There are times in every business when we face the challenging and often sad news that one of our key managers has decided to move on. The first reaction from leadership is often surprise. “How could we have missed this?” This thought is followed by fear and dread. “How will we make it and what will people think?” Finally, it... read more
Recognizing well-deserving employees boosts morale at J.W. Townsend Landscapes. Leigh Townsend, president of J.W. Townsend Landscapes, is always looking for ways to invest in his people, and he’s willing to learn from ideas that have been successful at other companies. When he heard in his peer group about a successful employee recognition program at another landscape company, he adopted the... read more
If you own or run a landscape or lawn care business, you likely have a knack for customer service. You wouldn’t be here, reading LM right now, if you didn’t. That’s why it may be difficult for you to understand why employees don’t come to work with the same mindset you do. Dave Murray, a customer experience consultant for Cleveland-based... read more
Of the 34 attendees of LM’s 2015 Lawn Care Forum, the majority noted the biggest challenge lawn care operators face is hiring and retaining quality employees. During a breakfast panel Nov. 18 at the Forum, Chris Joyce, owner of Joyce Landscaping and Always Green of Cape Cod, Andrew Ziehler, owner of Ziehler Lawn & Tree Care, and Terry Jungels, president of Total Lawn... read more
Attend enough conferences about the landscape industry (or write enough stories about it) and you begin to hear many pieces of business wisdom repeated over and over. Much of it’s good and galvanizing when you hear it the first time. Some of it, though, starts to sound trite when you hear it repeatedly. That said, there’s one idea I’ve heard... read more
As discussed in Extinguishing Burnout, communication helps managers combat employee burnout, and it can come in various forms. Written communication is often an effective way to get a message across to employees. Employees cannot break bad habits or form good ones if they don’t know what they’re doing right and wrong. Communication is essential, but it’s not always easy. To improve communication between managers and... read more
