Employee Retention - Part 2

Among other retention strategies, we acknowledge and reward employees for exemplary performance. Account managers and field supervisors carry around various gift cards, which they can give to any employee "for a job well done." Upper management also strives to get out of the office and into the field at least once a week, to interact with employees and let them know that the company truly cares about the work they're doing.

Providing employees with thorough job descriptions and making sure they understand our expectations of them keep unwelcome surprises to a minimum, and we try to address issues in a fair and timely manner.

We like to have fun, too. Company outings, parties, and celebrating special occasions and anniversaries are tremendous stress reducers, and they demonstrate employee appreciation.

Again, our company has been fortunate to have a solid employee retention rate. Part of this success comes from having a good name and reputation within the industry, and part comes from having an overall strategy designed to find abnd keep the best talent available.

Employee Retention - Part 1

Over the years our company has been fortunate to attract and retain good talent. Not to say we have all the answers, but allow me to share some of our retention strategies with you.

For us, retaining employees starts day one by giving new hires a thorough orientation. We want to make them feel welcome, comfortable, and needed before we begin training them and putting them into the field. Part of this "welcome wagon" approach includes having nice digs. Our office and shop areas are neat, and our properties are nicely landscaped. We want our clients landscapes to mirror our own and vice-versa. We offer a pleasant working environment for employees. I know this makes a difference, because I have worked in less attractive surroundings.

We want our employees to take "ownership" of their positions and feel valuable. We do this by soliciting ideas from them and sharing information. We also invest a great deal in training and education. The key here, of course, is to give our people a chance to grow their careers with us, which implies, we prefer to promote from within, and we do. Well trained, skilled, and tenured employees add directly to greater field efficiencies. This in turn is passed along ultimately in savings to our clients without sacrificing job quality. Providing value to our employees and our clients is sustainable when you continually invest in them and truly care about their future, regardless of current economic conditions. More to come.....

Employee retention key to providing good service!

First and foremost, I expect our employees to be honest with us and our clients. A dishonest employee throws a 'monkey wrench' into our culture and our operation. I have a myriad of other expectations that we have of all of our employees, as well. Humility is important. Being confident in what we say and do and remaining humble at the same time is important to us. I also look for employees who are friendly, energetic, eager to learn, and respectful of clients and fellow workers.

As a leader in our company, I have very high expectations, but I am also a realist. Finding employees who meet all of my expectations is just as unrealistic as thinking that I am the ideal employer. I strive to set a good image, and always strive to be neither confrontational nor impatient. I believe that our employees deserve the same mentoring standards that I was so fortunate to have as I was coming up in our industry. With proper mentoring and coaching, our employees will fully understand and deliver what we expect of them.

We strive to be responsive and respectful at all times, not simply when it is covenient. We want our clients to enjoy the experiences and interactions they have with a first day employee, all the way up to the president of our company. The expectations we have of our employees as it relates to customer service and interactions with fellow employees and the general public are all the same. Be honest, fair, and respectful.

We retain our employees because of the principals I have talked about. This ultimately translates to providing our clients excellent service, at a reasonable price, with people they enjoy working with. By abiding by these simple truths, we keep good employees who deliver good service. Clients and employees alike enjoy the experience and want to work with us because of it.

Our industries clients can have both!

Raising our industry's level of professionalism has been, and will continue to be an ongoing battle. This is especially true today, as cost savings in dealing with vendors has become increasingly important to many of our industry's clients. Many people have "jumped "into the landscape maintenance arena as new construction has dried up. This has driven the price point, and with it in many cases professionalism and job quality down.





Why? For starters most anyone can mow a lawn and plant a flower or two. Not many of us dare repair an electrical circuit or suddenly fancy ourselves as indoor plumbers. In addition, there are no apprenticeship and journeymen tradesmen steps to take before you can become a full-fledged landscape contractor. Instead it seems that a pickup truck and a mower are all that are needed to line up work and begin having clients and potential clients compare the professional contractors to what is essentially our lowest "uncommon denominator."





The perception is that 1) what we do is a commodity and 2) that anyone, including an uninsured out-of-work, factory employee, can provide the same level of service as a degreed horticulturist with 25 years of experience.





All of us like to work with professional people, whether it be a fellow employee or a vendor. As a professional contractor we have the same desires. We have enjoyed the relationships we have established for many years with our clients. It hurts us all to receive a cancellation letter due to being "beat" with a lower price, without having the opportunity to sit down and discuss the budget constraints many of our clients are under.





All of my professional colleagues in our industry are more than happy to sit down and work with our clients to come up with a budget that works for all, while preserving a professional image on the outside of your particular complex. In this time of vacancies and empty store fronts, one of the first things people look for in considering a lease or rental experience is appearance, both of the landscape, and the individuals, trucks, and trailers associated with servicing and preserving that professional image. We want to live and work in nice places.





By sitting down with us and discussing your particular needs, you will find with professional landscape companies that we can save you money and continue to provide sound, quality service. We are here for the long run. The low price competitor, many times will not perform as they promise, and eventually cost you more money to manage than any savings you may have gained short term. We do understand your individual situations, and are more than willing to help!