This information came from a session during the 2023 ELEVATE conference and expo. Don’t miss ELEVATE in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Nov. 3-6, 2024.
As you grow your landscape company, you might wonder when or why to make certain key hires, such as adding admin staff, an operations manager or a CFO. The good news is there’s no one set way to organize your company and when you add certain roles will vary based on your goals.
The roles, titles and structure of your company communicate how you lead, what you value and how you operate.
For instance, Grow and Company, based in Houston, Texas, started in 2016, and they added a financial controller in 2021. Taylor Milliken, owner and president of Milosi, based in Hendersonville, Tennessee, started his business in 2002, and they plan to hire their CFO in 2025 or 2026.
Milliken says when he hired his part-time executive assistant, it was a game changer in the early 2010s. Another role he says has been a game changer when he created the role of director of employee success.
You should build your org chart to compliment your talents. If you are more of a visionary type of leader, you need to empower other leaders in your organization to take on day-to-day operations. Similarly, if you are an operator, you need to find individuals who can think about the big picture.
If you are a sales genius, you can build an org chart that works with you in this role. Kyle Cahill is president of Grow and Co., but he is also director of design and sales for his company with the landscape architects and designers reporting to him.
Your org chart should also align with your goals. Consider what you want your company to be known for. It could be price, service or quality. You can pick two, but you cannot be all. If service and quality are the two you choose, your structure will reflect this by ensuring your account managers aren’t overloaded with too many customer accounts.
If you are building the company to sell, you need to make sure your org structure has a strong middle management team that will remain once you’ve moved on.
Lastly, focus on getting the right person in the right seat. This means creating the role, responsibilities, and metrics that define success for that job.
As you create roles and fill seats, take care not to end up with too much overhead and inefficiencies. Instead, create seats based on your growth goals and add them as your budget will support them.
At times, you will need to hire above your budget to get the right employee. The right fit will pay for themselves, plus a lot more.
The right fit will be a cultural fit at your organization and they will get the role, want it and have the capacity to execute on it.
For more content like this, register for next year’s ELEVATE in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Nov. 3-6.
