[grlandscaping]

The 2005 season is finally here for the most part. That means new clients, new products, and new projects.

It also means, for me, implementing a new system for my company, stepping away from field work. I've spent most of the winter (late Nov. - the first of march) working for an interior landscape company for some winter income (it was suppose to only be till mid-january, but they needed me to fill in for a ill employee). That has put me behind alittle bit, and adding to my stress.

This is my 6th season, just bought a house last year, my wife and I are expecting our first baby early November, and I've hired on my first crew that will operate without me. I have confindence in my new foreman and crew members, but I keep finding myself getting stressed over this transition. I've spent that past 2 weeks in the office setting up a new estimating program, and now have been estimating for the past couple days.

I'm finding myself anxious for the season to kick in, worrying about all that needs to go on in order to make this transition go smoothly. What have you guys expereienced when going through this transition? I know i've read about it here and there in past threads, but I felt the need to type all this out, since I was unable to sleep because I was thinking about what was going on the next day

As a side note, this pertains to mainly the new guys starting out: Check out my website and read about the book I've co-authored about ethics in business. Along with 13 other young entrepreneurers, told our stories on ethics with our own experiences. It is a motivational read, check it out...www.grlandscaping.net

Thanks for reading it all if you made it this far

[GLAN]

I guess I can say that I pretty much have been more of a managing owner than a working owner for some 10+ years. Ever since a car accident.

Here is what I found....and I find this true every year. During the spring..I am out there with the men. Cleanups I want them done to my specs, so I have to be there most all the time. They can on their own, they just need to think that I am just around the corner and just about to show up at any time.

Then when the crew starts maintenance....It is in my best interest to begin with them and run with them as much as I can definitely the first week and the most of the following week or two. Now mind you......I can let the crew be on their own.......I know they prefer that I am there to critique and help out as much as possible. That and the customer appreciates seeing me. Now I will get to that in a momment.

Lately and this coming season I have been forutnate to have more installation work.....so. What I do is....As I mentioned working with the men. I get them all reved up...Motor through cleanups and then break a couple times and knock out an installation project. And that will continue till we are doing weekly maintenance......then as I said I have to be with them the first week no matter what. This establishes pace. After that I can time to time break out with a guy or two and concentrate on installation and other planting work. Then it is on to summer shrub trimming. Oh, not to forget during all that lawn applications.

I start out with the guys trimming and try to set pace for them and to knock out a reasonable amount quickly.

What I am describing is not so much a hands on and working...It has developed into a supervisory possition where I walk around coordinating the men and pointing out specifics that need to be addressed while we are there. But I am there.....and everything goes very well.


Now I don't have to be their all the time.......but at the beginning of the season while setting expectations for the men and customers, I have found that my presence and or participation goes a long, long way in every one being happy.

Now there is an inherent problem with this.....

[GLAN]

The problem I found with all my involvement in the field.....time for office work........Years back I didn't mind so much doing the office work in the evening and into the night.....Spring is hard enough, calls to return after work, estimate appointments, etc. All and still having to do office work.............OK, granted not every day is alot of office work. Today?.......2005 being my 29th season. I don't have the interest of working as much as 16 hours a day most days of the week. I now prefer after work, return a couple calls, the occasional appointment. Maybe an hour or so in the office on occasion.

So......I guess in some ways I have gotten to the point of running the business rather than working it. Cause I now do more estimating during the day and will work in the office during day more than at night.

Now....remember when I said that the men and customers appreciate seeing and that I am there?.........Here is what I have found out long, long time ago. The more I am out there.......the more I am on the properties......the more extra work we have coming in. It's a FACT......If I were to rely on customers calling for every little thing......I could wait till the next ice age. I have found that customers prefer to catch you while you are there.

I think the reason with that is......Cause seeing me, it jogs their memory that they wanted or needed to talk to me about something. Usualy about something extra they want done. So waiting for the phone call...........now how many times have you said......Oh I'll call so and so later......or tomorrow. Later or tomorrow comes and goes....then weeks go by before you remember again, and you go through the same thing again.

