Reprinted from Planting Seeds, Volume 3, Issue 3, with permission of the ISA.
Employees are critical to the success of any business. Investing in your workers is important to keep you from dealing with a high turnover rate.
According to Cecile Peterkin, a Certified Career Coach, Corporate Mentor and Speaker, the most important thing you can do to keep employees happy is to focus on them—not just on the bottom line.
“By showing you are as committed to their development and happiness as you are to the business,” Peterkin says, “you can be sure that your employees feel connected.”
Carl Mellinger, owner of Mellinger Tree and Landscape Service in Pacific Palisades, California, believes in giving his employees a feeling of ownership in the company. This ISA Certified Arborist and 2011 True Professional supplies his workers with uniforms and logos for their shirts, jackets, and caps. In addition, he supports certification and training classes. Because many of his employees are Hispanic, he has also made an effort to translate various arborist publications and educational tools into Spanish.
“Let your employees know they’re respected, taken care of, and give them the opportunity to make decisions,” says Mellinger. “I think our clients have seen that over the years, and they feel they are in good hands that way. It also helps the client trust the crew when the owner is not there. Doing these things helps build a stronger company.”
