How do you pick ground workers?

cambmx

cambmx

Location
Wisconsin
We are in the process of selecting a ground person for the summer and possibly long term. Two girls and one guy from the forestry department at UW Madison have applied, and they all have fairly equal qualifications. What do you guys look for in ground men/ women? We do a lot of very technical rigging jobs, and have a mini skid loader. One guy is a super strong farmer who my boss said would be able to drag huge piles. We are really gunning for hiring one of the girls as she wants to be a climber someday, but some are thinking it would present problems like when you need to use a restroom instead of a chip truck, being on a crew with all guys, etc.

Any thoughts? I personally wish more women would get into this industry, and I know from rock climbing that girls can climb! What would you guys do?
 
Girls are prettier...

Honestly though, if a girl's tough enough for tree work she'd probably pee in the chip box just like the rest of us.
grin.gif
 
I hired several women who were Urban Forestry students as summer help. For the most part they shamed the guys who were groundies or new climbers. Worked harder and more diligently.

Attitude is more important than brute strength. Cut logs smaller, which is safer in the long run, so that people aren't wearing out or getting hurt.

The details of bathrooms get sorted out. Be upfront and professional. An employer can get into as much trouble expecting guys to pee in the chip truck as expecting a woman to do the same. Tough or delicate ain't in it.

Women climb smarter too. Us knuckleheads do chin-ups which will ruin our shoulders, elbows and wrists. Women use their legs from the beginning.
 
Why in this industry is a basic human function such a problem. Need to use the facilities, stop along the route between jobs at a restroom. How civilized! In the Landscaping business around Toronto many companies had women on their crews and some even had all female crews.

Back to your question. Does the company see the groundsperson role as the entry point from which a person can then move to a different role? With the equipment you use would it not be of greater value to have someone who demonstrates skills that allow proper, effective use of it instead of brute strength? With the mini we've shifted away from needing brawn to move heavy material to finesse to operate our equipment effectively.
 
I'd go with the farmboy. I grew up on a farm, and it instills a work ethic. 7 days a week, 365, no days off. Most farmers fix whatever they can themselves. Farm kids are running equipment from the age of 7 or 8. Dragging brush and raking yards is monotinous just like farm work. As far as woman climbers; I have great insight into this subject. My wife is also an arborist. Woman tend to be more thorough on pruning jobs, but will have some issues on removals. Upper body strength, running larger saws, etc. If I had the opportunity to hire a farm kid it would be a no brainer. You said you were looking to hire a groundie, not a maybe someday in the future climber. One more note... the worst person I ever worked with was an UW grad. Couldn't id trees, couldn't climb (even though he had the climbing seminar) and definitely could not handle the heat. He also thought he should be doing sales even though he had just graduated. If you are looking for well trained workers I would look towards MATC or MidState.
 
Depending on how your company is focused I would hire the girl. I used to have a woman working for me back when I was doing landscape work, she would out work the men, and had great attention to detail. The men actually hated working with her because if they slacked off or did a sub par job she would tear them a new one. When I had no landscape work to keep her busy, I would tell her to stay home... nope, she wanted to work. Kept up with us on the tree jobs, though not as strong.
 
Peeing in the chip truck has never been an issue for any girl I've ever met.

Bathroom issues only ever came up with some dudes who seemed to have to take a dump 3 times a day. So they left to go to the nearest convenience store. And then there's the guys who just claimed to have leave the site to take a dump...
 
If the female candidates can hold there own phyically I would pick one of them. Women tend to have fully functioning brains, whereas most dudes under the age of, like, 35 are using half at best. The rest is all movie quotes and porn websites. I work with a lady on the buzz here and she works all other groundies into the ground, and soon she'll be giving me a run for my money aloft as well. And as far as climbing girls will get better faster cuz they don't try to haul there carcass up a tree with just there shoulders like every guy I've ever met. Myself included. Plus, look at Frax up there, f%$#ing bada$$. Also I find that most homeowners are more than happy to let the girl in to use the toilet.
 
Out of 25 -30 guys maybe 2 or 3 drag brush exclusively. Farmboys are generally a safe bet. If they dont want to climb they can allways pull levers on the spider! Ground ops must have a can-do attitude and be able to problem solve well enough to work semi independant after day 2 or 3...if they are not self motivated cut em early. Save yourself the headaches. Girls are hit and miss in my experience. Dudes seem to be more durable...you just have to teach them to not burn themselves out! I love it when I get new boots that are ready to hustle and eager to learn. Must have a sense of urgency with a side of common sense caution.
 
Ummm hire the one that actually wants to work in the industry.
If she doesnt work out you can always call farm boy, not like hes going anywhere, he'll be on the farm.
The young men we have hired in the past ten years have done nothing but make me depressed for the most part.
Getting hard to find decent help in my area, that is for sure. Kids want easy jobs now, they see the chipper, drag brush for a couple of hours, and never show back up for the second day lol.

Some dont make it past coffee break, what kind of useless cull gives up before working 2 full hours on the job ?

...apologies...lil bitterness showing....my bad,lol.
I wish you much better luck in finding good help than I have been having as of late.
Stay safe.
 
Id go with the one that will take direction well. A climbers life is in the hands of the ground worker when a job involves technical rigging. Moving a lot of brush can only get you so far. The fact that she wants to climb is a plus in my book. Everyone at the company I work for is able to climb. Its always a good thing in case of emergencies and a ground worker is the only one with you. In all honesty though I go with the best attitude and how well the mesh with the crew.

As for women peeing in a chiptruck put two buckets in front of her and she will be hidden I know this to be true.
 
I have an add in the paper right now for a Tree worker with some experience working in trees. wouldnt ya know how many respond that dont have ANY Experience at all, just I cut trees down in my back yard with my father or grandfather, another thing is that there are many responding that are like 58 years old? I say man, do you really want to drag branches and stuff? are you physically fit to work all day like that? Listen, I have trained many I thought to never amount to much and they have learned so much from me they now work for themselves.. That's good for them but back to the drawing board for me. I cant figure it out either, I have tried to interview over the phone, then filter out the felons and such, to then do personal interviews and man it all changes when you put a face with a voice. I wish to find the person who want to be in the TREE INDUSTRY not just a job till something else better comes up, but I have to keep the jobs going too. I have put adds in local paper and a few circulate in surrounding towns. Sometimes I get lucky, sometimes Im praying to God to deliver me the right one! Good luck all!
 
Obviously get a DOB and do a backround check before even entertaining them. I almost hired a guy to do firewood full time and low and behold he had three larceny charges within the last two months.

I have no problem with giving people who effed up in their past a chance, but three charges in two months. NO.
 
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