Between the 14.8% spike in commercial construction permits across Cascade County and the constant gravitational pull of the Bakken oil fields to our east, the Great Falls labor pool for skilled trades has tightened by roughly 17.6% since 2021. Most owners I speak with in the "Electric City" are exhausted. They are tired of the revolving door of laborers who show up for three days, get their first check, and vanish into the Montana sunset.
Exactly $8,412. That is the calculated cost of a single bad hire for a residential roofing shop when you factor in wasted training time, fuel, damaged materials, and the inevitable "re-work" that follows a sloppy install. Last month, I sat down with a contractor named Jaxon who runs a 12-man operation near the Missouri River. He was frustrated because he had just lost his best lead tech to a maintenance position at Malmstrom AFB. The base offered stability, and Jaxon felt he could only offer "more work."
The problem wasn't Jaxon's pay scale. It was his recruitment philosophy. He was treating hiring like a chore rather than a high-stakes sales process. In the world of high-performance roofing, your "product" isn't just a shingle; it is the crew that installs it. If you want to scale in a market as competitive as Great Falls, you have to sell the career, not just the job.
At a Glance
Recruitment is a sales funnel that requires the same intensity as closing a $35,000 stone-coated steel job.
Shifting to "Insight-Driven" hiring reduces first-month turnover by an average of 22.4% based on my coaching data.
Great Falls market conditions require competing with federal benefits (Malmstrom) and industrial wages (oil/energy).
Standardizing the vetting process via a "Trial Day" prevents the $8,000+ sunken cost of a bad hire.
The "Insight-Driven" Recruitment Pitch
Most roofing ads in Montana look identical: "Crews wanted, competitive pay, must have truck." This is what Harvard Business Review calls "Solution Sales", and it is dying. You are offering a solution to their problem (lack of money), but every other shop in Black Eagle and Sun River is offering the exact same thing.
To win over the "A-Players," you need to pivot to insight-driven recruitment. This means showing a potential hire a reality they haven't considered yet. When I coached Jaxon, we rewrote his entire pitch. Instead of talking about hourly rates, we talked about the 3.5-year path to crew leadership and the profit-sharing milestones available once a lead tech hits a 96% "No-Leak" rating.
You have to realize that the best roofers in Great Falls aren't looking for work; they are already working for your competitors. To move them, you need to offer a superior culture and a clear trajectory. This mirrors how LeadZik focuses on quality, prioritizing the long-term value of a verified lead over the noise of a shared market. You are looking for "verified" talent.
Great Falls roofing shops lose significant revenue when they can't field complete crews during peak season.
Sourcing Beyond the Standard Boards
If you are only posting on the major job boards, you are fighting for the leftovers. To find the guys who actually know how to flash a chimney or handle a complex valley on a Victorian in the Northside Residential Historic District, you have to go where they hang out.
I recommend applying diverse lead generation strategies to your hiring. Think of every potential hire as a lead.
- The Supplier Network: Spend time at the local supply houses near 10th Ave South. Talk to the counter guys. They know which crews are disgruntled and which subs are looking to move "in-house" for the right benefits.
- The "Reverse" Referral: Offer your current best performers a "Retention Bonus" rather than just a "Hiring Bonus." Pay them $450 when their referral hits 90 days, and another $650 when they hit six months. This ensures they only bring in people they are willing to work with.
- The Military Transition: Great Falls is a military town. Veterans from Malmstrom are often looking for high-intensity, outdoor work that requires discipline. Reach out to transition coordinators 4.5 months before their separation date.
The "Warm Body" Trap
Never hire out of desperation. Bringing on one "toxic" high-performer or three unskilled laborers to meet a deadline will cost you 3x more in reputation damage and crew morale than simply pushing the job back two weeks.
The 48-Hour Vetting Framework
When Jaxon started using this framework, his "no-show" rate for new hires dropped significantly. Most contractors wait too long to pull the trigger, or they hire on the spot without a test. You need a middle ground.
