By Phil Harwood

I’m a big fan of daily huddles and short, weekly meetings with all field staff. These are great ways to bring everyone together and to do a small amount of training for the “season within the season” on a regular basis. So what is the “season within the season?”

When we think of seasons, we typically think of the four seasons - spring, summer, fall, and winter. Many companies hold big training events in advance of these seasons. However, there is a series of mini-seasons in the green industry within the major seasons. 

Much of my career was spent in the world of landscape management. The spring season actually began with the spring cleanup season, followed by the bed edging season and mulch season. We then dealt with the irrigation start up season. This was closely followed by the annual color season. These mini-seasons happen the same way every year. And each of these mini-seasons presents an opportunity to train new staff (and remind experienced staff) of the procedures involved. 

To help jumpstart this mini-season training process for you, we have developed an entire course called Landscape Basics. This course was recorded by yours truly. It contains 18 modules for 18 different mini-seasons, encompassing the spring, summer, and fall landscape seasons. This course was generously sponsored by our friends at Ventrac. 

We recommend taking a few minutes with your team to review the video I recorded. After watching the video, talk about your specific procedures or standards and explain why they are important. Answer any questions and then hit the road. This mini-season training session should last 15-20 minutes and be well-worth the time spent. 

Keep in mind that the number one reason employees quit their jobs is a lack of training and development. We did the work for you by creating these training materials. Now you just need to deliver them to your staff.  

Now go forth.