Good Employees

[Shark1611]

How in the world do you guys find people to work in this kind of business? How do you qualify them, how do you find people that want a paycheck, how do you find people who take pride in there work? Man I am so frustrated, most are on drugs, lazy, mess up my equipment, want more money for less work, family issues, drama, etc.

[SECTLANDSCAPING]

Lawn care business tips

Its hit or miss. I had the best luck with military personal. The problem is there only available part time. I tried carpenters, roofers, and some were good till they found other work, others thought the work was to hard and the pay was to little. Every year I bring on about 5-6 new guys. The ones that last usually just listen and show up. Theyll miss spots and if Im, not on them **** doesnt get done. The ones that work hard, show initiative and do things the right way always job hop.

__________________
South Eastern Connecticut Landscaping /Lawn Care /Pressure Washing /Snow Removal /Gutter Cleaning
52" Brutus/52" Super Surfer/44" Pro Line/60" ZMaster
EB630/EB802/EBZ7150/EBZ8000/BR400/Billy Goat 8Hp
FS55&90/FC95/km110/L322&326/TR2350S
HC150/HC155/CHTZ2460
CS440/MS290
Case 1816 Skid

[dpld]

unfortunately the real good employees don't last because they usually have the brains and ambition to either start their own gig or move on to a better career choice.

if it makes any of you feel better, or at least the younger guys starting out, the problems have always been the same good help has always been hard to find because lets face it no one grows up wanting to be a landscaper especially, no one grows up wanting to be a employee of a landscaper.

the only difference is there are fewer people today that even have any work ethic.
the younger generation is screwed.

there are exceptions to the rule with all of the above but the business is not what it used to be and the economy has created a influx of excess landscapers.

i still have plenty years to work but i am always looking for other avenues to travel to make a living after being a landscaping/ tree care professional for 28 years.
i still like doing what i do but it is getting old especially with the excess baggage of employees.
the sad part is the only two things that piss me off is customers and employees and the day i can make a living without either one will be the day i finally figured it all out.

[CHEESE2009]

It's impossible, lol.


BUT

I have an idea.

You can make the position more 'interesting'. As the owner, you can come up with a title that would give them more ambition to hold onto it.

Instead of "grunt" "b*tch" or even "crew worker"... try

"Class A, Master Level Lawn Manager"

Holy hell, that sounds good doesn't it?

-

Ladies will ask, "what do you do?"

You'll say, "I'm a class A: MLLM"

Ladies will respond, "What's that?"

You'll say, "Master Level... Lawn Manager" as you sip on your martini.

I don't have any employees, but when I get to the point where I need to hire someone i'm doing what my lawn care mentor did when he hired me.

I mentioned it before, but he brought me and another guy in....On our first Monday he told us both "One of you will have a job at the end of the week, one of you won't." I busted my arse, the other guy texted, took his time getting out of the truck...he was just not into it.

IMO you get two things from this....the guy hires himself, and the guy you end up hiring already set his own bar and can only improve. He can't really slack off because you've seen how he can work.

[SECTLANDSCAPING]

Originally Posted by JeffK26

I mentioned it before, but he brought me and another guy in....On our first Monday he told us both "One of you will have a job at the end of the week, one of you won't." I busted my arse, the other guy texted, took his time getting out of the truck...he was just not into it.

I do something close to that in early spring. When we're doing large mulch jobs I bring in 3-5 guys for a few installs. This year I had 2 good guys but one moved 40 miles away to do construction work and the other went awol. They were both hard workers and detailed oriented. You cant teach that.

That put me into a position of looking for guys in the slow part of the season.

One of the big problems is winter is unpredictable. If I cant keep the guys busy they find work elsewhere. Then in spring I'm right where I left off.

I had a real hard working guy for 2 years but hes the type that think hes the boss. Everyone hated working with him. He was rude in front of the customers. Then we finally got into it with him telling me how to do his job.

[CHEESE2009]

Originally Posted by SECTLANDSCAPING

Then we finally got into it with him telling me how to do his job.

Don't you just hate people like that? Arrogant s.o.b.

[PVMS]

I take parents background into account when I hire. Odds are if the parents are manual labour types, they have instilled good work ethics into their children.
I stay clear of Uni students and the like. Real men are a dying breed here in Australia. The current generation have had it way too easy, are demanding and all together useless. Iphones are now considered a body part, and they must check fb every two minutes to survive the day.

[stevef1201]

Originally Posted by Shark1611

How in the world do you guys find people to work in this kind of business? How do you qualify them, how do you find people that want a paycheck, how do you find people who take pride in there work? Man I am so frustrated, most are on drugs, lazy, mess up my equipment, want more money for less work, family issues, drama, etc.

I have two great employees. They show up every day ON TIME, work just hard as I do. Never complain. Really great. By the way they are my left and right arm. Never had any luck with anyother 'helpers'

[Shark1611]

Originally Posted by SECTLANDSCAPING

Its hit or miss.

I had the best luck with military personal. The problem is there only available part time.

I tried carpenters, roofers, and some were good till they found other work, others thought the work was to hard and the pay was to little.

Every year I bring on about 5-6 new guys. The ones that last usually just listen and show up. Theyll miss spots and if Im, not on them **** doesnt get done. The ones that work hard, show initiative and do things the right way always job hop.

Sounds like you have been driving around in my truck. Same issues. Thought about an ad in the paper but I am sure I would get all kinds of nuts. Dont have the time to mess with the calls.