“I have an education background, went to college, and worked for my dad over the summers. But I never thought I’d go back into roofing,” the teacher-turned CEO of McPartlon Roofing said in this brief videochat with RC.

Training and education are leverage points for many companies trying to elevate and retain their crews. Balancing her experience as an instruction coach and teaching with her passion for the roofing industry, McPartlon is fostering a company culture that strives for success with customers while also driving innovation to improve the profession.

Part of the strategy includes monthly one-on-one meetings with staff, regardless of work backlogs or schedule challenges. McPartlon whittled it down to communication about three key questions: what’s working?; what’s not working?; and what’s the prescription for change?

“Nothing is off the table,” she said of the ideas generated during those discussions. “It might sound crazy, but sometimes those crazy ideas work.”

It has led to better communication company-wide and also became a way coworkers could uplift each other.