Bringing the Next Generation to Roofing - 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.

Intro: 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. 

Karen Edwards: My name's Karen Edwards and  today's episode is going to be all about how we can bring the next generation into the roofing industry. And to lead this discussion with me, I am thrilled to welcome Tony and Kristin Case from Hi-Peak Staffing. Welcome to the episode. 

Kristin Case: Thank you. 

Karen Edwards: It's great to see you guys.  

Kristin Case: Great to see you.  

Karen Edwards: I mean, this is what you're doing every day in trying to attract people to our industry. So let's get started just by introducing yourselves and telling us a little bit about your background and what you do. And Tony, why don't you get us started? 

Tony Case: Absolutely. I'm Tony Case of Hi-Peak Staffing. This is, I believe, our fifth podcast and  we are definitely not professionals yet, but we always appreciate the opportunity to talk with you, Karen and  especially on topics like this that we're passionate about. Thank you for having us and looking forward to this show. 

Karen Edwards: Yeah, thanks, Tony. Kristin? 

Kristin Case: Hi, my name is Kristin Case, the other co-owner of Hi-Peak Staffing. I come from a recruiting background. I'm in my 16th year of recruiting and my 11th year in the roofing industry. So here at Hi-Peak Staffing, we specialize in job placement within the roofing world. Anything from your laborers to project managers, estimator sales to C-suite and  we work nationwide and  we are growing. Our team is growing. We're up to now 10 recruiters and then us. So we're 12 people now and  we're just busy as can be and very thankful for it. 

Karen Edwards: Wow. Congratulations on that growth. That's just proving that there is a need, right? 

Kristin Case: Thank you. Oh, yeah. 

Tony Case: Absolutely.  

Karen Edwards: We need to find good people. We need to fill those roles, but we really need to attract the next generation into our industry. And we've had these conversations before that our society was so, we went down a path of college, college, college and  you need to do... And we really kind of forgot about the trades and we're seeing a shift back to some of that. So maybe you can talk a little bit about how you see that apprenticeships and trade school partnerships is causing that transformation about bringing people into this industry. 

Kristin Case: So I can jump in here. So for me, the biggest thing is branding and messaging. So when we're trying to bring in a younger generation to the roofing world, a lot of times when people hear roofing, they just think of a roofer like a certain person who's going to be, like my dad, doing tear offs in the summer in between classes or high school or college or whatever, where that is not what the world of roofing is today, that it provides so many opportunities. So for me, these trade schools and other roofing contractors and manufacturers are offering the trade academies, but also their own internal academies where they are teaching people how to become drivers, warehouse. These are all entry level. Drivers, warehouse workers, installers, where they're learning all different types of roof systems, which can create really long-term career opportunities, junior estimators, salespeople. And then also on the internal side, I get a lot of ask for entry level service coordinators, admin assistants, entry level accounting folks. So it's really about these trade schools and these academies, getting the branding and the messaging out there that there's more of an opportunity... Being a roofer is absolutely essential and awesome, but that there are other careers within the roofing industry that you might also be attracted to. So making sure we're getting that messaging out there is really important. 

Karen Edwards: Yeah. Tony, how about you? What are you seeing with this? 

Tony Case: The thing that's so important to us and to our partners is that this is really providing a structured, accessible, realistic pathway for a career. And so what we've noticed is that if our clients can partner with these organizations, whether it's job fairs, jobs anywhere around, but also we've noticed that we want to get them early and often and  we're also looking at potentially partnering with some of the colleges and universities around, because we're also finding that athletes are highly sought after. What we see from athletes in the same way as trades is that they're a little bit differently motivated. They want the structure, they want the discipline. They're either outside every day or they're used to working out outside, whatever that looks like. So there's a two-way path for this. And from my experience that's more relative to me because that was my path. And we are trying to use both angles that we can, finding that structured pathway for a very lucrative career. So it's really awesome that we get to speak about it and get to go through what we're seeing from not only trades and the partnerships that we can get them early, get them early and often, but also from the colleges and universities, both twofold. 

Karen Edwards: Yeah. Yeah. I forgot that you had that athletic background. You mentioned that was your path to getting here into the roofing industry and  that recruiting is very similar to how you recruit for sports, right? 

Tony Case: Absolutely. Absolutely. 

Karen Edwards: Yeah. Okay. So when we're talking about the next generation, these are individuals who have grown up with phones in their hands, right? With access to the internet, social media. I always look back and say, "Oh, I'm glad we didn't have that when I was growing up," because that makes it hard and puts a lot of pressure on you, but they're so connected. So what is the role that social media is playing in not only reshaping the image of roofing for the next generation, but how are we reaching them on social media? What are you guys seeing? 

