Insights from our Influencers

By Emma Peterson. 

Each month we asked our Influencers timely industry questions — here's a look at what they had to say. 

What is a RoofersCoffeeShop® (RCS) Influencer? They’re an expert who has partnered with us to mentor and guide other professionals by sharing their expertise. One of the features of this program is bringing together Influencers who can offer advice, tips and opinions from many different areas of a contractor's business. This means that our Influencers are not just roofing contractors, but also consultants and other professionals who support contractors.  

Having a variety of different perspectives means that our readers get a wide, well-rounded understanding of each of our topics. As we say goodbye to 2017, we wanted to highlight some of these topics and our Influencers thoughts!  

1 – How has your drug-free policy changed with this year's new state laws? 

We asked this question back in May and got a variety of thoughtful responses from our Influencers. For this recap, we wanted to highlight what Trent Cotney, the founder of Trent Cotney, P.A. & Associates which specializes in construction law, had to say on the topic. In his response, Trent dove into the important difference between marijuana’s legalization in the states versus the federal law along with sharing advice about navigating a changing legal landscape.  

2 – Do you have a handle on how much time employees are paid but not productive (or all out stealing time)? 

In an article responding to this question, president and CEO of SHELL Roofing Solutions Rudy Gutierrez emphasized the importance of setting production goals. He explained, “I learned a long time ago as a project manager that I needed to manage by the numbers not the time... We give the numbers to the superintendent and they then make those numbers happen. By setting goals ahead of a project or installation it helps to cut some of the waste factor.” 

3 – What are some of your employee retention practices? 

And when it comes to the topic of employee retention, Sarah Weiss, one of the founding partners and current COO of Elite Roofing Services, shared how respect and empathy sit at the center of their practices. She gave an example from the back-to-school season, sharing, “Back to school time is a time of great financial strain for most families. Elite recognized the challenge our employees face at that time of year and decided to start a Tools for School program where Elite provides the school supplies, backpacks and lunch boxes for every employee's school aged children (ages 3-18). This year Elite purchased over 90 Elite ‘kids’ back to school supplies.” 

4 – How do you handle employee side-jobs? 

When we asked our Influencers in August about employee side-jobs, Michael Hicks (owner of Hicks Industrial Roofing) shared an article about his company’s policy on side work. There are four main parts to this policy:  

1. It must be smaller than 10 squares. 

2. You must buy materials from Hicks Industrial Roofing. 

3. It cannot compromise your work for the company. 

4. Work for a competitor and you are done at Hicks. 

5 – What company vehicle policies work for you? 

For many contractors, they are licensed to work in multiple states. This is a great opportunity to expand their client base, but it comes with challenges like navigating different laws in each state. A common area that differs across states is with company vehicle usage.  

One of our Influencers, Alison LaValley, has a unique perspective on these policies across the U.S. thanks to her position as VP of strategic partnerships and development for the National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA) and executive director of the National Roofing Legal Resource Center (RNRLC). Her article on this topic is a great resource for contractors working on their own vehicle policies.  

Explore more of the insights from our industry experts!