What is a Specialized Roofing Recruiter? - PODCAST TRANSCRIPT

Editor's note: The following is the transcript of a live interview with Tony and Kristin Case of Hi-Peak Staffing. You can read the interview below or listen to the podcast.

Megan Ellsworth: Welcome to Roofing Road Trips, the podcast that takes you on a thrilling journey across the world of roofing. From fascinating interviews with roofing experts to on-the-road adventures, we'll uncover the stories, innovations and challenges that shape the rooftops over our heads. So fasten your seat belts and join us as we embark on this exciting Roofing Road Trip.

All right. Hello, everyone. My name is Megan Ellsworth here at rooferscoffeeshop.com, and we are back with a Roofing Road Trip. Today, I am tripping on over to see Kristin and Tony Case with Hi-Peak Staffing. Hi guys, how are you?

Kristin Case: Good. How are you?

Tony Case: Great. [inaudible 00:00:40].

Kristin Case: Thank you for having us.

Megan Ellsworth: Yes, absolutely. I'm so excited to have you on. This is such an important topic, and you guys are bringing such an important service to the industry, so really excited.

Kristin Case: Yeah, we are, too.

Megan Ellsworth: Let's just dive right in and have you introduce yourselves. Tony, let's start with you.

Tony Case: Yeah, sure. I'm Tony Case. I'm relatively new, I guess you could say, to the recruiting industry. I'm kind of on the coattails of my beautiful wife there. But over the past two decades, I've worn so many different hats in the professional world, from athlete to educator, to sales professional to now business owner. We kind of understood that the common denominator there was building and developing long-lasting relationships, and that's really what we wanted to do, and that's what we're trying to carry into our Hi-Peak company, and that's what we're all about. So that's kind of me in a nutshell.

Megan Ellsworth: Amazing. Kristin?

Kristin Case: Okay, so I am Kristin Case. Tony and I just got married in September. We are the proud owners of Hi-Peak Staffing based outside of Denver, Colorado. But we specialize in the roofing industry and we work nationwide with our clients.

So I started in recruiting 15 years ago, doing more on the IT, HR, manufacturing type of roles; and then about 10 years ago, kind of stumbled into roofing. Picked up my first client, started with an outside sales role and that turned into 10 roles, to 10 companies, to 30 roles, to 30 companies. And now here we are, growing. We have a team of seven now, and we're just super excited to be here and get our name out there.

Megan Ellsworth: Wow, that's so exciting. Team of seven. That's awesome.

Kristin Case: Yeah. Yeah.

Megan Ellsworth: Ah! Oh, man. That's so exciting.

Kristin Case: It is. It's really cool. It's really cool to see our growth.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, I bet. So what would you say inspired you to specialize in roofing recruitment?

Kristin Case: Well, I'll go on that. So when I initially, which I think just talking with some other women in roofing, I think there was a stigma I had in the beginning. What is roofing? Do I have a place in this industry? How big is it? And so I started working in it. I filled, like I said, a sales role, and it was actually a woman in roofing as a sales role. And I was like, "Wow." This was a really good base. It was a great bonus and commission structure, full benefits, the whole package. And I was like, "Wow, this is kick-ass."

So I started looking into other roofing companies out there that might need someone similar to her, or male, and it kind of just started, the floodgates kind of opened. When I knew this was going to be the career for me was when I went to my first international roofing expo, and that was about seven years ago. I was like, "Oh my gosh." I had no idea that there was this whole industry out there. I haven't left since. And I think I hear that with a lot of people, is that they fall into it and then there's no escaping it. So I'm here 10 years now.

Megan Ellsworth: Ah, that's amazing. I love that. And just side question, are you a member of National Women in Roofing?

Kristin Case: I am.

Megan Ellsworth: Oh, good.

