Micah McQueen, Vice President of Priority Roofing, shares how to utilize your training program to set your business up for long-term success.

Training your employees to feel confident and perform well on the job is an essential part of an onboarding process. It shows new employees that you are willing to invest in their growth from the very beginning and encourages them to reciprocate and invest themselves in your business.

However, this aspect of business ownership is often overlooked. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 4 million people quit their jobs in July 2021, with inadequate training as one of the biggest reasons for employee frustration.

If you are a strategic business owner then you know that training employees is a way to increase productivity and staff morale. You and your employees can develop and succeed together by creating a learning environment that promotes growth, knowledge, and purpose. In other words, if you invest in your employees, they will invest in you and your company's success.

What exactly constitutes a good training program? Vice President of Priority Roofing Micah McQueen shares with us that for him it comes down to training that has three characteristics: comprehensive, purposeful, and inspiring.

McQueen shares that a lot of construction companies will just "throw a guy in a truck with another guy," and essentially leave them to figure things out on their own. This type of hands-on experience might be valuable toward jump-starting a new hire, or it could very well be contributing to the reason there is such a high turnover rate of employment across the construction industry.

Employees in every field need to feel supported by their employers. They need to be given the opportunity to grow, and that begins at the moment of hire. "At Priority Roofing, we have a very thorough curriculum in place. We ensure that we have invested this training across the board, in all our employees at all our 10 locations," McQueen emphasizes.

"This type of investment on the front end means that we have quality people working for us, people who are looking for a long term commitment. This in turn impacts our customers as they come to recognize that they are working with good people and a good company that is going to be around for a long time," he concludes.

Longevity based on early investment in your employees is key to your company's success, which is a truth that is no more surprising than that a good, high-functioning team will help to create company profits. McQueen believes that finding people who are passionate and driven to grow alongside your company all boils down to your onboarding process. He also acknowledges that "You can't 100% train people in the values that you hold as a company, so success starts during your hiring and recruiting."

Priority Roofing has a very thorough interview process, with managers that are well trained and determined to ask the right questions. Their goal is to connect with people who already have the type of values they want. McQeen continues "And that's not to say that an outcome of recruitment is that everybody believes the same things. There's a tremendous amount of diversity among the employees brought onboard, but there is also the general consensus of what good values are, what integrity is, what honesty is. Those types of things we seek from the very beginning, during the recruiting process."

It's evident that much of what McQueen does, in terms of running a business and being a leader for his employees, is to invest in their development and growth. When the COVID-19 pandemic required a new way of conducting business, McQueen was quick to help his employees adapt to the changes while making sure that they felt comfortable with those changes. He described what he did in this way, "It all started with leadership from the top, with encouragement toward the needed level of sensitivity and a careful approach." As a result, Priority Roofing experienced immense growth throughout the pandemic. His employees were confident, knowledgeable, and efficiently trained on how to treat and respect customers' concerns during that sensitive time.

McQueen spoke next about what he found fulfilling, "I'm trying to help every person achieve what they've set out to achieve. That brings me a lot of joy." Priority Roofing truly sets the standard for what companies should strive for when it comes to employee and customer satisfaction. If you are a business owner who cares about your people and wants to make a positive impact, you must ensure that your training program is comprehensive, purposeful and inspiring.

The investment you make in your employees at the beginning demonstrates your organization's willingness to invest in their success, and that investment is also a great way to improve your company's brand and reputation.

If you would like to learn more about Micah McQueen or Priority Roofing, visit their website and see how they can serve you in Austin, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Tyler, Fort Worth, Oklahoma City, Kansas City, California, Denver, and beyond.