Is this the year of Collaboration?

Or is collaborating the future, period? During the last quarter of 2022, it was becoming increasingly difficult to find skilled employees to join our business. I have spoken with numerous company directors at different levels within the industry, and we all seem to be in a similar position. It is an employee’s market, i.e. people joining a landscaping company have a plethora of companies to choose from and they can also choose to go with the highest bidder.

To segue slightly, employee pay is a topic up for discussion and I want to save this for another article, however, it’s concerning that companies

desperate for staff and in a panic, might be paying over the odds for someone who isn’t worth their salary, in terms of the value they provide. This seems to be the case not only with skilled staff. Unfortunately, there is a shortage concerning labourers as well; the reason why is pretty clear.

We as an industry aren’t doing enough to promote how great a career in landscaping is, and what opportunities are available. I hear so many people making bold blanket statements about the new generation and their lack of enthusiasm for work when in reality there is still a percentage who do want to learn, upskill and progress. The ignorance of not employing and putting time into the younger generation will hamper the industry, because who will follow us? More needs to be done to strike up engagement and showcase what we do!

When planning out my future projects and business model, I was wondering how to facilitate the high volume of work without the skilled employees I require. With designs laid out on my floor, I looked at the skilled areas within each job and asked myself who can I ask to help me progress each project. That’s when I reached out to a few landscaping friends who have since agreed to help out on different projects. It’ll be a mixture of one person designated to a project based on their specialist skillset, and in some cases, a few of us will join together on one project. This approach ticks all the boxes and I feel could be the way forward for many. Not only are you engaging skilled workers that you trust, but you get the opportunity to work alongside peers, learn new techniques and share ideas. From a social media and marketing perspective, it will also help promote the business of all parties involved. Another positive is that by subbing out certain elements of the project you’re not tied into employee contracts which could be a saving grace if work did dry up as you’re not then left with high overheads in wages.

Although not a long-term solution perhaps, there’s a lot of work out there, so we should come together to help each other grow the industry as well as our businesses.