Allweather Roof is a commercial roofing company based in Golden Valley, MN. The company recently sent 28-year company veteran foreman, Vince Neumann, to the ProForeman Certification. The course was a combination of various on-location training sessions, combined with webinars. Vince completed the course in February of 2019. He is the first Foreman at Allweather to attend the course. He is also part of the first few groups of foremen from various companies across the country to complete the certification.
The Pro Foreman Program
The program was designed about a year ago by the National Roofing Contractors Association to give new and experienced foreman a well-rounded set of tools to for their management toolbox. It includes reviews of various industry and roofing technologies, general construction business practices, leadership, how to train and motivate crew, and safety guidelines.
Vince Neumann shows off his custom made Pro Foreman hard hat as a symbol of achievement
Vince’s Journey
Vince started in the roofing industry straight out of high school as a summer job. After his freshman year in college, he chose the industry as a career path. He worked his way up through the ranks at Allweather and is currently one of the most experienced foremen at the company.
When asked about the program, Vince said. “It’s a validation of what I’ve been doing. I’ve been a foreman for 23 years.”
He said he gained new insight and refreshed on many items as well. When asked about one of the most valuable things he picked up, he said, “I learned a lot on how to read people and how to deal with different personalities… in our workforce, different personalities of managers, and of customers.”
Investing in Leadership
Allweather Roof Owner, Ken Sorensen, chose Vince to lead the way because of his years of solid leadership, and extensive experience. The plan is to send more foreman to the program in the near future.
Ken remarked, “Most of the foreman have come up through the ranks, and they’ve started out on a crew, working as a crew member, then became a lead, then a foreman. Most of their training is on-the-job. They haven’t had any formal training on how to work with people, how to motivate them, or how to get the best out of them.”
Ken also talked about the importance of retaining employees, and the challenges of finding and keeping the right workforce. He stressed how important it is to promote within and provide ongoing training, which not only helps keep employees on board, but also helps provide a level of consistency necessary for their customers.
“This whole program is just a part of who we are as a company, and what we’re trying to accomplish. We feel that we are a quality contractor and do a lot of things right, but we also know that we have to continue to get better to maintain our market share as well as to grow that market share.”
Allweather Roof is a nationally recognized award-winning commercial roofing company. The company was founded in 1925 and continues to serve the Twin Cities and surrounding areas. To find out more about Allweather or to become a part of the Allweather team click here:
https://www.allweatherroof.com/
To learn more about the ProForeman certificate, you can visit:
https://www.nrca.net/roofing/ProForeman-Certificate-Program-451