The Restoration Industry Association (RIA) has made great strides to get organized and reach more restorers with the message of uniting to advocate for the best interests of restoration contractors. The Advocacy and Government Affairs (AGA) team has identified the major issues that are challenging restorers and created position statements to articulate a shared stance on those issues. We are having meaningful conversations with industry stakeholders and speaking with one voice to drive changes within the restoration ecosystem.  

I believe some of our hiring struggles come from the need to establish our craft as a major construction trade and articulate the potential for a career in our industry. One way we can do that is by laying out a clear career path that shows how someone can grow in our industry, similar to apprenticeship programs in some trades. This can also help us support higher labor rates that more accurately represent the skills and certifications that our technicians use to solve our customers’ problems. The good news is that our weakness is also an opportunity. A career path, along with a clearly communicated purpose and greater meaning behind our work, will help us attract candidates to our awesome industry and keep them here because they have abundant opportunities to develop themselves as professionals.

Now is the time to improve how we monitor legislative issues and devise strategies to take swift action to ensure the restorer’s interest is represented at the state and national level. We have opportunities to join forces with like-minded organizations and build coalitions to maximize our advocacy efforts. I also anticipate there will be a push for restorers to have regular representation with carriers, third parties and pricing platforms in 2022.

If history has taught us anything, it’s that we have to avoid shiny objects and stay focused on our main priority, which in the RIA’s case, is advocacy. In a world where there are endless things vying for our attention, we have to work twice as hard to communicate with restorers to let them know when new advocacy resources are released, and how they can access those resources. Fortunately, this is a relatively easy fix. Restorers can make sure they’re receiving RIA e-newsletters, follow us on social media, and attend RIA events to receive the latest training in how to use our advocacy resources.