Building an A-list Landscaping team can be a challenge - treat yours well!

Finding good people is a struggle all Landscape Business owners can relate to. So - when you have good people, make sure you treat them well.

While the what and how are not important, the doing is. With staff spending more time with you than they do their own families, it’s crucial that they feel respected and appreciated.

We asked a number of business owners how they show gratitude and generosity to their staff and here are a few of the things they had to say:

We’ve created a place that people want to be

“We’ve worked at creating a culture where grumpy employees do not fit in. We don’t have it all figured out, and a few less than ideal hires have slipped through, but we strive to make DICAM a enjoyable place to work.” said Brian (Dicam Landscaping). “Over the past number of years we have really worked on our culture. We hire mostly based on referrals, and attitude is a huge factor. If people complain or grumble a lot I hear about it quickly because we have such happy and hardworking employees. COVID has changed our ability to do this, but our staff often come to the shop early to get a chance to connect with coworkers they don’t work with on a daily basis. I also carry Tim Hortons gift cards with me all the time and if I notice one of our staff doing something above and beyond or I hear about something they have done, I give them a card. We also do company events fairly often but change up what we do. We’ve had food trucks, gone to a Toronto Blue Jays game, played a game of baseball, we actually just played a game of Bubble Soccer which allowed us to be together while still socially distancing.”

Benefits

Dave at Envision Landscapes told me attitude is a huge factor for them as well. “We don’t put up with a lot of negativity. Our staff respect each other and we expect honesty out of them. We hire based on attitude when we can. If they have a bad attitude we try to correct it or else they don’t usually work out. We also have a work boot allowance and benefits for our guys. Another thing that may sound simple but is important to us is that we try and make sure our staff aren’t working a lot of weekends. We do staff barbecues sometimes or we may take them out for lunch but we don’t do that as often as I would like.”

Focus on their Career Journey

“We have a very strong company culture and make sure to regularly show gratitude towards staff. Breakfasts, bbq’s, freezies for the guys, etc. Not everyone comes to the shop now, so we post good news on a staff-only Facebook page instead (ie. when someone got a compliment, someone did a good job, etc).” 

“Every employee has a different journey and wants to move forward in a different way. Sometimes people surprise us - it’s about sitting down and getting to know the person and their history. Don’t make rash judgements. Some want to progress, others are happy where they are and they just want to get better at what they do but they don't want management necessarily. One of the things that is important to us is that we understand what each staff member wants and make sure we are doing our part to ensure they are on track for their career goals.” (Ed Hansen - Hansen Lawn & Garden)

Make every interaction matter

Jay Murray from TLC Landscaping and Pools says, “Take care of your staff. Your teams on the ground are the most important piece of your business. Be grateful for your staff or don’t succeed. Your choice. Onboarding, mentorship and training is also crucial. Make sure they feel like part of the team.”

“Say thank you! Make every interaction with your team matter. The surest way to show people you are grateful is to show them you are grateful in each interaction. Be gentle, be kind. Let’s be honest - they are not here for the money. When you are paying $15/hour they are staying because of the environment. You better be sweet as honey.” (Jay Murray - TLC) 

Jay also talked about an app they recently started using through Facebook called Workplace that has been creating a sense of community during COVID with their millennial generation staff. Staff will post images showing off a job, wishing someone a happy birthday, the staff in the repair shop will make videos on how to troubleshoot something if they see the same issue coming in often for repair, they have mowing crews competing for who can cut the straightest line, etc. “It's an effective way to show community and communicate with them. There may be 8-10 new posts a day and it’s never been negative. It's cheap - a few dollars a month per employee. It’s a tonne of fun.”

Include family

“We have a social committee and once a month we have a big staff & family event. Earlier this year we had a bird house building workshop and in January we had a brewery and waterfall tour, we just went horseback riding and we had tickets for the Jays home opener but COVID changed that. We also do sporadic bbq’s when it’s been a tough week and we have a donation budget that allows us to do random acts of kindness for staff and clients. For example, one of our staff has a mom in the nursing home and we redid the gardens for all the residents to look at.” (Jeff - Jeff’s Outdoor)

Living wage year round

“We don't have a system per se. I think if you systemize it, it can quickly become disingenuous. We try and approach it so that people understand they can make a career doing this. We have benefits and an RRSP program for our people. Our managers have trucks and phones. We want our people to have a living wage all year round. They need to be able to put away money for their kids' education. We also have bbq’s, Christmas parties, trivia contests with swag as giveaways.” (Mountview Landscaping)

Say thank you - both verbally and in action

“I am a very heavy believer in saying thank you. In fact, I probably say it too often. We have employees that notice it and appreciate it a lot. We focus on being very fair. Our staff get vacation and we have a RRSP contribution program - we will match up to $1 per hour they work into an RRSP account. This has been huge because a lot of our field staff are making $20/ hour and having a way to save for their future is a way for us to show that we are a company who cares. We also just hired a HR person to do goal coaching with our staff.” (Chris - Mr. Mow-It-All)

As you can see once again, there is no one way to show gratitude. The how is not what is important. It’s the gratitude and generosity that is.

Do you have a way you show gratitude to your staff that we haven’t mentioned? Send me an email - I would love to hear about it!