BRIX Presents at the International Roofing Expo 2026

Written by: Andrew Henke

In January 2026, our Senior Managing Partner, Andrew Henke, presented at the International Roofing Expo in Las Vegas on a topic that continues to challenge roofing and exterior remodeling companies nationwide: recruiting. More specifically, the session focused on how companies can build a reliable, repeatable recruiting system in an industry facing candidate shortages, high turnover, and intense competition for top talent.
For those who were unable to attend the International Roofing Expo, this blog highlights the key points Andrew discussed with leaders across the roofing and exterior remodeling industry. The presentation centered on how recruiting has changed, what candidates truly care about today, and the systems high-performing companies are using to consistently attract, hire, and retain top talent in an increasingly competitive market.
With over a decade of experience recruiting exclusively in roofing, home improvement, and adjacent building materials industries, Andrew’s message was clear. The companies winning in 2026 are not getting lucky with hires. They are intentional, proactive, and they treat recruiting like a core business function rather than a reactionary task.
Recruiting Has Changed Forever
Recruiting is no longer an administrative responsibility that gets attention only when someone leaves or growth forces a hire. Today, recruiting functions much more like marketing and sales.
Candidates evaluate companies long before the first conversation ever takes place. They read reviews, talk to others in the industry, and pay close attention to response time, organization, leadership presence, and the overall interview experience. Whether a company actively manages its employer brand or not, that brand already exists. The real question is whether it is helping attract talent or quietly pushing it away.
The Reality Roofing Companies Are Facing
Across the roofing and exterior remodeling industry, companies are dealing with the same recruiting challenges:
Waiting for candidates to apply is no longer an effective strategy. Companies that rely solely on posting jobs and hoping for applicants are losing ground to competitors who recruit proactively every day.
What Candidates Care About in 2026
A core theme of the presentation was understanding what truly motivates candidates today. While compensation matters, it is rarely the deciding factor for high performers.
Candidates in 2026 are focused on:
When companies fail to clearly communicate how someone will succeed, grow, and be supported, top candidates quickly move on.
Employer Brand Is Built in the Details
Employer brand goes far beyond a logo or careers page. It is shaped by:
Every interaction sends a signal. Strong candidates are evaluating companies just as closely as companies evaluate them.
Reactive vs Proactive Recruiting
One of the most impactful sections of the presentation focused on the difference between reactive and proactive recruiting.
Reactive recruiting typically includes posting jobs and waiting for applicants, interviewing whoever applies, having no follow-up system, and scrambling when someone quits.
Proactive recruiting looks very different. It includes daily recruiting activity, clear ownership of recruiting efforts, employee referral programs, re-engaging past candidates, direct sourcing through industry networks and social platforms, and multiple recruiting funnels instead of relying on just one.
High-performing companies never stop recruiting. Even when fully staffed, they are building relationships and strengthening their pipeline.
Recruiting Funnels Matter
Relying on a single source for talent is one of the most common mistakes companies make. Job boards alone are not enough.
Strong recruiting systems include employee referral programs with fast payouts, customer and client referral recruiting, internal recruiter or hiring manager outreach, social media and content that showcases culture, community involvement, and military, trade school, or internship programs.
Diverse funnels create consistency and control in hiring.
Branding That Attracts Talent
Effective recruiting branding does not need to be complex, but it must be intentional.
Winning companies invest in a website that clearly promotes culture and opportunity, short video content from leadership, employee testimonials, day-in-the-life role videos, training and onboarding overviews, and celebrations of promotions, anniversaries, and wins.
Candidates want proof, not promises. Showing how a company operates builds trust early in the process.
Job Descriptions Can Help or Hurt
Most job descriptions fail because they are written for compliance rather than attraction.
Effective job descriptions speak directly to the ideal candidate profile, clearly communicate earnings and expectations, explain why the role matters, highlight training, support, and growth opportunities, reflect leadership style and company values, and stand out from competitors.
A simple test shared during the presentation was asking whether a top performer would apply to the posting as written.
The Interview Experience Is the Employer Brand
The interview process is one of the strongest reflections of a company’s leadership and culture.
Top companies respond same day or within 24 hours, use structured interview plans, clearly explain next steps, set honest expectations early, and train leaders to interview effectively.
Slow communication and unstructured interviews signal disorganization and weak leadership, which top candidates notice immediately.
Speed Wins Talent
One of the strongest messages from the presentation was simple. Speed matters.
Many companies lose top candidates not because of compensation, but because they move too slowly. Delayed follow-up and unclear interview steps send candidates elsewhere. Urgency communicates confidence, and confidence attracts high performers.
Measure What Matters in Recruiting
Without measurement, recruiting cannot improve.
Key metrics include applicant sources, applicants to interviews, interviews to offers, offers to acceptances, cost per hire, time to fill, and 90-day success and retention.
Tracking these metrics allows companies to forecast hiring needs instead of reacting to emergencies.
Retention Starts Before Day One
Retention does not begin after someone starts. It begins during recruiting.
Strong onboarding includes pre-start communication and welcome materials, a clear first-week plan, defined 30, 60, and 90-day expectations, assigned mentors, early wins to build confidence, and a visible career path.
When employees understand what success looks like and where they are going, retention improves significantly.
What High-Performing Companies Do Differently
The most successful companies in roofing and exterior remodeling share common traits. They assign clear ownership to recruiting, invest in employer branding, document interview and onboarding processes, treat recruiting like sales, audit their systems regularly, and build leadership presence online.
Recruiting is not something they turn on when they are desperate. It is something they do consistently.
Final Takeaways from our presentation at IRE 2026 in Las Vegas
The companies that will lead the roofing and exterior remodeling industry over the next five years will not just be strong operators. They will be strong recruiters.
They understand that people drive growth, they invest accordingly, and they build systems that attract, select, and retain top talent.
When recruiting feels chaotic or unpredictable, it is rarely a people problem. It is a system problem. And systems can be fixed.