5 Tips for Effective Employee Management for Your Landscaping Business

You probably didn’t open a landscaping business with the intention of focusing on managing staff. However, when you master excellent interpersonal skills with your workers, virtually every other facet of your business will fall favorably into place.

1. Create a solid infrastructure

Whether you are setting up your company for the first time or working to build it, one of your first priorities should be to optimize your behind-the-scenes operations. After all, it is this system of software and hardware that will ensure seamless payments and rich relationships with your customers.

To make it happen, find a merchant provider for landscapers that specializes in your industry. This company will assist you in choosing the equipment and tools that you will need, and will be at your side should any questions or technical difficulties arise.

The point of sale system that your merchant services provider helps you choose and configure will have a number of built-in components. 

Perhaps some of the most important are employee management tools that let you set and change schedules on the fly and track hours and productivity from anywhere. 

With this human resources transparency, you will always have your finger on the pulse and can address concerns and positively reinforce desired behaviors, with minimal effort on your part.

2. Connect with every worker

Although you cannot and should not spend your whole life dialoging with staff members, it is crucial that you create and nurture a personal relationship with each one of them, regardless of their status in your organization. 

This is where your landscaping employee management tools can be indispensable. Use them to make a profile for each worker that highlights the jobs that they do.

Then solicit feedback from your clients, also made possible through your point of sale system’s customer relationships tools and email capabilities. 

When their survey answers reveal an area of particular strength or challenge for your workers, take the time to discuss it with them, rewarding and offering instruction where warranted. 

Doing so will show all staff that you value their contributions and see each as a unique person with their own special gifts and talents.

3. Meet regularly with everyone

While information from your employee management tools is a powerful way to gain intelligence about each worker, there is no substitute for scheduled face-to-face meetings. Be sure to set one up at least three times a year so that you can continue to benefit from the numerous advantages these conversations bring.

There is no better way to learn about a person’s aspirations and concerns than to sit down and talk with them. 

After you discover what they love about the job, as well as the areas that challenge or bore them, you can come up with ways to address any issues. 

In the end, every worker will feel heard and supported and will be more likely to work hard and remain in their position longer.

4. Make customer interactions easier

One of the most significant points of tension that your staff encounter is negative interactions with customers. 

For instance, you might ask your landscaper to collect a late payment from a customer, only to have it turn into an unexpected confrontation for which your employee was unprepared.

By allowing for seamless payment methods such as recurring invoices that are automatically withdrawn on a specific date for a set frequency, your front-line workers never need to deal with payment details. 

This allows them to do their job without conflict, leading to higher morale and happier customers.

5. Focus on skill-building

As you know, landscaping and lawn care encompass a surprisingly broad variety of skills. As you get to know each worker better, you can get a handle on where each person shines as well as any gaps in their expertise.

Then invest in your staff by providing workshops that will enable them to expand their capabilities. These sessions could range from anything from weed-killing tactics, to dealing with challenging customers. 

No matter what training you offer, it will serve to enhance your company and its employees while simultaneously giving each individual additional skills that they can use on the job. These talents will serve them even  after they have moved on to another type of work.

Staff members who feel supported and respected will help to nurture your landscaping business at every stage. Focus on their well-being and skill development, and you and your customers will be richly rewarded.