Does this sound familiar? You invest in a new software tool that promises to make your team more efficient and provide better visibility into your operations. Yet once the tech is rolled out, you’re confronted with inconsistent usage, bad data and a frustrated team.
This disconnect is because it is processes, not new platforms, that will determine your success.
“Technology doesn’t fix problems — it amplifies them,” says Loren McIrvin, CEO of Allied Landscape, based in Livermore, California. “If you have a strong, clearly defined process, technology will scale it, standardize it, and make it more efficient. If your process is unclear or inconsistent, technology will magnify that confusion across your entire organization.”
Doug McDuff, president and co-owner of Landscape America, based in Wrentham, Massachusetts, admits they’ve been guilty of purchasing software to solve a problem without assigning responsibilities and accountability to use the technology to its full capacity.
“We’ve wasted thousands of dollars thinking the software would fix things on its own,” McDuff says. “Every software needs to have someone who owns the implementation and utilization.”
Why Technology Fails Landscape Companies
When technology doesn’t provide the expected ROI, it isn’t typically due to the vendor failing to live up to their promises. Rather, landscape companies often underestimate the commitment and resources required to implement a platform effectively.
“One of the biggest mistakes is too many companies think that technology or software is a magic button,” says Greg Malmberg, owner of Process Pro, LLC. “We bought the software, and this is going to solve all our problems. The software helps expose the problem; it doesn’t hold their teams accountable. Leadership is going to have to provide that accountability, so the team uses it.”
Michael Prokopchak, president of Walnut Hill Landscape Company, based in Annapolis, Maryland, argues that if you are not using your current software 100% and know all its ins and outs, you’re wasting your time moving to a new platform.
“It’s just going to carry over, and you’ll have the same issues or problems,” Prokopchak says. “LMN is our software. We’re not changing it. It’s up to me as the leader to make sure that we’re onboarding people properly so they know the ins and outs.”
Some of the common signs of misalignment between your processes and technology are a lack of clarity, usable data and adoption.
Rather than falling for the shiny object trap, first question if there is a true need for the new technology.
“If you’re not disciplined about going through those processes and asking the hard questions, you’ll end up trying to implement four or five things at once,” says Brett Gordon, COO for Focal Pointe, based in Caseyville, Illinois. “And then people do get frustrated, and it does become a hindrance, and they all get implemented up to 60% and nothing actually does make a difference for you. Make sure that it’s not something that just sounds interesting. Make sure it actually is going to solve a problem.”
McIrvin says they first ask if they can accomplish what a new tool offers within their existing platform.
“Even if it requires an extra step, it’s often better than introducing another system,” McIrvin says. “If not, we evaluate how well the new technology integrates into existing workflows. The goal is not more technology — it’s simpler, more effective operations.”
Building Processes That Work
Once you’ve determined if new software is truly necessary, then you must come to terms with the fact that your existing processes will have to change. Malmberg says while there may be some edge cases that justify trying to adapt the technology to your current processes, it’s almost always best to evolve to suit the software.
“You change your process,” says Shayne Newman, president of YardScapes Landscape Professionals, based in New Milford, Connecticut. “Software is developed to work a certain way. You get certain companies who say, ‘We’ve been doing it this way forever.’ I think that’s a hard thing as a business. It’s hard work. The lazy thing to do is to keep doing things the way you’ve done them. It’s scary having to change.”
While changing processes is a daunting task, it is necessary if you want to see results in your company.
“Strong processes create clarity around who does what, when, and how,” McIrvin says. “They establish accountability and consistency. When that foundation is in place, technology becomes a tool that reduces friction, improves visibility, and supports better decision-making instead of getting in the way.”
When designing your processes, involve your team early on so you can gather feedback and insights into where they think a system might fail or where to streamline.
“We start by pressure-testing every new process with operations before rollout,” McIrvin says. “We’ll bring a draft to the team and say, ‘Here’s what we’re trying to accomplish, here’s how we’re thinking about structuring it — where do you see this breaking down in the field?’ If the team can’t clearly understand it, challenge it, and explain it back, that’s an early warning sign the process isn’t grounded in reality.”
Malmberg says too often landscape companies discount their field crews, believing they won’t adapt to the changes.
