I AM A LANDSCAPE PROFESSIONAL
Brigitte Orrick, The Davey Tree Expert Co. By Lindsey Getz WITH MORE THAN 15 YEARS IN THE INDUSTRY, BRIGITTE ORRICK joined The Davey Tree Expert Co. from the Tree Care Industry Association, where she was the workforce development director. Prior to that role, Orrick was the dean of trade, industry and apprenticeships at Nicolet College. She has experience in both the collegiate and professional affiliate market spaces. But Orrick says her roots are in forestry—no pun intended—and it is that passion that is a driving force in her efforts to grow the industry. We recently caught up with Orrick to find out more.
Connect with Davey Company: The Davey Tree Expert Co. Headquartered: Kent, Ohio Year founded: 1880 and employee-owned since 1979 (celebrating 40 years!) Service mix: Residential and commercial tree care, commercial landscaping, utility vegetation management, environmental and urban forestry consulting services Business motto: Proven solutions for a growing world.
One of the biggest challenges that faces our industry is retention of people. That means making sure to interview and qualify the right people who will be a good fit for the company and for the industry—but then also keeping them. For our company, retention is more of a challenge than recruiting. Moving forward, we are working to create a new orientation and onboarding experience. It will really focus on the first three months of employment. For a large organization like ours, it’s a lot of moving parts and that’s a large undertaking but one that we believe is essential. My “Life Mission Statement” is to provide access to career paths at a family sustaining wage with upward potential. I get to do that in my current role. It’s more about changing lives than it is about just hiring people. It’s about supporting our peoples’ families. We look at it as more than just a job but also about the families we get to touch as a result of those jobs. Being a landscape professional is about sharing our passion for the environment, and to invite the public into a better understanding of trees and plants. I’m a forrester by trade, even though I’m more in an HR role today. I taught forestry to college students so that’s at the heart of my passion. With NALP, we have a place to collaborate and help advance the industry in a meaningful way. I also just started to serve with the Women in Landscape Network. I’m excited to get to share my passion with other women and help them pursue leadership within their companies. TLP
38 The Landscape Professional //January/February 2020
FAST FACTS Favorite business book: “Necessary Endings” by Dr. Henry Cloud. I really enjoy that book and think there are many lessons to be taken from it. Business mentor: When I was younger it was my grandmother. The older I’ve gotten I’ve learned to surround myself with a team of leaders because there are different seasons and different questions that arise, and you have a need for different experts. Five-year plan: I feel like I’m in my wheelhouse right now in recruiting and employee development. In five years, I’ll be working deeper in employee engagement as we really get this recruiting and retention thing figured out. Long term, I want to continue working within The Davey Institute. We have all of these teachers and scientists on staff who are such knowledgeable experts, and I hope to work with them in a different capacity as I grow within the company.
