LJN Blog Posts

I have been operating for over 2 years now and things have gone well. I have (perhaps predictably) got a bit obsessed with running this business and am looking to take things a step further, to work with more clients on bigger jobs and to increase employment.

One major step I am taking this season is to become safe contractor accredited.

I have decided to do this to aid my tendering success on local authority and commercial tenders. I believe that not only will having the logo make a difference, but knowing that I have done a full and thorough review of all of my documentation will settle any nerves when it comes to speaking confidently about my policies and procedures.

I do not treat this lightly, and am not just trying to get more work from it. I want to ensure people know they are using a contractor they can trust; knowing that a company has gone through such a rigorous process in the name of quality can at least be held as some kind of assurance. It will also result in a more clear set of documents from which to direct staff training and will create a systematic approach to record keeping.

It seems to me that safe contractor is one of the more highly-regarded accreditation schemes. It is one that I see mentioned in a lot in tenders, on local authority websites, and on communications by larger landscape firms. If nothing else it will provide a lot of advice to help a business get their paperwork in order.

Landscape maintenance contractors need recognised accreditations if they want to move the business in a certain direction and I do not see an attractive enough general one to go for.

I am working through the requirements and will focus on this to get accreditation as soon as possible. You never know when an opportunity might arise.