Kristin Case: So for me, my big one that I love is LinkedIn. So what I've been seeing over the years in LinkedIn is roofing contractors making a brand from themselves, sharing these humongous projects that they've done, these flat roof systems or whatever it may be and  getting that exposure. And by getting that exposure, you get more likes, you get more leads and  then that can create more jobs. And that's what I think the younger generation likes to see. They're visual. So when they see something really cool like that and that a company is super proud of it, it makes them interested.  

Although I am a millennial, not Gen Z, I am on TikTok, let's just say for recruiting purposes, no. And I just love following roofing contractors and companies, whether it might be a mom and pop shop, a self-employed person, all the way up to our large roofing contractors. You can just see how proud they are of their brand and what they're building. And I think that this generation really loves to see that. Those are things that they look out for. They look out for safety, they look out for sustainability, they look out for what the opportunities may be. So when they see those types of things on social media and how people, the employees there are talking or being interviewed or whatever it may be that makes them interested.  

So I'm always telling my clients, "Make sure that if you have a success story at your company, post that person on LinkedIn and give them a shout-out. Maybe have them do a 15-second clip of what they did to get to this shout out of this accolade or recognition," because people see that stuff and then it gets shared and you never know who's sharing it or how many views it might get, but that will get other people interested in the opportunity. So social media and LinkedIn is a big one for me and  then I'm TikTok person as well. 

Karen Edwards: Yeah, TikTok and Instagram I think is another place where it's important- 

Kristin Case: I think I follow a hundred companies on Instagram just because I like to see what they're doing. And then also for me being a recruiter is just seeing if they're hiring or even if it's just to throw them a referral or whatever, I'm always happy to share that. So I find that stuff really exciting.  

Karen Edwards: I think it's important- 

Tony Case: I would only add- 

Karen Edwards: Go ahead, Tony. Go ahead. 

Tony Case: I would only add that I think that the younger generation, along with everyone, is looking for those inspirations or those highlights of craftsmanship and innovation. And when we see those things, it's immediately attractive to not only that younger generation, but maybe everybody, maybe somebody that's already in the trade looking for either different ideas or different inspiration. And so social media is a direct outlet towards that.  

Speaking of a LinkedIn, shout out, we just watched a fantastic video from an actual Roofers Coffee Shop partner. Tara Colopy is the CEO of Third Estimate and  she did an amazing video at a trade school here in Northeast Ohio and  she had a group of 20 people and was doing a fantastic job. And I think that it's a twofold process, like we talked about earlier, that it's not only on the younger generation to find them, to find out about these opportunities, it's about our clients and our contractors and employers to go and get to these places early and often so that they can have these types of rapport and these types of meetings like Tara did. 

Karen Edwards: Yeah. And don't be afraid to use your phone, just film a quick video. It doesn't have to be professionally produced, right? We're authentic, we're real and  we want to share those experiences. So don't be afraid to do that and put it out there, because ultimately at the end of the day, I think it helps the industry as a whole to elevate and say, "Hey, look at what these folks are doing out there." That's totally cool. 

Kristin Case: Well, that's another thing that we talk about is the younger generation, including us, we live by our phones and we're always constantly scrolling. And so that one 10-second clip of something that you were excited about, maybe you guys got a new work truck for your fleet or something and  you guys are proud of that and you guys are growing. Whatever it may be, you never know who's going to see that and say, "Wow, those people take a lot of pride in their company. And that's a place I can picture myself working." 

You just never know what might catch someone's eyes. So we are always encouraging that. And then I'm also on, I work with National Women in Roofing and  so I work on the recruiting committee with them. And that's another big thing is we're trying to build out this platform for women outside the industry to get them to join into the industry. And it really is about branding, because I've said it so many times is that when you think about roofing, you don't really think about anything exciting or sexy. You just think, "What is a roofer? What is the career path for me in this industry?" And if we get a better messaging across, you can see where you can just grow and have a very long-term career. We're a great recession proof industry in most parts of the US. And so there is a lot of opportunity and I'm always pushing women through the door. 

Karen Edwards: Yeah, yeah. No, I love it. I love it. We talked about social media and video and messaging and branding and showcasing those opportunities. I want to talk a little bit about how roofing companies, a lot of roofing companies are using technology in their businesses now. If they're not, they're probably going to be out of business in the next few years. So what are some ways that you maybe see roofing companies showcasing the technology that they're using, whether that's drones and is that attractive to the next generation? 

Tony Case: I think it is extremely important. Kind of like we said, leveraging that craftsmanship or that innovation is super extremely exciting for some of those younger generations. What's scary for, again, our clientele or our partners is that they don't necessarily know how to function around some of these new technological advances. But finding those younger minds that potentially have trained with this in either their trade school or college or university or whatever that looks like. Also, if they're coming off blank, they might have a computer skill that is just completely foreign to our partners or some of our clientele. 

