What does crew turnover in peak season say about a roofing company?
It can say a lot. Crews who leave mid-season may be reacting to pay, safety, scheduling or how the foremen treat them. Ask for who left and when, find out why, and compare with how many returned the next season.
Roofing peaks in a short window, and a company without a stable crew feels it right away. Jobs slip, quality drops and customers call back. So turnover in those weeks tells you more than turnover in a quiet month.
Ask the seller for a list of crew members by season, with start and end dates. Note who left in the middle of the busy stretch, who was let go and who returned the next year. A core group that comes back is a good sign. Constant churn means the company is paying to recruit and train over and over.
Then ask why. Was it pay, hours, weather, safety, a difficult foreman or an offer from a competitor? If you can, talk privately with a couple of former and current workers, with the seller’s permission. Look at how the company gets crews through slow spells, because workers drift away if work is not steady. Also ask how much of the crew follows the owner personally, and who would stay after a sale. Poor retention is fixable, but only if you know the cause. Ask what the company does to keep crews in quieter weeks, since steady work is often what holds people through the busy ones.
Key takeaways
- Ask for a crew list by season with start and end dates.
- Separate people who quit from those let go, and note who returned.
- Find out why people left, ideally by speaking with them.
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Succession
Sources
This answer is checked against primary sources. Links were last confirmed on the dates shown.
- 01Business Development Bank of CanadaGovernmentHow to reduce employee turnover
- 02Business Development Bank of CanadaGovernmentHow to conduct due diligence when buying a business
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