Is my Business Compliant with the DOT?

by | Oct 10, 2018 | Risk Management | 0 comments

Is My Business Compliant with The Dot?

It’s safe to say we are familiar with the DOT…but are we aware of the impacts it can have on our business if we are not compliant? In 2017, the U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration changed the schedule of fines for DOT violations, dramatically increasing the penalties. Falsification of required inspection records can result in fines up to $12,000+. Granted each state will vary relative to the Federal DOT requirements, but we wanted to take a closer look at the most common violations and run through details that can help avoid issues. Simply put, the penalties stem from two different areas. Fleet compliance and Driver Compliance.

Fleet Compliance

– Vehicles not properly maintained/inspected
– Failure to maintain 12 month accident log

Similar to safety standards, many of the maintenance compliance issues can be resolved with proper documentation. Depending on the size of your business, you may want to delegate that responsibility to someone other than yourself (i.e. fleet manager or mechanic). If you are a TCIA member, check their safety resources for a maintenance schedule log, or look for one in the owner’s manual. If you do delegate that task to someone else, make sure you are scheduling reviews to ensure everything is being properly logged.

Vehicle inspections are key for both compliance, and more importantly, safety of your employees. I recently sat in on a presentation by one of our insurance carriers that stressed the importance of detailed inspections. The carrier had received applications for a trucking company that, on paper, had looked like a more than profitable account to insure. No auto losses and few worker’s compensation claims. Due to the size and operations, the carrier performed an inspection prior to quoting. What they found was a fully operating truck that had a crack right in the middle of the axle. This business had been successful on driving strategies, yet they were one trip away from a serious accident due to poor inspections. You can meet inspection requirements by stopping at a state roadside inspection program, or a third party inspection of your choice. Be sure you are filing the reports for your records and maintaining a copy in the vehicle if you have had the vehicle for more than 30 days. Also, remember the BLT sandwich! Brakes, lights, tires. Click here for a vehicle inspection checklist from the DOT website.

Accident logs should be pretty straight forward. Document the who, what, where, etc. of each incident, and even close calls just to be safe. There isn’t a standard reporting form, so you’re welcome to create your own or there is one on the TCIA website if you are a member. In general, the DOT considers an accident to be any occurrence in which there is bodily injury or property damage.

Driver Compliance

– Driver not in possession of required qualifications or licensing
– Failure to test or follow up on testing of driver for drug or alcohol use while on duty
– Lack of or defects in required documentation

If the DOT is to perform an on-site review for driver compliance, they’ll first look into your drivers qualifications and up to date licensing. Check out our Driver Qualification Criteria to be sure your potential and current employees meet the standards for being on the road. You should be conducting annual MVR reviews and have an accident disclosure agreement in your employee handbook.

One of the biggest causalities for fines from the DOT is business owners mishandling drug and alcohol abuse situations. If you, the owner, have “reasonable suspicion” that there is substance abuse, you are obligated to perform and record training/testing on substance use. It then needs to be followed up with a series of random tests for up to 60 months following an incident(depends on the severity). For more information on substance abuse and testing obligations, please reach out to an ArboRisk team member!

Business owners should keep files of all active drivers. The files should contain original applications, MVR records, previous employment records, training documentation, any incident reports involving the driver, and medical information.

Notice the trend? Everything needs to be documented and kept for records. Documentation will not only help in the case of an audit from the DOT, but with ensuring everyone gets home safe each night. There are a number of resources available through the TCIA and DOT that we’d be happy to provide for you. Feel free to reach out with any questions!

Written by: Malcolm Jeffris, CTSP

What Social Media Platform Should I Use?

by | Oct 2, 2018 | Marketing | 0 comments

What Social Media Platform Should I use?

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Snapchat, YouTube. Social media can be overwhelming. #AmIRight One of the top mistakes I see business owners make is pushing themselves to do too much with social media, becoming overwhelmed, and giving up entirely. It does not have to be that way. My advice for business owners who know they need to be involved with social media but don’t know where to start, is to pick two or three platforms, get to know them well, and use those to connect with followers. You may find that one platform works extremely well, and another does not. When the time is right, switch out the platform that does not work for your customers and try a different approach. Finding the right balance of platforms is essential to your growth as a business.

