Landscape Management, January 2012

JANUARY 2012 LANDSCAPEMANAGEMENT NET S25 RANDY NEWHARD NEW WAY LANDSCAPE AND TREE SERVICES REGULARLY TRACKS HOT JOBS AS A KEY PERFORMACE INDICATOR PHOTO TOP RIGHT COURTESY NEW WAY LANDSCAPE AND TREE SERVICES Naturally if hours logged are very off what our bid was maybe there was work that hadnt been done by the crew or foreman he says Whether its a residence or a community association or a strip center we still want the job looking as pristine as it possibly can for the best possible price 3 Labor hours rates Frequency daily quarterly Keeping an eye on labor hours goes hand in hand with monitoring production hours Labor hours can sometimes be recorded inaccurately because of how the employees in the field fill them out Palermo says Its not that employees will try to cheat but sometimes theyre filing out the timecards at the end of the day and not as they go along he says Russell agrees noting that keeping an eye on the effect of a rising labor rate is just as important as keeping an eye on the labor hours Successful landscape contractors know labor is the major expense and factor on whether the company will make the target profits he says There are critical times in our seasonal business where labor must be reduced or increased Decisions hinge on variables including the weather time of year and amount of work Adjustments are warranted on a regular basis because the expense of labor can make a sizable difference on the bottom line Palermo adds If the labor rate has increased were potentially losing money on the job he explains We look at where we stand with the average labor rate for company and factor it into overhead This number is reviewed and adjusted as needed on a quarterly basis at Westco Grounds Maintenance 4 Additional customer requests Frequency weekly monthly Officials at New Way Landscape and Tree Services closely watch a category of business they call hot jobs Whether its a customer with many complaints somebody who gives a 30 day notice to correct problems a submitted punch list or a number of other matters they are items that get top billing at meetings The company uses a service request system to track the items If a property manager building owner homeowner or association owner has an issue that gets called in they can email fax phone it gets uploaded into the website says Randy Newhard CEO of the San Diego based company The client gets a password and can log in three days later and verify if the irrigation head was fixed leaves were swept the pile was picked up whatever it may be It saves six to seven phone calls per work order The requests must be completed within seven days To maintain accountability managers review a detailed report each month that shows when each issue was settled THE BOTTOM LINE Different companies might find that different methods or benchmarks work for them But a general rule of thumb is that if one of a companys key indicators appears to be off it might not be monitored often enough If there is one division not hitting their target margins or revenues we will go into more detail and analyze more frequently Russell says It also could be a wise investment to hire a controller to closely follow important indicators especially as they relate to the ever changing areas of finance and government regulations It is becoming more crucial to keep business performance on track Russell says This tough economy has changed the expected target goals however the process remains the same he concludes There is no longer any room for mistakes All operations and company expenses need to be as efficient and costeffective as possible to remain competitive Heather Taylor is a freelance journalist with 6 years experience writing for the Green Industry Contact her at hwoodtaylor@ gmail com