Have you ever wondered how you can keep your best people on your team? Well, right now I'm on the ski hill with one of my clients, one employee of mine who's worked with me for five years, and the account executive from a recruiting and retention software company. And we're going to share our top tips for retaining your employees, plus a review of the burger we had while we were up here.
My name's Jack and I run Ramblin Jackson. We have about 10 employees, and I'm going to share my tips. I've been in business for about 14 years and I actually looked recently and the majority of my team has worked with me for over two and a half years, which is the industry average for marketing agencies. So that's pretty cool. I hope that continues because I have great people that are absolutely essential to growing our team and serving our customers.
We do a lot of different things, but the thing I think I do that works, they might all tell you different things, is I'm very transparent with people about what's going on in the company, about what isn't working, what is working. I share our net profit with the company and we have an entrepreneurial pay plan where we pay people a percentage of the net profit and it's based actually on their salary. And so being transparent with people and letting them know of. And we have a certain threshold. When we're below that threshold, we don't pay the bonus. And just letting people know, "Hey, we are in single digit net profit and our cash flow is awful, and I'd love to give people raises and pay these bonuses, but I can't." I think that helped retain people because then they then looked at the expenses we had and found ways to be more efficient.
And so many of the people in today's episode are going to talk about communication, and that was one of the things that I communicated with my team about that they then figured out ways to become more efficient and literally find the money for their own raises and bonuses and improve the company's bottom line and our ability to continue. So that's my tip is to be transparent and direct with people, and when things aren't good, let them know and listen to their advice because they often are doing the work in a way that as an owner, I'm not anymore. And I think that works. So I'm curious, are you open book with your team? Are you doing any kind of bonuses on profitability? And are you giving people enough information that they could inform the profitability? We've got to go skiing. And here is an interview with Lexi from Team Engine interviewing Robert with some tips about retention and recruiting.
Tips About Retention And Recruiting With Robert And Lexi
Lexi:
Hey everyone, I'm Lexi from Team Engine and we're out here in Breckenridge, Colorado today. I'm here with Robert from Ramblin Jackson. How are you doing today?
Robert:
I'm doing great. I'm skiing on a Thursday. I'm a happy man.
Lexi:
Yes, yes, yes. Skiing on a workday. Love it. So I know you've been at Ramblin Jackson for about five years now.
Robert:
That's correct.
Lexi:
So what's kept you around? What do you love? What makes you go to work each day?
Robert:
Well, I think I kind of know how I'm motivated, and I think it's working with your team to make sure that that's well communicated. I mean, I need and want to be incentivized for things that benefit both me and the company, and I find that very important. And if you have someone who can work with you on that, you want your team to upsell more things to your current clients. You mean, are you incentivizing that behavior? You want more reviews. Do you have something in place to incentivize your team to help get more reviews? So I think that's kind of what I really like about working at Ramblin Jackson and what I've seen work for my clients as well.
Lexi:
Yeah, definitely. And what would you say is the biggest thing that they do to support you daily with your work goals and professional goals and things like that?
Robert:
Well, I think we do a really good job with our marketing and that supporst our sales. That's the purpose of our marketing. So I work mostly in business development, a little bit of product development, and my marketing has always got my back, is always helping me on a daily basis, helping back up what I'm saying and what I'm doing. So that really, really helps.
Lexi:
Awesome. Yeah, I know team collaboration can be so big and such an important part of the job. So what's your favorite part of the job day to day? What do you look forward to most each day?
Robert:
I really like my clients and I really like meeting new people and new clients. They're interesting people. A lot of them started their business when they were young. They grew and built something and it's just really, really awesome to see these people go from mowing their yard or their neighbors yards when they're 16 to running large companies and managing people and supporting tons of families and it's really cool.
Lexi:
Awesome. Love it.
Robert:
I have a question for you.
Lexi:
Oh, okay. Let's hear it.
Robert:
So if you work at Team Engine, it's all about recruiting and retention with you.
Lexi:
Yeah.
Robert:
So your expertise, what is one thing that I could tell my clients and what's the number one suggestion you would have if they're struggling to retain their clients? What would you recommend?
Lexi:
Yeah. I think as far as retention goes, communication is going to be super important. From the time that your employees start to, even once they're more tenured employees, you want to continue that communication with them throughout their entire tenure at your company. You just spent all this money hiring and training someone and you don't want to just assume that they're going to stick around for you.
Robert:
Yep.
Lexi:
So really being able to check in with employees 30, 60, 90 days, see what they need from you to make your onboarding process better and things like that is going to be super important. And even just making your employees feel like they're a normal person. They're not just a number at the company, feeling like they matter to you as an employer.
Robert:
That's awesome. Yeah, I completely agree and I think that's super important. Well, I've had a great day skiing with you. You're a great skier and you're a ski instructor as well, right?
Lexi:
Yep. I'm a ski instructor here in Breckenridge.
Robert:
That's so cool.
Lexi:
Get to enjoy the snow. And this is super special doing my full-time job and my part-time job, so here I am today on a Thursday.
Robert:
Where the worlds merge. That's so funny.
Burger Review
Jack Jostes:
All right, folks, we just had some cheeseburgers up here at the Overlook Restaurant in Breckenridge, Colorado with Jon LeDuc from Outdoor Lifestyles. Jon, how are you doing today?
Jon LeDuc:
I'm doing very well.
Jack Jostes:
How was your cheeseburger?
Jon LeDuc:
It was good. How was your cheeseburger?
Jack Jostes:
It was fair. It was fair.
Jon LeDuc:
That's a good word for it. That was a good word.
Jack Jostes:
The experience of having the burger here at this elevation with you all was fun.
