Communication remains the most important topic in every landscape company; whether it is evaluated quantitatively, qualitatively, temporally or personally, communication is prescient of organizational success or indicative of corporate demise. Communication is central to a company’s culture, with the “chief” (e.g., owner, president, CEO) at its heart. Despite that unquestioned importance, many chiefs quizzically adopt a passive stance in leveraging their unique role in the communication process. The following communication plan is offered to provide them with a structured framework to guide their actions.
Daily Chiefs should be in the yard every workday, either at the time of morning departure or afternoon arrival. Their presence manifests respect in the eyes of field employees. Smiling at the employees, greeting them in the morning, shaking their hands and asking them about their workday all convey approachability, authenticity and appreciation. After all, these are the people who perform the work that gets everyone paid; is the chief too busy to see them each day?
Each day, the chief should make a personal phone call to at least one customer to sustain their personal rapport, discuss work quality, customer needs and hopefully schedule an in-person visit. This is not an e-mail and not a text message; the customer must hear the chief’s voice.
Weekly
Chiefs should spend one full day each week in the field, doing a job walk, driving jobs with a supervisor, coaching crews on site, conducting a job quality audit or meeting with a customer. Every successful and respected chief knows there is more meaningful activity in the field than attending serial office meetings, looking at a spreadsheet or surfing the internet.
Chiefs should also have a weekly one-on-one meeting with each direct report to track key projects, resource needs, recommendations for improvements and maintain personal connection. This exchange fortifies the critical bond between these two organizational role models.
Ideally, the chief should also have lunch with at least one Tier 1 or Tier 2 client each week. Spending 90 minutes of face-to-face to time with the person paying you, listening humbly to his/her concerns and discussing extracurricular interests shows unmistakable concern, confidence and commitment.
Monthly
The primary monthly communication vehicle for the chief is the financial/operations review meeting. Typically 3-4 hours long, this meeting reminds attendees of performance goals, tracks variance to those goals and allows the chief to focus on public accountability for individual successes and shortcomings. Moreover, the chief addresses company culture issues, facilitates fraternal discussion of best practices and stimulates creativity beyond the P&L to consider potential topics that may impact the company.
Beyond the monthly financial/operations review meeting, the chief should attend a pulse meeting with all company foreman alone; no supervisors, managers, or admin staff present. This direct contact maximizes employee engagement and bilateral respect, reduces any perceived communication gap and serves to validate what both parties are hearing about each other as conveyed by intermediaries.
Quarterly
Best-in-class companies have a catered quarterly Rewards and Recognition event for all employees to attend. Chiefs serve as the masters of ceremony for this event, intended to inform, inspire and involve the employees about functional, departmental and organizational topics. Standard communication points include commemorating employee achievements, highlighting job-related successes and areas of improvement and forecasting noteworthy events scheduled during the next 90 days.
Annually
Almost all landscaping companies have a year-end celebration, with the chief positioned to review the company’s results relative to annual business goals and stating sincere optimism for the next calendar year. Here, the chief should mention distinct employee achievements to the culture, result and customers, as well as express gratitude for the effort extended by each employee throughout the year. Smiling, shaking hands and looking into the eyes of each employee while reciting their name and saying “thank you” is the best communication the chief can demonstrate.
In similar fashion, seasonal companies should also have a re-boarding meeting welcoming landscape employees back to the company after the snow season hiatus. In this setting, the chief presents a kick-off session reminding employees of the company mission statement, core values, business goals, commitments to customer service, safety and profit, as well as professional growth, achievement and leadership. The chief’s communication role during this event establishes the emotional tone, ethical character and undeniable emphasis on teamwork to all employees.
In sum, chiefs must become better communicators, demonstrating more visible communication, all the while conveying an inspiring message underscored by poise, integrity and vigilance.
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