The right pair of work boots is an underappreciated but vital part of a landscape employee’s personal protective equipment.
This year, BrightView, headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, recognized the importance of high-quality footwear and partnered with Red Wing Shoes to equip over 18,000 BrightView employees with new boots. This program, known as Stepping It Up in Safety, provides new hires with a pair of Red Wing work boots when they start and every following year on their work anniversary.
They also have a tune-up program where employees can get their boots tuned up and receive new laces every month.
BrightView’s new CEO, Dale Asplund, has stressed the importance of taking care of team members from day one. The Red Wing shoe program came about as part of his initial field visits and conversations with crew members. He quickly realized that team members were on their feet for extended hours throughout the day and saw an opportunity to help them feel more comfortable on the job.
This investment in premium PPE is part of BrightView’s efforts to create a safe and more productive work environment for their employees.
Elly Zemetra, vice president of talent management for BrightView, says beyond just safety, they also want their employees to be comfortable.
“A lot of our team members go to Walmart and buy these really inexpensive boots, and they’re uncomfortable on their first day, and then they leave,” Zemetra says.
Many of BrightView’s environmental health and safety managers already had relationships with local shoe stores like Red Wing. However, BrightView wanted to ensure that all of their team members were prepared for their first day and didn’t have to purchase boots on their own.
BrightView is paying for this program out of their corporate budget so branches don’t have to worry about paying for the program.
“That’s how important it was for us to invest in the program,” Zemetra says. “For us, it doesn’t matter whether we’re 21,000 team members deep. Investing the amount of money that we invested, it increases retention, which we are already seeing.”
In the beginning, BrightView brought Red Wing trucks to branches, but this option requires 35 people or more. Now, BrightView employees receive a voucher to redeem their boots in Red Wing stores or online.
“My preference is that they go into the store so they can try them on and go through that process,” Zemetra says. “If their preferred boot isn’t there, then maybe they’re ordering them right then and there as well, so they get them that next day.”
Zemetra says the employee response has been very positive and one branch manager said it was the best day of their life. She says it also encourages employees to refer their friends and family to BrightView because they feel cared for from a safety perspective.
Zemetra says part of their strategy for becoming an employer of choice in the industry is to retain their team members.
“If we keep losing team members and we’re not that employer of choice, we can’t invest back into our teams,” Zemetra says. “That is one of the most important pieces that we’re really focused on as an organization is ensuring that we can invest back like with the Stepping It Up in Safety program.”
Tips for Success
For those looking to offer something similar to their employees, Zemetra advises creating a program that doesn’t require team members to get reimbursed.
“We can ensure that we’re not taking money from them, and then they’re waiting a week to get that money back or taking from their paycheck,” Zemetra says.
She also suggests going above and beyond the minimum amount needed to cover boot costs.
“Red Wings are the best of the best out there,” Zemetra says. “It’s not like we just said, ‘Okay, let’s give you some Walmart shoes and call it a day.’ We’re giving them a sizable voucher so that they’re not having to get reimbursed, which is a big deal to our team members, because they’re not out of pocket any money.”
When it comes to creating any benefit for employees, Zemetra says listening to team members is always important.
“I think we assume a lot and we don’t listen,” Zemetra says. “I hear all the time ‘Our team members want this’ or ‘Our team members want that,’ but have you ever asked what your team members want?”
She suggests conducting engagement surveys and being consistent with the initiatives you roll out. She warns not to constantly move on to the next thing.
“Sometimes we abandon ship a little too early, and you have to identify what is too early and when it’s too late,” Zemetra says.
The key is to collect data as you go and to adjust, instead of just abandoning a strategy.
“For team members, you have to be flexible,” Zemetra says. “If you’re not flexible as an organization, and you just say, ‘This is what we’ve always done,’ you’re not going to survive as an organization.”
Zemetra advises checking in regularly to see what is working well and what needs to change in order to see success.