Below, I’ve briefly explained the more popular social media platforms. Because every tree service is unique and has their own target clientele, which platform you utilize will be based on who you are trying to reach. Always keep in mind, the main goal of any social media efforts is help you promote your business to customers and prospects.

Facebook

Oh, Facebook, the birthplace of social media. Create an account, “friend” your friends, post photos, start a business page, gain followers, utilize hashtags – Facebook does it all. If you are looking for a quick and easy way to connect with many followers of all ages, Facebook is the way to do so.

Instagram

Brush up on your photography skills! Instagram is the place to showcase photos of yourself, your business, and your passion for the tree care industry. Plus, like Twitter, Instagram uses hashtags to connect you with other users and push your content to those who search for #trees.

LinkedIn is typically used to post an online resume. Have a skill you want to promote? LinkedIn. Want to boast about your background or assure a potential client you have the correct credentials? LinkedIn. LinkedIn is also a great place to “connect” with colleagues and clients and promote business-oriented content.

YouTube

If you have read my article entitled “5 Ways to Better Your Social Media Marketing” (and if you haven’t, you really should – it’s great), you’ll know that I stress the importance of moving your business towards videos. Utilization of video is key for your business in 2018. A YouTube channel is the way to do that! Showcase yourself, your employees, your equipment, a job site. This creates a more intimate, personal connection with your clients.

Twitter

Have you ever tried to condense your thoughts into 140 characters? #Yeahmeneither Luckily, Twitter allows 240 characters now and you can enhance your content by using hashtags. Hashtags allow your content to be discoverable by others so that when client is searching for #treeservice, any content you post with that hashtag attached will pop up in their search.

Snapchat

If you are looking to appeal to a younger crowd, Snapchat is 100% the way to go. Snapchat allows you to display a photo or video for 1-10 seconds, with your “snaps” being able to be added to your “story” where followers or subscribers can watch them after the fact. This is a great way to interact with clients if you want to tell a quick story or give a follower a quick burst of information.

Pinterest is a great place to organize ideas, thoughts, and lists and present them in one simple “board” to all of your followers. If, for example, you want to showcase steps, tricks, or items with which to prune a tree, all of these ideas and examples could be “pinned” to one board, allowing you to easily share it with your followers.

Google+

Contact a Google employee to learn more ☺

Written by: Katie Petersen

Are You as Good as Disney?

by | Sep 26, 2018 | Business Strategy | 0 comments

Are You As Good As Disney?

For many, many years now, the best example of customer service has been the Disney franchise. Their commitment to providing a magical customer experience has been the benchmark for companies to achieve. Recently, I heard Doug Lipp, former trainer at Disney University, speak about how Disney tirelessly trains their employees to provide the level of customer service expected at their theme parks. When listening to Doug, I couldn’t help but realize these same principles apply to the tree care world. So here are Disney’s four keys to great customer service.

Safety – Disney’s top priority is safety. If their customers get injured or do not feel safe inside the park, no amount of magic will get customers to return. The same goes for their employees. They understand that without safe employees, the premises does not stand a chance at being safe for visitors. Isn’t this true with the tree care industry as well? If your employees do not have safety in the forefront of their mind at all times, preventable accidents will happen. Not only do you risk having your employees miss work because of being injured, you also lose out on profit from a job if property damage is done because an employee was careless. Safety should always be the top priority of a tree care company.

Courtesy – Every Disney employee is instructed to be courteous to everyone they meet no matter what. They feel that when their employees treat every interaction with another human being as the most important conversation of their day, the impact on the customer experience is immeasurable. Think about how your crew interacts with your customers. Are they given the freedom to engage with the customer to help them understand what you are doing? Does your crew foreman ensure that all crew members are taking care of the property that they are working on as best as they possibly can. Focusing on courtesy at the jobsite will go a long way in helping ensure that the customer has a great experience with your company.

