We talk a lot about systems at Grunder Landscaping Co., and as we start the season spring cleanups are usually the first system we must ensure runs well. As our team has grown, it's become even more important that we have a great system for these cleanups because they set the properties we maintain up well for the entire year when we do them right. 

We don't do very many standalone spring cleanups, so most of the work we do here is on properties that we maintain. To ensure we're prioritizing the right work and consistently delivering on our quality promise, we teach our Team Leaders (who lead our crews) to:

1. Preview the job ahead of time. The team leader should walk the property when they arrive, and our Group Leaders (production managers) visit properties ahead of crews to do this on new or large properties. For properties we have a history of maintaining, we look at the notes from the year before. You're looking for anything out of sorts, the most efficient access points, items that need special attention, or anything the crew would otherwise discover and lose time to on the day of. Showing up with a game plan is how you show up like a professional.
2. Communicate with the client. The team leader should knock on the door, introduce themselves, and let the client know the plan for the day. Our sales team has already let the client know what to expect, but this extra touch makes a great impression. This small habit builds trust, sets expectations, and opens the door for the client to flag anything special they want done. Language barriers do impact this, and sometimes Spanish-speaking Team Leaders will have another member of their crew do this step. 
   
3. Work in order, clean one time. Start at point A and work through the property systematically, cleaning and edging beds, getting the weeds out, trimming, and cleaning up debris as you go. Then apply pre-emergent and fertilizers before mulching. Skipping around or doing things out of order creates rework and eats into your margins. We train our crews on the order we want them to do this in. On large properties, we teach them to work in sections prioritizing the most visible spaces. 
4. Train everyone to do everything. A well-rounded crew member is a valuable crew member. When your team leaders are out sick or move up in the company, you need people who can step in. We build from within at GLC, and that starts with making sure no one on the crew is limited to just one task.
5. Mind the details that reflect your professionalism. Uniforms on properly. Trucks staged out of the way of the client's driveway, and ask permission if you need to use it. Don't park in front of the neighbor's house. These things seem small, but they're not. That neighbor watching you is a potential client. How you carry yourself in their neighborhood either earns or loses you that next job.
6. Stay in scope. This one trips up even great crews. Your team wants to take care of the client, and that's the right instinct. But doing work outside the contracted scope without flagging it first costs you money and sets a precedent that's hard to walk back. When the crew spots something beyond the scope, they should communicate it to the consultant so it becomes a paid enhancement. We use the Issues functionality in Aspire to make this back-and-forth simple and efficient. 
7. Be Patient. Just like every other company, we have new people in new roles this year, too. That means mistakes happen as they learn and it's part of the process. The key is to learn from mistakes and prevent them from happening a second time. I try to always remind myself and my team that we were new at this once, too, and we should give the grace we would've wanted to have. 

As we get back into the swing of things remember that the job you do today will sell tomorrow's job. Doing great work is the surest way to be successful, and this all rides on having great systems in place so that teams can execute consistently.

And if you want to dig deeper into topics like this, tune into The Grow! Show. We release new episodes every Wednesday covering leadership, operations, team management, and seasonal strategies, all built around what actually works in the field. These episodes make for great listening as you're driving to and from jobsites, working out on a property, and more to turn indirect time into learning opportunities. And if there's a topic you'd like to see us cover, respond back to this email! 

I'll talk to you next Sunday!

Marty Grunder
Founder & CEO
The Grow Group & Grunder Landscaping Co.