Balancing the industry with soft skills and unshakable grit

By Jesse Sanchez. 

Resilience, attention to detail and emotional intelligence are proving valuable on and off the roof. 

In this episode of Roofing Road Trips®, industry recruiters and leaders shared how roofing companies are increasingly benefiting from hiring women because the skills they bring are making a real impact. “Women tend to be more empathetic. I think of myself as somebody who has an emotional maturity where I can recognize when somebody’s having a hard day,” said Rae Fistonich, director of business development at Chinook Building Envelope Services. That insight, she noted, shapes her leadership and drives better performance from her teams. Kristin Case, co-owner of Hi-Peak Staffing, hears similar feedback from clients. She said, “The feedback is, ‘Wow, what a strong communicator I’ve hired. The attention to detail this person has is incredible.’” 

Both agreed that another stand out talent women bring to the roofing industry is resilience. Kristen noted, “When women jump into a roofing position, they don’t just give up. They say, ‘I want to be here. I deserve to be here and I’m cool with being here.’” According to Rae, there can be some stigma for women entering a male-populated industry, which is why resilience is so key. Rae shared, “We’re approaching every problem with a chip on our shoulder. I have something to prove. I'm going to figure this out. I'm going to get it right. I'm going to show you that you're making the right decision by promoting me to this role or hiring me for this role. I think that's why you find that they're not giving up so easily because we have something to prove.”  

As the industry continues to evolve and adopt more advanced tools and safety protocols, physical barriers for women in roofing are fading. Noting how precision and patience translate into high-quality work Rae said, “If you look at the way coatings are installed, that fluidity in the motion of your hands, it honestly reminds me of icing a cake. It's that fluidity in the motion, these soft skills that become applicable to women in general.”  

Companies that recognize and value these strengths are seeing clear benefits, from stronger leadership to improved job site dynamics. Kristen has noticed this with the female business owners in the NWIR Denver council and shared, “Women are so knowledgeable and that shines. And then by being so knowledgeable and being great leaders, they're able to hire on the crews to help. So it's a big family. They're all helping each other along the process.” 

Read the transcript, Listen to the podcast or Watch the webinar to learn more about how a changing workforce is improving how business gets done in roofing!