Spring is here which means things are typically happening at lightning speed. Although there are a lot of unknowns this year, keeping organized is not only a nice idea, it is crucial to you and your team's success. 

Here are a couple tips that will help ensure the important things are not slipping between the cracks:

• Create a written plan for the day. Preplan all of the repeat tasks that often fall through the cracks and use the rock, pebble, sand method to ensure the most important things are scheduled first. 
• Leverage a calendar. Leave some whitespace between tasks so that if something comes up, it doesn’t derail your entire day.
• Block out distractions.
• Delegate tasks you do not need to do.
• Track how you are spending your time.
• Eliminate unnecessary tasks.

I also encourage owners to pay attention to how much time they spend on the phone and with whom. Is it your management team or are you getting calls from staff and crew leaders regularly? 

If crew leaders are calling y...

Tailgate talks are one of the easiest ways to engage your staff and promote a culture of safety. They are specifically designed to be a quick review of safety protocols and techniques your staff have already been trained on as a reminder to keep safety in the forefront of their minds.  

Tailgate talks create the opportunity to connect with your entire staff once a week and enable you to not only touch on safety topics, but also to talk about changes in company policies, recognize individual or crew-based achievements, and acknowledge birthdays or other important events. 

Here are 5 tips for creating engaging tailgate talks: 

• Preplan your tailgate talks for the season so you don’t need to worry about what your next topic will be. Create a tailgate talks binder sorted by topics and dates relevant to the time of year (ie. In April, talk about blower safety ahead of spring clean-up) and decide in advance who will be speaking on each topic.
• Keep it short. Tailgate talks should be arou...