At Grunder Landscaping we are constantly talking about how we can do a better job of keeping the great team members we have. We know that first and foremost, we do this by making our company a great place to work.

We just had a cookout last week to show our appreciation for our team. But, and this is a big but, I also know that people aren't going to stay in a job they hate just because we give them a cookout.

So we absolutely need to keep showing our team that we care and treating them to dinners, snacks, and more to show our appreciation. We also need to think about how we make their roles enjoyable and fulfilling for them on a daily basis.

Our crews spend about 30 minutes a day at our shop on average, and our leadership team may or may not speak to them at all during that time. In contrast, team members are spending 8 hours a day with their crews. The two other people on their crew are really who will help them to love, or drive them to quit, their job.

This winter we're investing in training our team leaders, the manager who is onsite with the crew daily, on soft skills like leadership, communication, and conflict management. We want to equip them to be the best leaders they can be so that the company culture within their crews is so strong that people don't want to leave. 

We did our first soft-skills training with them last week. I led it with our 20 team leaders before they went out on job sites for the day and we talked about the types of leaders we enjoy working for and what makes them special. My goal was to get them thinking: am I the type of leader I would want to work for? How could I do a better job of leading and mentoring my direct reports?

So, in your quest to find new team members, please make sure you develop your current ones. Take time each week to train, educate, and mentor them, not just on the technical skills of landscaping or hardscaping, but on the soft skills too. The slower winter months are a perfect time to focus on it.

Have a great week, I'll talk to you again soon!

Marty Grunder
President & CEO
The Grow Group & Grunder Landscaping Co. 

P.S. Come see us at Grunder Landscaping Co. during one of our Field Trips this fall. We have space available Nov. 16-17 or December 8-9. Hope to see you there!