Let the immigration debate begin

It appears that the Great Immigration Debate of 2013 is about to begin in Washington, no doubt leaving many in the landscape industry on the edge of their seats until a bill is signed into law. 

A bipartisan group of eight senators said it has drafted a deal that would lead to a chance at citizenship for most of 11 million immigrants in the U.S. illegally, The New York Times reports.

The senators plan to unveil their plan today, a day before President Obama is set to reveal his immigration proposals in Las Vegas. 

Let the debate begin, and let's hope lawmakers reach the “tough, fair and practical" bill the senators are promising in a timely matter. --Marisa Palmieri

FD2B Talk Radio Insight of the Night: Bill Arman

One of the biggest complaints of landscape contractors is the inability to find good help.  Although there's no “magic bullet,” on last night's show, Bill Arman of The Harvest Group, provided some valuable tips on how you can solve this problem.

Arman says you need to interview employees by using your EAR (no, not the ones on the side of your head). EAR is the acronym for Example, Action and Results. Instead of having prospective employees submit a resume, Arman suggests asking them to answer open-ended questions, requiring well-thought-out answers, about a specific experience.

Interviewing candidates this way will provide you with valuable insight into how they think and deal with specific situations. You’re not going to get that kind of info from a piece of paper with their credentials listed on it.

Show: My pain is your gain
Guest: Bill Arman, The Harvest Group, Southern California
Date: Jan. 23, 2013
To listen to the full show, CLICK HERE.

Editor's note: As part of a partnership between Landscape Management and FD2B Talk Radio, we'll be posting an "Insight of the Night" every Thursday from the previous night's radio show. FD2B Talk Radio is a Green Industry radio show that broadcasts live every Wednesday at 7 p.m. Eastern. Its host and founder is LM columnist Jody Shilan, who's also the editor and founder of FromDesign2Build.com. 

Feel Good Friday: CLCA awards four for outstanding service

California is at it again, dishing out awards for hard work. The California Landscape Contractors Association (CLCA) jumped into the fray this time, honoring on January 9 four of its members for their outstanding contributions.

Here's just a short shout out to the honorees, Member of the Year Robert Wade, a past president of the CLCA (2011) and owner of Wade Landscape; and Associate Member of the Year Aaron Huxley, sales manager at Hunter Industries. Mickey Strauss, meanwhile, had the distinct honor of receiving an award that had already been named in his honor--the Mickey Strauss Grass Roots Award. The 45-year industry veteran received the honor this year for his lifetime legislative service to the industry and efforts over the years to promote grassroots involvement to fellow CLCA members. 

But the night's most prestigious award went to Jon Singley, a longtime CLCA member and owner of Blue Spruce Landscape. Singley was honored with the CLCA's Allegiance Award, reserved for people who have been an association member for at least 15 years and who have been active at the state level for at least 10 years.

Congrats to all these men. Keep up the good work, California!

--Beth Geraci

FD2B Talk Radio Insight of the Night: Kevin McLaughlin

Home shows and flower shows are a great opportunity for landscape contractors to “touch” their customers and promote their businesses, but they can get expensive. Between the cost of the booth itself, the materials and labor necessary to build the display and the time required to man the booth during the show, expenses can rise very quickly—regardless of whether you have a 10-ft.-by-10-ft. booth or a 3,000-sq.-ft. living landscape display.

To help minimize these costs, Kevin McLaughlin of Mac Events suggests asking your vendors to “participate” in the costs when building your display. In other words, ask your most frequented vendors to supply you with the materials you'll need to create your display.

Naturally you’ll promote the products they donated as a way of thanking them and promoting their businesses.

Don't forget to ask them to deliver the products right to your booth at the show, saving you even more time and money. While you’re at it, see if you can keep the stuff, too.

 

Show: Trade shows and home shows—an insider's look

Guest: Kevin McLaughlin, Mac Events, Spring Lake, N.J.

Date: Jan. 16, 2013

To listen to the full show, CLICK HERE. 

