By Emma Peterson. 

From safety and compliance to training and engagement, human resources plays a vital role in the long-term success of roofing businesses. 

Human resources (HR) is sometimes a part of running a business that might be overlooked. But it is one of the most important departments for building positive company cultures and navigating the current labor shortages/challenges. In a new Roofing Road Trips® podcast, Karen Edwards visits with Terri Davidson to dive into the importance of HR.  

Terri is the senior HR business partner at Tremco WTI, which puts her in charge of around 1,200 people across the nation. In her opinion, the importance of HR is multifaceted. First, she highlighted its role in safety and compliance, sharing, “The number one thing HR does is make sure that you’re care of safety and compliance in relation to your workers.”  

She then touched on how HR departments manage talent acquisition and onboarding as well as training and development. As Terri put it, “Something else HR takes lead on is talent acquisition and onboarding. Think about it, the first people your new recruits will talk to are the hiring managers (often HR managers) and its those interactions that will make them feel welcomed and encourage them to join your organization.”  

As for training and development, that’s another area where HR takes the lead. Terri explained:  

Especially with the labor challenges, retention is key. And a big part of retaining your talent is investing in them. And here at WTI, it’s my HR team that does a lot of the work, putting a lot of pro projects and programs together to improve employee engagement and help our individual employees grow and succeed. And I’ve seen firsthand how much those efforts have paid off in terms of engagement and retention.  

Overall, while building your HR department might not seem as fun as integrating new estimating or sales tools, it is an invaluable investment into the long-term success of your business.  

Listen to the whole podcast or Watch the recorded episode to learn more about the importance of building a strong HR department. 

By Emma Peterson. 

Industry leaders explain why creating a culture of belonging benefits employees, companies and the future of roofing. 

June was Pride Month and here at The Coffee Shops™ we celebrated with a special Pride Month Coffee Conversations all about how roofing companies can create inclusive environments within their businesses and the industry overall. The episode was hosted by Heidi and Megan Ellsworth and featured Tremco’s Elise Vue and Maureen Greeves alongside National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA)’s Amy Staska.  

The episode opened with a discussion of what Pride means. Elise, who has been a part of the industry for a decade now, explained her perspective, saying, “Pride Month, for me personally, has meant an opportunity to not only share my story, but also ask friends and colleagues about themselves and to celebrate the different journeys that brought people to our industry and community.” 

And by being welcoming and opening to those different journeys through conversations, events and other support programs, we can build a stronger industry through inclusion. Amy, who first started at NRCA in 1997, has seen the importance of inclusion firsthand, explaining:  

Being welcoming and accepting is powerful just because it is the right thing to do. But it is also important for any industry that needs people badly. I used to talk to contractors about women in the industry, and they’d be talking about how desperate they were for talent but they also weren’t helping make 50% of the population feel welcome working here. And with the LGBTQ+ community, you have a similar thing. There are a whole bunch of people out there and we can bring them into our industry if we create places where people are not only comfortable to work at but feel like they are embraced. 

Maureen, a 17-year industry veteran, added to Amy’s point, “We're all starving to get people into our industry and keep them here. And the best way to retain anyone is to make them feel safe, comfortable and valued. So, when we talk about pride and inclusion and why it matters, it’s not just the right thing to do, it’s directly tied to the growth and success of our entire industry. Because when you have happy, thriving and engaged people, profits and production are going to go up.” 

Want to learn more about building a more inclusive and thriving industry? Listen to the whole episode or Watch the recording.  

Join RCS host, Megan Ellsworth, for an open and uplifting conversation celebrating Pride Month, brought to you by Tremco. Megan and panelists will explore how roofing companies can create inclusive environments within their businesses and the industry overall. From recruitment and retention to mentorship, leadership and jobsite culture, the panel shares honest insights about the importance of visibility and allyship in the trades. The discussion also highlights how embracing diversity strengthens teams, drives innovation and helps build a healthier future for the roofing industry. Join us for this very special Pride Month Coffee Conversations!

Register today!

Join RCS host, Megan Ellsworth, for an open and uplifting conversation celebrating Pride Month, brought to you by Tremco. Megan and panelists will explore how roofing companies can create inclusive environments within their businesses and the industry overall. From recruitment and retention to mentorship, leadership and jobsite culture, the panel shares honest insights about the importance of visibility and allyship in the trades. The discussion also highlights how embracing diversity strengthens teams, drives innovation and helps build a healthier future for the roofing industry. Join us for this very special Pride Month Coffee Conversations!

Register today!

By Emma Peterson. 

Get industry insights, education opportunities and more this June in Rosemont, Illinois. 

The Metal Construction Association (MCA)’s annual summer meeting is returning to Rosemont, Illinois this June! Taking place June 23-24, 2026, this meeting is meant to help your team stay ahead with industry insights, practical education and high-value networking opportunities.  

