Rackley Roofing has come a long way since first starting in 1974. Ten years ago, when Curtis Sutton and Michelle Boykin joined, there was a single truck with a one man service crew. Now with 25 service crews, Rackley continues to expand without sacrificing the focus to help the entire roofing industry grow. Technology has played a critical role in their growth and is only becoming more important as the years go on.
How Has Technology Helped Rackley Innovate?
Since Curtis came to Rackley, new technology has been used to not only help Rackley Roofing grow as a company, it has also helped provide the team great learning opportunities. One of the core values at Rackley is being innovative. We’re driven to push the industry forward. We need employees who are willing to learn, change, and are open to new ideas. The technology we use is important, but the people using it are even more important.
At Rackley, our employees are empowered and don’t need to be micromanaged. We don’t hold our training on rainy days; rather they’re scheduled months in advance. We know training is one of the most important things we can do for our team, despite the weather. From safety training or toolbox talk to manufacturer training and even an etiquette class, we believe an empowered workforce is one who will stick around. All of our employees go through training, regardless of if they’re on the roof or not. If an office staff member wants to get a bit more hands-on experience to learn what it’s like being up on a roof, all they have to do is ask.
How Does Rackley Implement Technology?
Instead of visiting other roofing companies to see what they’re doing, we go to companies like 3M or Microsoft to see what new projects they’re working on. We are spearheading the initiative to innovate the roofing industry; we’re always on the hunt for new technology which can help move us forward. We don’t believe in just using the technology on a small scale – everything we use is all or nothing. Either we fully integrate it into our operations or we drop it. Every single team member uses what we implement. When we first started using new technology, we only allowed some team members to use it, which ended up backfiring down the road. Now we allow every team member access to any new technologies we adopt. One example is, an app we use makes it so our crews don’t even have to come into the office. There’s no need to waste time for them to drive to the office when they can just go straight to the job site.
We know how important adopting technology is for any business. Some family-owned businesses get passed on to the next generation, who implement more technology. The owner/parent sometimes is against this because the business has been operated with traditional methods for years. However, we’ve seen businesses fail to adapt and fizzle out; this includes roofing companies.
Looking To The Future
We know how difficult it can be to adopt technology for a business. However, the payoff is well worth the pains which come with it. We’ve had interviews with some great candidates with years of experience roofing, but they have limited experience with technology. We’ve found our clients have come to rely on the technology we use just as much as we do. At the end of the day, the willingness to learn how to use the new technology is much more important than 5-20 years of experience.
We also get asked about younger generations getting into the roofing industry and why it’s important to look to the future. We know a lot of roofers are getting older. To help drive interest, we go to schools and showcase the technology we use and even bring an Xbox with us to let the kids play our racing game. We want to show them roofing isn’t only about getting up on a roof and nailing some shingles down. With Rackley it’s a very advanced field.
The Future Of The Industry
As the first recipient of the inaugural RT3 Innovator of the Year award, Rackley is always trying to move the industry forward. We want to continue to improve it and make it better as a whole. If you’re interested in working with Rackley, or even own another roofing company and want to learn how to implement technology into your business, contact us today to learn more!