The other plus to being out there is that I/you can offer suggestions directly to the customer, either face to face or leave a note. Just leaving a note they realize that you were there.

Lastly.....over the years that I assumed a supervisory role, not physicaly working all that much. I gained weight. Not a good thing.

So.....Here is what I am going to do this 2005 season. I am going to operate with 1 less man. I feel that I need to be working more. I can still performe the supervisory roll. It just may mean more estimates in the evening and a little less time in the office during the day....But it is doable.

On the plus side.....I get back into shape. While increasing the amount of work coming in.........Cause I am there.

[jwholden]

Glan,

Excellent post, especially the part about being out there to talk to customers. I often make the mistake of assuming every other company out there is run just like mine, and forget that my personal touch is what makes my company better (or worse).

I admire you for trying to get back into things, but caution you that it may effect the 'big picture' in a negative way. My (every) crew assumes if you (the boss) are not on the end of a shovel or lawnmower you are doing 'boss goofing off' stuff. These fellas don't realize that the office stuff is just as (if not more) important than physically doing the work.

How nice would it be to go to work every day and be able to just run one job? I love late fall because most estimates are done and I get to go to work and simply work, not worry about returning calls, finishing designs, etc.

With that being said, I am a hypocrite and work as the crew foreman, bookkeeper, estimator, etc.

[GLAN]

jw

interesting point about the perceived boos goofing off stuff....

My guys have accepted the fact....I am going to do what I am going to do. Like it or not, they have a job to do and expectations to be met. They know this.

They are just not the best at coordinating a crew to work efficiently and to the best of their abilities. Foreman, no foreman. It just doesn't matter......remember the foreman is just an employee as well (there are exceptions)

I told my guys long time ago....I am tired of being a slave to the office all night, most nights of the week......so if I take off to do a couple estimates....get the jobs.....well, the men have to work it. After a while they began to realize how and where the work is coming from.

Now I will be totaly honest.........I have and can just stand or walk the properties as the guys are working. I don't have to lift a finger. I have certainly done just that......and look at me now.....out of shape and over weight. Oh, yes Lazy...

Well.....I can't do that any longer......LOL....because there was an extra person working for us. That I now need to take off my damn payroll.

So for me to get back out there working........it won't interfere with the basic operation of the business. I know my men. 3 of them I have had with me 15+ years.....could be approaching 20.

And that boss goofing off?..........Years ago when I would go out trimming shrubs alone or with a guy.......the maintenance crew followed and cleaned up.......so they knew I worked, they had to clean up......Now that is not to say that I could have stopped at 2pm taken a shower and gone into the Jacuzzi and then met the crew at the end of the day.....


Same goes for when do the annual planting or a perennial garden...things I could and would do myself.......the crew knew it was me.....so with that. They knew that I was working to......not that it was their concern

[cutntrim]

Well, I haven't stepped away from the field...more like moved further away from the mower and am spending more time with the shovel (or Bobcat as it may be). This is year number 13 for me and I've had two or three crews going for about 9 of those years. When my partner left for a career change in 2001 it meant that at least one crew would no longer have a hands-on owner at the helm. Luckily I had experienced employees at the time (who are still with me now) to make the transition a smooth one.

As GLAN alluded to, I'd suggest that you personally may want to train the new guys for a while before cutting them loose. Are you going cold turkey with stepping away from the field? You might want to gradually step away. Last year I only worked maintenance one day a week unless rain caused us to be backed up. The other days were for installation jobs and office work. I don't envision moving into the office full-time in the near (or far) future. I'd go nuts.

Not sure how much maintenance you do, but as mentioned by the other guys, regular customers might be more receptive to a transitional step-away by you, rather than having you here today, gone tomorrow from their properties. This would not be a problem with one-off landscape install customers obviously.

[grlandscaping]

Update on the how the transistion is going so far this year:

Really difficult so far, it is amazing how much you have to nurse your first foreman and crew in learning how things work, the expectations, and handling clients because the quality of work does drop when the owner/designer is not around. One of the new employees has not panned out the way I was hoping, and has turned into a leech on the company than anything else. Would love to learn more on unemployment and how a person qualifies.