This year, the keynote speaker will be Johnny Quinn, sharing a talk all about Unstoppable Momentum. There will also be a new dual-track education system that allows your team to “choose their own education adventure." One track focuses on the business and technical side of roofing with information about codes, standards and a report from the Metal Roofing Alliance.  

The other track is perfect for your marketing and sales specialists and features to sessions hosted by The Coffee Shops™ own Karen Edwards! In one, Karen will moderate a panel all about hiring and retaining talent featuring Amy Staska from National Roofing Contractors Association alongside Mandy McIntyre and Maureen Greeves from Tremco WTI. The other session, a panel titled “Modern Marketing That Moves Metal,” will see Karen discussing how marketing has shifted from relationship-driven to relationship plus digital visibility with Sean McFarland and Mark Carlisle. 

These sessions are great examples of the type of expert insights you will have access to by attending the 2026 MCA Summer Meeting. And you will also have the opportunity to go beyond just listening to these experts speak, as MCA has organized powerful networking opportunities that allow attendees to “build relationships across the metal construction supply chain in a relaxed setting.” An example of these networking opportunities is the Chicago Dogs vs. Cleburne Railroaders baseball game outing on Tuesday, June 23 (additional $25 fee at registration). 

Ready to boost your professional development and set your team up for success in the second half of the year? Get registered to attend the 2026 MCS Summer Meeting (and take advantage of discounts when multiple attendees register from the same company).

By Emma Peterson. 

Learn how intentional training and care builds teams that grow and succeed in the long-term.  

As labor shortages continue and workforce expectations shift, companies can no longer afford to treat onboarding as a minor checklist or training as a one-time event. Instead, they must find ways to consistently care for the crew members and help their teams grow. To discuss this topic, Heidi J. Ellsworth sat down for an episode of Coffee Conversations® with Amy Staska, Maureen Greeves and Mandy McIntyre.  

These women were the perfect panel to talk to about investing in your team. Amy is the National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA)’s VP of workforce development; Maureen is Tremco Roofing’s director of field operations; and Mandy is WTI's CM development manager. Out of the gate, one of the most important things they highlighted was that labor retention is not a one-size-fits-all situation. 

Amy explained, “Finding ways to retain talent is not going to be a one-size-fits-all conversation. Take training, for example. People like learning new skills that can help advance their careers. But the format of that training needs to be comfortable for each individual.” For example, some people love the convenience of online training, where others find it disconnected and hard to work with. If you truly want to retain talent, you need to invest in your people as individuals.  

And retaining talent really should be your goal. Not only does it make your team stronger culturally, but it is also important for your long-term finances. Maureen explained, “The recruiting process and the onboarding process can cost companies anywhere between $5,000 to $6,000 on the low end and up to upwards of $10,000 to $12,000 on a high end.  For one person. So, retaining talent long term isn’t just about keeping talent and expertise, though that is key, it’s also about avoiding turnover and the high expenses that come with that.”  

So, how do you start bringing this intentionality into your operations? It doesn’t have to be that complicated. Mandy gave some examples of how you can meet your team where they are, sharing, “Start with just basic conversations. Ask people how's it going, how the first week was, the second week, etc. Because if you're not having those conversations and they end up leaving, you’ll never know why or if you could have changed something simple and retained their talent.” 

Learn more about intentional, individualized retention strategies by listening to the whole episode.

By Emma Peterson. 

Dive into the key role that company culture plays in building and retaining top talent.  

At the core of the roofing industry are the people who represent and advocate for it. Our businesses are all about serving customers, and a strong, talented internal team is the key to success. But building that team can be hard in an industry that has a seemingly constant labor shortage. To learn more about building and retaining a base of reliable employees, Heidi J. Ellsworth hosted Amy Staska, the National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA)’s VP of workforce development; Maureen Greeves, Tremco Roofing’s director of field operations; and Mandy McIntyre, WTI's CM development manager for an episode of Coffee Conversations®. 

Retention is a key part of a successful business. Amy explained, “When people leave, you’re not only losing their specific talents, but you’re also losing money and having to spend more time and energy to recruit a replacement for them.”  

So, how do you build a company that people want to stay at? It’s all about building a company culture that is comfortable and supportive. Amy elaborated, “I'm a huge proponent of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and truly believe that when people feel like they're safe and secure, when they feel like they belong, they're going to be able to work better and they're going to stay.” 

A simple way to start building such a culture i by having individual conversations with employees. Mandy shared:  

A lot of building a culture that retains employees is having one-on-one, face-to-face time, where you touch base with new hires, get to know them as a person and see how things are going. It sounds small, but it really goes a long way to build that psychological safety, build that confidence and build engagement. That is the foundation for a strong culture.  

This is something that Maureen and the team at Tremco are working to implement in their operations. She explained, “Culture starts at the top, and our president James McDonald takes the time to have what he calls ‘James unfiltered calls.’ In these calls he talks to individuals in the company at the field technician/foreman level to hear what’s going on, to know them as people and build that culture that retain people.”  

