How to Hire, Train, and Retain Top Roofing Talent

One of the biggest challenges in growing a roofing business isn’t finding leads — it’s finding the right people to fulfill the work.

Hiring quality talent, building a reliable team, and keeping your best workers around for the long haul can feel like a constant uphill battle. From installers and office admins to project managers and sales reps, roofing business owners often struggle with high turnover, poor onboarding, and lack of accountability.

So how do you build a company that attracts great people and keeps them?

Here’s a breakdown of how to hire, train, and retain top talent in every role — and build a culture that people want to be part of.

1. Hire for Character, Train for Skill

It’s easy to get caught up in experience, but in the roofing industry, the best hires often come down to work ethic, reliability, and attitude.

What Characteristics to Look for:

• A strong work ethic and willingness to learn
  
  
• Respectful communication skills
  
  
• Team player mentality
  
  
• Coachability and accountability
  
  

Hiring Best Practices:

• Write clear, honest job descriptions (don’t oversell the role)
  
  
• Use screening questions or assessments before the interview
  
  
• Always conduct in-person or video interviews — body language matters
  
  
• Ask scenario-based questions to see how they think
  
  

💡 Pro tip: Don’t wait until you’re desperate to hire. Build a talent bench so you’re not hiring from a place of urgency.

2. Set Up a Solid Onboarding Process

Most roofing companies wing it when it comes to onboarding — and that’s exactly why new hires struggle or leave early.

Your Onboarding Should Include:

• A welcome packet or orientation (introduce company values, mission, structure)
  
  
• Safety and compliance training
  
  
• Role-specific training (scripts, tech, paperwork, tools, etc.)
  
  
• A clear 30-60-90 day plan with goals and check-ins
  
  

Create repeatable onboarding checklists so every new hire gets the same experience — whether they’re in sales, production, admin, or field work.

3. Invest in Continuous Training

Training shouldn’t stop after the first week. To build a high-performing team, create a culture of growth.

What to Train Regularly:

• Sales reps: objection handling, CRM use, pricing updates
  
  
• Field crews: safety, quality control, new products/materials
  
  
• Office staff: customer service, scheduling systems, billing software
  
  

Hold weekly team meetings, do ride-alongs, and run monthly workshops. Record trainings so new hires can access them later.

🧠 Growth-minded employees are more engaged, more loyal, and more valuable over time.

4. Build a Culture People Want to Stay In

You can train someone how to install shingles, but you can’t train them to love a toxic workplace.

Culture is the glue that holds everything together.

How to Build a Winning Culture:

• Celebrate wins publicly — big and small
  
  
• Offer clear growth paths (crew to foreman, rep to manager, etc.)
  
  
• Pay fairly and offer bonuses based on performance
  
  
• Be honest, respectful, and consistent as a leader
  
  

Remember: People don’t leave jobs — they leave leaders.

5. Retain by Rewarding & Recognizing

Once you’ve built your dream team, retention becomes the next mission. And it’s not always about pay — it’s about feeling valued.

Retention Tips:

• Do regular one-on-ones (check in on goals, not just performance)
  
  
• Recognize hard work publicly (at meetings or on social)
  
  
• Offer incentives: gift cards, extra time off, team outings
  
  
• Create ownership opportunities (profit sharing, leadership roles)
  
  

Employees who feel seen and supported stay longer, work harder, and help grow your business.

Build the Team That Builds the Business

At the end of the day, roofing is a people business. The strength of your company isn’t just in the quality of your work — it’s in the quality of your team.

When you invest in hiring, training, and retaining the right people, everything else becomes easier: production runs smoother, sales convert faster, and your reputation grows stronger.

Need Help Building This Inside Your Roofing Business?

At The Roofing Academy, we work hands-on with roofing business owners to develop complete hiring systems, onboarding frameworks, and leadership training — so you can build a team you trust and scale with confidence.

Book a call with us today and let’s build the team that takes your business to the next level.