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Like so many other landscape professionals, Mark Borst, owner of Borst Landscape & Design in Allendale, New Jersey, says the labor pool in his area often feels quite dry. Itās an ongoing struggle to find qualified workers. Thatās why, about seven years ago, Borst began experimenting with employee referral rewards.Ā Since that time, refining the […]
A high school summer spent working on the grounds crew at a local golf course set Krisjan Berzins on a path toward the green industryāhe just didnāt know it yet. At the time, he says he was just trying to earn some summer income. āOne of the best perks was that weād start really early […]
Like so many other landscape business owners, Bret Achtenhagen, president and CEO of Bret Achtenhagenās Seasonal Services in Mukwonago, Wisconsin, was struggling with attracting, hiring, onboarding and retaining quality individuals to add to the companyās production teams. As a result, Achtenhagen says the company was growing faster than its ability to develop foremen and other […]
Bob Grover was a self-described “outdoorsy kid” growing up. “I grew up in the 1960s and 1970s,” he explains. “We had three television channels. Kidsā TV shows only happened on Saturday mornings. There were no video games. We went outside and played. I had the fortune of living on 1 acre in suburbia. It was […]
Landscape business owners often feel like there is an āus versus themā mentality when it comes to employees. They feel like everyone is just in it for themselves. Nikos Phelps, founder of Utopian Landscapes LLC based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, says that he sensed tension building in his company and took a step back to ask […]
The first time NALP member Jarod Hynson mowed a lawn with a push mower at 8 years old, the smell of fresh grass, the symmetry of perfect stripes and the sense of accomplishment made the outdoors a place that he wanted to forever call āhome.ā He started his company, Earth, Turf & Wood, based in […]
NALP seeks to uncover and highlight the important issues facing landscape professionals. And who knows better whatās affecting the industry than those in the thick of it? This week, four landscape professionals share what theyāre most worried about when it comes to their largest labor issue. Q: What is your biggest labor issue right now, […]
Growing his company through the 2008 recession meant that Dave Fairburn, CEO of North Point Outdoors in Windham, New Hampshire, found he was āsaying yesā to nearly every opportunity. He was always afraid to turn work down because he was unsure where itād come from next. While trying to be all things to all people […]
Like a lot of landscape business owners, Shayne Newman, owner of YardApes, a full-service design, construction and maintenance company, was significantly impacted by the lack of visas to come through the H-2B program this past year. Of the 66,000 available, he didnāt get a single oneāand he admits he was unprepared for it to be […]
Exscape Designs is a full service design/build company headquartered in Novelty, Ohio. Owner Bill Dysert says the company’s success comes from upholding and operating by three key core values: integrity, professionalism and accountability. “Our mission is to design, build and maintain outdoor living spaces that enhance the property value and quality of life for our […]
