How to Hire the Right Employees for Your Lawn Care Company

Many Hands Make Light Work

As the owner of a lawn care business, we’re guessing that growth and expansion are among your top goals as time goes on. While it is entirely possible to increase your clientele and knock out a sizable number of lawn care projects on your own, if you really want to make a name for yourself in the Central Florida area, you’ll need to bring on new employees.

Especially for the first time business owner, the hiring process can be daunting. How do you know you’re hiring the best fit for your company? Even after interviews, background checks, references, and so on, you may be left wondering if your new hire is really reliable and will work well with the rest of your team. Sometimes, it may be enough to just go with your gut feeling, but if you find yourself needing guidance before you start hiring, check out the following tips to help give you confidence in your hiring decisions.

Remember That Growing Pains Are Inevitable

If you’ve been the sole employee of your lawn care business from the start, no doubt you’ve developed a series of skills and systems that streamline your work and help you get the clients you want. When you start to share your workload with a new employee, you’ll more than likely find that they don’t do things the exact same way that you do. For many people, it’s very difficult to give up that control to someone else.

Before you even start hiring, you need to get comfortable with the fact that your employees will have different approaches to the job. Part of being a leader is listening to your employees’ suggestions and adjusting processes so that they suit everyone involved. You may even find that your new workers can improve your operations by applying their unique points of view.

One way or another, it will take you some time to acclimate to your new hires. Go into the hiring process keeping in mind that your efficiency may dip momentarily while you go through the training phase, but as your company grows, you’ll be able to reach new levels of performance.

Ensure Your Company is in the Right Position to Hire

Hiring employees and paying wages are among the most expensive parts of running a landscaping company, so you need to make sure that hiring is the right decision for your company as it stands. First and foremost, weigh your workload versus your capabilities. If you feel like you’re drowning or getting burned out, or you have to turn down new clients regularly, it’s probably past time to bring on a new employee. Secondly, you need to make sure you’re getting good reviews before you start to expand. If your clients are regularly making complaints about your service, you need to review your procedures before you bring on someone new. Finally, assess your income and make absolutely certain that your business will survive the cost of hiring, training, and regularly paying wages. Speaking to a professional accountant can be a great help in determining your readiness to hire.

Define Your Ideal Candidate

No two landscaping professionals come with the same set of skills or work schedule! First, you should weigh whether you want a full-time, part-time, or seasonal employee. A full-time employee will cost the most in terms of regular salary, but they will save you time and money when it comes to training and customer service, and they can help you boost your ratings by building relationships with their regular clients. On the other hand, seasonal employees or contractors can save you money and help you knock out extra work right when you need it, but you may need to spend more time on training if you’re getting a new set of employees for each seasonal rush.

Additionally, you need to assess the types of skills you need most for your company. It should be fairly simple to find an employee who knows how to mow a lawn, but you may have specialty clients who need pruning and landscaping services beyond the basics. Determine the services that take you the most time and would be better served by someone with expertise in that area.

Once you’ve narrowed down your requirements, it’s time to create a job listing that explicitly states your needs and expectations for future employees. Be sure to be transparent about hours, pay, and benefits so that your new hires aren’t blindsided when they begin working in earnest. Otherwise, you may find yourself with a high turnover rate, which costs more in the long run.

Don’t Neglect Customer Service Expectations

Hiring a team member who has the skills needed to manicure and maintain beautiful lawns is critical–but you should also make sure they can provide excellent customer service to your clientele. Your employee should be able to answer customer questions and deliver project news as needed in a professional and timely manner. You want to invest in someone who cares about your customers just as much as you do.

Develop a Training and Onboarding System

Your new employee’s first day sets the tone for the rest of your business relationship. You’ll want to be organized in the way you present your company standards, desired certifications, and training system. It may take some time to put one together, but an employee handbook is a seriously helpful tool when you want to keep all your important information in one place.

It’s also a great idea to invest in some kind of company uniform so that your new employee can immediately feel like part of the team. You should also be clear about your new hire’s schedule and your methods for measuring performance. In a nutshell, the more you tell them from the start, the less time you’ll have to spend answering questions and correcting mistakes in the future.

Don’t Be Intimidated By the Hiring Process

Hiring may be intimidating for the uninitiated, but if you keep in mind that you’re doing it for the benefit of your growing company, it can become an exciting opportunity. Your local mower repair team at Gator Mower Parts is here to help your growing company. To learn more, call us at 407-260-1292 today.