Why Internal Promotions Are a Game Changer for Your Business

4.3 million people quit their jobs in January alone in the United States. With over 11.3 million job openings available nationwide, the demand for workers is almost at an all time record high. 

As of 2018, over 90% of contracting companies are concerned over labor shortages and they’re not alone. Hiring and retaining quality employees can be one of the most difficult challenges a company can face, especially when the selection pool is thin. 

If you work in a contracting field, such as landscaping, where seasonality has a say in your employee retention, you may know this challenge all too well. The good news is that there are cost-effective ways to ensure retention at your company and positive build of the company culture. Not only will applicants line up at the door, you’ll have a pool of people to rely on when you’re ready to hire on again for the busy season.

Why are Internal Promotions Game Changers?

Working in a trade-related field can be extremely gratifying, especially when you get to see the immediate results of your hard work. However, having opportunities to progress in your career path can be a source of internal motivation to continue striving for excellence and ways to continue growing as a professional. 

By providing these internal opportunities for continued growth, employers benefit from more knowledgeable and skilled crew members. This also provides opportunities to strengthen company culture, decrease employee turnover, and create a community of skilled tradespeople to reach out to when the busy season comes around. 

How to Improve Internal Promotion Pathways?

Being able to promote internally is all well and good, but how does one go about it? How can current promotion processes be improved? Great questions! 

Take a look at the tips below for wherever you and your company are at in the process:

1. Review and Assess What Your Company Already Does for Internal Promotions:

Internal promotion may not be new to you or your company, but the processes in place may need some TLC.

First, identify what your company does when it comes to internal promotions. Do you look for crew members who are consistently going above and beyond? Emerge as natural leaders and problem solvers on job sites? Look for ways to continually improve their skills and knowledge base? Or does your company tend to promote based on seniority, likability, or cost? 

Depending on which way your company leans, you may have your work cut out for you, but you’ll never know until you review and assess what your company already does.

2. Identify and Implement Educational and Training Opportunities for Crew Members: 

Whether you’re currently looking at internal pathways or have been promoting internally for some time, staying up to date on educational and training opportunities for your crew is key. 

These opportunities can come in many forms, like online courses, tapping into association training and resources, in-person training seminars, hiring on a consultant or business coach, implementing new training and educational software, providing stipends for crew members to take classes and courses, the options are almost limitless. 

If you’re not sure where to start, take a look at some of the resources available to the landscaping community below:

• Associations: Should you join a trade association?
  • A few landscaping examples: National Association of Landscaping Professionals, Canadian Nursery Landscape Association, American Horticultural Society, American Fence Association
    

3. Reinforce the Culture You Want Your Company to be Known For: 

With the tide turning into an applicant’s market, positive company culture goes a long way. Businesses need to be strong in their values — this is imperative to retaining quality employees and attracting new ones. 

Employees need to feel seen and heard. When employers help their employees be successful, employees are more likely to stay with the company (crazy how that works, right?). It’s never too late to shift your company’s culture to one that focuses on:

1. employee success and

2. professional and personal development. 

It will take time and continued commitment by company leaders but for the benefit of the business, it is worth it.

During the early outbreak of Covid in 2020, keeping company culture strong was difficult. However the restrictions and social distancing made company culture (be it in-person or online) all the more important.

Celebrating employees goes a long way. Check out this blog about Boss’s Day for ideas on how to celebrate others within the company.

Be sure to have fun within your company. Employees don’t want to stick around if it’s only serious and boring in the office. At CompanyCam we had our CEO and a few sales reps participate in the One Chip Challenge for a chance to win $500. How fun is that!

You can also tell if an applicant is going to be a culture fit during the interview. Click the link below for tips and tricks on interviewing potential employees:

For more interview questions, tips, and advice follow the link: Interview Etiquette and Hiring Tips

The need for quality employees is high with a staggering labor shortage. You can always hire any applicant you like, spend the time and money onboarding them, and risk losing them to a competing company or any number of other variables. 

Alternatively, you could give back to those already in your employ by providing pathways to promotion, educational and training opportunities, and reinforce your company culture so you’ll be known far and wide as the company where landscape professionals want to work.