Spring is here! Whether the grass has started growing in your area or not, it is time to start preparing for springtime and the busy season that comes with it! As the green season approaches, here are some steps that your landscaping business should take in order to be properly prepared for your soon-to-be-full business calendar.
Stay On Top of Your Scheduling
This is the first step to ensure the work you have promised to your clients will be completed. Effective scheduling strategies allow for a smaller chance for work to get missed or delayed. This means you are setting yourself up for happy clients!
For Maintenance, be sure you have a solid recurring Maintenance schedule built out.
- For Enhancements and Construction, build out your backlog.
- Don't forget about irrigation!
- Have you developed a seasonal onboarding process or staffing strategy for Irrigation Start Ups?
- Can you set up a recurring route for inspections?
Work Ticket Management Is Important Year-Round, But Especially When Preparing For Spring’s Growing Season.
This means ensuring the right work ticket is scheduled for the accurate number of hours, completed on the right date, and future visits are scheduled if the work is not completed in one visit. Managing your work tickets properly results in staying on budget, more accurate financial forecasting, simpler end of month, quicker invoicing (more cash flow!), and meeting your financial goals.
Seasonal Hiring, Training, and Onboarding
Once you have begun scheduling and have implemented your advised staffing strategies,, you are able to determine exactly how many man hours you need for the month, season, etc. This is why scheduling in advance is so valuable. You can schedule for months ahead, review your current staff, and determine if you need to start hiring. This allows you plenty of time to recruit potential employees, build a bench, and be ready to fill the positions when the time comes.
- Don't forget! If you need to change your schedule, that is ok. By scheduling in advance you are creating a game plan. Sometimes the plan has to change. Be prepared to make changes as challenges come up.
With seasonal onboarding comes landscaping training. If you do not have a solid landscaping training program, now is the time to define one. We’ve all been there; it’s the middle of the growing season and you realize you need more people. Adding new employees’ mid-season can be difficult, but doing so without a training plan will only make it worse! Improperly trained employees feel rushed and underappreciated. Experienced employees may be hesitant to work with other members lacking necessary landscaping training, skills and tools.
The result of poor training is increased turnover – leaving you in a worse situation than you started. Establishing a proper landscaping training program is the solution to many potential problems down the road and healthy company culture, resulting in higher quality results.
Review Your Company Culture
Your team is only successful and unbeatable if you have a strong culture. You can improve your culture by being an involved leader/manager, making individuals feel appreciated, rewarding good work ethic and correcting poor work ethic, etc. (To find more culture related resources, go to our blog page and select “Company Culture” from the category list).
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