2020 Year in Review

by amandascale | Dec 23, 2020 | Uncategorized | 0 comments

2020 Year in Review

Has there ever been a more unpredictable year than 2020? COVID-19 pandemic, to the devastation from wildfires and powerful storms, and all of the political turmoil, this year has many people excited to turn the calendar to 2021. Despite all of the adversities that we faced this year as a nation, ArboRisk continued to build up on the momentum of 2019 and had a tree-mendous year! Sorry, I had to. 🙂

Because there are so many people that have been involved in helping 2020 be a success, I wanted to share my sincere gratitude with everyone for their impact within the tree care industry! I also thought that many of our subscribers would like to hear about the momentous achievements the ArboRisk team has accomplished this year.

• New Team Members – During a time when many insurance agencies are cutting back, we have added three new team members to the crew and we are soooo thankful to have them!

– Margaret Hebert – To help with the coordination of our Thrive calls, we hired a part time coordinator to manage the client experience of our Thrive clients. Margaret Hebert has worked within the tree care industry in various aspects for over 15 years and we are delighted to have her coordinating Thrive.

– Kevin Martlage – Kevin is the newest member to our Thrive team and brings his background in corporate management and history working at ISA to our team. His expertise focuses on company culture, employee management and business planning.

– Mick Kelly – Mick’s background in insurance and risk management made it an easy addition to the team. He helps round out our sales force so more tree care companies will start to benefit from all that ArboRisk does.

• ArboRisk Strategic Planning – In January of 2020, we hired Jim Skiera, a consultant in our Thrive program, to help us develop a more defined strategy for ArboRisk. We analyzed our current program, team and services offered to make sure we were adhering to and accomplishing our mission of “helping our clients build extraordinary businesses and getting every employee home safe each night”. This was the best use of our money to date as we have completely revamped the structure of ArboRisk and put in motion many new initiatives to create accelerated and sustainable growth for years to come.

• Remote Workplace – Our agency has been preparing to work remotely for years and found it a simple transition when the pandemic started. We have been able to provide a better level of service to our clients and be there for them when they needed it most instead of worrying about how we were going to function all while remaining safe and healthy.

• Customer Experience – We revitalized our customer experience to include automated risk management services that our clients can easily use and implement into their businesses.

• Thrive Program – Since the creation of Thrive in late 2017, we have continued to improve upon the services offered. Thrive does for a tree service what root fertilizer does for a tree. It helps establish the foundation for a thriving business through an in-depth risk management model.

• Webinars – We have either hosted and or presented sixteen (16) different webinars since the beginning of the pandemic. Topics have included: Pandemic Planning, Pandemic Response, Driver & Fleet Management, Safety Director and Hiring & Recruiting. All of these have had a national marketing effort to them. The Hiring & Recruiting webinar was administered by the Tree Care Industry Association.

• Become Extraordinary Workshop – We added a great new workshop to our repertoire. This 5 part workshop is set up to help tree care companies become extraordinary. I facilitate conversation between the attendees to have them learn from each other.

• Weekly Business Tips – We have continued to provide a weekly business tip to our clients and prospects despite not being in the office.

• New ArboRisk & Thrive websites – To better deliver all that we have to offer, we have underwent the painstaking process of creating new websites for both ArboRisk and Thrive. These were recently completed at the end of October. Check it out here www.arboriskinsurance.com• Virtual Conferences –

We have been active in a few virtual conferences to date and are excited about many more in 2021, most notably the TCIA’s Virtual Summit in January.

As you can see, 2020 was an amazing year here at ArboRisk! Again, I deeply appreciate everyone’s contribution to this wonderful year and look forward with so much excitement and optimism about the coming New Year.

I wish you the very best Happy New Year and an incredible start to 2021!!

Written by: Eric Petersen

Contact Us

14795 W. National Ave., New Berlin, WI 53151

Phone: 888-302-4288

Email: [email protected]

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PEO’s vs. Worker’s Compensation

by amandascale | Dec 21, 2020 | Employee Management | 0 comments

Professional Employer Organizations vs. Worker’s Compensation

Professional Employer Organizations(PEO’s) originated in the 1980’s to help small to mid-sized businesses better administer their HR services. Today, a standard PEO will help with anything from HR compliance, to offering a solid benefits package, and much more.

