Founded in 2008. The Landscape Juice Network (LJN) is the largest and fastest growing professional landscaping and horticultural association in the United Kingdom.
LJN's professional business forum is unrivalled and open to anyone within within the UK landscape industry
LJN's Business Objectives Group (BOG) is for any Pro serious about building their business.
For the researching visitor there's a wealth of landscaping ideas, garden design ideas, lawn advice tips and advice about garden maintenance.
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I don't have staff, but from my point of view if I was to look for someone I would put common sense high on the list, and problem solving.
Being able to do maths or sums.
Once new a building co, quite well, they had taken onan aapprentice for bricklaying. But he could not do the maths, for nos of bricks or mortar mix ratios or remember them, used drive the other blokes mad.
The reality of recruitment is that you have a job specification and a set of candidate personal characteristics and qulaifications that would make them an ideal fit.
You'll get CV's and interview, and if very lucky have a choice of people to consider offering the position to. In reality, this hasn't happend often this way for me in this industry.
However, I would rank their ability to fit in with whom they will be working with top of the list. Personality, good nature, proactiveness, grafter, etc are hard to teach; qualifications, well support them through a training programme if you wish / it's important to you. Knowledge can be gained on the job.
If you do take someone on, make sure you start them on a trial basis / probationary period. We do 3 months probation with 1 weeks notice either side. That way if it's not working out you (or they) can move on and try someone else with minimal hassle.
The more qualifications the less likely they are to be any use as a grafter in my experience. One of the best guys I employed (and hope to employ again when his missus gets a job nearer here) was a grafter who never complained, and always brightened up everyone's day. He'd say stupid shit like 'OK, so we'll do this, knock a bit off the top of that one and then whack a bit of that down. Everyone's a winner, looser gets a goldfish!' The customers loved him.
My current guys are grafters, and I can't fault them for that. I'd like to employ someone like the other guy again just to introduce some more brains into the mix though- I have to do all the setting out on landscaping projects myself at the moment.
Ooh- one more thing. You must be able to actually look like you're working. So many times I've given (usually younger) lads the boot because they dawdle. Hoody up, wandering about. If you can't even sweep up properly then you won't last long. It's infuriating, especially when you contrast it with my current guys who always walk with purpose, no matter what the job. Every customer picks up on this.
I look for experience, work ethic, reliability, honesty and whether they can work in our team. There are very few qualifications available for Landscaping, but construction experience is always good, horticultural qualifications can help, but after years of trading and employing staff, I've learned, early on, that qualifications/education can't beat experience and being able, socially, to work successfully, with a diverse group of people and produce good works.
They are hard workers and they turn up thats all i can ask for.
Young people dont know what work is. Show them spade/shovel ask where digger is. Ladders or scaffolding wheres the cherry picker. Good job i hav self drive mowers dont think they would push a mower. Had guy before asking when he would get on rideon. I know thats a massive generalization just needed the rant.
Other issue is they all seem to think they know everything these days im entitled to 15min break in mornin and lunch etc. Had 1 guy and i sent him to cut lawn and i did neighbours he stopped for his morning break and i worked on as i saw rain coming then i sat in van having my break while he worked in rain. I know its not cost effective as took him longer to cut lawn wet but he stopped taking his break at certain time and listened to me more so worth it i think
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