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hshoosier's avatar
hshoosier
Contributor 3
7 months ago

Pay for performance in Lawn Care and Landscaping - has anyone been successful?

I know this has been talked about many times, but I'm thinking about re-visiting this option.

How have you structured your pay for performance when you have crews that do totally different things? For example- we have some crews that just do lawn maintenance (bi-weekly grass cutting, weed eating, etc), and other crews that do 'projects' (french drains, hardscapes, etc). And some guys that float between the different crews.

My brain cannot conceive metrics that would be equitable for both groups. Would we have a different set of metrics for each type of crew? A different set for the grass cutting crew vs the projects crew?  What are some examples of metrics that you have successfully used? How did you measure or track them?

I think I'm just 'stuck' on how to even get started. I've looked at so many conversations on this that my brain is in overload.

Can someone give me a hand here? Can I just see your metrics?

Help. Please.

hiring & team
landscaping
lawn care
property maintenance

9 Replies

  • Daichi's avatar
    Daichi
    Contributor 4
    7 months ago

    I'm in a similar situation. While I don't handle hardscape projects, I have two crews dedicated to regular lawn and garden maintenance, and one crew that focuses on softscape projects.

    I use a performance-based pay system built around budgeted hours.

    Whether it's a maintenance route or a project, I always quote jobs with an estimated time for completion.

    For maintenance, properties can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 4 hours. I build out daily routes based on total budgeted hours. If a crew finishes their route ahead of schedule, they earn a bonus for the time saved.

    The same system applies to projects. For example, if a job is budgeted for two days and the crew completes it in 1.5, they still get paid for the full two days.

    It's not a perfect system and it depends heavily on accurate quoting to give the crews a fair shot at hitting their bonuses. But overall, it's been effective.

    I have a custom field for 'Budgeted Hours' on all of my jobs and I use this table to see how efficient my guys are at each job. 

     

    • Daichi's avatar
      Daichi
      Contributor 4
      7 months ago

      Doesn't look like that photo is clear - here's what I track to help. 

       

      • RandleHandles's avatar
        RandleHandles
        Contributor 2
        7 months ago

        We are in a similar situation right now and this is a great incentive model! Thank you!

  • davidj's avatar
    davidj
    Contributor 2
    19 days ago

    Hey you should check out http://www.protiv.com they integrate with jobber and are an incentive program for maintenance and install teams. Hope that helps! 

  • NickZem's avatar
    NickZem
    Contributor 2
    6 days ago

    I run a window cleaning, pressure washing, and gutter cleaning company and just launched JobSplit in the Jobber Marketplace for exactly this. You set your revenue share percentage, enter your pay period dates, and it pulls in completed job data from Jobber to calculate performance pay automatically. Feel free to reach out with any questions. Check it out here: https://jobsplit.app/

  • PawanAtOasis's avatar
    PawanAtOasis
    Contributor 2
    4 days ago

    I have been thinking about implementing P4P as well and I am experimenting with it this season. One thing that helped me simplify it was separating metrics by the type of work instead of trying to make one system fit everything.

    For lawn maintenance crews, the metrics I am looking at are mainly efficiency, quality, and customer satisfaction. For example completing properties within the estimated time, no missed areas or callbacks, and keeping equipment and sites clean before leaving. I track estimated time vs actual time and any customer feedback.

    For project crews like hardscaping or drainage, the metrics would be a bit different. Things like completing phases on schedule, staying within estimated labor hours, quality of workmanship, and job site organization and safety.

    For team members who float between crews, I am considering a base hourly rate plus a small performance bonus tied to the crew they are working with that day or week.

    My goal with P4P is not just speed. I want to reward efficiency, quality work, and taking care of the customer. I am still refining the system, but separating metrics by service type made it easier for me to start.

    Would love to hear how others are structuring it as well. 👍