Over the last month or so I’ve had the opportunity to learn more about Professional Employer Organizations from both Michael Randazzo of Southeast Personnel Leasing, as well as Brent Johnson from Insperity. While learning the ins and outs of Professional Employer Organizations, I quickly learned there are multiple ways in which they operate. Today we’ll look at what exactly PEO’s offer as a service, and a couple different ways to examine whether or not it is a right fit versus your standard worker’s compensation set up.

What do Professional Employer Organizations do?

First of all, the two different types of professional employer organizations are the true co-employment set up, where the PEO is the employer of record for tax and worker’s compensation purposes, or the Ala-Carte Service(ASO) set up. In an ASO format, the tree service is still the formal employer, it carries a standard worker’s compensation policy through an agency such as ArboRisk, but the PEO handles your payroll and other HR needs.

Standard PEO:

– Worker’s Compensation

– Human Resources

– Benefits

– Payroll

ASO

– Applicant Tracking/Onboarding

– Employee Admin and Payroll

– HR/Compliance

– Benefits

– Training/Performance Review

What are the pros of PEO’s?

Many small to mid-sized business owners have to wear a lot of different hats. Off-loading some of those day to day tasks such as payroll, work comp admin work, etc. may open up some time to allow you to work more on the business rather than in it. Brent, of Insperity, mentioned that there has been a significant increase in HR related claims in recent years, stating that Insperity saw 900 claims made out of over 10,000 employees. Utilizing a PEO with either the standard set up or the ASO set up could help off load potential liability and ensure you’re compliant in today’s lawsuit happy society. Last but not least, joining a PEO is essentially pooling your employee group in with other small to mid-sized businesses, so you’re likely opening yourself up to better group rates, particularly on the benefit side.

Are there any Cons?

Although you’re likely to get better rates, PEO’s typically charge an additional fee, whether it be a flat fee or a per employee per month fee, on top of your benefits, worker’s compensation, etc. That may not necessarily be a con for your business, but if you have an office staff or employee that is able to handle things like HR, payroll, worker’s comp, make sure you are weighing out the costs to pay that employee versus having a PEO take over.

The big difference from our point of view in joining a PEO is the potential for losing your experience modification factor on your worker’s compensation policy. Remember you typically need over three consecutive years of worker’s compensation premium over $4,000 per year. If your employees are moved under the PEO and you decide to hire an office person in house to replace the PEO services, you may lose that experience modification history, subject to review by the National Council on Compensation Insurance(NCCI).

PEO vs. Worker’s Compensation

If you’re not able to utilize your loss history from your time with a PEO, it may be very difficult to obtain insurance again outside of the assigned risk pool, which obviously offers higher rates. Working with an agency also allows you to have more options as they are able to shop your worker’s compensation policy out to multiple different carriers. One option would be to work with a standard insurance agency for your worker’s compensation, ideally one that specializes in your industry;), and partner with a PEO that offers the Ala-Carte Services(ASO) set up similar to what Brent has at Insperity.

That said, Michael at SouthEast Personnel Leasing in Florida has a program that is very familiar with higher risk businesses such as the tree care industry. They’ve had a lot of success with helping tree services obtain affordable worker’s compensation insurance with detailed claims management resources when they couldn’t find coverage elsewhere. It is important to remember that should a PEO like SouthEast become the employer of record, the tree service does not relinquish control of the employees day to day operations, hiring & firing, or any other necessary decisions that need to be made regarding the employee’s status.

We know managing employees, particularly in this industry, is about the toughest thing you have to do. If you’re in a position where you’re worried about HR compliance, having trouble managing your payroll, looking to offer a more competitive benefits program, or even just looking to off load some work, please reach out to me and we can discuss what would be the best fit for your company. Our ArboRisk Thrive program also has resources such as employee handbook templates and reviews, job descriptions, hiring & recruiting workbooks, and much more.

Written by: Malcolm Jeffris

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14795 W. National Ave., New Berlin, WI 53151

Phone: 888-302-4288

Email: [email protected]

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What’s in Your First Aid Kit?

by amandascale | Dec 7, 2020 | Safety | 0 comments

What’s in Your First Aid Kit?

We as an industry, need to re-think how our First Aid kits are stocked and maintained. The basic kit you can pick up at the drugstore is not enough for the types of injuries we may need to respond to as arborists.