Show – Because the Disney team performs the first two points really well, their third key to great customer service is what their customers remember, the show. To Disney, the show is when team members provide the unforgettable experience. This can only happen when the effort on safety and courtesy is successfully achieved. They have a mirror on the door of the dressing rooms that all characters look at before they walk into the park. This reminds the team member that as soon as they step out into the park it is show time. How do you put on a show for your customers? Do you have clean looking trucks and equipment being operated by team members all wearing your uniform? When working at a job site, your employees should act in a professional manner no matter if your customer is home. The show that your team puts on starts the minute they get to the job and doesn’t end until they are in the trucks driving away. Even then, your trucks act as a mobile billboard giving a show to other motorists as they drive. Watching true arboricultural professionals at work is a spectacle and one that can tremendously help your company gain more customers if you nail the show.

Efficiency – Disney’s believes that efficiency comes at the very end of their customer experience. They create a better customer experience by focusing on safety, courtesy and show which in turn creates efficiencies throughout their organization. This works so well, that the increase in efficiencies creates additional capacity within their theme parks. In other words, when they succeed at the first three points, they become more profitable as a result. Think about your company. If your team members work safer and do not have many accidents or injuries to deal with, you become more efficient. If your employees are polite to your customers, you as the owner will have less fires to put out. Lastly, if your customers are enjoying the show that you give them, they will talk about your company more, creating free marketing opportunities for your business. The efficiencies a tree service gains from following those key points can make the difference between a thriving organization and one that is struggling to make it.

There are many ways to provide a great customer experience, however, I strongly encourage you to try the Disney model within your company. The more customers that have a fantastic experience with your team, the more likely they are to share their story and recommend your company to others. Isn’t that what we all want? More business from satisfied customers? Take a look at these four principles and find a way to fit them into your culture

Written by: Eric Petersen

Mentorships: Can They Work for Me?

by | Aug 21, 2018 | Employee Management | 0 comments

Mentorships: Can They Work For Me?

Training new employees can be a difficult task, no matter what industry you’re in. In our office, much like many tree care companies, we’ve utilized a mentorship strategy to bring new employees up to speed as soon as possible. A mentorship program typically includes more individual attention than group training or orientation programs. Often times, situations arise that can’t be learned from a text book. The mentor is there to provide real life experience to fast track the learning process. Below is a conversation from when we had Ryan interview Malcolm and I on how we’ve used the mentorship process within our agency.

Ryan: Why did you choose to implement a mentorship strategy?

Eric: With any new hire, we feel it is critical to establish a solid working partnership that benefits everyone. We utilize a one on one approach to help ensure the employee’s career development within our culture. To us, development goes beyond the professional setting to include the creation of a healthy work/life balance.

Ryan: Malcolm, what have the major advantages been for you with your mentor?

Malcolm: The most obvious benefit is being able to find quick solutions as I gain knowledge important to my role. On top of that, it helps to have someone like Eric who is invested in my success that will ultimately push me in the right direction. When I come up with ideas or pain points in my career, Eric is there to give me support, or play a devil’s advocate role.

Eric: From an employer’s perspective, being able to spend time directly with the new hire has helped our organization in a number of ways. As Malcolm mentioned, it allows the new hire to become better at their position in a much shorter amount of time. Outside of boosting efficiency, we are also able to connect on a personal level which ultimately helps build a culture of employee retention and satisfaction.

Ryan: What challenges have you noticed using this process?

Eric: A critical piece to a successful mentorship program is time management. The mentor needs to hold themselves accountable by ensuring that they are available to the new hire, while also staying on top of their own work. Even though I have had a number of new hires under me over the years, this has remained the largest challenge for me.

Malcolm: For me, a big challenge was determining which tasks I needed to take to Eric and which tasks I should have figured out on my own. I felt the mentor should always be there to answer questions, however, sometimes I was nervous to even ask.

Ryan: How can your mentorship experience translate to the tree care world?

Malcolm: When I see my clients using these programs, I get excited because I know what it will do for their business. I had insurance experience prior to joining Eric’s team, and while the mentorship certainly helped with my insurance knowledge, it also gave me a more personal feel for ArboRisk’s values and overall operations. Because company values are so important in the tree care industry, I think this program is a great way to ensure new hires operate under those values.

Eric: There is no comparison to the individualized attention a mentor can give for the safe and productive development of a great team member. With all of the dangers in the tree care world, learning from your own mistakes may not offer a second chance. A mentor can take a new employee under their wing and help them avoid close calls by sharing their personal stories.

