EMPLOYEES LEARN TO EARN IN COLORADO W
eisburg Landscape Mainte- nance in Colorado Springs,
Colo., is celebrating not only its 16th year in business in 2016, but also its status as a top-nine NALP-member company with most certified staff by member category. This year, 11 staff members, including company president Jeff Weisburg and vice president Eric Moroski, are certified with a total of 19 specific certifica- tions. Over the course of 12 years, 24 employees have held Landscape Industry Certified credentials. Two more are testing this year. “Certification plays an important
role in our company,” Moroski said. “It provides a solid foundation for our in-house training program, gives our 60-plus employees an incentive to move up the ladder and sets us apart from area competitors. In the bigger picture, it’s also a process to help raise the industry’s professionalism bar.” As Eric pointed out emphatically, if customers were to follow Jeff and him or their crews around all day, they would quickly change their impression of the industry. They’re horticultur- ists, business people, technicians, all the time helping to create a beautiful landscape for their HOA clients and other commercial customers. Certifica- tion recognizes this level of expertise, and companies promote their certifica- tion on their websites and to property managers and HOA board members during sales presentations.
LEARNING POWER That’s the big picture, the reasoning behind the company’s support of the certification program. Yet, the program generates significant value in other ways, starting with their employees. “Certification offers two immediate benefits for employees,” Moroski said. “First, it’s a badge of honor, something which they can
be proud of. Then, it provides an economic incentive. Those who earn certification also receive raises. We call it learn more to earn more. “At orientation, we roll out the certification program and explain that the company will pay for taking both the written and hands-on tests* and pay half the cost for retaking an exam. With this caveat, if they leave our employ before a year is up, they have to reimburse us for those costs.” The latter is very unusual, he said. “Certification is a reliable measure of how serious someone is about having a career within the industry. Employees with certification tend to stay with us; conversely, those with- out will likely have less longevity.” In that regard, certification is
one way the company deals with a chronic labor shortage that impacts the entire industry. As an education tool, it also helps ensure that cus- tomers receive top value for their dollar, which doubles back to the big picture, Moroski emphasized. “My feeling is companies that don’t pursue and actively promote certifica-
tion are doing the industry a disser- vice. By helping raise the perception of our industry, companies that em- brace certification are not only making a statement and separating themselves from the competition, they are also ad- vancing the industry. In other words, customers who learn more about who we are and what we do will allow us and our employees to earn more in the sense of not just have money but in having better lives.” 7
*Landscape Industry Certified Technician-Exterior written and hands-on exam as administered by NALP certification licensee Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado:
www.alcc.com/certification. For a full list of licensees authorized to offer this popular certification, visit
landscapeprofessionals.org/nalp/ nalp/certification/categories/exterior. aspx.
Weisburg’s Landscape Industry Certified team. Top row, from left, Chris Cronk, Stacy Curry, Jeremy Hughes, Carl Jordan (HR), Phil Blackmon. Bottom, John Connolly, Leif Liles, Barrington Miller, Jeff Weisburg. Not shown are Ben Maggard, Kristy Samora and Eric Moroski.
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF LANDSCAPE PROFESSIONALS 17
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