April 2026 - Page 2 of 3 - The Edge from the National Association of Landscape Professionals

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Month: April 2026

Team Building: How to Choose and Use an Applicant Tracking System Effectively

Applicant tracking systems can be a double-edged sword for lawn and landscape companies that are facing labor shortages and a high volume of applications. Designed to assist with organizing, reviewing and ranking resumes, an ATS can save your HR team time and allow you to hire more quickly. Yet overreliance on this tool can result […]

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Your Next Competitive Advantage: Practical Sustainability Tactics Clients Actually Care About

Consumers care about sustainability, and they’re willing to pay for it. Even as inflationary pressures rise, 80% cite a willingness to pay more for sustainable options. However, what practices you choose to focus on matters as clients are seeking sustainability changes that benefit them through cost savings, increased quality of life and aesthetics. Water Efficiency […]

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Spring Surge Playbook: How Landscape Companies Navigate Seasonal Workload Spikes

It’s been said, ā€˜Chance favors the prepared mind,’ and this is particularly true when it comes to tackling the spring busy season. When you have the right systems in place, your team can weather the operational challenges these next few months will throw at you. Conduct Strong Safety Rodeos While hopefully a good chunk of […]

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The Business Case for Better PTO Policies

When you’re competing for top talent, having a strong PTO policy is table stakes.   Andy Blanchford, CEO of Blanchford Landscape Group, based in Bozeman, Montana, says their PTO offering is part of their multipronged approach to being an employer of choice in the local labor market in addition to their 4-day work weeks, top of […]

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Are You Fostering Employee Independence in Your Organization?

If you are frequently frustrated by having to constantly answer questions that your team members should be able to address on their own, you could be dealing with the pitfall of inadvertently teaching employees to be passive, rather than proactive. ā€œTime is money, and employees who can’t or won’t proceed because they are waiting for […]

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Meet Todd West, 2026’s Outstanding Educator of the Year

The NALP Foundation named Todd West, Ph.D., professor of horticulture at North Dakota State University, this year’s Outstanding Educator of the Year. West earned an undergraduate degree in botany from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville and earned his master’s and Ph.D in horticultural science from Southern Illinois University. He has taught at NDSU for 15 years […]

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Streamlining Six Common Design/Build Bottlenecks

There are numerous roadblocks that can slow down or cause headaches during the design/build process. Instead of merely tolerating them, taking the time to streamline these pain points can result in improved efficiency in your operations and a better overall experience for your clients. While the weather will remain out of your control, other common […]

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Stop Guessing: How to Run the Numbers and Make Smarter Equipment Decisions

When it comes to making an expensive equipment purchase, how often are you trusting your gut versus going by solid numbers that back your decision? Sometimes you may opt not to purchase a machine, assuming it will be underutilized and not make enough money to justify the monthly payments. However, it’s impossible to know this […]

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Business Smarts: Creating Processes that Scale with Your Company

When you’re on the smaller side, many of the processes you create work when you only have five or 10 employees. Yet as your team grows, cracks can begin to appear as bottlenecks and inconsistencies cause issues. ā€œStrong processes allow us to grow while maintaining quality, performance, and accountability across all branches,ā€ says Loren McIrvin, […]

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Joshua Fain Named 2026 Kevin Kehoe Student Leader of the Year

Joshua Fain, a senior at Auburn University majoring in landscape horticulture and minoring in business, was named the 2026 Kevin Kehoe Student Leader of the Year at the 50th National Collegiate Landscape Competition. Throughout his time at Auburn, Fain has been a selfless leader and an outstanding student academically, despite running his business, J. Fain […]

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