making lawn crew work weekends?

[94gt331]

My 2 man lawn crew has it pretty good. But sometimes they don't finish all the lawns at the end of the week making me look bad and lose money. I know 2 guys can cut my 60 yrds in 4 days, but most of the time they fall short, by a few. So i made a new rule that if they don't finish the lawn list by friday they have to work sat. I'm deffinately not a slave driver by any means but i just don't think there working hard enough and long enough during the week knowing that i've been catering to there weekends off. So i made a rule that they have to work weekends if they don't finish the lawns , they will get that note in the morning. I can understand if it rains 3 days a week then it will be hard to finish, I understand them not being able to finish then. What do you guys do about this issue with your mowing crews? Do you have the same problem or do you make them work weekends also to finish there work.

[gcbailey]

I've got a good crew, occasionally we have to pull a Saturday due to rain or whatever. So far this season we've got 48 residential and 15 commercial accounts with myself two full time guys and 2 college part time. Maybe you need to put a little heat under them in a round about way? On a good week we can call it quit by noon on Friday, on a great week, 3 day weekend.

[94gt331]

Originally Posted by gcbailey

I've got a good crew, occasionally we have to pull a Saturday due to rain or whatever. So far this season we've got 48 residential and 15 commercial accounts with myself two full time guys and 2 college part time. Maybe you need to put a little heat under them in a round about way? On a good week we can call it quit by noon on Friday, on a great week, 3 day weekend.

Yeah i figured by telling them they have to work weekends now that will put some fire under there ass's to get them to finish on time.

[Kkane97]

How about bribing, if they finish all lawns by friday 4 weeks in a row maybe a small bonus or other idea? Something to make them want to finish quicker haha

[knox gsl]

Originally Posted by Kkane97

How about bribing, if they finish all lawns by friday 4 weeks in a row maybe a small bonus or other idea? Something to make them want to finish quicker haha

I don't get this mentality, how about you do your job as expected and you'll have it the next week. This generation, my generation, think that we need a bonus to do what we were hired to do. I think that if you're working them 15 yards a day 4 days a week, they should be able to produce. Firgure out a way to pay by the job not by the hour that is beneficial to both you and them and tell them get busy when you're done you have the rest of the week to yourself. Quality control would be something to keep your eye on then.

[The Grounds Crew]

That's the way to do it. You either have them work weekends if they don't finish or hire a third member to the crew. I think your better off having them work weekends.

[sjessen]

This time of year I am noticing a lot of crews are sitting in the truck a few minutes before starting a lawn or moving on to the next one. You might consider shadowing them or working with them a few hours here and there to see if they are sandbagging or not.

[gcbailey]

The only bribes my guys get is I buy lunch on days we are all together and some restaurant gift cards at Christmas.

[93Chevy]

Having to work Saturday should be enough motivation to get done by Friday. It certainly is with my crew. We'll stay out until dark to get done. Only had to work one Saturday this season so far...maybe a few more, but hopefully not. I like my weekends also, haha.

[olmod]

That is a tough spot depending on your people. I know when my crews used to be out mowing that there was a lot of wasted time spent in gas stations, texting, smoke breaks, etc. I would switch between my three crews and try to keep everyone on there heels. Employees will never be a quick as you or I will be. That is just part of it. It is our money and the faster we can get it done the more money we can make doing something else. They are getting paid by the hour so the longer they take to complete there jobs the more money they make and less the company makes. I considered doing a pay per job type of system. They get x amount on a certain account and it has to be approved by manager or me before they get paid that week. If it is not done to my specs they redo till correct. This puts them in our shoes as the faster they get done the more money per hour they make or more free time they have to do whatever. My main concern was always quality control. If you run the crew with them that wont be a issue. When I do go back to having a crew again I am going to pay them per job. I think it is fair to everyone involved if done right.