But EagleView is a really great example of how people are utilizing in our industry. That came out and it is giving extremely accurate measurements on the top of a roof, giving different 360 dimensional views. Procore, Buildertrend, Bluebeam, some of these softwares are something that people can graduate into and learn over time, but if you have a younger mindset, a younger skillset where they can jump on a computer and figure this out in 10 minutes, that's going to help your organization be more profitable. And that's really the bottom line is technological advances are really up the alleyway of that younger generation. 

Kristin Case: Yeah, I think what you said, Karen, the younger generation was born with a phone in their hand, whereas older generations weren't and may not be as computer savvy, which is totally fine. May not be technically savvy, that's fine, but you got to be open-minded and be willing to put in the effort and train the newer generation because they may be able to pick up on something like Tony said, much quicker than someone like me and you. You never know. Because I just know I'm not. But you see these kids today, it's awesome watching them.  

I also would like to piggyback on that about the drones. When you have someone that has to drive out to a location, put their ladder up, climb up, meet with the customer, bringing the drones around, you're getting efficient work done, but also in the time that you need it to be done. So you're just not wasting any time and no time wasted is creating more opportunity. So we've seen a lot of their accuracy and then helping with time management with those things. So that's a big one. I would say another big one that we're seeing out there, which kind of pivots into the newer generation is the green roof systems. That's really big now. Company sustainability, cooler roofs, solar paneling, that's all becoming big, but that also speaks into the next generation is they care about the environment lot. That's one of the big things. So when they're looking for a new role to come work for a company that actually cares about those things, it's a really big deal. 

Karen Edwards: It is. Yeah. You segued perfectly into my next question because I was going to say, it's like you have the questions in front of you or something. No, we talked about technology, we talked about social media, we talked about the trade schools, colleges, different pathways, but I want to talk about sustainability and culture, not even just offering those as a service or a product as a roofing contractor, but the environment that the company can offer to someone working there. Can you talk a little bit about why that is so important to this next generation? 

Kristin Case: When we're interviewing new candidates and talking to them about opportunities for entry-level type positions, the big thing is that they want to feel like they're seen and heard. They want to feel like they bring something to the table, but they also want to feel like they're being supported. So by the training, the apprenticeships and they want to know what they're doing, they want to make an impact. And what we're seeing across the board, which is amazing, is most of our clients and companies out there do offer these entry-level training programs, which are great. So they put them through anywhere from a three-day to sometimes two to three-month program where they're learning everything so that when they hit the ground, they're running, they're excited and they feel good about it.  

And then also company culture is very big. You can't just say, "Oh, we have a great company culture," but then you don't actually have a great company culture. So it's actually, if that's what your message is going to be, then you actually got to be that because they'll sniff it out real quickly and they'll tell you right away, "This is not going to be a good fit for me." So practice what you preach. If that's what you guys are building on, then be true to it because this younger generation, they just won't stick around if they don't feel like they're being supported, heard or  anything like that. So those are big things, which most of the companies we work with are phenomenal and it's awesome and  we don't run into those issues, but sometimes we do have to give our coaching advice and have those tough conversations, which I'm not afraid to have. 

Tony Case: Right. 

Karen Edwards: Right, yeah, because maybe you're seeing companies that are having a hard time recruiting and you have to have that like, "Hey, here's what we're seeing and  maybe here's why you're having a problem," but how do they take it? 

Kristin Case: Well again and  a lot of times, times they'll say, "Oh my gosh, maybe that's why we have high turnover." Or, "Maybe that's why we're not getting the applicants we want." And so when I have these conversations with them, a lot of times they're very open-minded to change because they realize without change, they're going to fall behind and we can't have them falling behind. So they want to be competitive with the market, so they're willing to change. And with change is bringing on this new generation. We've got massive age gaps right now, so we have to grow and evolve. 

Tony Case: I would also say that in marketing 101, anyone trying to sell a good, a product, a service, whatever that looks like is, we're noticing from Gen Z specifically that they are more drawn to purpose-driven products. So we have to find a way to include that into your company. Are you a purpose-driven company? Do you have the values that they're looking for? And can you prove that to them every day? And it's not just because, "Oh, I have to babysit this young person." It's, "I'm trying to instill this because it's going to benefit my entire company, not just that young person." 

Karen Edwards: Yeah, it's shifting the mindset and the younger generation does bring fresh ideas, fresh perspectives and  listen to them and hear them and  then maybe that can really turn the business around and turn the culture around. 

Kristin Case: Well and  in our industry, it's not always the easiest. Right? 

Karen Edwards: Right. 

Kristin Case: We're in roofing. So like I said, it's sometimes it's those tough conversations, but usually it ends on a positive note. They just don't know what to do. They don't know, "What can I do differently?" So we're bringing insight and information and tips and tricks on how to do that. 

