Life After COVID-19: How to Resume Your Business and Safely Get Back to Work

The year 2020 has significantly changed the roofing industry—from how contractors serve their customers to how they build their skills and knowledge.For starters, training in roofing moved from in person to virtual. And the GAF CARE team embraced this approach to better serve contractors during this challenging time, delivering hundreds of training sessions and employing new training strategies that will benefit contractors in 2021 and beyond.Nurturing Roofing ExcellenceContractors faced unprecedented challenges over the last year—figuring out how to safely deliver services to customers, keeping their staff and team safe, and doing their best to stay on top of constantly changing regulations.This massive pivot also caused GAF CARE, or the Center for the Advancement of Roofing Excellence, to pivot to better meet the contractors' evolving business needs. GAF CARE delivers professional and educational training programs for residential and commercial contractors throughout the year, covering topics such as installation, sales, business development, roofing best practices, and industry codes and standards. They deliver training in English, Spanish, and French, and to date, more than 230,000 roofing professionals in the US, Canada, and Mexico have participated in CARE courses.Steven McCabe, CARE training manager, says over the last year his 30-plus person team mobilized to expand training options for contractors."Prior to the pandemic, it was pretty much nonstop traveling and training in person. When the pandemic hit, we needed to pivot because people still wanted training. In less than a week and a half after we were told we could no longer meet in person, we had already started an intensive online training regimen," McCabe says.With in-person training not an option at the time, the CARE team started doing six webinars a week, giving contractors more opportunity to stay up to date on the latest industry trends and learn timely customer engagement and retention strategies. The CARE team created new training courses to adapt to contractors' changing needs during the pandemic, such as courses focused on safety and navigating social distancing guidelines, selling over the phone, and using virtual tools like Zoom and Google Meet for customer engagement and communications. A "Success with Service and Repairs" training series was one of the most popular offerings among contractors in 2020.More than 400 people attended some of the initial trainings, benefiting from engaging sessions that featured polls and digital whiteboards that allowed GAF trainers to mimic the traditional learning environment of in-person training in a virtual setting. Trainings also ran between 30 and 45 minutes, allowing contractors to quickly access the relevant information they needed with minimal interruptions to their workday. This was a departure from previous in-person sessions that would typically run for eight hours a day over the course of three days.The CARE team facilitated more than 415 webinars in 2020. The team also conducted 135 in-person training sessions in the first quarter of 2020 before the pandemic hit. In total, more than 23,120 roofing professionals in were able to access relevant training in 2020 to build their industry skills and knowledge.Training in Roofing: Looking Ahead for 2021Contractors have been very satisfied with GAF CARE training offerings — the team's training programs received a 4.9 out of 5 average customer satisfaction rating during the pandemic, McCabe says.In-person training is available again, so contractors can now access popular offerings like trailer training. This training features a trailer full of commercial roofing products parked at a job site where crews can go to get three to four hours of hands-on training on how to use these products. According to McCabe, the CARE team has started out by doing small group in-person training with fewer than 10 people who are socially distanced and wearing masks.Though in-person training has resumed, online education will continue to be available to meet the varying needs of different customers. McCabe, who has always had a passion for teaching and originally wanted to pursue a teaching career, is beyond proud of the work his team has done during such a challenging time in the industry."There's nothing like when you see a spark in somebody's eye, and they're like, 'Hey, I got it,' or when a contractor reaches out to you after several months and says, 'That training was amazing' and that it changed their company and their approach. That, to me, is the biggest reward," McCabe says.To view a list of upcoming webinars and training opportunities, check out the GAF CARE events calendar.