Kristin Case: Yes, I am. Yeah. And then I'll let Tony speak on this, but basically three years ago, I begged him to come, leave his corporate job and do this with me, because I was like, "There's so much opportunity and growth in this industry that I've seen over the last 10 years." I said, "I think we could really help the industry if we open up our own staffing agency and really hit it hard," and here we are, year three.

Megan Ellsworth: That's amazing.

Kristin Case: Yeah.

Tony Case: Yeah. I think that was the best thing coming into it. Doing my own recruiting for my own positions that I needed to fill, stepping into a niche recruitment model was so important for me to be able to focus in one area. General recruiters are talented people in their own right, but we kind of have that model where we'd rather be exceptional at one thing than okay at everything. And so this is what we do, that we are the roofing recruiters and we want to be that one call.

Megan Ellsworth: Absolutely. Absolutely. So how would you say that Hi-Peak Staffing defines specialized roofing recruiter?

Kristin Case: Yeah, so the easiest way to answer that is, so there are IT recruiters, there's construction recruiters, there's healthcare recruiters. We would fall under that construction umbrella. But what happens is when a roofing company reaches out to maybe a construction recruiter that doesn't know roofing, they may not get the type of candidate that they're looking for that has the sales experience, the roofing systems that they need, just the background in general. So when they reach out to us, they're going to get exactly what they're looking for.

We specialize in roofing placement. We've built our database up to 10,000 candidates in roofing as well as a LinkedIn profile. The combination of the seven of us probably have maybe 25,000, 30,000 connections in roofing, so that's what you get when you reach out to us. When we are working in order for you, we're not going to send you someone who doesn't fit 10 out of 10 of what you need. And that's pretty much what separates us, I believe. When I talk to companies and they say, "Well, I don't really think that you guys know what we need." I'll tell them, "We may not right now, but we will figure it out and we'll be able to find you what it is that you're looking for," and I think that's really being specialized is what that means, is that we're not just a general construction recruiter across the board. Would you say, Tony, that sums it up?

Tony Case: Yeah, absolutely. That's exactly what we're going to give. We have our ATS and our CRM are all directed towards one thing, one industry, and we've got the years with Kristin and some of our team. There's decades worth of experience recruiting these type of people. The advancement in our technologies, the advancement in the way that we source our candidates is all steered towards this. And so again, the niche part of what we do is that we have a very unique aspect where we can, if you have these openings in this sector, we're the ones that can fill them for you.

Megan Ellsworth: That's so cool. What a great niche. You already said that and already used the word niche. It's so true, though. If I were a roofing contractor or a company in the roofing industry, I am surprised you don't have a hundred employees and a thousand people you're working with.

Kristin Case: I know. I know. [inaudible 00:07:49]-

Tony Case: [inaudible 00:07:50]-

Kristin Case: We're going to get there, I tell you.

Megan Ellsworth: Absolutely.

Tony Case: [inaudible 00:07:52].

Kristin Case: When we kind of fell into it, I had these clients for a long time and connections and then also starting new relationships. I just knew that being niche and specialized compared to someone who maybe has to start from scratch, and they don't really know. And the thing is, the value that we bring is the timing. Typically, when we get the call is that they've had their jobs posted online for a couple of months or weeks, and they're not getting the candidates that they're looking for. So when we get the call, it's like their expectations are, "We need someone yesterday." So us being able to take that job order from them and get with our team and provide a candidate within five business days, if not less, is pretty incredible. That's kind of where our reputation is with our clients, is five to 10 days max, three candidates, let's get these interviews going.

Megan Ellsworth: Wow. Wow, that's incredible. Five to 10 days. Wow, good for you. That's amazing.

Kristin Case: Well, sometimes, if you're in the middle of nowhere, it will take a little bit longer. We do let them know that, but our typical turn times are, we are on the phones immediately with our network, we're asking for referrals, we're getting the jobs out there and trying to get them someone who's qualified and who matches what their needs are as quick as possible.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, absolutely. Wow. Oh my gosh. So kind of going off of that, because we already talked about five to 10 days, that is streamlined; but how would you say contractors can utilize Hi-Peak Staffing to streamline their hiring process?

