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Diversity: Getting involved in the industry cultivates diversity

October 22, 2019By
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Ed Wallace, owner of Midwest Landscaping in Long Beach, Calif., is active within associations representing the landscape industry. He was the first African American president of the Orange County chapter of the California Landscape Contractors Association. He’s proud of the diversity within his own chapter, noting that diversity ripples out into the association at the state level. “Gaining and retaining... read more

Diversity: Look beyond H-2B to solve staffing issues

October 22, 2019By

Maurice Dowell, co-owner of Dowco Enterprises, in St. Louis, Mo., says the cost of H-2B labor has started to get him to rethink his approach to staffing. “We’re blessed to have a facility almost adjacent to our clientele,” he says. “The problem is it’s not adjacent to the talent that we need to build our clientele.” H-2B labor isn’t cheap,... read more

Diversity: Gachina Landscape Management joins Movember movement

October 22, 2019By
Gachina staff (Photo: Gachina Landscape Management)

It’s no secret that men outnumber women in the green industry, and while H. Jaclyn Ishimaru-Gachina, president and CEO of Gachina Landscape Management in Menlo Park, Calif., says her upper management and executive team is 50 percent female, her operation’s focus has been to foster and encourage women in entry-level positions within the organization. In her San Francisco branch, there... read more

Diversity: Creating a thriving female-owned business

October 22, 2019By

“Getting work has never been an issue,” says Trina Julian, owner of Country Girl Gardens in Hayden, Idaho. But embarking in the landscape industry as a woman wasn’t an easy road at first. When Julian started the business about 10 years ago, she struggled to be taken seriously by other landscape businesses when she needed some assistance hiring subcontractors for... read more

Employee Recruitment: Cast a wide net

October 22, 2019By

It’s difficult to recruit employees for snow removal services. The hours can be long and unpredictable; plus, it’s no surprise employees will be working in the cold. “It’s hard to recruit in the winter months because it’s seasonal on call,” says Bruce Vander Vennen, president of Jack’s Lawn Service and Snowplowing in Grand Rapids, Mich. “So, employees may only work for... read more

Employee retention: Make yourself known

October 22, 2019By

Get out there and make yourself known. That’s the advice Gail Reinhart, recruitment and personnel specialist at Hidden Creek Landscaping in Hilliard, Ohio, gives to any landscape contractor who is having trouble finding qualified employees. The company has 150 employees and provides 40 percent landscape maintenance and snow removal and 60 percent design/build services to a 55 percent commercial and... read more

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