As someone who has already been in the Green Industry, you probably know that finding lawn care and landscaping jobs is not exactly a simple feat—that is, if you are in search of a company that you can truly call home.
Or maybe you're considering your start in this industry (if so, check this article out about lawn care and landscaping jobs that require no experience).
If you’ve been in the Green Industry for some time, you’ll know that there is no shortage of landscaping and lawn care jobs out there but you’re looking for more than just the same-old runaround. You might be wondering if there are companies out there where you have options such as climbing the career ladder and building a future, if that’s what you’re looking for.
Whether you’ve only worked at one other lawn or landscape company, or you’ve worked for several, you’re likely wondering if lawn care or landscaping companies are really all that different.
You might have even heard “horror stories” from peers who have moved from job to job without ever really finding what they desire. The last thing that you want is to feel as though you’ve gotten stuck in a never-ending revolving door of dead-end jobs. And you don’t want to chase after something that doesn’t exist.
Fortunately, we’re here to tell you that not all lawn and landscape companies are created equal. The grass really is greener at some companies!
So, what makes Rock Water Farm different? And what qualities do they look for in hiring skilled workers to join their growing team? We’ll cover all of this in this article as a means of helping set you up for success.
While we’ve geared this article specifically toward individuals with existing industry experience, we want to point out that we don’t only hire skilled workers. We also have lawn care and landscaping jobs that would be a great place to start out in the industry and we’ve written about those here.
What Makes Rock Water Farm Different?
Before we get into telling you more about what we are looking for in the skilled workers that we hire for landscaping and lawn care jobs, let us tell you a little bit about what makes us different.
In general, Green Industry jobs have gotten a bad rap for treating their employees poorly. This has come in the form of everything from a lack of respect, poor pay, a lack of opportunities for growth, and more.
A lot of these problems stem from companies being solely focused on the bottom line and making as much money as they can. While every company wants to be profitable, some companies care only about being profitable for the owner’s sake.
That usually means they’ll hire any “warm body” that is willing to do the work. They don’t care about getting to know their team members and they certainly don’t care about paying them well. In fact, they’ll pay as little as they can get away with.
But that’s simply not how all lawn care or landscaping companies operate.
At Rock Water Farm, we’ve been in the industry for a long time and we can attest to the fact that there are some really great lawn and landscaping companies out there. We like to consider ourselves amongst them.
One of the things that really makes a company like ours different is the commitment to providing careers with sustainable wages from which team members can support their families. Honestly, one of our proudest aspects of operating a successful business is that we can also help our team members to have a fulfilling career which in turn allows them to live the life that they envisioned for themselves and their family.
That’s how we would sum up the heart of what makes Rock Water Farm different—that we really do care. On a more tangible level, what does that mean for you? It means benefits such as the following.
- Competitive pay
- An organized operation
- Clean, maintained equipment and vehicles
- Health insurance available
- Company-matching retirement plan
- Paid holidays
- Paid vacation
- Uniforms
- Company cookouts
- Snow removal work in the winter
- Working directly with the owner and COO
- Possibilities for career advancement
What Does it Take to Work at Rock Water Farm?
Now that you know what makes the “grass greener” at our company, you might be wondering what we’re looking for when hiring skilled workers. For one, we require a very specific set of characteristics that we expect all potential employees to possess, whether they are brand-new to the industry (and just starting out) or they’re a skilled worker. We wrote about those characteristics in-depth, here, and you can read more about them.
But for a quick summary, these 10 traits include the following:
- Being on time
- Strong work ethic
- Willing to put forth effort
- Positive body language
- Lots of energy (motivation)
- Positive attitude
- Passion for what you do
- Being coachable
- Doing extra
- Being prepared
In addition to those traits, in a skilled worker, we are also looking for a minimum of one to two years of Green Industry-specific experience for leadership lawn care jobs and two to four years of experience for leadership landscaping jobs.
This would be for a Foreman (or a “team leader”) position. Some companies also refer to this particular position as a “supervisor.” Within this role, you are overseeing a crew and responsible for meeting their needs so that they can get the job done right.
Since the responsibility is on you to manage everything out in the field (either on the maintenance or the construction side), we are looking for someone who has these additional characteristics (beyond the “10 traits” mentioned above).
- Knowledgeable of the industry
- Self-sufficient (doesn’t require a lot of “hand-holding”)
- Go-getter (“does what needs to be done”)
- Possesses leadership skills
- Good communication
- Demonstrates empathy (both with the team members that you manage and to our customers)
We have team leaders on both the lawn care and the landscaping sides of our business. Here is a short description of each.
Landscape Maintenance Crew Leader
Supervising and working alongside a crew of contentious workers, you'll oversee the meticulous transformation and upkeep of beautiful properties we service on a regular basis.
You must have one to two years of experience. For this role, you must also have a clean, valid VA driver’s license.
Landscape Construction Crew Leader
Leading a team of hard-working individuals, you'll oversee and work alongside your team to transform client properties with custom-designed hardscapes and landscapes.
Prior experience of two to four years is preferred and you must have a clean, valid VA commercial driver's license. In addition, you must also be proficient and able to operate all job-related equipment.
Is This the Lawn Care or Landscaping Job You’ve Always Wanted?
If you have a minimum of one to two years of industry experience and are looking for better lawn care and landscaping jobs, then a team leader role at Rock Water Farm might be exactly what you are seeking. It just may be the end of your search!
We are always looking for committed team members who will strengthen our company. Ultimately, we recognize that it is our team that makes us successful and for that reason, we treat our people well.
We want to hire team members that we’re going to have around for the long-haul. That’s because we recognize that finding long-term employees benefits us and our customers as much as it does you. Finding the right people who are a good fit for our company (and for whom we are also a good fit for their career) is a win-win for everyone.
As our business grows, so do our opportunities, and we are frequently looking for new team members. If you think you have what it takes and are interested in learning more, we invite you to check out our lawn and landscaping career opportunities and apply online.
