Hiring good roofers for your company is one thing. Keeping them on your team is another. Especially during the busy summer season. Figuring out ways to retain your good roofers is key, especially with the current labour shortage and high demand for skilled construction workers. 

Here are some things we suggest you do to make people feel more appreciated. This should help you keep the folks you want on your team when you need them the most.

Understand what they want out of the job

• Everyone wants something different from their job. Understand what each person wants and try to support them in achieving it. 
• Some may want variety in the roofing and building projects they work on and welcome opportunities to learn something new, while others may prefer to only work on specific types of projects. 

Help them improve their skills

• Understand each person’s strengths and weaknesses and make the most of what you’ve got.
• Provide ongoing education or training for your roofers. Keep them up-to-date on new products or techniques and how to apply them. 
• Give your roofers opportunities to take on new roles or responsibilities if they’re interested, such as becoming a team leader or project manager. This will strengthen your team and set your business up for greater success.

Acknowledge their accomplishments

• Recognize and reward actions you want to encourage, such as taking initiative to solve problems or going above and beyond to ensure the job gets done right.
• Set realistic expectations and provide clear feedback on how well they’re achieving goals or where they’re missing the mark.

Listen to their ideas

• Do your roofers have ideas about how to make things better? Whether it’s for them on the job, for the customers or for the company … bring it on! Let them know you want to hear their suggestions and you’ll change things if you can. 
• Even if you can’t act on some of their ideas, the fact that you’re open-minded enough to listen makes people feel appreciated.

Offer performance rewards

• Consider setting up performance-based bonuses; these could be for individuals and/or for teams who’ve achieved certain goals.
• Offer rewards for roofers or roofing crews who get the customer to leave a positive review online or when you get good customer feedback about a project.

Keep them in the loop

• Let your crews know their schedules in advance so they can plan out their work week and feel they’ve got job security.
• Tell them about upcoming projects or opportunities. 
• Share customer feedback, both positive and negative.

If someone quits, find out why

• People have different reasons for quitting, but it’s good to know why. 
• If something isn’t working on your crew or with the way projects are being managed, you want to find that out.
• This is your chance to make some changes to prevent others from thinking about leaving.
• If someone was a great addition to your team, let them know the door is always open if they want to come back.

Feeling appreciated as an employee can make all the difference to whether a person stays or goes. For more tips on keeping your good roofers on the job during the busy summer months, check out this article: Top 5 Team Motivation Tips. 

If you have questions about any of the topics, please contact your Gibson sales rep today.