No landscaping experience?
No problem.
Tina Czysz would love to see you.
Sure, there are manual labor jobs that require no experience. But there are some qualities you should have to succeed at a landscaping job.
Czysz, director of human resources / safety & compliance at Greenscape, Inc., fills us in.
Does This Sound Like You?
You can get a job as a landscaping crew member at Greenscape, Inc. even if you’ve never done landscaping before, Czysz says.
But you should have some core qualities that will show her you’re a good fit for this work.
“You should be a team player, and understand the dynamics of a team,” Czysz says. “You should have a strong, solid work ethic, value the work you do and understand it’s a reflection of you and your whole team. You should understand the physical demands of the position.
“You should be eager to learn and take direction,” she says. “The willingness and desire to learn is key here.”
Sound like you? Here’s what will happen next.
Getting Ready For Day One
Once you’re hired as a crew member, you’ll meet with our human resources department to complete your new hire paperwork.
Next up: training and orientation. This is a crucial part of your success here at Greenscape. It includes equipment training, driver training, incident reporting, job processing, safety training. You’ll learn Greenscape’s processes and policies.
You’ll also get a set of personal protection equipment — earplugs, safety vest, safety goggles — to keep you safe on the job.
Then, hit the ground running. Once on the job, you’ll continue to learn from your foreman and project manager.
The Perks
Your success the first six months is important, Czysz says. If you do well, you’ll automatically transition to a full-time position. Three months after that, you’ll be eligible for benefits, including health and dental insurance, a 401K with a company match, eight paid holidays, and you’ll start accruing personal days.
As you advance in the company, the benefits increase.
After 90 days you’ll get a performance review, where you and your manager will review the last three months and discuss your goals for future success and development.
Landscaping doesn’t end with the mowing season — you’ll have work through the winter months doing snow and ice removal.
Learning Along The Way
Maybe you started out at a landscaping job with no experience, but you can — and should — learn more along the way.
Greenscape offers several education and training classes for employees on site, including free plant identification classes.
Also in the works: English as a second language classes. Employees who want to boost their English skills will be able to take classes.
Training Beyond The Workplace
There are lots of landscaping training and certification courses offered off site, by other organizations.
Earn a pesticide license, an irrigation contractor license or study to be a certified landscape technician.
Greenscape encourages employees to pursue these, and we pay for the training.
Pesticide training and certification happens through the North Carolina Department of Agriculture. We’ll help you study for and schedule the test.
Several other certifications are available through the National Association of Landscape Professionals.
Interested? Just let your manager know.
The Path To Growth
“Our goal here is to empower you and set you up on a solid path for growth and development,” Czysz says.
Crew members can advance to crew leader, then foreman, then project manager, then production manager, then branch manager.
You might move from typical mowing, blowing and edging work to a different area of the company, Czysz says. Maybe you’d like to join a pruning crew, the watering team, a detailing crew. There are opportunities in irrigation, floriculture, installation.
“There are lots of opportunities,” Czysz says.
Some Greenscape employees have been with the company for decades, starting as crew members and ultimately moving up to branch manager or production manager positions.
“I also have employees who have been here for 19 years who don’t want to be foreman,” she says. “They love crew work. That’s great, too.”
Come On Over
“I’m always looking to add people to the team who want to learn, grow and be part of a team,” Czysz says. “People who have those attributes will succeed in this industry, no problem.”
We’d love to tell you more.
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?
Check out our Career Center. We’d love to meet you.