Some things are going well, my ability to meet with new clients, working on designs, and my new, good employees being motivated and ready to learn.

Experiences so far this season has caused me to look at instead of moving out of the field into the office, move into the field and have someone come into the office to do the paperwork (i hate it). Has anyone gone about running their business this way?

[Bill Schwab]

gr:

First, congratulations on stepping back. Even though I find myself stepping into the Cat just to hear the engine run, and driving down a steep grade so I can hear the Jake brake farting, I have been in the office alot more than the past. Our crews are awesome, and if we get a bad egg, we make them better or get rid them without delay. Basically, they get with it or get out, simple as that. We don't even have to fire them, but we do find ways that they disagree with so much they quit. That stops the unemployment issue from arrising.
One of the fun things about the office is actually getting inside the business from the numbers angle, and, with yet another add on to QB, I can run a report on anything the mind can work up, including fuel used on each job, each machine, how much labor, how many nazi fees charged by the givernment, how much comp, etc etc.

What this has done is allowed me to see exactly where we need to be to profit by area for each job we do, and if we don't get our numbers, just move on to the next client who will gladly pay what we are worth. By compartmentalizing each job function and coding them based on access, room on a site, and equipment needed, we are making some pretty accurate production rates which can be used to check where your crews are at the half day point. If one is falling behind, I usually drive to the job to see what is going on, and if I have made an error, adjust it, or have a crew pow wow to adjust the other end. Realizing that production rates will vary slightly for crew to crew, and not every job is exactly as the next one, I am developing median production rates if for anything, just to keep honest people honest.

Our version of QB is connected through right networks to our bank account and the CPA's office. It uses 4 separate pass codes for security, not stored anywhere. WE can see exactly what we have in the account at the same time we write checks and look at the ledger balance, we can transfer, run payroll, etc etc. etc. This thing is slick as snot! so I give it the SAS rating of approval.

The key I feel in grooming your field crews is in training, and constructive criticism. Weekly meetings and tailgate safety meetings will keep your guys on their toes. The man hours they take add up, and we recover that in overhead, but, the gains you get for those investments is far beyond the man hours you loose taking that meeting time. Write specific job descriptions for each person on your team, assign a foreman, assign a company safety officer. You will be amazed at how far those titles go so long as you manage yor people the right way.

You will also find that managing people is the single hardest thing you do, and will create the most stress, hence, why we get rid of bad eggs. Once your guys are there, you will feel as though a 1000 lb weight has been removed from your chest.

Keep plugging, you aren't experiencing anything that anyone else who has made that transition is not or has not experienced.

[HardDaysKnight]

It's the hardest part of the business in my opinion.
Getting good help. My partner and I argue all the time
about good labor. Here is my theory on that:
This work is physical and demanding.We are beating
ourselves up working very hard in hot, high humidity days
and sometimes freezing our butts off. I make extremely good
money doing this. I think if you want a crew that shows up
everday with pride in thier work and a sense of security
in thier future, they should be paid well and rewarded
often. It seems that no-one out of high school wants a
part of any physical work. When you get a married man
w/kids who needs a job, no criminal past, grab him and teach
him and always pay your men top dollar.
We need good men and women to help and represent
our good names.

[Paul]

I agree with HDK, once you want to step away from the grunt work you have to develop people that want to do a good job! This means money! And along with it you have to instill the fact that in order to get the $$ they need to do good work in a timely efficient manner. I have never found a foreman that can beat my times(ok when I was young) but you and they need to understand how the work gets done right.

[jwholden]

I am trying to find a way to instill in my current crew that productivity equals more dollars. They are under the impression that showing up for work is all that is required. Honestly, this is my fault because I am happy to have a couple decent laborers on staff. I have been trying to teach the guys not to 'hustle', but to work smart. They don't care because they think if they are 'working' it doesn't matter. They get the check for eight or nine hours a day irregardless, again my fault.

