Building a Culture of CARE.

Having consulted several different companies, from various parts of the country, each with unique cultures, I have realized the importance of one word. Care. Owners who genuinely care for their employees can build strong cultures, no matter the hardships the company endures. Most owners would be quick to say, “of course I care for my employees,” but what does it really mean? What does caring for your staff look like? And just as important, how do you create a culture out of it?

Caring for your employees is more than providing them with running equipment, making sure to check all the safety boxes, and providing them with comfortable uniforms. Although your employees might appreciate all these things, even huge corporate companies can provide in the same way. As an owner, you have the ability to influence the impact every employee experiences just by walking through your doors.

Taking it a step further from treating your employees well, how do you listen to them? Do you truly care what ideas they have, or about the struggles they face each day? And if you do, how do you make sure THEY know how you feel about these realities? Some companies collect surveys from time to time. Great! What the employees might not see is that YOU read each response and provide a solution to as many as possible. Caring for your employees looks like not just doing the things but making sure they FEEL the effect.

In an industry as rough as Landscaping, it is easy to fall into the pattern of not taking these extra steps for your employees. I know because I have been in your shoes. I know how frustrating it is to be seen as the “Boss” who doesn’t take complaints seriously, when I truly do! The difference in Caring for your employees and making them feel cared for, is being transparent and taking those few extra steps.

On the other hand, I know that some employee requests are quite frankly, silly or unreasonable. What I am not saying is to allow these to influence your productivity. But if your company’s culture is struggling, you might consider evaluating how you’re expressing your care for your team. Here are a few simple gestures I have found successful and might help you too. 

Keep Your Door Open

Most landscape companies experience the rush of the morning and end of day as the frontline team starts and ends their shift. Unless you have a meeting scheduled try and keep your door open during these times of the day. This helps you be approachable to the team and allows for interaction. Some of them won’t engage. But for others, this might be the highlight of their day. They might love sitting in your office for 2 minutes at the end of their day to share how it went or ask for advice. No matter their level of engagement, keeping your door closed will certainly make you appear to be unapproachable. 

Engage in Front Line Meeting

If your frontline team has a meeting on a regular basis, daily or weekly, make sure to participate. Even if you have an Operations or Account Manager who is running the meeting, by showing and chiming in where you can you are displaying interest in their jobs, making them feel cared for.

Boots on the Ground

Get outside and visit a crew while they are on a customer site! Provide some training where you can and be sure to celebrate their great work with them. When they see you taking the time to visit them on site, they will see that you care for how they are doing. This one can be tricky, as it is easy for them to feel intimidated by the boss showing up. By being aware of this potentially negative response, try and make your interactions light and positive. Then when you do need to provide training, they know it is coming from good intentions. 

Let’s wrap this topic up with an important reality. If you have managers under you who are responsible for your team’s performance, be careful to not break the hierarchy of management. You would never want your Account Manager to feel that their employees are stepping around them directly to you. There is a fine line, but it is a crucial one. Hopefully, these simple tactics spark some ideas for how you might adjust to make your team feel cared for. Given that your frontline team is what provides physical results for your clients, it’s important!