How to Effectively Motivate Your Landscaping Crew

Keeping your landscaping team motivated is key to high productivity and job satisfaction. In landscaping, where hard work and physical labor are the norm, keeping a team engaged can be tough. With unmotivated employees, you see higher turnover, lower productivity, and project delays. 

→ Only 15% of employees feel they are motivated at work.

→  A motivated crew means better performance, better work, and better morale.

This guide will provide a step-by-step approach to motivating your landscape crew so you can have a more productive and engaged team day in and day out.

1. Understand what motivates your crew

Every crew member in the landscaping industry is motivated differently. 

Some are motivated by financial incentives, others by recognition or career growth opportunities. Knowing these differences allows you to tailor your approach to engage your landscape team better.

Tips to find out what motivates your team:

• Regular check-ins with your crew to gauge their job satisfaction and give constructive feedback, like at the end of the day and the end of the year in a performance review.

• Surveys or one-on-one conversations to find out what drives each individual.

• Recognize generational differences. Younger workers value flexibility, mentoring, and a clear career path, while older workers value job security and clear expectations.

Now that you know what motivates your team, let’s move on to setting clear goals and expectations.

2. Set clear expectations and goals

Without clear expectations, crew members will feel disengaged or unsure of their responsibilities. They may get frustrated and be less productive. By setting clear goals, you ensure everyone on the team is on the same page and working towards the same objectives.

Tips to set clear goals:

• Set daily and weekly goals to keep your crew focused and on track.

• Use landscape business software to track tasks and monitor real-time progress for transparency and accountability.

• Align individual goals with the company’s overall objectives so team members have purpose, motivation, and a stake in the business’s success.

• Promptly inform crew members of schedule changes to keep operations running smoothly and accountable.

Next, let’s examine how offering incentives can take it to the next level.

3. Offer incentives and recognition

Recognizing hard work and offering incentives is a powerful way to boost your landscape crew’s morale and motivate them to go the extra mile. 

Rewards and recognition make team members feel valued, increasing job satisfaction and overall performance.

Tips when rewarding hard work:

• Implement a rewards program for reaching milestones or outstanding performance.

• You can use monetary and non-monetary rewards, such as bonuses, gift cards, extra time off, or an Employee of the Month program.

• To create a culture of appreciation, publicly recognize achievements in team meetings, on social media, or in company newsletters.

Incentives and recognition keep your crew motivated and performing well. 

4. Foster a positive company culture

A positive, supportive environment in your landscape business makes work more enjoyable and encourages team members to work together more effectively.

 A healthy work culture increases morale, job satisfaction, and performance.

Tips for positive work environments:

• Encourage teamwork through group activities or team-building exercises to strengthen relationships between crew members.

• Create a culture of open communication where employees feel safe to speak up without fear of being judged.

• Make sure employees have the tools and resources they need to succeed, whether it’s new equipment, training, or support on the job site.

• Highlight the importance of good communication with customers to improve service and customer satisfaction.

A positive environment builds loyalty and engagement while increasing job satisfaction with team members.

5. Provide opportunities for growth

Stagnation leads to disengagement. 

By providing opportunities for skill development and advancement, you can help your landscape crew feel valued and motivated to stay with the company.

Tips to invest in your team:

• Offer training programs to develop new skills, equipment operation, or leadership training.

• Get crew members to take on more responsibilities as they grow within the company so they feel invested in their work.

• Create a clear path for promotion or advancement so employees know how to move from landscape employees to crew leaders or foremen.

Employees who see growth opportunities stay engaged and committed to their roles.

6. Use landscape business software to streamline operations

The proper task management tools can reduce frustration, increase accountability, and streamline workflow.

Tips to simplify workflows:

• Use Aspire’s lawn care software to assign tasks, track progress, and communicate between crew members and managers.

• Use the software performance data to provide transparent feedback and recognition, so crew members know how they contribute.

• Empower team members with Aspire Mobile, which instantly syncs schedule changes from the office, uses three-way communication with management and customers to resolve issues, and provides geo-tagged clock-in and clock-out to eliminate payroll errors. 

By simplifying operations with the right tools, your landscaping team can stay focused and motivated to deliver results. 

7. Lead by example

As a manager, your attitude and behavior affect the motivation of your landscape crew. By leading by example, you can motivate your team to work harder, stay focused, and be engaged in their tasks.

Tips to be an inspiring and effective leader:

• Show dedication and a strong work ethic in your tasks to set the benchmark for your crew.

• Keep your crew informed of critical information, including emergency calls, to ensure smooth operations, high standards, and accountability.

• Stay positive even when things get tough to get your team to stay resilient and focused.

• Be approachable and listen to your crew’s concerns or ideas to create a supportive work environment.

When crew members see their leaders living the values they expect, it reinforces a culture of excellence. 

What are the benefits of having a motivated landscaping crew?

A motivated landscape crew means a more efficient, productive, and positive work environment. When your team members feel valued and engaged, your landscape business is positively impacted.

1. Increased productivity

Motivated crew members work harder and achieve maximum output, and projects get done quicker and to a higher standard. This means your landscaping company can meet deadlines and deliver consistent results that exceed client expectations.

2. Reduced turnover

A motivated team has lower turnover rates, saving your business the cost of hiring and training new staff. Employees will remain with a company that invests in their happiness and growth.

3. Improved team collaboration

Motivated employees work together to tackle complex landscape design and maintenance tasks. A strong teamwork ethic means more creative problem-solving and higher overall performance.

4. Enhanced client satisfaction

Happy employees are more likely to communicate with clients to resolve issues openly, delivering better service to drive industry-leading client satisfaction. Clients who get great work and good service are more likely to return for future landscaping services.

What are the most common challenges of motivating your landscaping crew?

Motivating a landscape crew is tough, especially in a physically demanding and sometimes dull industry. Recognizing and addressing these challenges is crucial to having a motivated and productive team.

1. Dealing with burnout

The busy season demands long hours of tough physical work, and many landscaping professionals get burnt out. 

To prevent this, provide breaks, rotate tasks, and acknowledge hard work to maintain morale. 

Regular meetings can also help recognize hard work and provide constructive feedback, highlighting achievements and addressing areas for improvement, improving efficiency on the job site.

2. Navigating generational differences

With different age groups in the landscaping industry, different motivators exist. 

Younger crew members may value flexibility; older workers may value job security. Tailor your approach to each group.

3. Keeping teams motivated in repetitive tasks

Repetitive tasks like mowing or maintenance can kill motivation. 

Rotate responsibilities, set goals, and add incentives to keep teams engaged and focused.

Assign clear responsibilities to set expectations and standards from the start and do ongoing evaluations to keep everyone accountable for delivering the same high-quality work at the end of the season as they did at the beginning.

4. Addressing pay and compensation issues

Poor pay or a lack of a clear compensation structure can demotivate crew members. Review your pricing strategy regularly to ensure you can pay competitive wages. 

Addressing these challenges will help you have a more engaged team. Now, let’s summarize how these apply to your business.

It’s your turn now

Knowing what motivates your team members, setting clear goals, offering incentives, and creating a positive work environment are fundamental to a motivated and high-performing crew. Good leadership, consistent recognition, and communication are crucial to keeping your crew engaged.

Aspire’s landscape business software makes it even easier to run your business, reduce stress, and boost team morale by managing tasks, providing real-time feedback, and allowing employees to track their progress. 

Aspire gives you complete visibility of your crew so you can motivate them and increase productivity and accountability.

Book a free demo today to see how Aspire’s software can help your landscaping business thrive, streamline operations, and motivate your crew.