Hiring Qualified Workers in the Tree Care Industry

Use the media

Think of positive things to do that will gain newspaper, television and radio coverage, e.g., the Boy Scouts and your Company prune trees in a downtown park (with pictures of course), discuss why leaves turn colors, or current insect and disease problems. Visit the mayor or town council and ask for volunteer projects that you and some volunteer group can perform. Remember the project does not have to be massive to get into print or on the local radio/TV news. The key here is not only the event but having it covered and placed on or near page one.

Find out who are the editor and photographer of your local paper(s), the news people of the radio and tv stations. Get to know them. Keep them informed of the events you want them to cover, and, if necessary, pick them up and drive them to the event. This works. Most news media, especially papers, are, if you convince them, always looking for local interest stories.

Individually or as a group, your local ISA chapter or arborist association can sponsor a fund raising event or benefit by doing something for the trees within a park or other well known green area. The methodology is unimportant, but the fact that you or your group is doing it, and of course receiving good free publicity, is.

On the local PBS station, hold a call-in show entitled, “All you wanted to know about your trees but were too scared to ask.” Give an address where the viewers can write in for further information or, when they call in with a question, get their names and addresses and send out generic information about trees and their care. The information sent could include Shigo’s “Tree Hazards” pamphlet, ISA’s new “Careers In Arboriculture” pamphlet, individual tree company brochures, as well as, a listing of all the professional arborists in the broadcast area. This will help separate the fly-bynight operators from the pro’s like yourselves. During the broadcast mention over and over who the sponsoring group is, why they are doing this program (because as professionals we are very concerned about proper tree care), that the industry is having a hard time properly tending trees due to the great lack of entering workers (which is just a mystery to us because of our good pay, good benefits, outside challenging work, etc.) and please/please/please send for more information about tree care by writing or calling the number and address that is on the bottom of your TV screen.

Tape the TV program, and, in the viewing area’s malls set up a display booth from time to time on Saturdays or special holidays (arbor day) and play the tape while holding impromptu question and answer sessions. The mall should allow you to do this for free. Possibly the mall or some of the tie-in stores could pay for advertisement as a come-on to attract people into the mall. The same subliminal message that was presented on the TV show is woven through out the mornings’ individual discussions. That is, “Come work for us, we have lots of good jobs, we are the profession you want for a life’s career.”

Try to be invited to speak at various meetings such as the local garden or rose society about trees and their care. Set up informal seminars at a park to discuss tree problems sponsored by some group that will pay for the advertisement. Again, be sure the media know what you are doing. Place your clean signed trucks near where you are talking. Make sure the media take pictures and hold interviews by your truck! If your area has a parade, be in it with either a prepared float or some impressive piece of clean and well-painted equipment.

Pressure the national organizations, e.g. ISA, NAA or ASCA or if you are connected with a large company such as Davey Tree (did you see the National Geographic spread) to place advertisements or articles in non-arborist magazines such as Women’s Day, Ladies Home Journal, Good Housekeeping, Family Circle, or TV Guide. Work hard to have the local environmental or acceptable pressure groups, who have publications, write stories about our industry and proper tree care. If they will not write them, try your hand at writing an article. Usually they cry for articles and their editors will often clean up the grammar.

In short, what I am trying to say is, become active. Nobody is going to help us but us! If there is a happening, either be a productive part of it, or, if you can’t, make your own happening. Be loud, be professional, be aggressive. We have a problem, let us solve it.

By this time, you are thinking, “Is this guy nuts? I don’t have time to do these things.” My answer is, “Do you work every Saturday during the winter, every evening, do you have problems obtaining help?” You might also be thinking, “Nope, it won’t work.” My answer is “It will work if you make it work, just make up your mind that it will and it will!” You either do something to attract attention to your company and this industry’s problems or you will sink out of sight in that gooey glob of no help, (good-bad or trained-nontrained) you are presently in.

Another solution concerning qualified production personnel is to sponsor one or more students for a degree program in Urban Tree Management or turf management. ISA or NAA has the names of qualifying colleges. When I say sponsor I am referring to befriending a high school student and moving them in the direction of a career in arboriculture. Your business is based on salesmanship, so sell. Talk to the biology, botany, geology, or other science teachers in the local high schools to locate prospective students. Set up an appointment for interested (because you made them interested) students to tour your facility. Take them on the job for a day or so to see if they are really interested in arboriculture or turf as a career. Hold a mini career day or become involved with the high schools’ career day. Tell them about the opportunities in our field. Give them work on weekends even if it is nothing more them sweeping out the office. Once they are interested, have them come up to visit the College. If you can afford it, offer to supply them with the climbing equipment, or books, or part of their tuition whatever, big or little, to show you care. They can come back to you for part time work experience and upon graduation full time. If possible, help them financially with a loan which can be written off so much a year. Let them feel indebted to you. Remember, country wide, 41 % of all workers have at least 1 year of college. Let them come to us for years of arboriculture or Urban Tree Management training.

You are saying, if I had a potential production worker I would not give him (her) up for college training. I would put him to work. Has that worked in the past? I’ll bet not. Can you really afford to spend time training? Remember the job time lost, the unsatisfied customers, the equipment broken, the “I quit”, the potential for accidents and increased workmen’s compensation insurance costs, etc.

If you could send one or two individuals to school each year, after two years you should have one or two individuals returning to work for you. If they stay for two or three years, then leave, so be it, for more newly trained production workers will be coming back to you each year. In short, you get ‘em to college, train ‘em, and get ‘em back. Everyone wins.

Will it work? Yes! As long as you do your part and the colleges do theirs. How many of this year’s graduating class will you get. Most likely none. But if you had seeded a student or two, most likely one or two. The difference is up to you. Help us, the colleges, to help you.