First Aid kits should be routinely inspected and expired materials replenished. Plastic tamper seals (like those on fire extinguishers) can be used as a soft lock on the kits – they can be quickly opened for access and the safety officer can easily see that someone has used the kit and that supplies need to be replaced. At the end of this article we have included a list of suggested items for an arborist’s first aid kit, but don’t just stock your kit and forget about it!

Some of my favorite kit items are multi-functional and take some practice to use, so when ordering these supplies, order extras for your crew members to practice with. Israeli bandages (or similar) are a must have, and an accident involving a severe cut with a pole saw is no time to try and learn how to use one. Tourniquets like the RATS are compact and can be applied with one hand by the injured person, so are ideal for climbers. A SAM Splint can also function as a neck brace. A SWAT-T tourniquet is multi-functional and can even be used as a sling. I recommend having all the items just mentioned, but it does take practice to use them quickly and effectively.

All First Aid kits on the truck should have at least the materials listed below, however, it is also a good idea for a climber and a ground person to carry a small personal First Aid pouch with them whether in the tree or on the ground. Time is crucial when responding to a severe injury, so a climber having supplies when aloft or a groundsman not having to run back to the truck for a kit can save a life.

Most items on the list are available at drugstores or online through Amazon, or check out http://www.wesspur.com/safety/first-aid.html for prepared kits.

Personalizing, understanding, and maintaining your first aid kit are important steps in your crew’s safety!

First Aid Kits for Arborists:
Personal protective equipment (PPE):
non-latex gloves
safety glasses
CPR barrier
Bag to dispose of used gloves
Absorbent compresses
Adhesive bandages (Band-Aids) various sizes
Adhesive tape
Israeli bandage or similar pressure dressing
Triangular bandage
Antibiotic treatment
Antiseptic swabs, wipes, and/or towelettes
Aspirin – Benadryl – Ibuprofen
Compression bandages
Burn dressing (gel-soaked pad)
Burn treatment
Cold pack
Glucose tabs or hard candies (like peppermints)
Clotting bandage
Eye covering with means of attachment (2 single or 1 large covering for both eyes)
Eye/skin wash
Hand sanitizer (water soluble; at least 61% ethyl alcohol)
Sterile pads (at least 4×4”)
SAM Splint
Tourniquet
First aid guide (e.g. EMS Safety Basic First Aid Workbook)
Blanket (not cloth, but a Mylar “space” blanket)
Scissors
Tweezers
Notepad & pencil

Written by: Dawn Thierbach

& Margaret Hebert

Virtual Conferences – Get the Most Out of Them

by amandascale | Nov 30, 2020 | Business Strategy | 0 comments

Virtual Conferences – Get the Most out of Them

As our professional conferences shift from in-person to online events, learning how to get the most out of virtual conferences will take some time, but will be vital to continuing to improve within the tree care industry. Therefore, I created a few tips to consider for you and your time to get the most out of these virtual conferences.

Before the Conference

• Make Your Plan and Be Intentional. Don’t let a conference happen to you. Make the most out of it by making a plan beforehand. This is even more important with a virtual conference. Use these questions to develop your conference strategy.

• What is the primary goal of this conference for you and your team? It could be simply to get as many CEU’s as possible, or it can be to talk to a certain equipment vendor or to learn what ArboRisk’s Thrive is all about ;). Whatever your goal is, be intentional about it. This takes planning with your team to identify what you truly want everyone to get out of the time that you are spending there.

• What sessions will be most valuable for you? Look at the agenda carefully before you go. If there are multiple sessions that you want to attend at the same time, send one of your team members to one of them so your business can get as much information as possible.

• Who do you really want to talk to at the conference? Reach out to them before to set a specific time to meet. Virtual conferences will get really busy for everyone. Having a predetermined meeting time with a key connection is a great way to have the conversation that you want. Make a list of the questions that you want to ask each person to capitalize on the meeting time you have with them.

During the Conference

• Block Your Calendar. With a virtual conference, it will be very easy to try and schedule other tasks during the conference that would not be able to do if you were physically attending a conference. Make sure to block out time specifically for the conference to accomplish all of your goals that you and your team set when planning for it. Discipline is key here and don’t fall into the trap of showing up for a session and leaving the conference because of an “emergency” that just happened within your business. Act like you are physically at the conference and you will be rewarded with a much more fulfilling experience.

