BUILDING YOUR TEAM
Tools and Tactics for Effective Internal Crew Communication
By Jill Odom
IF YOUR LAWN OR LANDSCAPE COMPANY IS ON THE SMALLER SIZE, effective internal communication with your staff probably isn’t a struggle as you can host meetings all in one place. However, as your company footprint spreads with multiple branch locations in different states or regions, chances are email alone simply won’t cut it when it comes to staying in contact with your teams.
While email and texting shouldn’t be
tossed out of your toolbox, utilizing a vari- ety of different communication methods can help ensure your messages aren’t being overlooked and are reaching the right teams. “For companies that find themselves needing a more robust communication system, the benefits after investing are realized quickly,” says Shannon Speratos, senior vice president of Sperber Landscape Companies, based in Westlake Village, Cali- fornia. “Streamlining messages to a specific audience; two-way sharing of important information in real-time; data storage by client or property; and easy access to records not only makes the entity more professional, it may also help separate them from their competitors who do not have such a system.”
FAVORED COMMUNICATION APPS AND PLATFORMS
Russell Landscape Group, based in Sugar Hill, Georgia, has 10 branches spread throughout the Southeast. They use Cognito Forms, which allows them to create custom reporting forms where users can enter complex data. These forms are routed to the appropriate recipients using conditional logic. Will Dutton, general manager for Russell Landscape Group, says they’ve been using Cognito Forms for four years now. Every- one has an app called ‘Mobile Manager’ where they can access these forms. Crew leaders can select their region, their branch and then fill out various forms such as a manpower request, a billing request, or communicate to the horticulture or irriga- tion team about an issue found on site. The user answers a gauntlet of relevant questions and then the report goes to the person in charge, depending on the request. They even have a social media submission form. “If you have a picture that you want to post of something that you’ve done,
like say the enhancement team has done an amazing job and he wants to post a picture,” Dutton says. “He imports it and all that. It goes to one of our people that handles the social media, and then they approve it, and then they post it.” Previously, Dutton says they were
inundated with emails and texts. With Cog- nito Forms, they are trying to reduce the amount of time spent on their devices. “We try to limit emails and texts unless
necessary,” Dutton says. Green Lawn Fertilizing/Green Pest Solu-
tions, based in West Chester, Pennsylvania, has over 200 employees throughout the Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware tri-state region. Alex Wolfington, senior vice president of business development at Green Lawn Fertilizing, says they use a vari- ety of communication methods including, Go Happy, Microsoft Teams, Evite, Paylocity, group chats and email. Evite sends notifications about company
events to employees’ personal and work emails, while Paylocity’s Community fea- ture shares announcements and general information. Go Happy is their newest communication platform and is a texting solution for company announcements. “We choose Go Happy as it had inte-
gration with our HCM software (Paylocity),” Wolfington says. “This was great to send reminders or information about company events such as meetings and team build- ing events. Another driving force was that front-line employees don’t always check emails, but a text is convenient and quick.” With a number of partner companies and a national presence, Sperber Land- scape Companies use a combination of specific text groups, Google Docs, emails, internal newsletters, their cloud-based operations software and face-to-face conservations to stay in contact with their team. “Text or email threads for specific audiences are universal, but not always the best form of communication,” Speratos
says. “We offer a multitude of services in markets from the Bahamas to the Hawaiian Islands and work in nearly every climate. Having groups in differing geographies, service lines, or network groups requires us to have specialized communication.” Speratos says they have built the systems as they grow and they’re constant- ly evolving. Their opera- tions software allows for notifications, instructions, issues, maps, and photos to be shared. “All landscape businesses
are in the service sector and our clients are becoming accustomed to fast and accurate information,” Sper- atos says. “Without a platform that provides for meeting or beating those expectations, a company could find themselves as the underdog in their niche or market.”
KEYS TO A GOOD COMMUNICATION PLATFORM If you are looking for a new communication platform to add to your operations, consider your company’s needs. “Any company considering an invest- ment in an additional platform should evaluate their needs based on the size of the business, coverage area, and client mix,” Speratos says. “The answers to these questions, again in my opinion, will dictate need.” Dutton says the main key they look for is efficiency. With Cognito Forms, they can proactively get in front of issues, and it also serves as storage for them as well. Every form is stored on the cloud and can be pulled at any time. Wolfington says they look for the
ability to send out reminders, set events in Outlook calendars, reach employees quickly and easily, and multiple redundant communication channels. A good internal communication platform should also be easy to use. Speratos agrees that a good system should be accessible and simple. “A complicated format discourages peo-
National Association of Landscape Professionals 33
Green Lawn Fertilizing sends out announce- ments and general information through Paylocity’s Community feature. Photo: Green Lawn Fertilizing
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