Step 1: The 10-Minute Phone Screen
Don't invite them to the office yet. Call them. Ask three specific questions:
- "Tell me about the most difficult flashing job you've done in the last 6 months." (If they can't get specific, they weren't the lead).
- "Why are you looking to leave your current crew?" (Listen for "blame-shifting" vs. "growth-seeking").
- "What is your preferred method for safety tie-offs on a 10/12 pitch?"
Step 2: The Paid "Skills Assessment"
Bring them in for four hours on a live job site. Pay them a flat $125 for their time. Watch how they interact with the crew, how they handle their tools, and if they respect the homeowner's property in neighborhoods like Fox Farm. This is the ultimate verification process, ensuring you aren't buying a "dud" employee.
The Great Falls Wind Factor
"When interviewing, specifically ask candidates about their experience with high-wind shingle application. In Great Falls, if they aren't obsessed with the six-nail pattern and starter strip integrity, they aren't Montana roofers; they're a liability."
Building a Culture That Defeats the "Oil Field Pull"
You cannot compete with the Bakken on raw hourly wages during a boom. You will lose that fight every time. What you can offer is "Life ROI."
I helped a shop in the region implement a "Winter Maintenance Guarantee." They saved a portion of their summer profits to ensure their core guys got 30 hours of pay per week during the brutal January stretches, even if they were just cleaning the shop or doing equipment maintenance. This 17.5% increase in annual stability was enough to keep their lead foremen from chasing $45/hour oil jobs that would disappear in 10 months.
Your CRM and tech stack should also be part of your pitch. High-performers hate chaos. If you can show a prospective hire that your jobs are staged, your materials are on-site before they arrive, and their digital work orders are clear, you are offering them a stress-free environment that the "fly-by-night" guys can't match.
Action Plan
A 90-Day Recruitment Sprint
A step-by-step implementation for a 90-day recruitment sprint.
The Audit (Days 1-7): Analyze your current turnover. Why did the last three guys leave? If it was for "more money," calculate the gap. Often, it's less than $3/hour, which can be bridged by efficiency bonuses.
The Multi-Channel Ad Blast (Days 8-21): Use targeted social ads specifically within a 45-mile radius of Great Falls. Use "Insight-Driven" copy. "Tired of the 2-week paycheck cycle? Join a crew with a 4-year growth plan."
The Interview Batch (Days 22-45): Schedule all interviews on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings. This creates a "scarcity" effect when candidates see other roofers in your waiting area.
The Onboarding "Wow" (Days 46-60): On day one, have their branded gear, a high-quality hammer tacker, and their safety harness ready. First impressions go both ways.
The 90-Day Review (Day 90): Sit down and show them their progress. Reference the "Close Rate" of the jobs they worked on. Connect their manual labor to the company's bottom line.
Want to skip the manual work and get exclusive, verified leads instead?
Get $150 in Free CreditsSales Psychology in Management
I often tell my sales reps that "the sale begins after the 'yes'." The same applies to hiring. Once they sign the paperwork, you are in a constant state of "re-selling" them on why your shop is the best place for their career.
I remember a training session with a rep named Riley. He was struggling with a crew that felt disconnected from the sales team. We started a "Sales-to-Service" bridge meeting every Friday afternoon at a local spot near Gibson Park. The sales team would share the "why" behind the job—perhaps it was an elderly couple who had been scammed before—and the crew would share the "how." This human connection reduced "call-back" rates by 13.2% because the crew felt a personal responsibility to the customer, not just the boss.
Conclusion: The Long Game
Recruiting in Great Falls isn't about finding "workers." It's about building an elite unit that can withstand the wind, the cold, and the lure of the oil fields. By treating your recruitment as a high-value sales funnel—utilizing scripts, vetting protocols, and cultural "insight"—you move from a "boss" to a leader.
When your crews are stable, your production becomes predictable. When production is predictable, you can afford to invest in higher-quality leads and scale your revenue without the fear of the wheels falling off. It's a cycle that starts with the man on the ladder.