With new tech: no pain, no gain
New tech = short-term pain for long term gain
BY GRANT HARRISON
Growing Your Business is a new Landscape Trades column featuring business management experts writing on the topics that matter to landscape and horticulture professionals.
“Hey, Google, turn on Christmas tree lights.”
If I ever needed proof that technology has changed our lives, that was it. We were visiting friends over Christmas, and that’s how they switched on their tree’s lights. Later that evening, I felt so old and inefficient as I reached down to plug my lights into the wall outlet. Technology is changing our lives in both small and significant ways.
In the landscape industry, people have adopted technology to varying degrees. Virtually every company has a website to attract prospects and email to communicate with clients and staff. Some have digital time sheets. Most will use a weather app on a daily basis. Technology has provided a vast array of tools to help business owners and their staff operate more efficiently.
The benefits of using technology are numerous. You can probably think of many examples from your own life. But for business owners, the benefits are significant and measurable.
Save time and money
• My business uses a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system that syncs with Quickbooks Online, reducing the number of times we have to enter contact information for clients.
• Using digital timesheets dramatically reduces the amount of administrative time required for processing payroll.
• Several snow contractors we work with use cameras to monitor the conditions of sites they manage. What a difference this makes. I can still remember driving around, burning gas and time, to check sites.
Work remote
• Cloud-based apps provide teams access to information from anywhere. This has become especially valuable since COVID and the need to work from home. It’s also another way to retain employees. Remote access allows employees to work from anywhere, which provides owners with the ability to offer flexible working conditions.
Scale your business
•Technology allows you to scale your business more easily. It provides you with a better and more accurate live picture of your business, making it easier to make informed decisions. Technology provides the infrastructure to scale quickly, and allows you to job cost efficiently and accurately, which results in increased margins.
Implementing technology
Now that you’ve seen ways to implement some new technology, how do you best introduce it?
1. Get input from your staff about what software is needed. Ask each division to create a list of what technology would make them more effective and efficient. Review these lists, going back for additional information until you have a clear picture of what is needed.
2. Set up an implementation team that meets regularly to work on the implementation plan and to set clear goals and expectations. The owner and leadership team must commit to the implementation process. If not everyone is committed, then when something else is vying for your attention, the process will get stalled. And be assured, something will go wrong along the way. Have the implementation team assign specific tasks to people during the rollout process. Use a Gantt chart or Microsoft Planner to lay out the process for everyone to see. Include a time budget in the planning, as implementation takes time. Don’t forget to track the downtime or shop time of your staff to get an accurate sense of the hours being put into the implementation.
3. Implement accountability for the staff to follow the documented process and steps. For example, your sales teams may not want to put their leads into the CRM system as it takes too long. They may feel it’s easier to just keep things as they were. In this case, the sales team is lacking an understanding of why their adoption of the software is essential to the rest of the process and how it affects the company as a whole.
Short-term pain for long-term gain
Learning new technology takes time; be patient with yourself and your staff. Too many owners get frustrated and impatient and go back to doing things the way they’ve always done them. This is not the way to grow your business. Hang in there! As for your staff, set aside dedicated time to train them and adopt new best practices. There is often a misconception that implementing a system like CRM will solve all your problems. The truth is, it often creates more problems. You’ll experience a range of responses, from early adopters to the open but cautious, to outright opposition. Be patient as you deal with all these responses, but don’t stop moving forward. It will be short-term pain for long-term gain.
Grant Harrison operates Nextra Consulting with his wife Marla in Ingersoll, Ont. He has previously held management positions with Clintar, and Gelderman Landscape Services, and owned and operated Escapes Outdoor Living.