BUSINESS
organizational psychology and is with Te Harvest Group, a nationwide landscape busi- ness consulting group in Vista, California. He and other industry experts offer advice
T
on how to mitigate the resulting challenges. “In 2019, everybody had a job. Tey were moving, mak-
ing progress and making money,” Cesare points out. A variety of factors emanating from the COVID-19 pandemic has made it “very difficult for service industry employers now to recruit, retain and motivate their em- ployees” as they try to balance hiring difficulties with high pay requests that may complicate gross margin goals, he adds.
Cesare offers three avenues to address that challenge,
leading to employee retention. One is to pay more as an incentive. Te pay factor is important in that work in the green industry is physically challenging, something that isn’t attractive to everyone, Cesare points out. “You have to sweat most days to make an impact to get
promoted and be recognized,” he adds. Some people would rather work in a more cognitive capacity. Second is to establish a peer bonus plan through a work
group or team. “If every member of that team comes to work every day
in a month, that whole work group gets a bonus,” says Ce- sare. “Conversely, if any one member is late even one time during that month, the whole team forfeits its bonus. In a way, that team is managing itself.” An attendance bonus can help get them to come back and establish the diligence to show up to work every day. Employers can establish an employee retention plan with the career ladder explained during the interview process that illustrates what it would take to advance to a supervisory level, notes Cesare. Tat paints the picture that the company is invested in the long term for employee retention and is supported with ongoing training for safety and skill sets. A third approach is to establish a company culture, a
driving factor for employees seeking a team-oriented and social culture with peers. “It’s having a company that values the same values and
priorities that I value,” says Cesare. For some employees, “work is not about their life, their life is about their life.”
Meet employees’ needs
You can’t always get people to show up, says Jeffrey Scott of Jeffrey Scott Consulting in New Orleans, Louisiana, who works with lawn and landscaping businesses through con- sulting, coaching and peer groups. “Te key is what you do with people who do show up,”
he says. Tat means “plugging the holes in the bucket before we
try to fill up the bucket,” Scott adds. “Te best thing you can do when people are leaving your company is to do an internal survey to get honest feedback. Find out what peo- ple love and don’t like about your business.”
irrigationandlighting.org
oday’s workforce is very different from the workforce from the pre-pandemic time of 2019, points out Steve Cesare, who holds a doctorate in industrial/
What’s appealing is talking about the opportunity and the fact that the employee works for an import- ant company and would be part of
the mission and vision.” – Neal Glatt, GrowTheBench
Te most successful approach in getting people to show up is understanding what employees really want, says Neal Glatt, managing partner at GrowTeBench, Hopkinton, Massachusetts, which provides online education for the landscaping and snow removal industry. While pay is important, he cautions employers to not
ignore employees’ other needs, with growth and develop- ment opportunities being paramount. “Te number one perk people want is job flexibility,”
says Glatt. Te factors that are having the greatest success in the
current workforce are the creation of a workplace that fo- cuses on employee career development, upskilling employ- ees to promote them and job flexibility, Glatt says. “Traditionally, the green industry has been a field where
flexibility wasn’t really provided,” he adds. “We don’t have the same opportunities for remote work, but we do have opportunities for flexibility around start time and poten- tially around commutes. Whether or not we allow someone in the field to keep their vehicle for personal use are all leverage opportunities. We have to be able to deliver on that value.” Purpose is one key factor in getting people to show up, Glatt notes. Tat purpose is found in having a job that cre- ates spaces in the natural environment and protects plant health, increasing quality of life. Tis is well-established through research, he adds. Protecting the environment through water conserva-
tion is another value underscoring the purpose of a green industry job, Glatt points out, adding “the majority of ir- rigation technicians and frontline workers are not being told why what we as companies do is so important. Tat’s a mistake of managers.”
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