Labor shortages and hiring and retention challenges continue on into 2024 for landscape business owners.
Lawn & Landscape Magazine published the 2024 State of the Landscape Labor Market report, and we’re seeing some very interesting responses and thoughts to address the labor problems. And it hasn’t been getting better. In fact, 59% of survey responders said that the labor market is slightly or much worse than before COVID-19 hit 4 years ago.
You can read the entire report here. It’s full of statistics but, most importantly, it has insights and advice on how to hire and retain the people you need to be successful.
In the meantime, here are a few key takeaways.
63% of respondents don’t have an employee recruiting and retention strategy.
When it comes to hiring and retention, you can’t just wing it and expect to succeed. If you don’t take the time to determine how you want to bring people in and what you’re going to do to keep them, you’re likely to fall behind and stay in a hiring-firing cycle.
Where to start:
- Before posting a job, create a job description that accurately describes the job you’re looking to fill. If you go into hiring with clear expectations, you’re less likely to waste time and energy on candidates that simply don’t have the skills required for the job.
- Ask your current employees for honest feedback. Some employees may hesitate to be critical in person, but if you’re able to give them anonymity, you’re more likely to get honest answers. Ask them what they like and don’t like about working at your company. Ask them what you can do to improve their everyday work. Being proactive and addressing concerns before they become problems is how you keep good employees happy.
45% of respondents have had at least 1 employee poached in the past 12 months.
Not quite half of the respondents had an employee leave their company because they got a better offer. While some employee turnover is inevitable, it can really sting when a great team member joins up with one of your competitors.
What can you do about it?
- If your employees are leaving for better offers, take a look at what growth paths you’re offering. Is there a clear way that your employee can continue to advance their career with you? Or have they hit a ceiling? Do they know what they need to do to get a promotion, or are they winging it based on time spent with the company and getting the courage to ask?
- Take the time to create and present a clear career growth path for every position within the company. Include the metrics they need to hit and the education required to advance. Keep the line of communication open so there are never any surprises when it comes to reviews and promotions.
76% of respondents have at least one open position.
While it’s about 50/50 on how many companies lay off employees for the off-season, 76% of them are currently looking to fill jobs.
How can you make your company stand out when hiring?
- Create better job ads by elevating titles. Create an apprenticeship program to quickly convey that there’s room for advancement.
- Create an employee referral program. Hiring takes time and money, but you can speed up the process by incentivizing your current employees.
Ready to grow your team?
We have a ton of information on how to create a better workplace for your employees. Check out a few of our Mastermind Weekly Webinars to get started.
- 360-Degree Feedback: A Powerful Tool for Employee Improvement
- Nurturing Employee Growth: Building an Employee Development Program
- Strategies for Crew Upskilling: Creating Learning Pathways
LMN and Greenius are valuable tools for employee retention. LMN and the Crew app give real-time feedback to your crews, enhancing communication and clarity. Greenius has hundreds of training courses on safety, proper equipment maintenance, and so much more.
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