As a landscaping business during this Covid-19 pandemic, you need all the resources and best practices to help keep your business running during this time. The spring and summer months are some of the busiest and you need to be ready to handle this time with open communication and some creativity.
Here are 13 best practices to help keep your business alive during the coronavirus pandemic
- We all know how regular hand washing is the number one thing you can do to help stop the spread of this disease. If you don’t have a poster in your business showing the proper way to wash hands, now is the time. The CDC has posters that can be downloaded for free. These posters should be placed all throughout your business from the lunchroom to restrooms. You should also print smaller versions and include them in all your trucks.
- Hand sanitizer dispensers need to be placed all throughout your business. Your bathrooms should be equipped with anti-bacterial soap and you should be providing single-use towels only. If you use porta-potties, this applies to these as well.
- All worker trucks need to also be equipped with basic hand sanitation supplies. This means water (for handwashing), antibacterial soap as well as single-use towels. In addition to this, every truck should have a supply of hand sanitizer.
- All high traffic areas like the restroom, breakroom and locker room should be cleaned and sanitized on a schedule. This means EVERYTHING should be sanitized. From the door knobs and handles to anywhere else hands might touch. Yes this will require you to spend some money but it is necessary if you want to keep your workforce healthy.
- If your employees head out with large water containers for drinking, supply them with single use cups. It is sometimes commonplace for workers to drink from the spout and that is the last thing you want during a time like this. Workers should also be instructed to wash their hands prior to using the cooler and the cooler should also be fully sanitized on a daily basis.
- Employees should be instructed to show up to work with clean clothes. Soiled clothes during this time could carry human pathogens.
- Many landscape workers are living on a tight budget and may often show up to work not feeling so hot because they can’t miss a paycheck. During a time like this, the last thing you want is for anyone to show up with any symptoms related to a cold. This may put you out a bit in the short run but it won’t be as bad than if your entire crew had to self-quarantine. Give thought to offering sick leave if you don’t already and if people show up with symptoms, you have to do the tough job of sending them home.
- Keep your crew sizes small. Often a large crew size may be assembled for a large job but that creates too much risk right now. You should also assemb le the same crew members working together each day.
- Stagger the arrival and departure times of your crews to help minimize contact between crew members. It is not unheard of for workers to share food and/or drinks with each other at the office or on a job site.
- If your business has any workers that are 60 and older, consider offering them something alternative to do that will help minimize their exposure. Putting them on a project that can be accomplished as a single person crew is something to think about.
- Encourage workers to social distance themselves from clients while on job sites.
- When it comes to any training sessions, they should be done in individualized sessions. Make sure that any laptops are properly sanitized after each use.
- Have an emergency plan in place should any key personnel fall ill. Think about who will handle all the day to day operations, payroll etc
With people combing through their budgets to see where they can cut costs, landscaping is definitely a discretionary expense. During a time like this, how you work with customers can have a significant and long-term effect on your client relationships. For example, if you have a client that has decided to handle the landscaping themselves, offer some tips to help them be more successful at it. Choosing to be understanding and supportive at this time will help solidify your relationship and earn you loyalty points. Remember, at some point, people will go back to business as usual and when that time comes, you want them to come back to you.