How to Navigate Seasonal Challenges in Landscape Management
Discover expert-backed strategies to conquer the seasonal hurdles in landscape management. This article unpacks how strategic scheduling and a flexible workforce can ensure year-round service excellence. Learn from seasoned professionals about expanding and maintaining services through winter’s challenges.
- Strategic Project Scheduling and Versatile Workforce
- Offering Residential and Commercial Snow Services
- Maintaining Core Team and Expanding Winter Services
- Proactively Planning and Flexible Workforce
Strategic Project Scheduling and Versatile Workforce
In the landscape and hardscape business, especially in Hilliard, Ohio, seasonal fluctuations are a reality. I focus on strategic project scheduling and maintaining a versatile workforce to navigate these changes. One successful tactic we’ve used is prioritizing consultation and design in colder months, getting projects ready to break ground as soon as the weather allows.
An effective workforce strategy I implemented involves leveraging my team’s diverse skill sets. By cross-training, I’ve ensured that when demand for specific services wanes, team members can smoothly transition to other roles within the company. This adaptability was crucial during a fall project last year when shifting team members to different roles allowed us to complete a major patio installation ahead of schedule, despite a seasonal dip in labor availability.
Additionally, using technology to keep a keen eye on market trends supports our adjustments in resource allocation and project management. For instance, data indicated a growing demand for native plant landscapes, and adapting to this trend allowed us to offer a niche seasonal product that generated additional revenue during slower months. This proactive adjustment to market demands highlights the importance of agility and foresight in maintaining steady business operations throughout the year.
Pete Marsh
Owner, Blue Oak Patio & Landscape
Offering Residential and Commercial Snow Services
Our landscape business is based out of Pennsylvania, where winter hardscape is manageable but a bit harder to tackle. For this reason, we offer both residential and commercial snow services to keep our crews busy and customers happy (who doesn’t want to outsource their snow removal to the same guys who do their landscaping?). We use a project management system that helps with managing projects and crew overall. It also allows us to keep track of our equipment usage and we really hone in on this in the winter to fix what we can and replace what we need to so that our crew is operating seamlessly once springtime hits.
Additionally, in the colder months, we really focus more heavily on SEO and PPC to gain visibility online and to secure as much business as possible in the off season. Ranking for terms for projects that we aren’t actively working on gives us an opportunity for a lead if people are inside thinking about how they want to transform their space once it gets warm enough to do so. Plus, they are the first to schedule their projects then and can be more picky with the timing of the work. Then, our team knows what projects they can expect to work on once the weather is right.
Nathan Stockman
President, Stockman Lawnscape
Maintaining Core Team and Expanding Winter Services
To manage seasonal fluctuations in landscaping, we maintain a core year-round team supplemented by seasonal workers. We’ve expanded into winter services like snow removal and hardscape planning to keep skilled staff employed consistently. This approach proved valuable last winter when an unexpected January thaw enabled a major hardscape project.
We handle finances by timing equipment purchases for off-peak seasons and offering prepayment discounts on annual contracts to ensure steady winter income. Our weather adaptation strategy includes flexible scheduling and cross-trained crews who can switch between services as needed. During last spring’s wet April, we redirected teams to hardscape work on rainy days while rescheduling lawn care for clear weather.
This balanced approach means more reliable service for your property throughout the year, with consistent quality and uninterrupted maintenance regardless of season or weather conditions.
Frank Sturm
Founder & CEO | Greenace Lawn Care & Turf Pro, Green Ace Lawn Care
Proactively Planning and Flexible Workforce
We manage seasonal fluctuations by proactively planning ahead and maintaining a flexible workforce. During the busy spring and summer months, we scale up our team by hiring additional seasonal workers, many of whom we’ve trained over the years and trust to uphold our high standards. In the slower fall and winter months, we focus on pruning, storm damage prevention, and emergency services, which remain in steady demand.
Additionally, we invest in cross-training our employees, so they can handle a variety of tasks throughout the year, ensuring we maintain operational efficiency regardless of the season. My certification as an arborist and over two decades of experience in the industry have taught me the importance of being proactive rather than reactive when it comes to workload and resource management.
One particular experience that stands out was a year when a late-summer storm caused extensive tree damage across the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Because of our preparation during the off-season, including additional training for the team and ensuring we had the right equipment ready, we were able to respond quickly and effectively to the surge in emergency calls. Our team worked tirelessly to clear hazardous trees, prevent further damage, and reassure our clients during a stressful time.
The feedback from customers was overwhelmingly positive, with many mentioning our responsiveness and professionalism as a deciding factor in recommending us to others. It was a perfect example of how experience, preparation, and a customer-first approach can turn a potentially overwhelming situation into a demonstration of capability and care.
Amaury Ponce
Business Owner, Ponce Tree Services
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