• Be Early. Sign in as soon as you can when the conference starts so you can acclimate yourself with the software. Each conference will be utilizing similar software, but there will no doubt be differences amongst the platforms.

• Be Active During Sessions. It may seem more difficult to participate in an online presentation, but each virtual software should give you the ability to ask questions or provide comments through a chat field. Without having visual feedback, the presenters will most likely ask for participation from the audience to make sure they are on topic. Help everyone have a better session by participating when asked by the presenter. Being engaged with the content will help you retain the information better and help you think of ways to incorporate the message into your business. Also, if you take solid notes, you’ll be able to share the information with your team at a later date.

• Socialize. Being social at a conference might be easier in person, however, you can still accomplish this in a virtual setting. Look for discussion or chat rooms to visit and interact with other attendees. I always feel that the best conference experiences for me were the ones that I got to meet new people and reconnect with old friends. Remember, even in a virtual setting, the next person you talk to could be your next employee or a referral partner or a future mentor.

After the Conference

• Follow-up. If there were people that you enjoyed talking to, send them a post-conference email or LinkedIn request. Ask them an additional question that you had from your conversation.

• Plan for Next Year. If you enjoyed the conference, make even a better plan for next year. Think about what went well and what you would like to do differently next time.

Conferences have provided me with the ability to gain great friendships, advance my career and make wonderful memories, however, it did not happen without my efforts. Even though conferences will be a little different, be intentional with your time to get the most out of them.

Written by: Eric Petersen

Aerial Lift Safety

by amandascale | Nov 23, 2020 | Safety | 0 comments

AERIAL LIFT SAFETY

An aerial lift device is undoubtedly one of the best friends an arborist may have. But are you running this piece of equipment safely or just getting the job done?

Many companies use this piece of equipment in all the right ways with all the safety devices and following the instructions, however it is very easy to get complacent when operating an aerial lift. Simple mistakes can happen at any time, but are magnified when you’re just trying to get that last job completed or have been on a storm damage clean-up for a few days in a row.

So, let us all make a concerted effort through mechanics, the safety manual, and through personal protective equipment to truly make the aerial lift our best friend and not an adversary.It is always important to read your lift’s manual as a starting point, though that only goes so far.

Here are a few questions to ask your team to avoid some of the safety infractions I have seen in the field.

1. No PPE. Yes, you may be wearing all your PPE, but are you wearing your fall arrest system or are you hooked to the boom or where it is recommended to buckle in?

2. Have you dialectically tested your boom? Do you do this test yearly – line clearance mechanics can test, but if you are a commercial arborist, you must take it to a testing facility.

3. Do you check the witness bolts? Or are all your bolts covered with debris? Are you greasing bolts?

4. Do you use the outriggers? Or are you one of those arborists that only use the outriggers when you are not on even ground? Do you use the outrigger pads?

5. Are you checking to make sure all your lights work?

6. Are you doing maintenance; or are you repairing the machine as it breaks down?

7. Do you use a spotter when backing out of a tight spot or any other time a spotter is needed?

8. Is your fire extinguisher up to date, or your first aid kit?

9. Do you handle your saw correctly in the bucket?

10. Is your bucket full of chips? Your reach, when chips are in the bucket is great, but do not allow the chips to build up so much that your hips are above the bucket’s edge.

These questions are just simple reminders to remember. Make it a policy for all aerial lift devices that all crew members using this “friend” to read the manual, be aware of the safety, and to spread the knowledge.

It is possible to point out when others are not using the device correctly as long as you point it out nicely and make sure they are that you are fearing for their safety and not being a jerk. It is not wrong to ask questions about the device. It is not wrong to question someone’s safety or safe use of the equipment. We have to stop worrying about offending other crew members or other arborists when we point out safety infractions or when there is a better way to use equipment. Advise the “newbie”, have discussions with the intermediate arborist, and remind the experience arborists about safety with using an aerial lift device and all other safety devices.

This tip is about the aerial lift device, but being a safety conscious person is not a crime. Don’t be the safety police, be a safety conscious friend. Be aware of every device you use, you must use safely. All of us arborists want you to go home at night to your families and friends. For more safety tips, please visit our Weekly Tip blog here.

Written by: Dawn Thierbach