One year after the pandemic began, Trent Cotney of Cotney Attorneys & Consultants has seen firsthand how COVID changed roofing. Here, he shares insights into what contractors are concerned about as well as tips on how to successfully navigate the roofing industry in this new environment.What Challenges Are Contractors Facing?Right now, the biggest concern Cotney hears from contractors is how challenging it has become to simply gather roofing materials. This is an even larger concern as many areas of the country head into storm season."'What do I do if I can't get roofing materials?' is the number one question I am hearing from contractors," Cotney says. "I tell them that now is the time to be buddies with your suppliers, buy materials in advance and stockpile them. Work with contractors outside your geographic region to create a network of peers."According to Cotney, some of these shortages in roofing materials may have stemmed from shutdowns due to COVID-19 outbreaks (or, in the case of lumber sourced from Canada, border closures). He says contractors should follow the situation closely and expect to see issues continue throughout the summer.What Should Contractors Communicate to Their Customers?It's important for contractors to communicate with their customers about any and all challenges and/or changes."From a contractual standpoint, making sure that you are accounting for delays regardless of whether you are doing residential or commercial work is paramount," Cotney says. "You want to make sure you have open and honest conversations with your customers and let them know that there may be a delay in obtaining materials."How Can Contractors Protect Themselves from Price Increases?When materials are in short supply, prices tend to rise. As manufacturers face shipping challenges and see price increases for the raw materials needed to produce materials, contractors should expect to see their costs rise as well. It is important to take this into account in your contracts, says Cotney."We've had a variety of material shortages and increases in prices related to lumber, steel, and other key items in construction. If you don't take that into account at the time you submit your proposal, you could be stuck with what you put into that contract," he explained. "I like to include a price acceleration provision that says that in the event any material line item's price goes up by 5%, you are entitled to an equitable adjustment of that contract to reflect the increased cost."What Safety Changes Should Contractors Be Aware Of?Among the ways Cotney has considered how COVID changed roofing in the past year, one of the most prominent shifts he says he's noticed is from a safety perspective—expect to see changes from OSHA coming. "There's going to be an emergency temporary standard for COVID-19. That is almost a certainty," Cotney says. "You can expect to see increased rule-making, regulation, inspections, and citations throughout the year. As we get into the third and fourth quarter, you will start seeing a lot more of this."Another change COVID-19 brought is more collaboration between the human resources, safety, and legal departments. Regulations designed for COVID-19 safety often go hand in hand with the ones in place for HR. "You need to have protocols in place for social distancing and for making sure you are abiding by CDC guidelines," Cotney explains. "Implementing and communicating those safety precautions both in the home office and in the field is something where HR has to be involved. Notifications of sick workers or affected workers are policies and procedures that you need to have in place."Clearly spelling out your COVID-19 protocols and safety procedures ensures that everyone understands how to continue working safely—and it also reassures customers that everyone working on the job is following best practices.Can Customers Require Workers to be Vaccinated?Several contractors have reached out to Cotney with questions about jobs they are planning to bid on that include a requirement for all workers to prove they are vaccinated. "The first question that we get is, 'Can you do that?' And the answer is 'yes,'" Cotney said.However, the vaccination requirement cannot be enforced if both parties have already signed the contract. "With an existing contract, they can't say that you must now have everyone vaccinated unless there is a federal, state, or local requirement in place."When a customer makes the request for crews to be vaccinated, Cotney says contractors working with an existing contract have a few options. "They can ask for additional consideration, or they can tell them 'I'm not required to do that and I'm not going to do that.'"Jobs that contractors are bidding on now are different, since this requirement can be put into the contract. He says that contractors may want to consider having at least one fully vaccinated crew in order to meet these requests in new contracts.Contending with new legal complexities and additional protections introduced in the wake of the pandemic, contractors experience daily how COVID changed roofing. Following the recommendations from Cotney can help ensure contractors successfully navigate these changes and prepare for what's ahead.

