In 1999, I began offering management recruiting services to the commercial landscape industry after years in the same capacity
in Silicon Valley. Unlike my experiences in high-tech there, I began hearing words like loyalty and longevity to profile company
cultures and candidates.
My first impression was that I'd joined a vibrant, expanding industry where employee loyalty is rewarded with employer loyalty.
That initial impression was refreshingly correct.
Goal: hire key managers I recently met with the owners of a successful California landscape construction and maintenance company. Two years ago,
the owners employed my company to help them find and hire key managers. The company bills more than $50 million annually and
it's still growing.
During the meeting, the senior manager informed me that out of the 22 people placed through my company, 15 continued to be
employed for more than a year. The senior manager thought this was unsatisfactory. Based on current trends, I thought that this was an average ratio of retention.
I asked if he knew the percentage of new employees his company retained for more than a year. He didn't. Why were our viewpoints
so different?
What all employees desire
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From my perspective of having worked with many landscape companies, I had seen the pool of qualified management personnel
shrink. Simultaneously, the number of jobs requiring management and/or leadership skills continues to grow. It has become
an employees' market. This happens when an industry grows in quantum leaps. This is what I witnessed in Silicon Valley in
the early '90s.
My client, like many other companies, is accustomed to an employers' market, with abundant hiring choices. This is when employee
loyalty thrives — fewer jobs, fewer choices.
Another multi-million-dollar landscape company recently hired a top-notch manager for one of its high profile divisions. The
company was sure it had secured an excellent manager. Less than six months later, the manager gave notice and moved on to
a competing company.
Of course, this turnover is damaging to employee moral, client relationships and bottom-line revenue. The senior managers
re-examined their hiring practices...but is it possible to screen out everyone who might consider better opportunities in
a booming industry?
Why did the new-hire leave? The position he left was an excellent match with growth potential. Was his primary motivation
more money? A better benefits package? Is that greed, or is that what the market will bear?
No guarantees My company, Landscape Career Search (a division of Career-Climbers), was employed to search for other candidates. One of my
clients said he was ready to make a career change. I introduced the candidate to the company. The senior managers put him
through a rigorous interview and screening process. At the end of the process, the candidate was still breathing, received
an offer and accepted it.
Can I guarantee that he'll stay? In today's work environment, there are no guarantees. Even so, most managers that I've worked
with in this industry reward loyalty with loyalty.
The commercial landscape industry is an exciting frontier whose growth has caused an explosion of open positions to fill.
It's time to think out of the box, seek long-term solutions and be creative and competitive to attract and retain all levels
of management candidates.
There are plenty of guys with shovels and lawnmowers in landscaping, but the bar has been raised for what's required of managers
or supervisors, indeed for a commercial landscape professionals, in general — college degree in related field, profit and
loss responsibility, articulate bilingual professionals with field and personnel management experience who can drive the
business upward, who can run systems.
