If you’re like most lawn and landscape business owners, finding dependable employees remains one of your biggest challenges. In fact, a recent lawn and landscape industry survey of business owners found that 72% of contractors identified employees as their single greatest business challenge. The good news? The solution may already be working inside your company every day.
When a landscape company reaches just a handful of employees, it gains a valuable asset that never shows up on your balance sheet. Every employee has spent years building relationships with friends, family members, former coworkers, neighbors, church members, classmates, and business associates. Those relationships represent a powerful recruiting network overlooked by many landscapers.
The smartest landscape companies learn how to tap into that network through a structured employee referral system.
During a recent Wealthy Landscaper Training session, Tony Bass and special guest Doug Robbins shared proven strategies for building an employee referral program that consistently attracts better candidates. Doug spent more than 30 years building a successful landscape company before selling it in 2023, and many of his best employees came through referrals.
Tony Bass has been an employer since 1987. His experience recruiting, hiring, training, and keeping blue-collar employees has been the foundation for building multi-million dollar companies in lawn maintenance, landscape construction and manufacturing.
When you put Tony & Doug on the job of explaining the fine details of building a successful employee recruiting system, you’re going to get real solutions…explained in detail…really quickly.
The training covered these carefully-explained key success factors:
- How to properly announce and promote a referral program to your team
• Why clear written expectations are critical
• How to structure referral bonuses so they motivate action
• The overlooked benefits of employees recruiting people they already know
• The most common mistakes that cause referral programs to fail
• Why great employees often know other great employees
• How referrals can improve retention, culture, and team performance
One important lesson from the training is that referral programs are not simply about offering money. They are about creating ownership within your team. When employees help recruit the next great hire, they become more invested in the success of the company and often take a greater interest in helping new team members succeed.
What happens when you build that employee recruiting system?
You stop hoping for employees and you start getting them to come join your team. You have a plan. You get better employee matches, longer retention, easier training, and stronger company culture.
If your lawn or landscape company is struggling to find drivers, crew leaders, technicians, or laborers, don’t overlook the recruiting asset you already have.
Watch the free 30-minute training recording and learn the key success factors behind building an employee referral system that actually works. Click here for immediate access.
Sometimes the next great employee isn’t found through an online job board. Sometimes they’re introduced by the great employee who is already working for you.
If you own a lawn or landscaping company you may be one great hire away from adding a crew that could grow sales $350,000 to $500,000 in new revenue.
Invest a few minutes to get the training you need to fix the employee challenge in the next few days. Watch the 34 minute video. Click here.
We look forward to hearing of your success,
Tony Bass, Founder
PS – If you’re struggling to find, hire and keep great employees, then buying a copy of The Landscaper’s Guide to Finding, Hiring and Keeping Great Employees is the right decision. The book and online support materials will help you fix this problem and build a great team you can depend on. Order online click here.
