Running a PHC Business – Two Distinct Approaches

Establishing and managing a PHC business might appear simple, with only vertical growth ahead of you. However, don’t underestimate how quickly employees can push and pull a team in different directions. Strong individuals who are passionate and have a desire to excel will sometimes clash with others when seeking to influence the direction in which a company is going. No matter a company’s size or history, egos and expectations must be carefully managed to avoid having major fissures disrupt an otherwise cohesive operation.

Growth is great, but it can come with dramatic swings. In a strained workforce, even someone who only wants what’s best for the company could regrettably and inadvertently sabotage things. And when ownership and/or management gets caught up in the day-to-day activities, losing sight of the big picture, turnover increases.

The most important thing you can do, as an owner or operations manager, is to go back and look at what kind of market you are trying to serve. One approach to running a PHC company is to be a volume-based operation. Another is to build it around high levels of horticultural and arboricultural expertise.

Volume based

In a volume-based operation, your aim is to dominate a territory, making efficiency and production a key component of your business model. This requires very solid systems in place that easily can be replicated with a team that also could easily be assembled and replicated. This model is the most widely used one across the country, because it makes staging growth predictable. Where it can go wrong is when your clients and employees push back on the intent in any number of ways over the course of time. One of the most important questions you should be asking is, “Is our execution matching our intent?”

As an example, many years ago, a good friend of mine started his own PHC business with the goal of injecting trees. He compared it to running a Krispy Kreme, where they just do doughnuts, keeping it simple by doing nothing else. It was easier to hire, train and execute schedules when injections were all they did, and that was his objective. As time went on, however, he added services to include deep-root feeding, then spraying, then air-excavation (which is a completely different dynamic requiring more employees on site) and finally, of course, arborist consulting services.

As he continued to say “yes” to these opportunities, he confused his employees. Before he knew it, he had taken Krispy Kreme and turned it into a custom bakery doing specialty desserts and cakes. Filling slots with the right talent became much harder, and so, too, did his scheduling. His intent changed not only for himself but for his employees, who had bought into a different game plan.

There’s nothing wrong with changing, as long as you are great at conducting a complex symphony orchestra. Know your strengths and limits by revisiting your master plan.

Expertise based

Another approach is to build a PHC company around high levels of horticultural and arboricultural expertise at certain levels within your organization, and then to put that expertise on full display with clientele who appreciate and value your principles. This approach is great for building high customer and employee loyalty, which also leads to very good growth without relying on aggressive marketing plans. Companies that run their operations on this model enjoy higher profits and a company culture that attracts talented individuals.

Then comes the challenge, when employee opinions and ideas confuse your company’s culture, causing good employees to depart or leading to having to weed out the weakest employees who simply aren’t getting it. Addressing these challenges with team meetings, during which everyone is included in the process of defining clarity, will breathe life and a sense of renewed energy into the process as you collaborate together.

When new hires who came from a  volume-based mindset are struggling to adapt to your higher-knowledge operation, it’s vital the problem gets nipped in the bud immediately. One of the best ways to systemize execution so it matches your intentions is to utilize your software by refining note templates, which can help your rookies appear to be more advanced than they are. This results in positive reinforcement not only with your clients, but also with your new employees who are reading the templates and being trained how to effectively communicate what you feel are key points.

For example, what do you want your technicians to write as notes to your client once they have completed a service? Volume-based employees simply note that all chewing and sucking insects have been controlled, and that fungicides were applied to prevent diseases. Horticultural-based companies want feedback and advice included, such as, “It’s time to deadhead your rhododendrons!” or, “I noticed a girdling root that was starting to show itself on your small maple tree, so I took the liberty of trimming it while on site today while treating your landscape for specific insect and disease problems (with further pest details included).”

Conclusion

However you decide which approach appeals to your market, begin with a business plan that identifies how you wish to serve your clients. Be very clear about what an ideal operation looks like. Focus on that, and allow for managed change that matches your core values rather than confuses them.

Imagine each person in your company is building their own castle, but in order to do so they must use the same large, foundational building blocks you have created. No one gets to change the foundation. Everyone gets to grow, with new towers and enhancements of their choosing, instilling a sense of freedom and ownership in what they are building with you. As time goes on and this is mastered, reduced client and employee turnover will be the result, and you’ll be profitably rewarded.

Steve Martinko is owner of Contender’s Tree & Lawn Specialists, a three-year TCIA member company based in Waterford, Michigan, and owner of Banner Sales and Consulting, Inc., a new TCIA corporate member company providing PHC products, based in Novi, Mich.