Kristin Case: So to kind of piggyback on that would be definitely the industry experience that we have. Like you said, they're talking to people who know what they want. So if you want a salesperson with service sales, reroof, roof replacement background, TPO/EPDM/PVC roof systems, we know how to go out and source that candidate. If you need an estimator that has Xactimate or Edge background, we know how to source that candidate because we've got the database. So timing, I would say is there, the industry expertise is there and then just our network.

We have a huge net that we can cast for our clients that we've built. I've been building it over the last 10 years, but then our team as well, we're starting to network as much as possible, so we're able to cast that net. So it's really like a timing and efficiency thing, I think, is really what benefits our clients with the streamlining, I would say. Tony, do you agree?

Tony Case: Yeah, absolutely. It's all about the relationships that Kristin and some of our team have built over the past decades are the thing that we don't have to take hours out of our client's time or days to schedule these job order calls. They can text us, they can call us and say, "This is what I need," And we already understand what the job description looks like, what the candidate needs to be able to perform at, what kind of level. I think that's really that streamlined process. Along with our processes, it makes it for our clients don't have to do very much at all and that's the way we want it. We want this to be seamless. We want it to be very timely, and that's what we're trying to do.

Kristin Case: Yeah. Another thing I say is we're pretty much always available. So I know in the roofing industry, they're busy. They're working all day or they're up on a roof, or they're in a meeting. And so sometimes if you have these relationships that you've built over time, a text message is sometimes just all we need. Just tell me the three main things so I don't miss it, and we'll get to work.

And then what we love is when we send over those resumes, they want to interview all three or all five, because they know that we are looking out for their best interests. We learn who our clients are, we learn their culture, we learn what the profile would be that they would best fit them. So when we pre-screen our candidates, we're making sure that we're finding that match, not just on paper, but the personality, the skillset, the experience level, education, certifications, whatever it may be. We're making sure that aligns so that when they go in there, they have a good shot at getting a new opportunity.

Megan Ellsworth: Wow. I mean seriously streamlined. They can just go to you first. They don't have to put the jobs up online. Instead of doing that and waiting, just go to Hi-Peak Staffing.

Kristin Case: That's right, girl.

Megan Ellsworth: Go to you guys first.

Kristin Case: Yeah, and that's the thing. Whenever we work with a new company, the first thing they say is, "I had no idea that there were recruiters that specialized in roofing." And I'm like, "Well, there is only really a handful of us out there that have the experience, but we are out there and that's what we're there to help." I may be jumping ahead of myself, but they may spend thousands on job boards just to get 60 applicants and maybe zero or one meets the criteria of what they're looking for. So that hiring manager, on top of already what they're doing with their day, is now spending an extra two to 10 hours going through applicants that don't match their criteria when they can contact us and we can just deliver immediately.

Megan Ellsworth: What are some specific challenges that you face when you're sourcing talent for the roofing industry compared to other sectors of construction? Because I know you've worked in multiple sectors. So what do you think are some of the challenges facing roofing?

Kristin Case: I'll go first. I think that it's just we need to market better, I think as a whole. The industry as a whole, not just recruiters. I think that we need a new generation of people in the roofing industry. I'm the biggest advocate for that. New grads, high school, college, whatever it may be. I think that's the biggest struggle is there's a gap now of people in the industry, so I think we need to bring a new wave.

So I'd say that's probably one of our biggest struggles, is just getting newer faces; new, fresh faces that are excited, that don't know that you can have a lifelong career in this industry. Starting from whether you want to work in-office, you want to work out in the field, whatever it may be; to grow into a leadership type of position, and having those benefits to take care of your family, all of those things. So I think that's probably the biggest struggle right now, is just getting noticed, getting people to jump into this industry. That's probably what I see out there. What about you, Tony?

