By Eric Harshman
From the October 2024 Issue
The facility management industry, like many others, is facing old and new challenges and trends that require professionals to adapt quickly. Many of these changes are shaped by the wants and needs of stakeholders, the environment, labor shortages, and evolving technological advances.
Manual labor is and always will be the main driver in the landscaping business. In the United States, skilled tradespeople are in high demand, successful in their careers, and vital to economic development, but they continue to be in short supply. Finding and retaining skilled labor is crucial, and it’s a major challenge. As the aging workforce retires, their knowledge is not always shared effectively with the younger generation following in their footsteps. The subsequent trends and focus areas are necessary to excite and entice new workers into landscaping roles that can eventually turn into rewarding careers.
Promote Sustainability And Environmental Stewardship
To enhance landscape teams, showcase how landscape and sports field management professionals are combating climate change, preserving natural habitats, and creating sustainable ecosystems. In many parts of the country and around the world, water is becoming scarce, and industry professionals must be resourceful when designing/installing landscape features that will maximize their water efficiency while also capitalizing on aesthetics and functionality.
To achieve this, landscape professionals are implementing drought-resistant, native plants that are better suited to local geographical climates and require less water and routine management. Younger professionals, especially Gen Z, value sustainability and environmental stewardship. Tap into those values and promote them by creating sustainable landscape designs, such as rain gardens, permeable paving, and green roofs that will utilize stormwater/runoff.
Focus On Technology And Innovation
Many executives are embracing emerging technologies to address building maintenance, including landscape and sports field management. Many solutions today are technology-driven to ensure efficiency, streamline operations, optimize resources, support data-driven decisions, and reduce costs. With the use of drones, GPS/GIS, and autonomous mowers, industry professionals can track assets, manage accounts, and enhance productivity. When recruiting and retaining talent, it’s important to showcase how transformative the industry is and how modern technology is making this responsibility easier to manage.
Clear Career Paths, Professional Growth, And Compensation
The younger generation is on the lookout for careers that offer clear progression, opportunities for advancement, and professional development. All landscape and sports field management professionals should be compensated fairly for their skills, time, and expertise. Compensation should be explained on day one for all entry-level positions; the skills and effort required will reflect in their initial compensation. This is crucial considering most of the work will be manual labor. If a company is unable to match its competitors’ compensation levels, there are other ways to attract young workers who prioritize work-life balance and company culture:
- Demonstrate how entry-level positions can lead to higher-level roles by using examples of past/current employees.
- Share success stories and emphasize the importance of starting, learning at the ground level, and building their own career path and success story.
- Provide mentors to support and guide new hires to help them progress to the next level.
- Provide opportunities for continuous learning to build on their expertise.
This industry is rapidly evolving and having educational opportunities to learn about budgeting, horticulture, agronomy, and communication will always be necessary.
Collaboration With Educational Institutions, Local Vendors, Clients, And Social Media
Build relationships with local educational institutions (e.g., vocational schools, colleges, universities, agriculture extension offices) to emphasize the science, technology, and math aspects of this potential career. Unfortunately, younger workers may not realize all the opportunities a career in landscaping or sports field management has to offer, or they may have an outdated view of the roles available. A few action items here could include:
- Find out when local career fairs will be held and make it a point to be present when these opportunities present themselves.
- Build from relationships with local vendors and current clientele as they can help spread the word of employment opportunities.
- Utilize social media as an advocacy tool to build awareness of what your company is doing to advance the industry in sustainability, technology, and innovation.
- Invite local media to see a company’s initiatives and efforts that focus on innovation and other groundbreaking work to raise awareness and visibility.
- Share a behind-the-scenes look at landscape projects or field renovations with pictures or video, promote employee successes, and show how satisfying it is to work outdoors while providing aesthetically pleasing, sustainable spaces for the community to enjoy year-round.
Attracting the next generation to landscape and sports field management roles is a challenge, and facility executives must tap into the values that matter most to millennials and Gen Z. Sustainability, innovation, and meaningful work with defined career paths are the cornerstones of this industry, and are what’s most appealing for the next generation of skilled industry professionals.
Harshman is the Grounds Project Manager for SSC Services for Education.
Do you have a comment? Share your thoughts in the Comments section below, or send an e-mail to the Editor at jen@groupc.com.
