what many parents and students are considering when choosing between college or entering the work force. We are also able to share insight into what is important for students to have for their skill sets and what will make them successful in our industry.  

Our team is also working with local trade schools in New England to get students trained through NRCA’s TRAC program and ready for SkillsUSA. This program has really helped us demonstrate our professionalism at our organization but more importantly the opportunity and professionalism of our industry. We have discussed the many opportunities within the roofing industry that students can have and giving parents, administrators and students a full understanding allows the roofing industry to be looked at as an industry where advancement and growth are possible. Many administrators said they used to fear the trades were a dead end career for students and in years past for some it would be. We explained how important it is for students to realize that the opportunities are near endless: from installer, to estimator, to accounting, to HR, to marketing, to call center, to manager to a business owner and the opportunities go beyond the contractor side such as distribution, manufacturing, building inspector, marketing team that focuses on construction or countless other opportunities.  

As we worked with our local partners to bring SkillsUSA to New England, it should be the administrators that we are united as an industry and want to continue to see the next generation get involved and develop and grow.  

Volunteering for local nonprofits or partners within the community is also important. Our team does a great job volunteering within the community for local clean ups and other initiatives we support. We are also working with a local youth center that has students come after school and over the summer and we are teaching courses on entrepreneurship, the opportunity in the trades, marketing, mock interviews, etc. I personally volunteer on our local Workforce Development Board. This has allowed me an opportunity to understand about the local workforce, the needs for the community and what funding is available for businesses.

As an industry getting involved with the next generation, giving them an opportunity to grow and advance is a major step in building stronger relationships and the professionalism of this industry. Along with working with community leaders to establish a presence of an industry that gives back and supports the communities that support us will strengthen the roofing industry as a whole. As we continue to build these relationships it’s up to us to take training, safety and customer service more seriously as an industry.  

Setting ourselves apart from other local contractors by setting the standard for safety and customer service is all done through our training and our company image. Focusing on the development of existing employees and helping them excel at soft skills such as communication and decision making allow the industry to move forward and create the much needed professional image.