Want to learn more about building a culture of retention? Tune in to the whole podcast with Amy, Mandy and Maureen!

By Emma Peterson. 

Learn about engaging and retaining new hires through intentional training. 

In a new episode of Coffee Conversations®, Heidi J. Ellsworth is joined by a panel of industry leaders to talk about the importance of contractors helping new hires engage and connect with their company. This panel included Amy Staska, the National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA)’s VP of workforce development; Maureen Greeves, Tremco Roofing’s director of field operations; and Mandy McIntyre, WTI's CM development manager.  

Amy has been with the NRCA for over 20 years, and bringing new talent to the roofing industry has been a top concern during her tenure. She explained, “Training’s not cheap and a lot of contractors worry about if new hires are going to stick around...” The problem with this is that it creates a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy where contractors hold new hires at an arm’s length to make sure they’re serious about the job, and new hires are unable to show their interest in the job because of that distance.  

So, how do you build a company that can avoid this pattern? Mandy shared, “I think the industry sometimes forgets about the human component of hiring. Those new people have emotions, they have goals, they have questions, they have fears and if you can cultivate people to be the best versions of themselves, that’s when you’re going to engage them and retain talent.” 

The key to cultivating them into the best version of themselves? Intentionality. Amy explained:  

At NRCA, we talk constantly about the idea of doing intentional training. It’s impossible to train all your new people to be experts immediately. But if you work towards conversational competence, so that someone can go up onto a roof and at least is going to understand a little bit of what's happening, and will be able to have better conversations with the crew there, they’re going to be more connected to your company and more likely to stay to keep learning. 

This is something that Maureen and the others on her team at Tremco have implemented over the last couple of decades. She shared, “We grew very fast, and one of the downsides of that is you can lose some of that intentionality that Amy mentioned. We realized that was happening, so we made changes.” Some changes were bigger, like hiring Mandy into her current role, but others were smaller, like opening conversations. Maureen elaborated, “We started simply talking to people and making sure they knew that they were a part of something bigger. And just that has been tremendous.”  

Mandy summed the entire conversation up well, saying, “At the end of the day, it's all about actions and feelings. If you're having a problem retaining people and recruiting people, take a good, hard look at what's going on and make some intentional changes to help people belong.” 

Watch the entire Coffee Conversation to hear more of Amy, Mandy and Maureen’s discussion.

In this Coffee Conversations®, Heidi J. Ellsworth is joined by industry leaders to discuss one of the most pressing issues facing roofing and construction companies today: how to successfully onboard, train and retain top talent. As labor shortages continue and workforce expectations shift, companies can no longer afford to treat onboarding as a checklist or training as a one-time event. This discussion explores what a strong first 90-days should look like, how mentorship and leadership shape long-term retention and what metrics truly measure success. From building career pathways to adapting to generational change, this conversation delivers strategic insight for contractors and industry professionals committed to building teams that stay, grow and lead. 

Register today!

By Emma Peterson. 

Learn about the differences and similarities between roofing in the U.S. and the UK. 

In this episode of Roofing Road Trips®, Heidi J. Ellsworth sat down with Mardee Billingsley, the executive vice president of the Tremco Construction Products Group. Mardee has worked with Tremco for over 28 years and is part of the team that has been expanding their operations into international markets. This unique position makes Mardee an invaluable resource for insights on the global market.  

There are a lot of considerations when it comes to moving onto a global stage. Things like environment and climate are obvious differences, but there are also distinctions that are less thought of – like regulation differences. Mardee used the UK as an example, “I find the roof systems in Europe to be simpler in a way. Take our FM requirements that must accommodate all the regions of the U.S. as an example. There are thousands of products and systems in there. Alternatively, I remember when I first started going over to the UK in 2004 and it's simply base and a cap.”  

This simplicity can be cited to a variety of reasons, from the UK being smaller than the U.S. and having fewer regional differences to its history of governmental management of industries. One of the big reasons, however, is the weather. Mardee shared, “In the UK, it's a much milder climate. It rains a lot, kind of like the Pacific Northwest in the U.S. So, some of the need for a simple system comes from that. They have a big fluid market because of having to get systems down and cured up faster. Anything they can do to just go and be installed by the end of the day is good because of the weather.”  

And it’s important to note that simplicity does not sacrifice performance. Mardee explained, “These systems are 20-30 year systems. They come with 20-25 year warranties!” At the end of the day, roofing might look a little different across the pond, but there are still many similarities. Mardee explained, “They still use some of the same products we use, it just depends on the solution that they need. The key is just to really listen to what they're saying and what they need. Which works with Tremco’s core philosophy of keeping good roofs good and providing the best solution to meet the customer's needs for longevity, financial investment and technical requirements. 

Read the transcript or Listen to the entire podcast to learn more about Tremco and roofing on the global stage.