What’s the pay, what’s the pay, what's the pay, what’s the pay?
Preoccupied with what your potential landscaping job will pay?
Slow down, please. We know you have to pay the bills, but when you’re looking for just the right job, there’s so much more to consider.
“Most people only look at pay,” says Tina Czysz, director of human resources at Greenscape, Inc. “That’s why they leave for another job that pays 50 cents more an hour, then come back three months later.”
Czysz is responsible for recruiting and hiring qualified job candidates, as well as employee retention and development. She wants you to ask her as many questions about Greenscape as she plans to ask you about you.
What qualities should you look for in a landscaping company as a potential employee?
Tina tells all.
Company Culture
What is it really like to work there?
“Is there a team atmosphere?” Czysz asks. “Look for things that make you feel warm and fuzzy. Are there team photos on the website? Does the company give back to the community?
“How often do they communicate with employees?” she asks. “What opportunities are there to be involved in the bigger picture?
“They might say, ‘Hey, dude, this is just a maintenance job.’”
Then, at least you’ll know.
Core Values
“Does the company have a solid set of core values that speak to the leadership’s principles?” Czysz says. “The decisions they make should be put through those values as a filter.”
A job at Greenscape — no matter what the position — starts with a commitment to the five core values that guide the company and its people.
They are:
- Communication: Keeping each other informed and involved
- Learning: Being motivated to grow
- The Experience: People-focused service
- Appreciation: Each person is important
- Teamwork: Achieving our goals together
“Everybody is driven by a moral compass,” Czysz says. “When you look at that compass, you want to see a leadership who has suffered through the storm and learned to dance in the rain. Not just suffered through a storm.”
Growth Opportunities
“There are a handful of people who will grow with a company just because of the money,” Czysz says. “But most people have a need for real growth.”
How do you know if a company offers room to grow?
“There are key questions to ask,” she says. “What percentage of employees are promoted? Is there promotion from within, or do they always hire from outside?
“Look for signs of growth and development,” she says. “What does their training program look like?”
Remember, growth doesn’t look the same for everybody, she says.
“Some people want to excel and grow, but not everybody wants to be a manager,” Czysz says. “I have crew members who have been crew members for 21 years, because they really like it.”
Good Challenges
“Most millennials love to be challenged,” Czysz says. “They feel they’re on this planet to make a difference. Everything has to be tangible.”
For a lot of us, it’s human nature, she says.
“If you go to work every day and never feel accomplished, your work becomes habitual,” Czysz says. “You get complacent.”
Then, you’re likely not adding value to the team, she says.
“Ask what tools are available to you to grow,” she says. “Ask how much opportunity you’ll have to branch out into something else.”
First, Understand Yourself
You can ask all the brilliant, probing questions you want, but the answers won’t mean anything if you don’t really know yourself and what you want and need from the job, Czysz says.
“What drives you as an individual?” she asks. “What do you need in order to feel accomplished?
“If you ask about the management style of the person you’d be working for, you first need to know what style you work best with,” she says. “There are micro managers who tell you each thing you need to do and when, and there are absentee managers who basically hand you the keys and let you drive the car.”
And, maybe most importantly, is landscaping even right for you?
“If you want to change jobs every year and a half, you should probably work in a fast-paced field like IT or medicine,” Czysz says. “The growth in the landscaping industry is more organic. You need to understand this industry and how it works.
“I’m not saying you can’t go from crew member to foreman in a year,” she says, “because it does happen.”
But it might not.
Do Your Research
So, how do you find out all this stuff?
“Visit the company website,” Czysz says. “Use Google — it’s a great tool.
“Look at their careers page. Look at their About Us page. Look at their Team page.”
Hone in on the mission statement.
“Every company should have their mission statement on their website,” she says.
Once you’re armed with this information, ask questions to help validate what you’ve read, she says.
“Be prepared to ask a lot of questions,” she says. “How long have you been with the company? How many of your managers were hired from within? Ask to meet the person you’ll be working for.”
After she’s done interviewing job candidates, Czysz always asks them, “Do you have any questions?”
“You wouldn’t believe how many people say ‘Nope,’” she says. “That’s when I think, ‘Whoa. Red flag.
“Half of the interview should be you finding out if the job is right for you.”
Why Does Any Of This Matter?
So what’s wrong with taking a job just for the pay and benefits?
“As you grow in a company, work/life balance is highly important,” Czysz says. “You’re with your co-workers more than you’re with your family. Work has to be meaningful, or it will get old quickly.
“If it’s not fulfilling, if there’s not good morale, if you’re not creating value,” she says, “it will wear you out.”
Is Greenscape a Good Fit For You?
At Greenscape, Inc, we’re proud of our culture, values, opportunities for growth and great challenges.
We’d love to tell you more. Ask us anything.
We’ve been meeting the full-service landscaping needs of commercial customers in the Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and Cary areas for more than 35 years.
We couldn't offer our award-winning services without top-notch employees.
Interested in joining our Green Team?
We’d love to meet you.
