It’s been said, ‘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 your workforce will be returning team members, it’s important to go over safety topics to make sure everyone, from your veterans to your new hires, is starting off on the same page. It’s best to hold your safety rodeo after onboarding a large group of new employees.
When employees operate in an unsafe manner, this can lead to close calls and accidents, which slow down your team’s ability to get the job done and can impact your bottom line with workers’ comp claims.
Hosting a safety rodeo can help increase safety awareness and make employees more effective in operating and maintaining equipment. Safety rodeos are the most effective when they are engaging and cater to different employees’ learning styles. Also, make sure you have translators available for your Spanish-speaking employees so they understand the same instructions.
A popular model is to have employees move between various hands-on stations so they can learn about topics such as first aid, truck and trailer safety, mower safety, string trimmer and edger safety, blower and trimmer safety, and plant health care. Partnering with key vendors can also help make this format more interesting for employees.
At the end of your rodeo, cap things off with a fun gathering such as a cookout or fish fry and talk to team members about what they learned from the event.
Eliminate Downtime with Equipment Maintenance
Another common headache is when equipment fails when your team needs it the most.
By being proactive and following a structured maintenance and replacement schedule, you can ensure equipment is serviced before issues arise. Fleet management software can help track and provide real-time alerts to maintenance needs. Washing equipment routinely and topping of fluids on a weekly basis can also help eliminate surprises.
Additionally, review the average age of your equipment. If you are holding on to machines for too long, the likelihood of breakdowns will be far higher.
Another practice to help mitigate downtime is to always have spare equipment on hand in case a machine needs repairs. If you have strong relationships with your dealers, you can request a loaner from them as well.
Build Backup Plans for Rainy Days
Mother Nature is great at throwing curveballs. While you may have a week’s worth of work plotted out, you can get stuck with torrential downpours all week instead.
Rather than losing productivity, create secondary and tertiary plans of what can be done regardless of the weather. Some common tasks your team can pivot to include getting ahead on preventive maintenance or conducting relevant training , such as improving customer service.
“We train on all manner of customer interaction principles to build both skills and confidence,” says Brandon Sheppard, a Weed Man multi-unit franchise owner with franchises in Virginia and Maryland. “We are firm believers in the power of role play when it comes to training on sales or customer retention training. It’s not enough to ‘know the material’; mastery and confidence come from being able to employ both the skills and knowledge, and there is no substitute to working with the information. To make this practice as effective as possible, we routinely use managers from our sales and customer service departments to lead both the training and the role play.”
For construction projects, it’s a good practice to maintain positive drainage to minimize the amount of downtime caused after it’s rained.
Coordinate Supply Needs
Supply chain issues are an additional stressor that can cause delays out of your control, but planning ahead can help shrink this risk.
If you’re a lawn care company with at least $1 million in revenue and three million in square feet of turf cared for, one way to ensure you have the necessary materials in advance is to take advantage of manufacturers’ early order programs.
Depending on the terms, early order programs can provide savings anywhere from 2-20% and lock in your products in advance. Having your inventory on hand when you need it can allow you to service your clients more consistently.
Building strong relationships with vendors can also help when it comes to navigating supply needs. A reliable vendor who consistently meets delivery commitments will allow you to maintain workflow continuity, reduce downtime, and enhance your overall project efficiency.
Maintain Customer Communication
Even though your team is going a million miles an hour during the spring busy season, you can’t afford to let communication with clients slip through the cracks. Think about your client’s priorities, concerns, and expectations and make a point to message them about the matters well before they reach out to you.
Establishing response time policies and proactively informing them of any delays that do come up can go a long way to maintaining customer satisfaction. For instance, if a normal service time has to be skipped, you should reach out to the client to let them know and ask what their desired reschedule day is, as well as an alternative day in case of weather delays.
Conducting routine maintenance walks and punch list walks with construction clients can also help spot any possible issues that need to be addressed.
Manage Employee Burnout
While this time period is semi-affectionally called the ‘100 days of hell,’ it also establishes a sense of dread and negative mindset for an already stressful time period. Instead, acknowledge the realities of the spring workload and support your team by carving out recovery days in your work schedule.
Burnout is often caused by disorder, so eliminating some of the common points of chaos listed above can greatly reduce stress levels when employees know how to address different issues as they crop up.
Also, take the time to express your appreciation both during and after this hectic time. Team members can become burned out when they feel unrecognized, unappreciated or struggle with perfectionism. Simple gestures like cooking breakfast for your staff, giving out gift cards, or hosting a company picnic are all ways you can say thanks.
Even though there’s no ‘official’ end to the spring busy season, celebrate your employees’ hard work and loyalty with both planned and spontaneous events throughout the year. Choose events that allow team members at every level to feel their efforts are appreciated all year long.