Karen Edwards: Yeah, it's easy to get bogged down in the day to day and not see the bigger picture, but you guys bring a fresh perspective and you can really see what's going on in a company and offer that. I love it. I want to talk briefly about, because we mentioned this at the beginning about the apprenticeships, trade schools, community colleges. How can roofing companies get involved and maybe even at the middle school level, what are some steps that they can take to start building those relationships with those schools and programs in their community? 

Tony Case: I would say early and often. Like I said, I mean the research is still going to have to be done. You're going to have to figure out where these are, where these locations are, who they cater to, whether that's a middle school, high school or  maybe postgraduate type of program. But I would say early and often, figure out where you can get to them, how often you can get in front of them and  then provide something. Can you come and speak at that institution, at that trade school event, at the job fair? Are you allowed to be there? Can you get in front of these individuals? So showing up early and often is going to be a very important factor, but the initial research, I think is going to be the main point. And that's what, again, Kristin with National Women in Roofing is working on, working on a way to find an easy access point for every person who wants to or is interested to click on this one link, here are 55 organizations that are in your geographic location that should be rolling out here in the next couple of months. But I think that's so valuable in the work that they're doing on the backend to provide that needs to be taken advantage of. 

Kristin Case: And to jump on that, what I will say is it's about your marketing and branding. So if your company offers something like that or  you guys are willing to do something like that where you're going to go visit with trade schools and get involved, promote that on your website, promote that on your social media, say, "We are the people that care," because right now that's just not happening across the board. And that's kind of the big disconnect. So I work, like I mentioned on the National Women in Roofing, so I can speak to that side of it, is that that's what we're trying to create right now is links and avenues for people to go down that if they want to get introduced to a school, here's what you do. If you guys want to host something, here's how you go about it.  

But as a whole, if it's not marketed and it's not branded and someone can't see it, then they're just going to keep scrolling and we want to make sure that you're getting your messaging out there or be more involved. It takes work, yes, but it's not always the job ads of being a recruiter, posting job ads a lot, you're not always going to get the person, you got to go to the job fairs. You have to go visit these schools, you have to put in the legwork, get involved. Then once you do start getting involved, then your name, you're going to have recognition. And that's the biggest thing. There's a big gap there right now, 

Karen Edwards: Right. Yeah, it does take a little bit of effort and a little bit of energy, but I think the ROI from making that investment is huge. 

Kristin Case: Absolutely. 

Tony Case: Yep. 

Karen Edwards: Excellent. Wow, this was a great conversation today. I want to thank you both for being here and  I'd like you to share just how can, if someone's listening, they want to find out more about you and maybe how you can help them with their recruiting. 

Kristin Case: Yeah, so for me, my biggest place to reach us is obviously here on Roofers Coffee Shop or on LinkedIn. We have a website, H-I dash PeakStaffing.com. We can be reached there, but I'm really all over LinkedIn. That's where I get most of my messaging out there and people can find me. And then Tony, how would you like to be reached? 

Tony Case: Yeah. I mean, obviously through our directory here, we've actually made some really excellent connections, some really great networking that's happening here within the Roofers Coffee Shop. Our website, we're actually going through a little bit of rebranding, so stay tuned. There's going to be a new drop and  we're going to have some really awesome content on our website with some new links and some new information and material. So keep an eye out for that. Kristin and I are obviously very active on LinkedIn. We want to see you out there, we want to meet you, we want to connect. And when other people plateau, we peak. 

Karen Edwards: Yeah, nice. I'm going to pull out my phone and make sure I'm connected to you both on LinkedIn. I don't even know right now. Yeah. Well that's great to hear. And as they mentioned, the Hi Peak has a full directory on RoofersCoffeeShop.com, has all their contact information and how to get ahold of them. And call them up. You never know. You might find out something about your business that you could change to make it a little better and help with that recruiting process. Tony? 

Kristin Case: Yeah. I want to add to that real quick, is that a lot of times big companies with us, their first thing is like, "Oh, does it cost money to talk to you?" And I'm always like, "No, not at all." Our services are absolutely free until we decide to move forward with a candidate. But if anyone does have questions out there about what to do or any ideas about social media or how to gain traction with a younger audience, feel free to reach out to us because we're doing a lot of things right now, a lot of legwork and  we're having a lot of success with it. So if anyone is curious and they want to know more, please reach out. 

Karen Edwards: And that is just one more great thing about this industry is how people are just so willing to help each other. So that's another selling point to bring in that next generation. Thanks for saying that, Kristin. I appreciate it.  

Kristin Case: Of course. I'm so passionate about it, you know that. 

Karen Edwards: Yeah. Yeah. And thank you everybody out there for listening. This has been fantastic. Be sure to subscribe on your favorite podcast platform because we sure want to see you on a future episode of Roofing Road Trips. See you next time. 

Outro: 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.