Taking Your Team to New Heights by Planting a Tree

Written by Kevin Martlage

In a 2019 Gallup Article, “This Fixable Problem Costs US Businesses $1 Trillion”, Gallup reported that voluntary turnover costs businesses $1 trillion dollars annually. In addition, the cost of replacing an employee can range “from one-half to two times their annual salary”. 

To put that in perspective, a full-time employee making $60,000 per year would cost an estimated $30,000 to $120,000 in sourcing, training, on-boarding, and hiring costs to replace them. The interesting thing about the Gallup Poll and their findings is that “52% of voluntary exiting employees said their manager or organization could have done something to prevent them from leaving their job”. So over half of those people who left an organization said they did so because of something their manager or organization did not do. That is incredible to think about and I am sure the costs have increased in the past 3 years since the publication. 

So, what can we do strategically as business owners and leaders to ensure we find the right employees and then ultimately support them as they become leaders within our organization, and we reach new heights as a team? The answer is simple. Go plant a tree. 

As a leader in the tree care industry, you must always ensure that you, and your team, are knowledgeable in understanding what is necessary to meet the needs of your clients while expertly taking care of their trees. This takes on a lot of different forms including Plant Health Care (PHC), pruning, planting, and removal. Let’s take planting a tree for instance. Anyone can certainly go outside, dig a hole, place the tree in that hole, and fill the hole while hoping that the tree makes it. However, if you follow the guidelines outlined on the Trees are Good Website for planting a tree you quickly see that there is much more to the process than just digging a hole and planting a tree. Specially, they recommend you consider the following:

• Identifying the right tree to plant
• When to plant
• Planting stress
• How to properly plant the tree (there are 9 steps outlined in this section)
• Right Tree – Right Place
• How to mulch the tree 
• How to avoid any potential tree and utility conflicts

All these things are very important for an arborist to consider when planting a tree. By taking into consideration these things you are ensuring that the tree will establish the appropriate root system and continue to grow and flourish as part of the canopy and ecosystem in the environment in which it was planted. So, what does planting a tree have to do with hiring and retaining great people? The answer lies within the basic considerations we review when planting a tree. 

I have written before about how developing a career path for your employees is like planting a seed and then caring for it through the germination, seedling, sapling, growth, and nurturing stages “Outlining a Career Path for Your Team” – ArboRisk Insurance Weekly Tip January 14, 2022. The same analogy can be made when hiring, on-boarding and then supporting your new and existing team. However now the tree (your new hire) is grown, and it is time to transplant it into its destination. 

Let’s use the considerations for planting a tree as outlined on the Trees Are Good Website as a template. Below, I have outlined the steps to consider when planting a tree and then included questions to consider for the hiring, onboarding, and growth process. These questions are designed to help you ensure the best applicant is identified, hired, and integrated successfully within any organization. 

• Identifying the right tree to plant
• What is the position we are hiring?
• What skills are necessary?
• Do we have a developed job description that outlines the requirements for the position?
• What organizational and business culture traits are we looking for?

• When to plant 
  • When does the position need to be filled (immediately, 30 days, 60 days, etc.)
  • How will we post the job announcement and manage the applications?

• Planting stress
• What will the hiring and interview process look like internally and externally?
• Who needs to be involved, internally, in the hiring/interview process?
• Who is going to review applications and schedule the interviews?
• Who will conduct the interviews?
• What stress will this cause on the organization to find the right applicant?

• The Right Tree – Right Place
• How will we identify and assess the applicants to find the right candidate?
• What are the non-negotiable traits and skills that we must have?
• What questions are we going to ask each applicant?

• How to mulch the tree
• Do we have the proper offer letter developed?
• What paperwork needs to be done once they accept (i.e., payroll, HR, etc.)
• What does their first day look like?
• What does their first 90 days look like?
• Do we have an onboarding plan?

• How to avoid any potential tree and utility conflicts
• Are expectations clearly defined?
• Are they aware of your organizational culture and how they can impact it?
• How do we ensure that they are avoiding any “organizational culture hazards” during their first 6 months?
• How will be ensure that they are growing and flourishing in their new environment?
• How are we going to ensure they do not leave?

This may seem like an odd analogy when it comes to hiring and supporting your new hires. However, I would argue that if you were planting a $60,000 tree, you would take these steps and more to ensure that the tree was planted perfectly to enable its growth and sustainability. So why would you not do the same for each person, both current and future, within your organization. 

Leadership in today’s economy is not easy. Supporting your team, ensuring you have a hiring and on-boarding plan, and making sure that your team feels supported and engaged is the X factor that will set your tree care company apart from the competition. I encourage you to continue to focus on your people, both current and future, so that you are not part of the more than $1 trillion in expenses seen globally by companies who are losing employees because of things they could have identified and changed to ensure they stayed. 

If you are interested in learning more about effective hiring, recruiting, on-boarding, and overall leadership development and planning, please check out the Risk Management Packages located on the Arborisk Insurance website. If you need more assistance with hiring and recruiting, contact ArboRisk to learn more about their Thrive Risk Management Hiring & Recruiting Package or the Leadership Development Package.