Hiring roofers has become a challenge. As wages continue to rise and unemployment remains low, finding and hiring great people has become a challence.
Adding new team members is one of the most important things you can do to ensure the success of your roofing business. The right employees will help you take your company to the next level, but finding and hiring them can be a challenge. Use these best practices to find and hire the best roofing contractors for your business.
Hiring Roofers: 12 ideas to help you find and hire the right people
- Define the skills and experience you need.
The first step in finding the right roofing contractor is to know exactly what you’re looking for. What skills and experience do they need to have? What kind of personality do you want them to have? Answering these questions will help you narrow down your search and find contractors that are a good fit for your company. Write out these answers so you have them in front of you every time you speak to someone.
- Use a variety of recruiting methods.
There’s no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to recruiting roofing contractors. You’ll need to use a variety of methods to reach the best candidates. Try posting job ads on online job boards, attending industry events, or reaching out to personal contacts.
- Conduct thorough interviews.
Once you’ve found a few candidates that seem like a good fit, it’s time to conduct thorough interviews. In addition to asking about their qualifications, be sure to ask behavioral questions that will give you insights into their work style and how they would handle real-life situations.
- Ask each contender the same questions each time. Ask every applicant the same fundamental questions based on the examination of the abilities, knowledge, and skills required for the position.
- Utilize easy rating scales. The likelihood of a rating scale being unreliable increases with its complexity. Think about grading each interviewee’s response on a scale of 1-3 or 1-5. Be specific when defining how the rating scale is to be used.
- Understand each question’s goal. Each question should serve a purpose and be connected to a certain occupational skill or characteristic. Avoid using questions if it is hard to explain their inclusion or what a suitable response to the question would be.
- Check references carefully.
References are an important part of the hiring process, but don’t just take them at face value. Be sure to check references thoroughly by calling all of the provided references and asking specific questions about the candidate’s skills and experience. There are a number of services that will do reference, criminal, and background checks to save you time.
- Be fair and honest. When hiring and keeping crews another crucial factor is paying them the precise amount you promised to pay them, paying them on time, and being open and honest about the task. Trying to take advantage of them or cram in extra small projects will just infuriate your crews and make them leave.
- Pay a fair wage to start. You can’t expect qualified individuals to uphold your standards if you do not satisfy their expectations. Qualified workers deserve fair and honest jobs. If you are honest with them about all the requirements of the job, they will be more understanding if an unusual situation arises.
Even though you might be under pressure to cut costs by hiring a team that is less expensive, always remember that you get what you pay for. It is ridiculous to expect top-shelf work when you pay bottom-shelf wages. Give a qualified team a well-deserved salary if you want them to perform as expected. Even though it can cost a little more, it’s worth it to have competent, reliable, and efficient personnel who won’t increase the amount of work you already have to perform. Bonus: If you pay better than everyone else, it will be a lot harder for your competitors to poach your employees.
- Utilize panel discussions. The advantages of conducting an interview with a prospective employee in groups are several. Panel interviews offer a variety of viewpoints on the candidate’s responses to particular questions. Additionally, it makes each interviewer defend the reasoning for their inquiries and findings. Finally, it deters people from asking inappropriate inquiries. Before discussing the candidates among themselves, all interviewers should grade the candidates’ responses to each question.
Pay attention to the candidate carefully. Concentration and good listening skills are necessary for successful interviewing. Interviewers should be told to prompt candidates to speak by paying attention and remaining focused. Additionally, this ensures that interviewers do not overlook key responses.
- Eliminate math mistakes. Even though it might seem obvious, be sure the arithmetic is done correctly while adding up the points. Double-checking calculations can help you catch mistakes.
- Don’t expect perfection immediately. Your new hires need to get used to how your business runs, how your crew operates, and even where everything is in the trucks. Don’t judge them too harshly in the beginning. Even if you don’t say anything verbally, your expressions and body language can convey your displeasure. Many workers just won’t show up again if they feel you’re not happy and you’re likely to fire them.
IKO offers some more excellent ideas about hiring roofers on their blog as well.https://www.iko.com/na/pro/building-professional-tools/learn-about-roofing/how-to-find-employees-for-your-roofing-business/
Conclusion
Hiring roofing contractors is an important part of growing your business, but it’s not always easy to find the right candidates. Use these best practices to find and hire the best roofing contractors for your business: define the skills and experience you need, use a variety of recruiting methods, conduct thorough interviews, and check references carefully. With these tips, you’ll be sure to find the right roofing contractor for your business in no time!
As your plumbing business grows and youre hiring roofers, consider using Optsy to keep everything organized. https://www.optsy.com/optsy-roofing/
