The state of roofing recruitment and retention

By Emma Peterson. 

Dive into the roles competitive benefits and company culture play in building your workforce. 

We might only be a month or so into 2026, but it has become clear that the labor challenges that have impacted the industry for decades are not disappearing any time soon. To learn more about the labor market in relation to roofing, we sat down with Caitlin Burke, a senior construction recruiter at Tiello, for an episode of Contractor Outlook.  

There are two main factors that Caitlin sees impacting companies’ ability to retain and recruit labor – competitive positions and culture. The first one is fairly straightforward, as Caitlin put it, “If you're paying somebody the same exact rate for 10 years, then they're going to look somewhere else. Even if they love the work they do, they’re going to still have an ear out because they need to support their family.” So, the first step to retaining and recruiting labor is to look at the market around you and make sure you’re offering competitive pay and benefits.  

The other factor Caitlin mentioned, culture, is a bit less simple. She explained:  

It’s important to understand the hard work people are doing, the time they are maybe sacrificing for your company (especially for those in traveling roles) and to recognize it without them having to say something. 

This type of recognition is not as measurable as something like benefits packages, but it’s a huge part of building a positive work culture that retains workers. “There's so many things that can be said about keeping employees, we could go on and on, but honestly it always comes back to communication and trust,” Caitlin said. She went on, “Making sure that your team knows you are there for them and that the door is always open is key.”  

Listen to our entire podcast or Watch the full recording to hear more insights from Caitlin.