Making businesses feel more human

By Jenny Yu.  

Roofing Business Partner helps contractors align technology and processes for stronger scalability and customer satisfaction. 

As roofing companies grow, many discover that adding new technology alone does not solve operational problems. Disconnected systems, inconsistent processes and lackluster employee adoption often create issues that impact both production and customer experience. In a recent episode of Roofing Road Trips®, Heidi J. Ellsworth spoke with Adam Sand, CEO of Roofing Business Partner (RBP), about how his company helps roofing contractors address these operational challenges while prioritizing the heart of their businesses: their people and their stories. 

Roofing Business Partner provides what he refers to as the “three legs of a stool” — tools, processes and training. When a contractor focuses solely on implementing a CRM or management software, failure often ensues. “The tool doesn't matter as much as the process in which the tool is intended to be used. Technology without process is just expensive chaos,” Adam explained. “Then, the process only matters as much as the adoption. If we didn't train you and your people, then everything we did has a higher risk of failure.” 

Rather than treating technology as the solution itself, Roofing Business Partner approaches implementation through operational consulting and change management. Before recommending systems, the company spends hours learning about a contractor’s goals, workflows and pain points. “Before selling them anything, we want to invest anywhere from two to five hours meeting with them to really learn what their goals are,” Adam shared.  

After confirming a contractor is aligned with what RBP has to offer, a 12-week onboarding plan follows. Through surveys and operational interviews, the team gathers feedback from staff across departments to identify inefficiencies and frustrations. “If you could wave a magic wand and make your day better, what would you do?” This helps develop employee buy-in and long-term adoption of new processes. 

Another key strategy RBP facilitates is what they call “value extraction,” which focuses on pinpointing the person and the story behind the roofing business itself. Adam and the team ask owners about major milestones, early challenges and defining moments in the company’s history. “These stories help us really fall in love with the human being behind this company,” he said. “Then, every bit of design proposal that we do, the DNA of the company is in there.” With value extraction, Roofing Business Partner provides a customized product that captures the essence of the business itself. 

Finally, at the center of the discussion is the idea that technology should support people — not replace them. “Technology is really about making the business feel more human,” Adam stated. “It automates the boring stuff and creates accountability around the stuff that can be inspectable. It should take away the things that make work unfulfilling so that you can reallocate that energy towards the things that actually make customers happy.” 

Read the first article in this series, Listen to the podcast or Watch the recording to hear more insights about change management, as well as Roofing Business Partner’s work with Zuper!