Member Roundtable
Employee Incentives An aerial view of EMI's annual employee appreciation party. Employee incentive programs, when linked to a company’s core values, can boost productivity by 75%, according to the Society for Human Resources Management.
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ONLA asked several landscape companies to share highlights of their initiatives to provide professional development and recognition for their employees. The companies who responded below range in size, but each of them are dedicated to creating hard-working, motivated teams and engaged employees who want to help drive production and profits to new levels.
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Cori Swain, Five Seasons Landscape Management We have several employee recognition programs for various things like obtaining certifications, or receiving compliments from properties that are extremely critical. These include monetary rewards, social media posts, or shout outs in the break room with a sign recognition, etc. One thing we do that might be different than others is a coin program that reiterates our company's core values. It was an idea brought to us from one of our employees who is a Navy veteran. It’s similar to a system used in the military where coins are presented by unit commanders to a member of the unit in recognition of special achievements. We have five Challenge Coins—Leadership, Going Above and Beyond, Creativity, Teamwork, and Mastery—that we encourage our employees to obtain. • •
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The Leadership coin is given when an employee enhances morale, has the confidence to get the job done and focuses on customer service, job quality, and integrity. Going Above and Beyond is doing the job a little better and more efficiently or taking the extra time to help someone pull weeds in their flower bed or lend them your ear… these little things go a long way. Teamwork reiterates that we are "better together"! We are a family. There is no room for bad attitudes.
16 The Buckeye
Creativity encourages thinking outside the box, being imaginative and coming up with ideas that can enhance a job, particularly in seasonal color, enhancements and design build. Mastery recognizes that an employee's skill level and expertise is unmatched. They have proven success.
These coins are given to an employee when he or she exceeds the company’s expectations in a particular area or skill set. They are not earned in any particular order and no one coin weighs heavier than the other. The employee receives one coin to keep and the company puts another of the same coin on a plaque that is hung in the office. The employees who get all five coins receive a wooden box to display the coins on at home. Gail Reinhart, Hidden Creek Landscaping We offer monetary incentives, including a monthly social media contest ($200 gift card for the winner) and a reviews contest in which $25 gift cards are rewarded to employees garnering a positive review from a client. We have an employee of the month program and employees receive a $25 gift card on their birthday, as well. Employees that refer a new hire receive a $300 referral bonus if the new hire remains employed after 90 days. Before the pandemic, we hosted a Christmas party and a summer family and friends company picnic (this year would have been our fifth annual picnic). The picnic is typically a large event with food and beverages, a bounce house, inflatable slide, dunk tank, and water balloons for the kids. Hidden Creek pays for all continuing education and encourages certification. The company pays for certification fees as well. If the employee needs to retake the exam, they cover the cost upfront and then we reimburse them when they pass. We also offer a comprehensive benefits package. Employees receive a clothing credit. And all employees earn an additional PTO day for each year they work with us. onla.org
