team building Archives - The Edge from the National Association of Landscape Professionals

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team building

Team Building: How to Make Landscape Roles Feel Like Careers Sooner

If you want new hires to stay with your organization long-term, you must open their eyes to the fact that the landscape industry doesn’t just create jobs but meaningful career paths. Unless an individual already has a background in the industry, many may assume there is no future beyond their current field role. Outline Career […]

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Workforce Trends: What Today’s Talent Wants from Employers

As you seek talent to grow the ranks of your company, it’s important to understand the growing changes in workforce expectations. Successfully attracting and retaining employees now requires you to go beyond sharing what it is you do. Now, you need to communicate your why, your how, and who makes up your team. Additionally, economic […]

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How I Do It: Attracting Promising Candidates with An Apprenticeship Program

How often have you had to pass on a promising job candidate due to their lack of experience? One way Ryan Lawn & Tree, based in Merriam, Kansas, has addressed this common challenge is with their apprenticeship program. Launched in 2021, this program is designed to serve as a talent pipeline that supports the company’s […]

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The Little Things That Make or Break Your Company Culture

There is no specific practice, perk or event that creates your company’s overall culture. Rather, it is a combination of daily interactions that define who you are as an organization. Even having a mission and a set of core values doesn’t properly capture your culture if your team is not living these out on a […]

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Post-Acquisition Playbook: How to Blend Landscape Company Cultures

With mergers and acquisitions, a company’s numbers may get the deal done, but how well their culture is integrated will determine whether the partnership succeeds or unravels in the months that follow. Blending company cultures is not a sprint but a marathon that starts well before the papers are signed and continues long after the […]

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Hiring Smarter: The Case for Working Interviews

How many times has this happened to you? You interview a candidate who checks all of your boxes and answers the questions perfectly. Yet when they join your company, you quickly discover they lack the work ethic and team skills needed to succeed in the field. This can be a frustrating, but common phenomenon in […]

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Creating a PTO Policy That Works: How to Balance Flexibility and Accountability

There is no universal formula for offering PTO. What works for your salaried employees may fall flat with hourly field employees, and a policy that feels generous on paper can become difficult to manage if accruals, rollovers and payouts are not clearly defined. Here are several PTO policy decisions to think through, and how other […]

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Team Building: How to Choose and Use an Applicant Tracking System Effectively

Applicant tracking systems can be a double-edged sword for lawn and landscape companies that are facing labor shortages and a high volume of applications. Designed to assist with organizing, reviewing and ranking resumes, an ATS can save your HR team time and allow you to hire more quickly. Yet overreliance on this tool can result […]

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The Business Case for Better PTO Policies

When you’re competing for top talent, having a strong PTO policy is table stakes.   Andy Blanchford, CEO of Blanchford Landscape Group, based in Bozeman, Montana, says their PTO offering is part of their multipronged approach to being an employer of choice in the local labor market in addition to their 4-day work weeks, top of […]

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Are You Fostering Employee Independence in Your Organization?

If you are frequently frustrated by having to constantly answer questions that your team members should be able to address on their own, you could be dealing with the pitfall of inadvertently teaching employees to be passive, rather than proactive. ā€œTime is money, and employees who can’t or won’t proceed because they are waiting for […]

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