Jon LeDuc:
That was.
Jack Jostes:
The fries were really good.
Jon LeDuc:
Yeah.
Jack Jostes:
The burger, it was all right.
Jon LeDuc:
Okay. No, I think that fair is a good word.
Jack Jostes:
I think it was meat.
Jon LeDuc:
Yeah.
Jack Jostes:
But there's a part of me that questions if that was meat.
Jon LeDuc:
I had a great conversation with you guys, but the burger.
What's Working For Outdoor Lifestyles - Employee Retention
Jack Jostes:
That was awesome. So what is your... Tell us a little bit about your company, how many people work there, how long have you been in business, and what have you found works for retention. What would you say? If you could boil it down to one thing or one idea, what would it be?
Jon LeDuc:
So we're a landscape, design and build just outside of the Denver metro area. That's where we service. We're about 30 people and we've had quite a few stay with us for five plus years. And I agree, I think some of it is really solid communication, but also I think kind of outlining a path so we all get kind of busy and you get a little bit caught in the weeds. So I think it's really good to make sure you're letting your people know that there is a path and what that looks like and each sort of step as you move up the ladder. What that would look like.
Career Path
Jack Jostes:
Yeah. And so what are some of the ways that you help them understand that? Do you type up a little Word doc? Do you have a little graphic or how do you help them understand what's in your head as the business owner?
Jon LeDuc:
Yeah. So I mean, just depending on the position, I'll look at ads and ZipRecruiter and actual job postings that are kind of happening as we speak. What other companies are looking for and their target range but also show where they're at. And then also the potential they have to move up to this kind of position and what that looks like and everything else. So...
Jack Jostes:
One of the things that I found that works is telling stories of people who have been promoted and when they celebrate a milestone, reminding them of, Hey, this person... Our director of operations started as a subcontractor, as a freelance project manager. And then they became full-time, and they didn't want to become full-time at first. But then they found that working here was good and then they became our operations manager and now they're the director of operations. And so I think showing people and retelling that story is something that I found helps people understand some of the career path.
Jon LeDuc:
Yeah, yeah.
Jack Jostes:
One thing I wanted to follow up on, you have a song coming out called Grateful.
Jon LeDuc:
Sure.
Jack Jostes:
It's coming out.
Jon LeDuc:
It's already out.
Jack Jostes:
It's already out.
Jon LeDuc:
Yeah, it's out. It's out. Grateful by AztroGrizz. Check it out.
Jack Jostes:
Yeah, check out Jon's band AztroGrizz. So I did want to follow up on one thing you mentioned that I liked, which is that you're looking at the job advertisements of other companies.
Jon LeDuc:
Yep.
Recruiting vs Retention
Jack Jostes:
I think that's really important to do when you're recruiting and retaining people to be aware of what's out there. And I had somebody ask me, because we're telling them, "Hey, you got to post the salary in your job posts." And they're like, "Well, how many of your clients in this area are doing that?" I'm like, "Dude, that's not really relevant." Let's Google landscaping jobs and then in your city. And we did and clicked on Indeed, the number one result and all of them had the pay range. So it doesn't really matter what my clients are doing. It's like what's happening in the market and are you competitive and would you apply to this job? I mean, sometimes people are posting these jobs. This is more of a recruiting thing than a retention thing, but I think it is relevant to retention.
Jon LeDuc:
Yeah. Oh yeah. And I mean, the last year or two with how much the landscape changes, just even overnight, I think checking on stuff like that frequently is super important.
Jack Jostes:
And then you shared something that you did that I thought was relevant also for retention, which is reviewing actual job descriptions with your employees. And I've had to do that too, because sometimes people look at the job title and they say, "Oh, this job title is paying this." But then when you look at the actual responsibilities and experience required for that job title, it's actually way different from your job title and current responsibilities. So...
Jon LeDuc:
Right, exactly. How applicable is it to what...
Jack Jostes:
So you did that with an employee. You actually reviewed it together and was that productive? Or...
Jon LeDuc:
I think it's a ton of value because for one, it's relevant information. It's not like a clipping out of a magazine or something we've had in the past.
Jack Jostes:
And then in that conversation though, you were able to frame up where they were heading and what the opportunity was for them. And, "Hey, we will have a position like this one you're seeing that's advertised with these skill levels and experience. And when you have it, we see you making that income."
Jon LeDuc:
And it kind of highlights the strengths and where we need to go.
Jack Jostes:
Yeah. So I really like that you did that.
Jon LeDuc:
Cool.
Jack Jostes:
So thanks for sharing. And yeah, the burgers, they're fun but...
Jon LeDuc:
Yeah.
Jack Jostes:
We'll see.
Jon LeDuc:
Yeah.
Jack Jostes:
All right, let's go skiing.
Jon LeDuc:
All right, sounds good.
Team Engine
All right, everyone, I hope you enjoyed these tips. I know I did, and I wanted to invite you to try Team Engine. And if you use this link, it's landscapersguide.com/teamengine. One, I've got an excellent webinar replay that I did with them. It's The Landscaper's Guide to Fixing the Labor Problem. So it's going to help you learn how to write effective job ads, where to post them, how to recruit and get more people into your funnel. And on that page, you can get 30% off your first three months of Team Engine. And so check it out at landscapersguide.com/teamengine and you can get a week trial. It's incredible software. One of our clients literally filled their staff in February using it, and now they're using the text message function to do updates to their team, like a text message newsletter.
They're doing a bilingual text message newsletter, which is amazing. So check it out. My name's Jack Jostes. Thanks so much for checking out the Landscaper's Guide. I look forward to talking to you next week.