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providing high-end work apparel to Nasrallah himself cooking pancakes for the staff on Mondays. “Your employees have to be number one and then your clients,” Nasrallah says. “When your employees are doing well, they’re going to treat your clients well.”


Photo (above): Designscapes Colorado Photo (right): Mullin


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always looking for ways to do better. “Our culture can be described by our vision statement, which is to equip and empower our staff to be the best possible representatives of our core values,” she says. “We put a great deal of value on education, quality, personal and professional integrity, delivering quality work to our clients and being solution providers.” The company has less than one percent turnover annually. “Our tenure for production laborers is over 3 years, supervisors over 6 years and sales and management staff almost 9 years,” LaPlante says. At Mullin, Gutierrez and compa- ny president Chase Mullin will plan monthly activities to do together with the office and field staff. The company has a set aside budget for company culture-related expenses. “People that come that are new or come from different companies they’re like, ‘Wow, you guys really do so much stuff for us,’” Gutierrez says. “It doesn’t always come at a low cost for us, but at the end with the return on investment, it all works out. Having happier employ- ees at the end works out better for everyone. The production is better. The culture is better.”


Last year when Ground Works didn’t receive their H-2B workers it caused the company to focus on their company culture and work to gain a better under- standing of their employees


“It disciplined us and made us stron- ger as a company,” Nasrallah says.


WHAT MATTERS MOST TO EMPLOYEES As for what makes your company culture, Nasrallah says it’s not one particular big thing, but a number of small elements that add up. At Ground Works, this includes everything from


30 The Landscape Professional //March/April 2021


Ground Works surveyed their staff for the first time last year and this is how Nasrallah learned that his employ- ees wanted him to say thank you more often. He says this opened his eyes to how people have different wants. “The biggest thing that took me a while to realize is appreciating your em- ployees,” Nasrallah says. “Saying thank you. Some people don’t care about the money. I was very driven to let the mon- ey do the talking but some people don’t care about the money. They just want to know that they’re doing something good and that they’re appreciated and acknowledged and respected for what they’re doing.”


Mullin surveys their staff to see why they stay, and the first answer is culture and the second is pay. Gutierrez says companies shouldn’t be afraid to survey their team members because if you know there’s something bad going on, it’s good to know about it. “We spend more time here than we do at home,” Gutierrez says. “I don’t think anybody would be willing to stay someplace for such a long time and be unhappy.” Some of the elements that make up Mullin’s company culture include giving out employee anniversary gifts, participating in philanthropy and getting to know their team members personally. This could be anything from giving an employee a gift card to celebrate their new baby to the annual Christmas party where employees’ families are invited and Gutierrez gets all the kids’ names. “Then we have Santa hand out gifts


to them,” Gutierrez says. “It’s always a huge thing when the kid sees that Santa knows their name already.” Steinhauer says his involvement in all aspects of the business helps him keep a good handle on the culture. He is responsible for meeting sales goals like the rest of the team and is out in the field managing his projects. “I usually can see when something isn’t going well and address it because it’s not like I’m not interacting with my entire staff,” Steinhauer says. TLP


Room to Grow: Providing Career Paths


JUST LIKE HOW YOU NEED TO provide plants with the proper spacing so they can grow to their full potential, a key retention tool is training and providing a career ladder for employees.


“I think that’s an important thing as a company, you have to continually evolve and create opportunities for the new people you hire,” Steinhauer says. “So, keep them motivated, engaged and show them they’re valued.” Gutierrez says Mullin is currently working on their training program to improve their retention. Prescrip- tion Landscape aligns development with an employee skillset to create a career. Their irrigation team has the most licenses and credentials of any landscape and snow management company in the state of Minnesota “They value all the opportunities to continue to build their skills and grow in their careers,” LaPlante says. “We are particularly pleased that so many people use the winter season to gain added certifications.” Ground Works has an organization


chart that has excited the team to see what positions they can grow into. “They see the growth and they see the potential; they want to be a part of it,” Nasrallah says. “You have to con- stantly keep them excited and know what they’re working toward,” Nasrallah says. “You can’t have them just think it’s a paycheck. You got to have them think it’s a retirement.”


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