TOP 100: Priority No. 1: People (Teufel Landscape)

As the first employee of Teufel Landscape, Rick Christensen has weathered the division’s growth from zero to $41 million over the last 25 years.
 
An offshoot of Teufel Nursery, the landscape division was founded during an economic downturn in the 1980s. Plant sales had dropped off, so the nursery decided to generate revenue through installation, says Christensen, who had to “do it all” back then. Today, he oversees up to 400 employees during peak season.

TEUFEL LANDSCAPE

Portland, Ore. General Manager: Rick Christensen 2007 Revenue: $41,000,000 Founded: 1983 (parent company founded in 1890) Service breakdown: 22% maintenance 60% design/build/installation 18% irrigation Client breakdown: 82% commercial 18% residential

What’s the key to this tremendous growth, all of which has been organic? “Our people,” Christensen says. “You can always rent equipment, lease trucks, find new vendors – but not finding the right people is the limitation to your growth. It’s ultimately what defines your destiny.”  To this end, Teufel Landscape has reevaluated its priorities over the last year, and has recommitted itself to a training platform it had strayed from: the Certified Landscape Technician program, an international certification program administered by state and national trade associations. The goal of this designation is to raise the standards of the landscape profession and provide the public with a way to identify qualified professionals.
 
Though Teufel had been committed to the CLT program in years past, the company “fell off the wagon” several years ago when a consultant encouraged the company to put its energies towards becoming a sales-driven firm. “I don’t want to say that we ignored the CLT, but it wasn’t our focus,” Christensen says.  

 
Unhappy with the results, Teufel leadership decided that educating employees from a technical and customer-service standpoint is the better approach. “If we look inside and put emphasis on employees, the result will be an emphasis on the customer and sales will come as a result,” Christensen says. So, the company instituted a requirement that anyone who reaches the foreman position needs to obtain his or her CLT. At the end of a two-year grace period, foremen face a wage freeze until they obtain certification. Teufel covers the cost for employees to take the test and obtain necessary training. “The beauty of the program is it doesn’t have to be costly,” Christensen says. The test fees range between $200 and $400 depending on the organization administering it, the number of modules being taken and the number of employees from the company who are taking it. “The real cost is dedication because the employees do have to commit to studying and preparing on their own time.”
 
Because Teufel’s CLT “rededication” is relatively new, it’s too early to tell what the return on investment will be for this policy, Christensen says, but he mentions that he looks forward to the critical-thinking skills employees will gain. “Anyone can teach employees how to do something, but we really try to work toward teaching them why we do something. Instead of following a road map or a recipe, they can make educated, informed decisions. We recognize that employee development is the key to our continued success and growth.”