It can feel overwhelming to train your first landscaping employee.
You’re passing off your baby to someone you probably just met.
It’s terrifying, and there is a lot to consider.
In fact, this fear keeps a lot of landscaping business owners STUCK in the “solo” phase of their business – self-inflicting a cap on their own earning potentials and stunting their futures.
More than that though, it robs potential employees of opportunities within your company and it steals from your family.
This article is more than just a practical guide to training your first landscaping employee.
This is a challenge to take the next step and not let fear hold you back.With that said though, it’s common to ask yourself:
What if their quality of work sucks?
What if they destroy your client base and reputation?
What if they don’t really know what they’re doing?
What if they walk off the job?
Before I dive into training strategies, I want to answer each of those questions.
What if their quality of work sucks?
Create systems that don’t allow for poor quality.
Create checklists of each service or project.
Have them utilize technology (like sending photos or FaceTiming you) prior to leaving job sites.
Send them back (on the clock – cost of doing business) to fix work.
This is your job as a leader.
What if they destroy your client base and reputation?
Between both locations and multiple platforms, we have almost 200 online reviews.
Not all of them are stellar 5 stars – and some are direct results of my team’s actions.
But my advice remains the same: create systems that do not allow for that.
Take inspiration from my 130-page Employee Handbook, so expectations are set.
Fire fast if something bad happens. Maintain client relations (or have someone who does that).
Even more important, grow so fast that this fear becomes irrational.
What if they don’t know what they’re doing?
Easy. Keep reading.
What if they walk off the job?
Eventually, someone will.
Now that we’ve got all the bad news out of the way, let’s get into how to train your landscaping employee.
At this phase in business, it’s easy to take the most popular route (and it’s most popular for a reason).
If you are still working in the field, take extra time to train your new employee one-on-one in a hands-on, on-the-job setting.
After all, the best way to learn is by doing!
Once you train this employee and they move up to Crew Leader status, they can train a new employee – and this goes on and on until you are so far removed from the field, your entire team has it under control.
This method of training is exactly what it sounds like.
It’s not the fastest, and your jobs will take longer. But as a leader, it is your duty to take your time and train this person with patience and grace.
(This is also a great way to maintain quality control from day one.)
Don’t have that kind of time? Easy.
Film training videos and upload them to a private YouTube channel specifically for employee viewing.
Make them as simple or complicated as you want.
Need to film a video of you starting a mower? Starting a trimmer? Reviewing what kind of gas each piece of equipment takes?
Do it.
Take the time.
It will pay dividends.
This is an especially useful way to train employees when you’re building administrative staff.
I do something standard (like charge a card, for example) and record my screen. Then boom: my team knows how to do it, and I never have to show someone again.
This may seem time-consuming on the front end, but it simplifies training as you build your team.
Even so, sometimes videos aren’t enough.
Utilize Standard Operating Procedures (SOP).
This isn’t complicated.
SOPs are just checklists.
Write down your morning routine in the shop and then you’ve got it: an SOP someone else can follow whether or not you’re there.
When something changes, update the list.
Next up is one of my most favorite training strategies at my location in Illinois: in-house training events.
We have over twenty employees at that location now, and this is the one true benefit of a winter off-season.
We can bring everyone in (either inside or outside) and have a “training day.” This is especially useful for paver and equipment training.
What if you don’t have the space to do it in-house? Find local events.
Seek them out from vendors you’re already working with or buy courses online.
There is no shortage of information out there!
Go find it.
It is not complicated to train your landscaping employee, but we sure make it seem like it is.
Slow down.
Remember that you once started also. Channel a mentor who showed you extra patience and understanding while you were learning, and use it as an opportunity to strengthen your own leadership skills.
And remember this: the only thing holding us back from building a team isn’t that “nobody wants to work” and everyone is unqualified.
It’s us. We are the only people in our way.