Tony Case: Yeah, I think there's a combination of things that are challenges for anybody and any recruiter. I think in our specific field, a diluted talent pool in a saturated market can be challenging for anybody. We're trying to innovate, we're trying to stay on top of: we partner with our clients and we're going to college campuses, we're setting up times to go to job fairs, to network, to do different things.

We're starting to see that switch or that swing with the trades coming back into play and being much more popular. I think that with all that someone's going to need, and maybe that is at a high school job fair or a college job fair, whatever that is, is someone letting them know that this can be very lucrative for you. This can be a long-term, permanent placement with very exceptional benefits, with exceptional perks, things like that; where someone that doesn't know anything would just be like, "Well, that job's not sexy enough for me. That job's not fun. It doesn't sound cool."

Kristin Case: Or what I thought. What is roofing?

Megan Ellsworth: Right.

Kristin Case: I was like, "What?" I had no idea until like I said, we go to the... And we go to these roofing expos, too, for exposure as well. But yeah, it's like when you talk to someone, they have no idea or they think what I think, it's old school. "Wait, do I have to get up on a roof? What am I doing?" They don't understand that there's sales, there's accounting roles, there's HR roles, there's project management. I mean, there's everything under the sun. So that's really our biggest thing, is let's get out there and let people know that.

Megan Ellsworth: And I mean, just to add on: I think this industry is so wonderful because there are a lot of industries out there that don't take care of their people very well, and I think roofing is not one of them. Roofing entries, there's such this up curve right now of just genuinely caring for your employees, taking care of them. We're all family. I think that matters so much to people joining the job force right now. And so I think if you're out there listening to this and you're looking for a job, please join roofing, because we want you and we need you.

Kristin Case: Yes, and we can try our best to try to find you a home. There's so many companies that want to talk to people like that.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, absolutely. So how do you all build and maintain your relationships with both candidates that you're looking to put into companies and the roofing companies or companies that hire you?

Kristin Case: Well, I will say for me, it's really old school. My dad was in sales, so coming home my whole life, it's embedded in my brain, is that you have to build these relationships. So you have to get on the phone, you've got to talk to your clients, you have to learn about what they want. This isn't about me, this is about them. And that's how I look at this job, is that I'm trying to be a matchmaker. So it's listening to what their needs are, and then tailoring our search to finding that. So I would say building the relationships on the client side is absolutely hands-down the most important thing for us.

And then follow-up. Follow-up, follow-up, follow-up is also number one, whether it's with the client or with the candidate. What candidates want to know is that they don't send you their resume and go into a black hole to never be heard from again. So it's providing feedback. I have relationships with people that I have for over 10 years, or that I've been able to place two or three times because of the relationship that we were able to build with them. We show them that we care, we help them with their resume, we give them pointers on interviewing, we explain the roles correctly to them on what it is. And then it's also the follow-up on that side of it. We don't want them to feel like they went on an interview and it wasn't a good fit, and then they're tossed out. We want to provide them the feedback and also coaching. So I think just doing that on a day-to-day basis has kind of been what's able to allow us to do what we do now with building these relationships with our clients and candidates, because we genuinely do care about their success.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, that's beautiful. So kind of going from the person wanting to get hired perspective, what are roofing companies looking for? What skills or qualities should they be putting forward if they come to you looking for work?

Kristin Case: Tony, do you want to go, or do you want me to go?

Tony Case: Yeah, sure. No problem. I think that it's very contingent upon what that role looks like. And so if they're applying for different roles, there's going to be much different skillset. I would say that we definitely are interested in any licenses and certifications, OSHA, any software that they have. Estimators are a very hot applicant right now. What type of software they're familiar with using the estimating edge. Kristin mentioned the Xactimate. It's more on the residential side and insurance-based. But we are going to be able to gauge what their skillset needs to be when we're sourcing those candidates, when we're speaking with those candidates. We're also going to collect that information from our clients. It's like, these are the five things that we actually need. You're going to be able to figure out what they are, tell me if they have them.