Editor's note: As part of a new partnership between Landscape Management and FD2B Talk Radio, we'll be posting an "Insight of the Night" every Thursday from the previous night's radio show. FD2B Talk Radio is a Green Industry radio show that broadcasts live every Wednesday at 7 p.m. Eastern. Its host and founder is LM columnist Jody Shilan, who's also the editor and founder of FromDesign2Build.com. 

Feel Good Friday: California town gets environmental grant

Good news for the town of Los Altos Hills, Calif. The town recently was awarded more than $83,000 from the Santa Clara Valley Water District. The grant is being used to provide educational outreach to local students and foster native habitat in a local creek that's been impacted by invasive species. 

By removing invasive species and adding native plants, the project aims to enhance plant diversity along the restored stretch of the creek and improve the natural habitat for wildlife in the area. Sixth graders at an elementary school down the road were eager to contribute to the project, and after being treated to planting demonstrations and ecology lessons, the more than 50 students planted 600 native plants in just two days' time.

It's nice to see young people striving to create change in their communities, whatever the cause may be. As for the Santa Clara Valley Water District, the total number of grants it's awarded so far is $3.4 million. The grants are all geared toward enhancing wetlands, riparian habitat and stream conditions, guaranteeing safe water conditions well into the future. Hats off to them.

--Beth Geraci

FD2B Talk Radio Insight of the Night: Mike Lysecki

We all know it's important to have a great estimating process, but what do you do with that information once the job is sold? According to Mike Lysecki of the Landscape Management Network, “A great estimate is also a plan for the job.” In other words, 50 percent of the value of an estimate is about determining the price (labor, materials, overhead and profit) but the other 50 percent is about job execution.  

For his crews to properly execute the installation, Lysecki provides them with what he calls a “job planner.” This job planner provides the production team with the information they need to install the job successfully and profitably. The landscape design shows them what to build, and the job planner is the breakdown or “recipe” of what they will need to actually build it, including number of man hours that are task-specific, material lists with estimated purchase prices and a list of the equipment needed to install the work.

Show: Stop “guesstimating” once and for all

Guest: Mike Lysecki, Landscape Management Network, Toronto
Date: January 9, 2013
 To listen to the full show, CLICK HERE. 

Editor's note: As part of a new partnership between Landscape Management and FD2B Talk Radio, we'll be posting an "Insight of the Night" every Thursday from the previous night's radio show. FD2B Talk Radio is a Green Industry radio show that broadcasts live every Wednesday at 7 p.m. Eastern. Its host and founder is LM columnist Jody Shilan, who's also the editor and founder of FromDesign2Build.com. 

Pay for production

Case Study: An Incentive System that Empowers Employees to Think Like Owners

By Jeffrey Scott, Consultant

The Problem

John’s labor rates were too high. John, a member of one of the Leader’s Edge peer groups (for landscape business owners), had just bought a company in in the mid-west. His labor costs were hurting profits, and he needed increased cash flow to pay off the note. Necessity is a great motivator.

The System

He decided to use the Pay For Production incentive system: he pays his crews a percentage of the revenue they bill out every day. We calculated he needed to get labor expenses down to 25% of revenue for the majority of his services, so he offered to pay his 2-man maintenance crews a total of 25%. The more work they did the more they earned.  He tracked their hours and overtime and made sure he complied with the law. He implemented this PFP incentives system in other parts of his company.

The Improvement

His labor costs were initially reduced on average by 15 percentage points—for the fertilizer, mowing, holiday lights—though this percentage changed slightly as the season wore on. John experimented with this program in his other 2 divisions.  With this new system his employees are able to earn more, though the quality initially dropped and customer complaints increased. We reacted quickly and implemented an effective quality control plan to correct and maintain standards.

Keys to Success:

• Crews can calculate their pay daily; this is highly motivating, and creates a sense of ownership.

• Crew wages increased dramatically, initially by 25%.

• Quality control and managing the company culture are key.  This system still requires guiding your employees on your company values, and teaching them about the cost of doing business.

