Promoting from within - is someone who is primarily money driven, a good candidate for management?
So here's the situation - I've hired two different operations managers and had to let them go for various reasons. The reason I was seeking outside the company was for a fresh outlook and a new way of doing things. Although I think there were things I could have done in the hiring process to sniff these bad candidates out, I'm now feeling like I should be promoting from within with someone already familiar with our systems and company culture. The obvious choice would seem to be the guy who's been here the longest. He's the site super on all our bigger jobs and everyone recognizes him as the most senior person, the person they call if they have a technical related question. I offered him the position (which is a healthy base salary plus incentive bonuses for gross profit, customer satisfaction, and clearly outlined administrative task goals) and he's very hung up on the money. Objectively, it's more money overall than he earned last year plus the bonuses but the weekly base is lower than if he worked in the field that week. He earned roughly $82k in the field (working roughly 80% of the available hours we COULD have worked him, because of slow weeks), this is a base of $88k with incentive bonuses that should definitely take this north of a size figure position. People should obviously care about the money they earn but he's basically super worried about the guarantee of money instead of the opportunity to earn a lot more with the bonuses. I tried encouraging him that this is something he can do but he keeps going back to the guaranteed money. I definitely want this position on performance pay so a high flat salary is off the table. My concern is he will be a few weeks in, working harder than he did before, getting paid less in the immediate term, and will not be giving it his all. He doesn't view this as a good offer. Question is - if someone isn't excited at an opportunity like this, should I take the offer off the table? Or is there a different way I could be thinking about this?
Health Benefits for Seasonal Crews in British Columbia
Has anyone found a good solution for offering benefits to a seasonal crew? Traditional group plans seem expensive and not very flexible for our structure, so I’m currently exploring Health Care Spending Accounts instead. I’d love to hear what providers others are using for either/or and what’s worked well for your team. Any recommendations or insights would be appreciated. For context - my business partner and I are on salary year-round for our landscaping business but 99% of billable operations, and staff are seasonal from March to December. We lay-off and try to rehire anyone who has worked in previous seasons. Goal is to have health care spending and / or benefits for ourselves as well as our staff in order to retain staff and grow the business despite the seasonality of our services (no, we do not offer snow removal or plan to go that avenue).Delegation & Hiring for a Maintenance-Heavy Landscaping Company Trying to Scale
I’ve been looking into accountability charts and delegation after listening to the Jobber podcast where they talked about this, but I’m not sure where to begin. Right now I’m still heavily involved in day-to-day residential maintenance landscaping operations—quoting, scheduling, managing crews, and even some marketing—which makes it hard to step back and focus on growing into larger/higher earning project work beyond maintenance. For those who’ve gone through this at a similar stage, what responsibilities did you delegate first—and to whom? Also, what was your first key hire that really helped free up your time to focus on growth? Any practical guidance would be great.Transitioning from Landscape Maintenance to Higher Earning / Project Work
For those who started in maintenance, how did you transition into larger projects like hardscaping and design? Did you train your existing crew or build a separate team? I’m trying to figure out the best path forward without disrupting our current operations. Any advice from those who’ve made that shift would be really helpful.What’s one thing you do to make your employees feel valued?
What’s something you do that makes your employees feel respected, supported, and appreciated? And want to stay with your company? In this episode of Masters of Home Service, Savannah Revis and KellyGuerrero talk about what happens when more women step into leadership roles in the trades. They share: Why empathy doesn't mean lowering standards, it builds loyalty How respect inside your company snowballs into better client experiences Why strong work culture (not just pay) is what keeps employees long-term Never miss an episode of Masters of Home Service. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