“They’re some of the best problem solvers in the world when they’re out there doing landscape installs and maintenance,” Malmberg says. “Let them provide some feedback, and likely that’s going to get incorporated into the process, so they feel like they’re a part of it. We’re not just dumping a new software on them and saying ‘Here you go.’”
Gordon recommends starting with a small pilot team to test out the new process, as it’s easier to pivot if a rollout doesn’t go as planned.
“If you put a process out too fast, and you don’t think through it, and then it ends up not being just right, and you’ve got to take a few steps backward,” Gordon says. “We’re learning that if we go slower up front and we do more verification in smaller groups, that the process is right, and then we roll it out, we’ll actually go faster. So slow down on the front end, and then the rest of it will go faster.”
McIrvin notes that if their early adopters don’t feel confident demonstrating the process or articulating how it works, they know they have a problem before they ever scale it.
Driving Adoption
Even once you’ve created a process that’s been stress-tested by your team members, ensuring true adoption is the key to an effective rollout.
The first crucial step is to explain the ‘why’ behind the change.
“Everybody needs to understand the expectations of the software and technology that we’re using, otherwise they don’t understand why it is that they’re doing what they need to do,” Prokopchak says.
Prokopchak says they reinforce this by going over the whys during their spring kickoff training sessions.
“It’s important that the guys fill their time sheets out correctly, but the teams need to know why it is they have to do something, not just because I said so,” Prokopchak says.
McDuff notes any time they implement a new technology, there’s pushback because it feels additive to employees’ workloads.
“However, if we do a really good job explaining why it’s important and what we are trying to solve or improve, our team is generally very good about buying in,” McDuff says.
Newman says he makes a point to explain how the technology is beneficial for his team members.
“If they can get more done in a day and maybe work one less hour a day and spend more time on their family, then their quality of life is going to be a little bit better,” Newman says. “I frame it more about, ‘Hey, this is about making you guys more efficient and more successful, in your day-to-day work, and then ultimately, the company will benefit. But really, it’s got to start with them.”
Malmberg suggests identifying who will likely be the chief resistor and getting them involved early on to try to pick apart the process.
“When experienced team members adopt and demonstrate the process, it builds credibility and encourages broader adoption,” McIrvin says.
Gordon adds that you shouldn’t rush the rollout. He recommends being patient with your staff and reminding them of past success stories.
“If you go in and baby them and let them run with this idea that they’re not capable, then they’re never going to do it,” Gordon says. “Believe in them and tell them they’re capable. The majority of people are fearful that they’re not going to be able to learn it.”
Prokopchak stresses to employees that he expects them to make mistakes, but the important thing is that they try and take the time to understand the technology.
Newman notes that it’s better to fail fast, as mistakes allow them to identify where tweaks need to be made to their process.
“My first reaction is always, ‘Do we need to change the process?’ before I move on to pointing the finger and blaming a specific person,” Newman says.
Another key to successful implementation is to listen to employee complaints. In some cases, these frustrations may highlight a valid concern and indicate a need to pivot from a specific software or change part of the process.
Gordon says one instance of this was when they were trying to track drivers and collect mileage and hours off their assets. At the time, the driver would have to scan a QR code and log the hours and mileage from the truck. However, they were unable to foster these behaviors.
“We did not keep fighting that fight,” Gordon says. “We took a step back, and we’re looking for other solutions. Through some integration with GPS and hopefully facial recognition, we’re going to get the same data we wanted automatically. I think it’s going to push us to a better long-term solution, which is everything is automated.”
Preventing Process Drift
Gordon warns that the implementation period of a new technology is not finished until it becomes systemic in how you operate as a company.
“Most of the time they treat implementation and launch as they’ve reached the finish line and they’re done, but really, that’s where they need to start at go-live and really do hyper care with the team,” Malmberg says. “They need to be there with their processes and their training and support to work on this feedback loop with their crew members, to keep them on task. If they’re left alone to their own devices at go-live, that’s where things start to drift out of control.”
Newman says people getting off course throughout the year is inevitable, but the important thing is to try to address drift early on.
McIrvin says at key times of the year they will revisit processes and reinforce expectations.
“Our Allied Support Center also conducts ‘show me’ sessions, where team members walk through how they actually perform a process,” McIrvin says. “This helps identify gaps between what’s designed and what’s happening. That continuous validation keeps processes aligned and relevant.”
