Is your landscaping or lawn care company expanding? In that case, it may be time to start hiring landscaping employees. If you hire the right lawn care workers, your business will gain essential benefits like the ability to:
- Serve more customers
- Expand your services
- Focus more time on your running your landscaping business
However, before you can reap the benefits, you’ll need to ensure your recruiting and onboarding process is ready to hire landscaping employees. This guide discusses just that.
Continue reading to learn the ins and outs of hiring lawn care employees in 2022.
Step 1: Start Hiring Landscaping Employees When You’re Ready
Before crafting job postings and preparing to onboard a new lawn care hire, you should be sure it’s the right time to do so. Generally, the best time for hiring lawn care and landscaping employees is different for every company.
However, it may be time to bring on new employees if your business is experiencing one or more of the scenarios below.
- You don’t have time to do lawn care work and run the business
- Your company experienced a significant influx of new clients
- You’ve recently lost key employees, or you want to replace current lawn care workers
- You have large contracts in place that you don’t have the staffing to service
Mostly, it’s recommended that you start hiring landscaping workers while you’re experiencing growth, but before you’re swamped with clients.
Step 2: Know What Type of Lawn Care Workers You Need
You likely know that you need an equipment operator, landscape gardener, general laborer, etc. However, there are a few more things you should consider when hiring lawn care workers. They include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Employment Status: Do you need a full-time, part-time, or 1099 contractor?
- Experience: Do you have the time and infrastructure to train, or do you need them ready on day one?
- Budget: Can you afford to pay market value for the best landscaping employees?
Once you know the type of lawn care worker you need, you’ll be ready to start advertising for your next lawn care hire.
Step 3: Understand How to Find Landscape Employees
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects that there will be 179,600 job openings for grounds maintenance workers (i.e., gardeners, landscapers, etc.) every year for the next decade.
With that in mind, your landscaping business will need to stand out if you want to attract the right talent. Here’s how:
- Write a compelling job posting: In addition to job descriptions, your posting should include salary information, benefits, and unique information about your company.
- Post in the right places: Places like Indeed, CareerBuilder, ZipRecruiter, and Monster are great places to start. Also, Facebook can be an excellent recruiting tool.
- Maintain your reputation: If your lawn care company has a bad reputation, it will be challenging to hire top-tier employees.
The good news (according to the BLS) is the landscaping industry is expected to grow by 5% in the next 10 years. However, that growth also means that there will be increased competition for the best landscaping employees. Your business will need to be as attractive as possible to land top landscaping and lawn care talent.
Step 4: Choose Your New Lawn Care Hire Wisely
According to the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM), it costs an average of $4,129 per new hire. That includes the cost of recruiting, onboarding, lost income while training, etc. With that in mind, making the wrong hire isn’t just bad for your overall business goals. It’s also devastating for your bottom line.
Step 5: Have an Onboarding Plan Before Hiring Lawn Care Employees
After you’ve recruited and hired a new lawn care employee, you should have a solid onboarding plan. That means it’s typically not recommended to hire lawn care employees on Monday and expect them to be up to speed on Tuesday.
Your lawn care company should provide new hires with a strong onboarding experience. Doing so can provide countless benefits, like:
- Increased retention rates
- Higher employee satisfaction rates
- More competent and confident employees
What Are Landscape Employees Called?
There are many types of landscape employees depending on your company’s needs. A few of the most common positions in landscaping include but are not limited to:
- Equipment operators
- Landscape designers and architects
- Grounds maintenance workers (i.e., lawn care and landscaping technicians)
- Arborists
- Agronomists
- Landscape foreman
- General laborers
It’s essential to note that the title of the job listed on your posting will directly impact the type of candidates you attract. So, consider exactly what your company needs and craft position-specific job postings.
What is The Highest Paying Job In Landscaping
The hourly rates and annual salaries of lawn care workers vary depending on location, company size, and other variables. However, the highest-paying positions in the landscaping industry are typically landscape architects ($68k – $78k per year) and landscape estimators ($45k – $66k per year).
How Do Landscaping Companies Get Clients?
Hiring landscaping employees is one thing. Finding landscaping clients is an entirely different thing. Generally, the most effective ways to find new customers for your lawn care and landscaping business include the following:
- Networking
- Google Ads for lawn care businesses
- Search engine optimization (SEO) for landscaping and lawn care businesses
- Social media marketing
- Word of mouth
Take Your Landscaping Business to the Next Level
Hiring lawn care employees who fit your company’s needs can help differentiate you from competitors. In most cases, the better the employees, the better the service. The best service typically leads to more business and longevity for your landscaping business.
Green Group partners with lawn care companies to provide creative, professional, and profitable lawn care and landscaping services throughout North America. We use the power of our brand, local partnerships, and industry knowledge to provide excellent services and memorable customer interactions.
Learn how your landscaping and lawn care business can join Green Group today.
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