Snow removal company culture is a factor Troy Clogg, founder of Michigan-based Troy Clogg Landscape Associates, believes in so much he underlines it in pink. It’s not without effort; culture can be challenging to quantify but is essential to your business. Being able to set a few base principles that your company is built on helps:
- Give your employees something to reference when they are making decisions.
- Boost morale, buy-in, and support for company leadership.
- Encourage employees to be their best selves and develop as professionals.
- Pay dividends with branding and company satisfaction.
- Embed your brand in the community
Recently, the Landscape Disruptors Podcast featured Troy Clogg from Troy Clogg and Associates, one of the largest and most successful snow removal companies in North America. Here is some insight he provided on the best ways to establish company culture in this industry.
Troy Clogg Landscape Associates year over year, is recognized as one of the Top 100 Snow Contractors in North America.
1. Start From The Top-Down
Company culture isn’t something that you can fake when it comes to relating to clients. Clogg points out that every company culture is ultimately a reflection of its leadership. If your leadership is trying to encourage people to be warm and welcoming, but they are more formal and driven, it will create a clash. That doesn’t mean that you have to be perfect, but behavior needs to align with the desired culture.
2. Work On Communication Beyond Snow Removal
Clogg points out that COVID-19 restrictions and precautions have caused his company to have to adapt. The in-person gatherings and togetherness that were a significant part of his company are no longer feasible for the time being. To replicate that feel in some capacity, he has focused on the communication of “cascading information.”
For example, there are a lot more internal newsletters and digital communication. This essentially honors and celebrates people who are demonstrating the core values of the company. Client information and job site/travel talk is also going more digital.
3. Open Up Feedback/Discussions
Clogg notes that he’s doing more 1-to-1 meetings with the company members to talk about their concerns, not just share information. While this sometimes means talking about work-related topics, the point is to allow each team member to talk to management about important issues.
4. Building An Internal Brand
Clogg notes that one of the most important principles he wanted to establish early on was an atmosphere full of passionate people that wanted to work. However, due to the industry’s nature, he had to be creative to find ways to keep employees working year-round. However, he feels that this was time and effort well-spent, as it’s created a platform of hard-working, loyal, and enterprising employees. For example, if a or summer season was slow, the employees now trust the company to get them back to 40+ work hour weeks.
Troy Clogg Landscape Associates is dedicated to helping local families financially affected by breast cancer. Proceeds from the sales of the company’s own Hot Pink Deicer provide much-needed support to families going through an incredibly difficult time in their lives.
5. Helping the Community is Teamwork, Culture, and Collaboration
An essential reason why snow removal company culture is so influential is that a strong internal culture increases buy-in for new initiatives, such as adopting new technology. All types of snow removal companies are trying to modernize, and, in many cases, technology is critical for creating company cultures built around efficiency. Snow removal contractor software is a perfect example, and if you want the best, you need to work with LMN, the #1 business management software for snow contracting professionals.
Follow Troy Clogg’s team on Instagram for culture and branding inspiration.
Subscribe to the Landscape Disruptors podcast for all the latest news and trends for snow contractors and landscapers looking to stay ahead of the competition.