The most successful mentorship programs that I’ve seen in the tree care industry, involve upper management that is dedicated to developing their workforce despite the understanding that not all employees will be with their business forever. These employers are satisfied by helping individuals reach their own goals and developing their professionalism.

Lastly, I’ve witnessed firsthand that if no formal mentorship program is in place, unofficial mentors will become the internal voice of the company, ultimately creating the culture they want rather than the one you want to achieve.

Ryan: What steps should a tree care company take to build a mentorship program?

Eric: I feel there are 4 simple steps that can be followed to develop a mentorship program.

Talk to front line managers and crew leaders to see if they would be willing to serve as a mentor to your new employees.

Ask a recent new hire how their training was and what could be improved upon to help them become proficient in their job faster. Also ask directly if an individual mentor would have been helpful for them.

Start small. Pair the mentors up with the new employees and give them both flexibility in developing the program for your company. This means to allow for time, away from production or other tasks, to ask specific questions or get specific equipment training.

Review with both parties every 30 days to ensure that the additional attention is having a positive impact on the employee’s development.

Written by: Eric Petersen

7 Tips for Retaining Great Employees

by | Aug 17, 2018 | Employee Management | 0 comments

7 Tips For Retaining Great Employees

It’s hard to find a good employee and yet it feels like it is even harder to keep them around. Especially in the tree care industry, employee turnover can be the most demoralizing challenge that you as the business owner face. While every organization will have employees leave from time to time, top level tree services make a concerted effort to retain their team members. My list of 7 tips for retaining great employees come from working with and observing these top companies over the years.

Hire for culture fit – Okay this is more of a hiring tip than a retention tip, however, it’s the best way to improve your retention. It is a lot easier to keep your employees when you start with employees that fit the culture of your organization. Skills can be taught, but you will never be able to change the personality of your employees. If you hire to fill a specific skill set and do not pay attention to whether or not that employee will fit the culture you will either have that employee leave sooner than you want or they will push out good employees.

Communication – Everything within your company depends great communication. Knowing what matters to your employees and what motivates them is the key to keeping them happy while working within your organization. Provide a work environment that encourages communication between management and laborers without fear of repercussions and you will dramatically increase your employee retention.

Career development – Supporting and encouraging your team members to pursue additional training lets them know that you are committed to them and their careers first and your profits second. Great employees will produce more profit for the business, so allow each of your team members to grow individually. Also, developing a career path structure that an employee can follow to advance in your company will provide motivation and clarity for all team members.

Provide challenges – The best employees on your team want to be challenged. They want to use their skills and talents to accomplish goals that not everyone can. This helps them feel fulfilled in their work and wanting to stay with your organization. A clear defined career path, provides one way to challenge your employees, but you can also have a number of special projects lined up that an employee can sign up for. Perhaps starting a safety committee, researching the latest equipment, figuring out a way to utilize the latest client management software, or creating small videos for use on social media channels for marketing purposes are all examples of simple challenges that you can provide your employees that would be valuable to your company.
Flexibility – In general, most employees today are looking for a work place that can be flexible with them. Understanding that just earning a paycheck is less attractive now than it was in the past. Employees want to be able to take time with their families and perhaps work from home from time to time if they do sales or office work. When talking about field staff it is a little harder to be flexible, but not impossible. You must have great communication and a solid set of rules for flexible schedule so that everyone knows what to expect of them and their teammates. This eliminates one person from taking advantage of it and creates respect for everyone. Let your employees come up with ideas on how this would work that would be fair for all.

Diversify work opportunities – Providing a varied work day for your employees is nearly impossible within the tree care industry, but what isn’t is creating a rotation where employees get to work in different areas every so often to break up the monotony of their work. This starts by having the roles and duties of each position outlined and written down for everyone. Then create a structure where each employee spends one day out of every two or three weeks in a different area of your business. That could mean that a production arborist may spend one day working with the plant health care crew and one day in the shop with your mechanic each month. Resist the urge to keep pounding production out of your best employees to avoid burnout.

Compensation – I listed this as the last tip, because while important to retaining employees, if you master the points above, compensation takes care of itself. With a flexible work schedule and chance for career development, warranted performance based pay increases become a normal part of your company’s culture. If you have trouble figuring out how much to pay your employees, start by using the TCIA’s Wage Survey.

Written by: Eric Petersen