On June 12, participants visited Land-
scape Workshop’s Bessmer branch loca- tion where they visited different stations covering the facility, fleet & equipment maintenance, install operations, floricul- ture and maintenance operations. Much of Landscape Workshop’s branch layout is designed for peak effi- ciency from having chemicals pre-mixed to having on-site gas pumps for fueling at the end of the day. One of the signs at Landscape Work-
shop’s facility includes ’10 Things That Require Zero Talent’ which lists being on time, work ethic, effort, body language, energy, attitude, passion, being coach- able, doing extra and being prepared.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Know your metrics and reward your top performers.
Make it easy for your team to do the right thing.
When considering M&A, make sure you are partnering with a business in your niche.
For their maintenance crews, being
prepared enables them to leave the yard within 15 minutes of arriving. Bill Cobb, vice president of operations with Land- scape Workshop, says the only way this happens is everyone does what they’re supposed to do at the right time. At the install station, Justin Smith,
vice president of the install division, says 2/3rds of their costs come from materials and 30% is in labor, so they are focused empowering their project managers to make informed decisions. “People are noisy,” Smith says. “People
are needy, but a lot of the cost is tied up in the silence of material.” He says by requiring their team to
conduct price checking regularly, they save 10 to 20% in material costs. All of Landscape Workshop’s decisions
are driven by the transparency their met- rics provide. The most important thing to do with the data is to react, individualize, analyze and publish the results. For instance, with the Net Promoter
Score that Landscape Workshop sends out twice a year, they ask clients on a scale of 1-10 how likely they’d recom- mend them to a friend. If the score is from 1-8, respondents are prompted to
share what changes the company needs to make while 9-10 scorers are asked what the company does well. Back at the hotel, Landscape Work- shop outlined their lean finance and ac- counting setup, which relies on systems and automation. They also shared how their company focuses on high-value, high-ease tasks to improve the business over time.
A panel of former owners shared also their M&A experience with Landscape Workshop and their new roles since stay- ing with the company. As the company has completed more acquisitions, they have improved their process to make the transition as smooth as possible. Landscape Workshop has a full-time post-merger team that stays with a new- ly acquired company to make sure every question is answered immediately. Price says the most important thing is communication, both the clients and employees of the acquired company. He says the biggest lessons he’s learned from M&As is to stick to your niche and it’s ideal for the owner to stay on with the organization. Thank you to our partners Gravely and Heritage Landscape Supply. TE
Field Trip
Don’t miss the next Field Trip at Sebert Landscape in Chicago, Illinois, on Sept. 17-18. Register here!
National Association of Landscape Professionals 13
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