Needless to say I've been frustrated as of late. But frustrated with decent help is better than frustrated with none.

[GLAN]

I don't care who it is out there in this business.

None have the ideal employee. None are the ideal employer.


Yes.....you can pay top $ for a foreman and laborers. Provide them with benefits, cell phones, company credit cards and other goodies. What have you done in doing this?

You increased your hourly operating cost. Now THAT needs to be returned in the price of jobs...........so......your price has to go ^

Even when you think you found that most perfect employee that works quick and does nice work.....Consistent? day in and day out do they perform? What about responsibility..........are they willing to accept and take on responsibility for themselves and others on the crew?

Lets face it folks.....even in the corporate world there are far and few in between employees that view the company above all else. And we are to expect that from a work force that populates most if not all construction, landscape companies. Individuals that are not or perhaps having a basic education? We as business owners expect them to think, envision what is ahead next month, next week, 2 days from now........let alone 2 hours from now? To expect them to be quick thinking, problem solving and always have the companies best interest in mind?

Forget it!

Can we hire adequate people to fill such positions.........yes.

No matter what you pay. There is no guarantee they will stay with you a life time, 20 years, or even 5 years.

Are we as employers expecting things that are perhaps beyond capabilities of most individuals...........Your damn right we are. Do we as employers consistently display consideration and care for our employees. Their well being, their success and happiness, their feelings? Do we share the same dreams and desires?.........that would be NO to both questions......Regardless, we as business owners and employers expect that of our employees and in doing so we lose site of what is on the flip side.

Probably the biggest problem I see out there in many companies that there is a clear and distinct division between the owner/employer and the employees. Clearly a lack of vision that you both are out there for the same reasons. That is to provide for ones self and the betterment of life.


The underlying goal is the same among all people......it is the getting their that differs and the perception and ways and means of achieving such goals that is uniquely different among everyone.


I have seen many business owners approach their daily tasks no different than a common laborer. Have seen many that view there work force as being no better than animals, and when expectations are not realistic.


Realistic is I think were there is a huge rift or the insurmountable hump that many face with regards to employees.

As an employer it would be wise to be realistic in our expectations of our employees and ourselves. In doing so both the employer and employee can have the motivation necessary for each to succeed.

[grlandscaping]

Wow, a wealth of info on the labor topic, sounding great guys!

My 2 guys that I mentioned earlier, are pretty damn good and well motivated (without me having to do much). Do they frustrate me when going to pick up a load of mulch or topsoil coinsides with lunch, and they both leave, not thinking the dump is a 1/2 hour drivetime + actually dumping + driving back + lunch + the after lunch regrouping, thus losing one man for upwards of 2-3 hours, hell yes. But seeing them thinking about it and changing their ways on the next job, makes me proud of them and I tell them such. My leech, has given me every excuse that one could come up with for not coming into work. Now most of these excuses are half-way believable and I give him the benefit of doubt, because I'm probably too nice most of the time. Without going into too much detail, he's given me the impression he's trying to get fired as to collect unemployment. He's been workin since april 1st, has never actually hit full-time hours, was taken down to part-time a couple weeks ago, and has called in for the past 3-4 times he was suppose to work. I haven't gone through my unemployment terms and such, but who is eligible for unemployment? It may sound crude, but he doesn't deserve a damn dime for his work ethic or to get paid to sit on his butt. If i were to let him go, what can I expect from you're guys' experiences?

Labor, important, but what about systems when stepping away from the grunt work? It hasn't taken long to find out that I'm definatly not one for tideous office work computer inputting. Gotta do it, and I'm growing into it, but I'm thinking I'm going to specific right now in tracking labor productivity and thus, creating very undesirable office work.

Thanks for all the info guys. I'll be putting up some new pics of the projects my new guys have done so far this year pretty soon on my website, get a chance, check them out.

[GLAN]

Unreliability is grounds for termination without unemployment benefits......it is where I am.

[jwholden]

Glan,

Awsome post!