Member Roundtable: Employee Incentives

Employee incentive programs, when linked to a company’s core values, can boost productivity by 75%, according to the Society for Human Resources Management.

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.

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.

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. An aerial view of EMI's annual employee appreciation party. 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.

Devon Stanley, Benchmark Landscape Construction Inc.

Speaking in general terms of what we do here at Benchmark— outside of trying just about everything under the sun in our 24 years in business— we have found ourselves currently using an incentive program for our field supervisor personnel that is based in monetary and PTO rewards.

For Field Supervisors (Crew Foreman), monetary earned quarterly bonuses are based on performance. They can also earn additional paid time off, beyond their normal vacation days, on a monthly basis.

Earned based on evaluated requirements: • Gainfully and continually employed for the previous 12 month calendar year • Adherence to all company policies, etc. • Produce assigned weekly production volume • Meet or beating assigned weekly/monthly estimated hours • Actual hours matching entered payroll hours (accounted for) • All required paperwork or data entry submitted timely and accurately • Attendance: One no call/no show or a non-scheduled/ non-approved missed day disqualifies the supervisor for that month • Negligent equipment damage/loss disqualifies for given month/quarter • Negligent property damage to client property disqualifies for given month/quarter • No repeated service work orders issued by management for repeated site issues/or return visits required to fix contracted work for poor performance • No unexcused absence or late arrival to assigned company meetings/trainings

As for professional development, Benchmark pays for all seminars/trainings/continuing education required for personnel who hold industry certifications.

Benchmark will pay one testing fee for any employee who wants to obtain industry certification. If the employee needs to retake the certification exam, they will need to pay the fees upfront until they pass, but reimbursement is available. Internal training outside of COVID-19 is performed weekly with crew supervisors and monthly with field labor and supervisors together.

Joe Lewis, EMI

Part of EMI’s mission is to develop our landscape professionals in order to better serve our clients. We believe this commitment to our employees distinguishes our company as a destination employer.

Our individual employee is EMI’s greatest asset and we are committed to providing the best possible climate for maximum development and goal achievement for all employees. Having the best trained Landscape Professionals ensure our clients’ needs will be realized and EMI will remain an affordable and exceptional value to our clients.

Some highlights of what we offer:

We offer various referral incentive opportunities for both the employee that refers someone as well as the new hire. In most cases, the bonuses are paid after 60–90 days of employment and range from $100 for a crew member and up to $750 for a landscape installation foreman.

On each employee’s anniversary, they receive a $100 credit to be used on new apparel or boots. Five-year, ten-year, and twenty-year anniversaries are celebrated with logo merchandise ranging in value up to $320. EMI was able to achieve over 90% retention in 2017–2019. Of its 325 employees, 51 employees have been with EMI 10 year or more, and 27 of the 51 have been with EMI over 15 years. The average years of employment is 7.5 years.

EMI has a department dedicated to the training and development of each employee—from entry level crew members to foremen/forewomen, administrative staff, account managers and sales teams. We provide:

Tuition reimbursement for full-time employees and a scholarship program. Payment of all industry certification and training fees. Opportunity to earn a Journeyman’s License through The

Landscape Management Apprenticeship Program through the US Department of Labor. Opportunity to represent the company at career fairs, mentorship programs, and other outreach events.

EMI recognizes our crew members for excellent work throughout the season with a “Crew of the Week” nomination based on manager recommendations, client feedback, and Google/social media reviews. We recognize these employees from each of our locations on a weekly basis. At the end of the season, we tally all of these nominees and award prizes at our Employee Appreciation Day.

On the first Friday of every October, EMI throws a party for our employees to celebrate the successes of the season at our Plain City, Ohio location. We will start the day with some team building competitions and end the morning a State of the Company address for our employees. We bring in food trucks for lunch. Lunch is followed by prize drawings for crews that were nominated throughout the season for excellence in customer service, safety, and overall job performance. An employee’s name can only be drawn once, which maximizes employee participation. After prizes employees and management compete in various games such as corn hole, giant inflatable axe throwing, an inflatable obstacle course, and more. B

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Your Go-To Reference Guide

A Professional’s Guide LANDSCAPE PLANTS FOR OHIO The 78-page, fullcolor Landscape Plants for Ohio features key terminology & planting info for popular evergreens, ferns, grasses, perennials, shrubs and trees.

Campanula poscharskyana ‘Blue Waterfall’ Serbian Bellflower

A low-growing vigorous habit makes this a great ground cover or candidate for the mixed border. Grows 8–10” tall with low mounds of light green foliage covered with dark blue bell-shaped flower in the summer.