That's kind of the other part of it is that Kristin, myself, our team, it's not our first time talking with a roofer. If it was someone brand new, you might have to dig into that, you might have to study a lot and figure out what that actually means. We already have that. We're bringing that knowledge to the table. We're bringing those assets to the table. I think that's kind of the difference when you're talking with us that specialize in this niche and that maybe someone that doesn't. There's a lot of people that can pick up the phone and call someone, but actually connecting with that candidate and understanding what their wants are and what our client's wants are, and connecting those two is a much different story.

Megan Ellsworth: For sure.

Kristin Case: You also build trust with the candidate as well when you explain to them, "We specialize in this. We understand what your background is and how we may be able to help you."

One of my favorite things is if there's a candidate that maybe they're working for a mom and pop shop for the last 10 years and they're going to retire and they're going to sell their company. This person showed dedication and loyalty to them. Maybe started as a roofer or laborer and worked their way up to project manager or field ops or whatever. Maybe they had benefits, but maybe they weren't the best benefits, or maybe they didn't have a work vehicle.

With the clients that we work with, being able to showcase like, "Oh my gosh, not only can we get you the salary increase that you so rightly deserve, but now we've got bonus potentials. We've got these benefit plans that are amazing for you and your family. And guess what? They're going to give you a work truck." Seeing someone's face go from, "This is what I'm used to and doing for so long," to showing them this whole new world with these phenomenal companies that we work with, it's like the best feeling ever. They gush over these things like that. So that's my favorite part of the job, is when I can be like, "Oh my gosh, we're going to give you a work truck or equivalent to $6,000 or $8,000 a year in an allowance," things that they've never had. So it's building that trust with them and explaining to them that we have your best interests. We are trying to get you to that next step out there.

Megan Ellsworth: Wow, I love that too. That's so exciting. What a good feeling.

Kristin Case: Oh, it's the best.

Megan Ellsworth: I love that.

Kristin Case: It is the best.

Megan Ellsworth: Kind of an off question, but if someone is new to roofing, has never been in the industry before, hasn't even really been in construction before, they just need a job, what would you suggest to them if they were to come across Hi-Peak Staffing and they're interested in joining the roofing industry?

Kristin Case: What we've learned, I'd say, post-COVID is a lot of our roofing clients now are really willing to see people outside of having the experience. Now, when you hire us, of course we are looking for candidates that have the experience, because that's what you're paying for, is that experience service that we provide. But in talking to them, they have a lot of green positions, whether it's in the field, so like an inspector role, or it's an entry-level sales role, or lead generator, customer service, marketing - I mean everything under the sun - accounting.

So what we'll talk to our clients about when maybe we come across someone that's applied on our website, well, first what we'll do is we'll talk to the candidate, identify what they like. "Do you like using your hands? Do you like being outside? Are you easily distracted? So maybe that might be a better avenue for you." Or, "Are you really analytical and you like being behind a desk and you like numbers?" Or, "Do you like customer service?" Whatever.

We'll figure out where they might be the best fit, and then what we do is we pitch them to our clients. So what we would say is, "Hey, I know you have not asked for this person, and I know that you don't necessarily have a need, but this is a green person that has a lot of ambition." We'll do a writeup about that person and why they could be a benefit to their corporation, and then we'll sell them on what type of avenue we think that they would fit in their company. So by listening, they may say, "Oh my gosh, our accounting team is so overwhelmed right now. We could really use a helper." Maybe this person, I can say, "Hey, why don't you talk to this person? They sounded great for what you might need, and let's just see if it's a good fit." Nine times out of 10, they're like, "Yeah, let's talk to them." Because it's a 10 to 15 minute conversation, and it may not go nowhere, but it may go to an in-person, to an offer. So we're absolutely talking to people with no experience that are curious about roofing, and we're pitching them out to whoever will talk to them.