We've all struggled, to one degree or another, to stay productive during the coronavirus pandemic. For example, when I drove away from GAF Headquarters in mid-March, I expected to work from home for, at most, a few weeks. As those weeks stretched into months, my co-workers and I have used digital tools to stay connected and productive.But a tool that works for a writer or an engineer doesn't work for everybody. You can't run a free farmers market over Zoom, or distribute fresh produce to families in need via Skype. Yet that's the challenge our friends at the Interfaith Food Pantry of Morris County (IFP) struggled with throughout the early months of 2020.IFP is the largest provider of supplemental and emergency food in Morris County, primarily serving low-income working families and senior citizens living on fixed incomes. For three years, the Pantry has held a free farmers market at their two Morris County locations. This year, as the coronavirus pandemic put more than 1 million New Jersey residents out of work, requests for assistance from IFP have increased by 300%. That means demand for IFP services skyrocketed just as the pandemic shut down their traditional distribution facilities, and forced the temporary closure of their Free Farmer's Market.I say temporarily, because at the same time IFP was trying to solve their distribution crisis, folks at GAF — aware of the state's food scarcity problem — were also searching for ways to support our communities in their time of need. The GAF commitment to helping neighbors in need is embodied by the company's Community Matters program, and it's through Community Matters that GAF first connected with IFP."We're most impactful when we do relevant things in unexpected ways, and show up to help in unexpected places," said Jeff Terry, VP of corporate social responsibility for GAF, describing the role GAF can play in the community. "We're not a food company, but we saw an opportunity to use the assets at our disposal to respond to this community need."Representatives for IFP and GAF got together for a brainstorming session, and the pieces came together like a jigsaw puzzle. Each organization seemed to have an answer to the other one's needs.I imagine the conversation went something like this:IFP: "We need a space to safely distribute produce to families in need."GAF: "We'd love to put our empty parking lot to good use. Have you thought about a drive-through?"IFP: "We need volunteers."GAF: "Our employees are craving a chance to help. And our tagline is, literally, 'We protect what matters most.'"IFP: "We've never done an outdoor farmer's market like this before…"To which GAF responded, "Neither have we. But no worries. We're putting one of our best people on it."And so they did. GAF Community Engagement Manager Arlene Marks took the reins and, with input from GAF Facilities and Hawk Logistics, architected a first-of-its-kind drive-through Free Farmer's Market. The Market opened on June 12 for registered IFP clients, and proved an immediate success, serving around 500 households while maintaining good COVID practices including masks, gloves, hand sanitizer, and social distancing."The IFP Free Farmer's Market has given us a chance to open our hands to the community and use our creativity and business experience to offer solutions that help our neighbors in concrete ways," said Arlene. "It's rare for a company to lean in and own a project like this. But GAF was proud to partner with IFP to plan the logistics, organize the volunteers, and facilitate the operation."The IFP Free Farmer's Market at GAF has been open every two weeks, throughout the summer and fall, rain or shine.In recognition of our role in jointly serving the Morris County community, IFP has graciously presented GAF with its Golden Apple Award.A Volunteer's POVI volunteered for the second Market, on June 23, and the experience has drawn me back again and again. (In fact, my bride joined me on a recent visit and can't wait to go back as soon as there's an opening.)The volunteer day began between 8 and 8:30. When I arrived at Parsippany HQ, the first thing I noticed was four pairs of red GAF tents, in two parallel rows, dominating the main GAF lot.Arlene gathered all the volunteers at the dot of 8:30 to explain the set-up and our roles in making it all work.Each pair of tents was a loading station, she told us, ready to handle two vehicles at once. Tables at each station would be piled high with a range of fresh, delicious produce, all pre-sorted and bagged, by us, for the clients. As a client pulled up in their car, their trunk or rear doors open, "runners" would place a specified number of items in the car and then a "traffic warden" would flag the driver on to the next station.(We discovered that loading a car at all four stations could be done in about two minutes. Try doing THAT at your local grocery.)In addition to the food crews, an army of traffic volunteers would station themselves throughout the lanes of One Campus Drive, helping make sure every guest found their way safely in and out of the market.Did I mention it was rain or shine?Seamless teamworkEven during the volunteer meeting, I couldn't help but notice the seamless integration of the IFP and GAF teams. It was only our second event together, yet the crew — decked out in matching Community Matters GAF volunteer Ts — was already running like a well-oiled machine. Clearly, Arlene and her team had thought through virtually every detail. From the spacing of the distribution tents, to the traffic flow, to the precise number of plums per car, nothing had been left for guesswork.Throughout all of it, the gracious management and staff of IFP were everywhere, making sure their clients were checked in, providing bilingual greetings to help everyone feel welcome and informed, and even running water to the countless volunteers spread out across the huge campus. The warmth and welcome they offered the GAF team was only rivaled by their obvious love and concern for their clients.That love was returned tenfold by the hundreds of drivers whose smiling eyes shone above the edges of their COVID masks.The answer to "What matters most?" is different for everyone. But on Free Farmer's Market day, I'd be willing to bet that what matters most to everyone is the joy on the face of a mom, dad, senior, or caregiver, rolling home with fresh, nutritious fruits and vegetables for their families."This is just one example of the partnership we have with IFP," Arlene told me. "Now the question is, how to continue this momentum through the winter? How do we help IFP serve their clients in the future?"And to that, my question will be, "Will you be looking for volunteers?"To donate or volunteer to support IFP's mission to fight hunger across Morris County, visit www.mcifp.org. And to learn more about GAF's commitment to local communities across the country, visit our Community page.