Campanula carpatica ‘White Clips’ and ‘Blue Clips’ Bell Flower

Have deep blue (‘Blue Clips’) or white (‘White Clips’), cup-shaped flowers in the summer and grow 8” tall in a compact mound. Makes a good groundcover or plant for the front of the garden border.

Campanula glomerata Clustered Bellflower

This plant grows 12–18” tall and has deep purple flowers in early summer that are arranged in upward-facing clusters. Tolerates wet soil. Divide every two years to promote vigor.

2019 Landscape Plants for Ohio.indd 28

Campanula persicifolia Peach-leaved Bellflower

mounded. Best if planted in an area of the garden where foliage will be camouflaged or hidden once blooms fade. Great for borders and naturalized settings. After blooms have faded, clip flower stems back to the foliage for an attractive accent plant for the rest of the summer.

This semi-evergreen plant grows 18–24” tall. Flowers appear in summer and are 1–1 1/2” in diameter and saucershaped. Makes a good cut flower. Best grown in cool sites and neutral to alkaline soils. Anemone ‘Margarete’ Grows to 2’ tall and has double pink flowers on multi-branched stems. Caryopteris ‘Dark Knight’ Blue Mist Shrub Blue Mist Shrub is aptly named as its gray-green foliage is shrouded in a Aquilegia x caerulea ‘Origami Mix’ Origami Columbine Numerous pendant flowers in shades of red and yellow cover the plant in late spring. cloud of blue from mid to late summer. It is a well-behaved garden plant that is very attractive to butterflies. Dark Arabis caucasica Rockcress Anenome ‘Honorine Jobert’ Grows 3- 4’ tall and has dark green foliage that makes a beautiful backdrop for the graceful, white, silk-like flowers in September. Anemone sylvestris ‘Macrantha’ Snowdrop Anemone Beautiful, 2” wide, white, fragrant flowers with yellow stamens appear in early spring. The plant grows 1–2’ tall. White wooly fruit persists into the summer. A low-growing perennial that spreads quickly. Great for the edges of wooded areas. Aquilegia Columbine This genus encompasses a wide variety of plants with bloom colors in the pastel range and various heights depending on the cultivar selected. Flowers can be used for cut arrangements. Plants are Tolerates heat and drought as well as poor, dry soil. Gray-green foliage grows in a mound 10–12” tall. Fragrant white flowers cover the plant in early spring. Good for a border plant or in a rock garden. Armeria maritima ‘Duesseldorf Pride’ Sea Pink Great plants for the front of the border or rock garden. Grows into a cushiony mound about 6” tall. Rosy-pink flowers pop up on 6” stems in early summer. Arisaema ‘Green Dragon’ Jack-in-the-Pulpit Large leaves with three parts grow to 2’ tall. Flower is a fleshy green spike on a short stalk beneath the leaves, appearing April through June. The flower is enclosed in a modified leaf called a spathe (the “pulpit”) that may be red or reddish-violet. A cluster of bright red berries appears in the fall. Good for woodland areas. Artemisia These perennials are best known for silvery-gray, soft foliage and ease of growing. Smaller cultivars can be used in the landscape as a border plant and large cultivars are excellent for specimen plants or as backdrops for other perennials. Cut branches of some cultivars make great dried arrangements and wreaths. 2019 Landscape Plants for Ohio.indd 24 PERENNIALS Campanula punctata ‘Cherry Bells’ Bell Flower Long red bell-like flowers appear in late spring to early summer. Blooms are about 18” above the ground-cover-like plant and droop down like bells. Cut back to the foliage after blooming. Vigorous spreader. Caryopteris x clandonensis Blue Mist Shrub A dense, mound-forming 3’ shrub that grows as a perennial or tender shrub. Plant has gray-green, lance-shaped leaves and blue or purple-blue flowers in late summer and early fall. Great for attracting butterflies. Knight has deep purple blue flowers closely spaced on long stems. Cassia marilandica Wild Senna This dramatic tropical-like plant grows 4–5’ tall and makes a great accent plant or placed along the back of a border. The yellow, pea-like, 6” long flowers appear in August and September, accenting the yellowish-green foliage. Very drought tolerant. Centaurea macrocephala Armenian Basketflower The blooms of this plant make great cut flowers. The 3” wide yellow flowers grow on 34’ tall plants and bloom in late spring to early summer. They are bright and beautiful but appear somewhat messy, almost thistle-like. Drought tolerant. Centaurea montana Mountain Bluet This aggressive plant has 2” wide bluish-purple flowers on 2’ tall plants. Blooms May through June. Also known as the “perennial bachelor button.” Tolerant of poor, dry soils. May require staking. Full Sun Full Shade Partial Shade 24

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PERENNIALS

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