Megan Ellsworth: That's great. Ah, I love that.

Kristin Case: Oh, yeah. We're in the business of helping people.

Megan Ellsworth: Ah! That's a great business.

Kristin Case: Yes. Oh, I know. That's why I love it.

Megan Ellsworth: So can you share some examples of successful talent sourcing strategies that you've implemented, and maybe some success stories?

Kristin Case: Yeah. So I placed someone with one of my large roofing contractors as a senior project manager, and now he is the branch president. So yes. And so that is my favorite story, because I told him that they love to promote from within and they kept that promise. So they promoted him to ops manager, to VP and then to president. And so that has always stuck with me, that these companies do live by their word, and if you work hard, they will promote from within.

So we have a low fall-off rate of candidates that don't work out, but it happens here and there. But sometimes when you get the call about, "Hey, I'd like to talk to you about so-and-so," you're like, "Oh, no." But then sometimes, "Hey, I actually just got this call with one of our roofing companies in Georgia. They promoted my foreman to superintendent." He'd only been there for two months. So I was thinking, "Oh no, did he not work out?" And they said, "He came in, he's working his butt off and we're promoting him. We need another one of him." So that for me is a success story. When our clients look at us as the trusted person that they can go to, it's the best feeling ever and then we go out and we find that next person that matches what they're looking for.

And then we do little things like appreciation to our clients, always, and then candidate appreciation from something like an Amazon gift card. They love that, and we love giving it to them, so little things like that. And they remember that. I remember that. If someone gives me a gift card, I remember. So we try to implement those things for shining stars or new people in the industry or new opportunities that we get them. So we're all for that.

Megan Ellsworth: Ah! Ah! This just feels like a love fest. I love it. This is so awesome.

Kristin Case: Isn't it love fest every day, Tony? I don't know.

Tony Case: Every day.

Megan Ellsworth: Wow. I want to work at Hi-Peak Staffing, have fun.

Kristin Case: Hey, come on over! No, I'm just kidding. We need you over there. We need you over there.

Megan Ellsworth: Important. Okay. So how can contractors or companies in the roofing industry get started with Hi-Peak Staffing or a specialized roofing recruiter?

Kristin Case: Yeah, so that's really easy. We're basically one call away, so we have our website, which is www.hi, H-I and then dash, peakstaffing.com, but then we're also on LinkedIn. So Kristin Case at Hi-Peak Staffing; Tony Case, Hi-Peak Staffing. But yeah, just pick up the phone and give us a call if you want to talk to us or even learn about what we do. A lot of calls are sometimes just from new companies. It's just about engaging, wondering what we do, what our service is for maybe a future need so that they know when something does pop up that they can reach out to us. So we're here to explain our services and how we work, and all of that stuff, too.

Megan Ellsworth: That's amazing and everyone can also go to rooferscoffeeshop.com to the Hi-Peak Staffing directory, so go check that out.

Kristin Case: That's right.

Megan Ellsworth: And all the great articles you all have on your directory and this podcast.

So Tony, Kristin, thank you so much. This has been an amazing podcast. I had such a fun road trip.
Kristin Case: Thank you!

Tony Case: Thanks, Megan. Appreciate you. Thank you.

Kristin Case: Oh, we so much appreciate it. Thank you very much.

Megan Ellsworth: Absolutely. For everyone out there listening, please go check out their directory like I said. Make sure you are subscribed and hit the follow button so you get notified every time Roofing Road Trips uploads a new podcast. So this is Megan Ellsworth from rooferscoffeeshop.com, signing off.

If you've enjoyed the ride, don't forget to hit that subscribe button and join us on every roofing adventure. Make sure to visit rooferscoffeeshop.com to learn more. Thanks for tuning in, and we'll catch you on the next Roofing Road Trip.