In this episode, Marty Grunder is joined by Greenius' Matt Crinklaw to talk about the mistakes that come from not teaching your team the skills that they need, experiments in how onboarding impacts success, how to successfully train your team, and the tools available to support landscaping companies in effectively training your team. Matt shares the different learning styles people have, tailoring training to what works for your team, the importance of training documentation, and the impact great training has on individuals and organizations.

Grunder Landscaping Co. Field Trips — The Grow Group

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Episode Chapters:

00:59 - Meet Matt Matt Crinklaw: Journey to Greenius

02:53 - The Birth of Greenius

04:53 - The Importance of Training in Landscaping

09:10 - Understanding Adult Learning

11:13 - The Three Ways of Learning

19:23 - Career Pathways and Employee Retention

24:10 - Effective Training Setups and Greenius Benefits

27:31 - Avoid Costly Mistakes Through Training

30:19 - Getting Started with Greenius

32:56 - Common Mistakes in Training Programs

37:00 - Emerging Trends in Landscaping Technology

39:36 - Big Announcement from Grow & Greenius

43:12 - Sign Up for a Field Trip to Grunder

Resources:

Virtual Sales Bootcamp  

Grunder Landscaping Field Trips  

The Grow Group   

Grunder Landscaping   

Marty Grunder LinkedIn  

Stihl  

Show Notes:

Training Gets New Hires to Productivity 40% Faster – I measured new hires against employees with one year of experience on 50 properties. The experienced employees were 40% more efficient. With proper training and onboarding, you can start that productivity race at the 30 or 40-yard line instead of zero.

Career Path Programs Cut Turnover by 30% – I've seen companies reduce turnover from 50% to 14% by creating documented career paths. When employees know exactly what boxes to check for promotions and higher wages, they stay because they're working toward something specific at your company.

Adults Learn in Three Ways: Read, Listen, or Be Shown – I've learned everyone gravitates toward one of these learning styles. At Greenius, we cover all three: videos you can watch, full narration you can listen to, and field checklists where you actually pick up the equipment and get checked off.

Documentation Is Your Lawyer's Best Friend – I tell contractors: your lawyer wants three things when there's an accident—documents, documents, and documents. Even a simple checklist where the employee and crew leader sign proves you had a training process in place if you're ever challenged legally.

Training on "Simple" Tasks Prevents Expensive Mistakes – I heard about a crew leader who told a new hire to fuel equipment with "blue fuel." The employee grabbed blue windshield washer fluid and filled all the blowers and trimmers. That one mistake cost $6,000 in repairs. At 10% profit margin, you need $60,000 in new sales to recover.

Use the Word "Technician" Instead of "Laborer" – I recommend building technician levels: Maintenance Technician Level 1 starts with garden beds and small equipment, Level 2 moves to larger equipment, Level 3 includes crew leader training. People want to apply for technician jobs, not manual labor positions.

Group Training Sessions Work for Initial Rollout – I ran maintenance training rodeos where everyone watched videos together in the morning, used the exam as a discussion point, then went to the yard in small groups with their crew leaders. We'd cap it off with a barbecue—entire division trained in one day.

On-Demand Training Solves the Mid-Season Hiring Challenge – I've seen this work perfectly: hire someone Friday, have them watch videos over the weekend, they show up Monday morning. The crew leader spends an hour running through checklists on site, and that new hire is up to speed by lunch instead of next month.

OSHA's Due Diligence Clause Requires Hazard Training – I always start with OSHA's requirement: make employees aware of all known hazards. Think about three categories: personal hazards (how can I hurt myself?), bystander hazards (how can I hurt coworkers or customers?), and property hazards (how can I damage things?).

Just Get Started—Perfection Kills Progress – I see contractors get overwhelmed trying to create the perfect training program and never start. My advice: commit to a program and build on it. Start with just your next five new hires, try it out, then expand to experienced employees.

Reflection Questions