In John's Words

I reviewed my plan with Jeffrey Scott and his Leader’s Edge peer group members, to get their candid feedback on the problems they foresaw with my PFP incentive; to find out what had worked and not worked for them. My ultimate success depended on the details of the implementation—they helped me work out the bugs and avoid many snafus.

Success Leaves Clues

The Leader’s Edge peer group members achieved 27% profit growth in their first year of membership. That is something to write home about!

Jeffrey Scott, MBA, author and consultant, grew his landscape company into a successful $10 million enterprise, and he's devoted to helping others share the same success. He facilitates PEER GROUPS for landscape business owners who want to transform and profitably grow their business. For more information, go to www.JeffreyScott.biz, email Jeff@Jeffreyscott.biz, or call (203)220-8931.  

www.GetTheLeadersEdge.com.

Are robots the future?

In the nursery market, new robot technology is solving some labor woes. Could a similar solution be the future in the landscape market?

As Marketplace reported last month, Harvest Automation sells small, battery-powered robots that move potted trees and shrubs around in a plant nursery. This work is typically done by migrant workers. Considering the industry's guest worker program challenges, you can't blame nursery owners for taking their chances with robots.

The manufacturer says the next step is to make robots that can prune and fertilize plants. Perhaps these robots can someday staff landscape company's supply yards? Although not in wide commercial use, robotic mowers are on the market. What else could the future hold?

New year, new enews format

The new year is a good time for change, isn't it? That's why so many of us make resolutions. It feels right to start fresh or change course after a month of eating, drinking and spending our way through the holidays. 

Here at Landscape Management, we resolved halfway through last year to cut down on the number of enewsletters we send you in favor of one improved weekly enewsletter. In 2013, we've rolled the content of our segment-specific mailings into a redesigned version of our flagship LM Direct. Look for it to hit your inbox this week, and let us know what you think.

If you don't receive LM Direct, but you'd like to get a concise weekly email that wraps up the top news for landscape maintenance, design/build, lawn care and irrigation professionals, you can subscribe HERE.

To submit press releases to be included in LM Direct, please email it to me. For advertising or section sponsorship information, please contact Craig McGregor. 

Happy e-News Year! --Marisa Palmieri

FD2B Talk Radio Insight of the Night: Jack Ferrell

Last night on FD2B Talk Radio, Jack Ferrell of Florasearch shared Green Industry recruitment and job search tips. 

Ferrell says the best way to keep your top personnel from looking for a job elsewhere or becoming “recruitable” is by investing time and energy in them. The biggest reasons that key people leave are because they feel undervalued, not respected or unappreciated. It’s not because of money.

One way to retain employees is by providing them education and training. Some owners and managers fear that helping their employees better themselves and develop valuable skills is expensive--and there's no guarantee that employees won’t leave. That's true, Ferrell says, but he points out the alternative: Not educating or training employees and having them stay. 

Show: Find the perfect Green Industry job or employee
Guest: Jack Ferrell, Green Industry recruiter, Florasearch, Sanford, Fla.
Date: Jan. 2, 2013
To listen to the full show, CLICK HERE.

Editor's note: As part of a new partnership between Landscape Management and FD2B Talk Radio, we'll be posting an "Insight of the Night" every Thursday from the previous night's radio show. FD2B Talk Radio is a Green Industry radio show that broadcasts live every Wednesday at 7 p.m. Eastern. Its host and founder is LM columnist Jody Shilan, who's also the editor and founder of FromDesign2Build.com.

Top 5 Landscape Management blog posts of 2012

Are you sick of all the "best of" 2012 lists yet? I'm not (you can find one of my favorite lists here!). And I hope you're not, because today we bring you our top 5 Landscape Management blog posts of 2012, measured by page views. Here we go:

1). A son's plea for safe driving
2). Big clients can kill you
3). Marketing in the new world order
4). Rebranding checklist
5). Improve, change or fade away?

Thanks for following Landscape Management--in print, online and via social media--in 2012. We appreciate your support. As always, if you have a good idea for for a blog post or story in 2013, please contact me anytime.  

Happy New Year! --Marisa Palmieri