Best sources of employees?

Now, I’m pretty new on the scene as far as running a business and having employees, but I would describe the current employer/employee climate is that anyone worth their salt is either working for themselves, contracting or soloing and the like, or moving on to bigger, better things like unions or bigger companies with benefits. Not many fellows who are content to work a good job like tree work. I always tell people you’ll never get paid what you’re worth, but it’s a right fulfilling job.
 
If you're looking for green folks: I was "found" by my first employer by way of an add on a rock climbing gym cork-board. In general, I feel that some segment of the pie of people with a decent amount of outdoor rock climbing experience can have the right disposition for tree work. Within the rock climbing community, I'd say there's a lot more awareness about rope access than arb work.

All that being said, will you find high quantities of experienced climbers in your typical gym? Mileage will vary...
 
My ideal: find somebody who just wants to work outside. Start them out as a ground worker and let the build from there as they are interested and capable.

But I've been looking* since spring and cannot find somebody. Most of my other helpers were referred to me by a mutual friend.

*(OK, so I cannot say I'm looking really hard, but I have no idea where to look!)


If somebody came to me from another local tree company...well, there's probably only one company where I would consider their experience to be an asset. Most of the others, I'd consider that experience a liability. "Yes, you really have to wear a hard hat while working under somebody who is aloft. Yes, you have to wear a shirt on the job site. No, you cannot smoke weed while running a chainsaw. No, you cannot sit on the chipper infeed table to eat lunch while it is running. Certainly not saying that of all other companies...there are plenty companies out of the immediate area I'd gladly poach crew from if they wanted to move here!
 
joshuarov said:
Most of you all have been in the game a lot longer than me, that being said: From what I have experienced, the quantity of ground staff that I'd want on my jobsite that don't have the desire to increase their scope to climbing trees as well is vanishingly small.
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I'd agree...and frankly the "want on my jobsite" thing - I'd prefer somebody with ambition. Which means they probably want to grow in knowledge and skill. I'd want to help them with that growth, get them to where they want to be, hopefully keep them around and start the process over again. Its just finding that pipeline...where do they come from and how do we as employers connect with them???
 
levi r said:
Generally curious, what are you paying for groundworkers?
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I pay whatever someone is worth.

Minimum wage here is $16-17/ hour.

I don't want to hire someone worth less than $25/ hour. I'd rather pay $28+/ hour.

Really, I'd like to pay a great groundworker $35-40+/ hour for someone who can Run the ground show.



Jackson, started this summer as a helper at $20/ hour with zero tree experience, very minimal work experience, solid intentions, and a good brain.

He had his first production climb (spurless pruning --- canopy raising a tall, skinny cedar) before returning to college, about 2.5 months in. He'll be back next summer with a pay raise (unless he (hopefully, for him) has an engineering internship.

He was at $25/ hour by mid summer.

I told him I will help him word-smith his resume as an Arborist's Assistant, not a groundworker or helper.





Cheap employees are waaay to expensive.

It's very normal here to routinely work at heights exceeding the max tree heights in other areas. I need people who can support that.

Yesterday, in a short day, I climbed (partially Wraptored) two firs that were 130-140' (one with a crack through it), then did structural pruning in an 80' cedar.

I need people in the ball.
I don't need to ask someone , from 80' up, to get a tool from its storage spot in the truck to hear that, "It's not in the truck", to which I have to ask if it's not in the truck or do they not see it. When this happens, generally the tool is where I say that it is, or in our one out-of-the-truck staging areas if they has already taken said tool from the truck, unbeknownst to me.

FWIW, Everything has a place in the truck. Long- handled tool-end are color-coded for ease of finding in the long-handled tool compartment without taking them all out. Not rocket surgery.
 
I agree about cheap labor being wildly expensive, I won’t afford it.

I’m going through a bit of a change here, but by spring I hope to have a full time helper that earns $60k+ year base pay, we average (annually) a 4 day work week or less, and they get an average 30%+ production bonus.
 
Tom Dunlap said:
Is there a vocational college with a green industry program? A selling point is the potential of year treework or seasonal landscape work.

Better pay

Less working in the mud
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I wish there was, unfortunately there aren’t anymore. Several local colleges had them, but they’re gone now. The state prison system here had a tree care training program and a horticultural program, but those are both gone here too. Closest thing left is landscape architecture, and that isn’t relevant at all.
 
I think as an industry we need to look at why are so many are going the route of contract climbing or starting there own business. Those seem to be what most are looking for. Guys like that are looking for more money and room to grow and advance. I understand that tree work is a young man's game so to speak. But where does an employee go as he begins to age. You can't climb and drag brush forever.

If I could have found a company that had those opportunities I would still be an employee. I am a better tree guy then I am a businessman. Not sure if that isn't part of the problem

This is probably more for me then anything.
 
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