This week's Great Idea comes courtesy of one of our Grunder Landscaping Co. Group Leaders - Gaston. As one of our Group Leaders, he manages our production crews, plans schedules, trains team members on new skills, and looks for ways to optimize efficiency. He started on our team working on a crew and has first-hand experience in what crews struggle with and what may make their jobs easier. This idea came from one of those struggles.
We pre-grow pots for our clients and then deliver them to the properties so that they're already grown in when they arrive, and we had to use covered trailers for the delivery so that they wouldn't get damaged by wind during transport. This meant two trips to the job site: one to install flowers in the beds and then another to deliver the pots. Last year, Gaston came up with a pretty simple solution: using PVC poles to keep the tarps elevated off the plants so that taller pots fit in our open trailers along with flowers for the beds. This keeps the tarp from hitting the planters if it flaps in the wind. Here's a video of how it works:
This is what it looks like with the tarp on:
When I say we're always learning, it's really true. This is an inexpensive solution to a problem that seemed small but was costing us a lot of money and frustrating our team. It's a simple fix that may help your teams, too, but what's also important is to talk about the company culture that allows ideas like these to be brought up. Your teams in the field may have ideas on how to fix issues like these; making sure they feel comfortable making suggestions is a powerful way to move your business forward.
We have opportunities for you to come see us this fall in Dayton, Ohio at one of our Grunder Landscaping Co. Field Trips. There are so many little things like this that we do, I know if you join us we can help you and your team move forward. These events are small and they fill up quickly, reserve your spot today even if you're planning to join one of the later dates!
Have a great Sunday, I'll talk to you next week!
Marty Grunder
Founder & CEO
The Grow Group & Grunder Landscaping Co.