McIrvin says they also track adoption daily through their Allied Support Center, which reviews inputs and measures performance using a red, yellow, green system by individual and by manager group.
“If we’re not seeing strong participation or the data coming in isn’t accurate, that’s a clear sign the process and technology are not aligned,” McIrvin says. “At that point, we don’t push harder — we pivot. Misalignment isn’t solved by enforcement; it’s solved by refining the process so it actually works in the field.”
Prokopchak says they conduct random audits on timesheets and job costing to make sure the team is doing it properly and identify any issues.
“Those meetings are actually becoming shorter because the information is actually right,” Prokopchak says. “If the information is not right, you’re not going to trust it, so then you’re not going to do it. Everybody’s got to do their part so we can trust what the information is telling us.”
McDuff says they drive accountability through their dashboards and reports.
“Build the right dashboards and reports to give managers the information quickly and accurately so they can drive accountability throughout the team,” McDuff says. “If you are entering data accurately throughout the ranks, you should be able to build processes that help your team make decisions, build plans, and adjust quickly when necessary.”
The Payoff
Once you have strong processes in place working hand in hand with your software, your company can experience benefits such as efficiency gains, increased customer satisfaction, boosted margins and improved decision making.
Malmberg notes companies can increase their efficiency anywhere from five to 20%, depending on the technology.
“If I can save 15 minutes a day, I got 20 crews, I’ve already saved them thousands of hours a year, and then I’m turning around and replacing that with not only cost savings, but I can incorporate additional revenue there,” Malmberg says.
Prokopchak says one process they implemented requires their production managers to approve timesheets in LMN by 8 a.m. the following morning, before they leave the office.
“Payroll can do what they need to do,” Prokopchak says. “In the past, when timesheets weren’t right, we would get errors and it would get sent back to production, and it’s just a great big circle of not being productive. We put a stop to that by making sure that the time is set aside for my production people to sit in the office.”
McIrvin says a process they implemented was a standardized, mobile-friendly ordering system where team members can request items like tools, equipment and consumables through a simple app-based form, complete with photos and descriptions in both English and Spanish. Previously, operations managers purchased what they needed on a yard-by-yard basis. Now all the requests go through their Allied Support Center, which purchases, tracks and distributes the materials on a weekly schedule.
“We also added visibility by comparing ordering patterns across teams and locations, which improved cost control while still supporting the field,” McIrvin says. “The result is a system where our teams consistently have what they need — without delays — and leadership has clear insight into usage and cost.”
Gordon says they’ve been able to improve their equipment and asset management by implementing a streamlined process of scanning QR codes when an asset needs to be sold.
“They can monitor across the branches where the assets need to be sold,” Gordon says. “There’s no paper flow. The branch just scans. It says ready to sell. It automatically knows what asset it’s talking about. The fleet team sees it and starts communication.”
One process that has helped with Landscape America’s customer satisfaction and profit margin is their account manager site visits. In the past, McDuff says his account managers had to use their calendars and Excel to track site visits and sales. They had master spreadsheets, but the information was rarely up to date and accurate, making it hard to hold team members accountable.
After implementing Aspire, McDuff found tools and forms within the system to improve the information shared internally and their accountability.
“Our enhancement sales have increased by 60% since implementing our accounts manager site visit process,” McDuff says. “Our AMs visit sites more frequently and therefore propose more enhancements to clients. Clients see that we are paying attention, and the constant flow of ideas to improve their sites helps them look better to their tenants or owners.”
Newman says with sound processes in place, they can access real-time job costing versus having to wait until the end of the year for insights. He says that before they were unable to identify where they were strong or weak.
“Without having good processes in a really good software like Aspire, we wouldn’t be where we are today,” Newman says. “The company wouldn’t be able to grow. I couldn’t imagine how we would schedule things, how we would job cost.”
If you aren’t seeing the desired results with your technology, take a step back to define, document and reinforce how your team needs to operate. When processes are clear and consistently followed, technology stops being a source of frustration and becomes what it was meant to be all along: a tool that supports your business.
This article was published in the June/July/August issue of the magazine. To read more stories from The Edge magazine, click here to subscribe to the digital edition.
