This issue of Roofing Contractor focuses in part on the latest in garden roofing. As you look at the garden roof projects and products featured this month, I think it’s worth thinking about all the ways garden roofs can help grow and strengthen your business. Very frankly, the potential volume of new business may be small. At best, garden roofs may account for a very tiny portion of new roof construction; but getting involved in garden roofing may offer a number of advantages beyond the dollar volume.
Garden roofing opens up a whole new pool of potential employees for your firm. As garden roofs have expanded across the country, more and more people with interest and experience in plants and landscaping have gravitated toward the roofing industry. For management positions, you have the opportunity to recruit landscape architects, civil engineers, horticulturalists, city planners, and many more professionals who might have otherwise never considered roofing. And for your roofing crews, I think you’ll find that landscape workers offer a new and important recruitment opportunity. Landscapers share a very important trait with roofers — they both like to work outdoors. Enjoying outdoor work may be one of the best indicators of long-term job satisfaction and employee retention for both trades.