I was scrolling LinkedIn recently and saw a fellow business owner, Steve, who posted a question to the community: How do other landscaping companies deal with the summer slump?
Even the best long-distance runner can’t maintain a 100-meter-sprint pace for a full marathon, and I think sometimes it can feel like that’s what we’re trying to do as landscape professionals. Let me share with you a few things that I think can help.
Offering vacation
There are nuances to our paid time-off policy at Grunder Landscaping Co., but the gist is this:
⦁ Seven paid holidays.
⦁ Six days of paid time off (PTO) for full-time team members, which increases with tenure.
⦁ Three days of PTO for full-time seasonal team members, which increases with tenure.
From here, the details are a little complicated and specific to our company, but I think it’s important to note that we’ve been offering a policy like this for 20-plus years and implemented this policy when we were a much smaller company.
I think companies often think they can’t afford a policy like this, but what I’ve found is the inverse. You can’t afford not to give your team a break. Our team members are people with lives and families they want to spend time with, and often they come back from their time away refreshed and ready to go.
Watch your words
Our words have power, both in influencing our own thoughts and attitudes and in influencing the people around us. I often see teams speak misery into existence. By sitting around complaining, all we’re doing is pointing out and stewing on problems.
Instead, try to be part of the solution. There’s a reason why branding is a multimillion-dollar industry: Perception often becomes reality. Let’s talk about our challenges as opportunities, make a concerted effort to pay compliments to our teammates, and when presented with a problem, focus on finding solutions instead of placing blame. These small shifts in the way we talk can actually shift the way we think, too.
And remember — what you say and do as a leader sets the example. If you’re complaining, you’re giving your team license to do the same.
Be mindful of the schedule
We have to keep one eye on our fall schedule at this time of the year and make sure that we have enough work to keep our crews busy through the fall. When we look ahead, we can anticipate problems before they become emergencies. If the schedule is looking a little sparse, I encourage salespeople to start with their existing clients. Where could we find some additional enhancement work to do? What projects do we know we could sell them? There’s work everywhere. It may be a little harder to find this year, but it’s still out there.
Grunder Landscaping Co. has been in business for 40-plus years at this point, and we’ve seen it all, from the strong demand of the COVID years to the Great Recession. But no matter what’s going on in the world, one thing is true — great people are what make companies successful. Supporting our teams, keeping a positive attitude and staying ahead of the problems we can foresee separate great companies from the good ones.
If you’d like to see how we support great people at our own company, we’re opening our shop up for four groups to tour this fall. Come see us at one of our remaining Grunder Landscaping Co. Fall Field Trip dates.
