Challenges happen every day in the Green Industry. Maybe the competition has been stealing away your company's best employees. Perhaps the weather is playing havoc with your schedules. Quite possibly, a truck hauling trees has broken down miles from the job while a crew waits to begin planting. Each day brings new snags and obstacles to success that a good manager must learn to maneuver through. We expect these from outside sources, but what we usually don't expect, and sometimes don't even recognize, are the obstacles coming from within our own company.

Estimators vs. field supervisors

One internal problem to keep an eye out for is the battle between your estimating department and the field supervisors charged with completing a project within estimated budget allowances. Have you ever heard comments like, "It looks like the estimators bought another job," or, "They missed something again."? How about, "Those field guys need more experience; they can't even read a blueprint."

Vila & Son General Manager Charlie Lockerson and Project Supervisor Scott Campbell review a demolition plan with estimator Ivan Vila.

Estimators and supervisors should work toward a common goal but instead they often point fingers and try to place blame when something goes wrong, rather than search for a constructive way to reduce errors in the future. Many factors can contribute to these errors, and one possibility is that managers simply have not taught these two groups how to work together.

The landscape business is fluid with constantly changing variables that require quick decisions made on the fly. This can make preparing perfect bids difficult for estimators. Factors such as material delivery changes, plant or pipe shortages, absent laborers, inclement weather and equipment breakdowns are nearly impossible to predict. A miscellaneous cost factor for these unanticipated problems can be included in the bid, but if the estimator adds too much, he may risk losing the job for the company.

This is where better communication with field supervisors could help the estimators do a better job at predicting job costs. Managers should be the ones to help facilitate this communication. If managers create an atmosphere where communication is open and appreciated, estimators can draw on the experience of the field personnel to prepare a more accurate estimate.

Communication goes both ways

Conflict resolution checklist

It works the other way around too. In some instances, the sales and estimating department may have information that would help the field workers perform better.

Here is a situation that comes to mind: The salesman on a particular project has agreed to complete a small project for a new client at cost, in exchange for the promise of a larger upcoming project. The field workers, seeing there is a tight budget, but not having the inside knowledge as to why it's so tight, may push hard to bring the project in within budget rather than do their typical, high-quality job. The new client thinks this rushed job is typical for the company and withdraws his offer for future work. If the estimator had communicated the big picture to the field group superintendent, the super probably would have bent over backwards to impress this new client, and there likely would have been a better result.

It's human nature that when a mistake is made, a person first looks for causes other than himself. In the above scenario, the estimators will point at the field personnel and the field personnel will point at the estimators. Facing reality can be hard, and when conflict arises many managers subconsciously avoid dealing with the problem.

A company culture that sweeps problems like these under the rug can be a big part of the problem. It is important for an organization to develop a culture where shared company values are evident and everyone's concerns can be voiced without fear of retribution. In order to build a sense of common values, management must develop methods to tie company values to group and individual actions.