Employee Handbook
Employee General Guidelines
1. Respect goes a long way- Please respect the company, coworkers, authority, customers and yourself for a positive work environment. Treat people how you would want to be treated...especially when you think no one is looking. Unless you have important information to report, constructive criticism or positive feedback, its best to keep personal opinions to yourself and focus on working diligently. Address all issues professionally if any arise; especially with clients.
2. Preparation - Come to work sober, well rested, with clean hygiene and in clean work attire that fits the dress code. Come prepared with your own lunch and hydration. The company will provide free water bottles, but you must bring your own lunch.
3. Safety - Safety on the job is top priority. ALWAYS wear safety glasses when doing any work with equipment or when dealing with sticks/branches. Eye damage from the landscaping industry is very high statistically so beware. Make sure to always be aware of your surroundings, never becoming complacent when doing reoccurring or new jobs. Making sure to do a detailed walkthrough before starting work on each property; checking for hazards in the grass or job site that could cause damage to client or company property or injuries/death to people.
4.Take Pride in your work- You should always care about the quality of your work, efficiency to get everything done for the day, and being mindful to handle equipment with care. Not just to be a positive representative of the company (which keeps everything running smooth, keeps loyal clients and steady hours) but also for the integrity of yourself and your future.
5.Breaks- You get 45 mins of unpaid lunchtime per full work day (5 hrs of work minimum is considered a full day) . The only other break is if you're doing a strenuous activity such as trimming or mulching that you've spent at least 30-45 mins of steady work on during peak-heat season (July-August) where you can take a short 10 mins to cool off when necessary in the truck with AC to prevent heat stroke. Limit those breaks to one person at a time unless its an emergency. Other than that, you'll be getting small resting periods while travelling your route between properties. For big projects where you're at one location all day, you'll get one paid 15 min break every 2 hours of steady work.
6.Paychecks- To get paid you must record your working hours by clocking in right before starting your route and clocking out directly after finishing your last task via the online timeclock at Yardbook.com (Login info to be provided). Payday is every Friday during the scheduled working season.
7. Incidents- Always do your job/tasks as instructed and in a timely manner. If you come across any clients who have questions, requests for quotes or complaints be sure to handle professionally by first listening and understanding to asses the situation properly: if a client has a complaint, is the complaint based on work that's included with the original quote? If so, make sure the work is complete accordingly and to the best of your ability performing as instructed to satisfy the customer. If the customer still isn't satisfied after touching up, please contact management and explain what's going on, waiting for further instruction unless client tells you to leave .
Before quoting new work, be sure to advise higher ups (supervisor/manager) to ensure the quote can be complete to company standards.
If you knowingly cause damage or make mistakes, you must FIRST report to management to receive further instruction unless there's been a serious accident or emergency then you would dial 9-1-1 first and then the company after that. There will be provided in the truck a First Aid Kit for minor cuts and injuries. Report all incidents/interactions to the company as they occur to help prevent your personal lability.
8. No competition- You are to do your assigned tasks for your hourly wage only. If at any time during the duration of your employment with the company, you make or accept an offer from clients or prospects (potential clients/leads) to do work for them, paid or unpaid, outside of your assigned tasks and or outside the knowledge and approval of the company, you will be given an automatic 3 strikes leading to immediate termination.
9. Be on time and on point- clock in no earlier or later than 9 mins from your scheduled start time and be at your locations in your route within the given timeframe completing all work as instructed to meet production standards. Once you've completed your 1 month supervised training, it'll work just like baseball; 3 "strikes" and you're out! The term "strike" is used to define a moment when employees are corrected or coached due to failure to meet company/production standards. Upon receiving a 3rd strike there will be immediate termination.
10. Zero Tolerance- If you do any of the following, you'll be breaking our zero tolerance policy resulting in immediate termination and you may also be held liable as allowed by law. Zero tolerance for all of the following: stealing from the company, coworkers or clients. Intoxication on the job especially by use of drugs or alcohol. Purposeful and/or major damage to client or company property due to non compliance with operation and safety protocols. Bodily harm or violence of any kind. Bullying/harassment or committing crimes of any type. Smoking, eating or spitting while on clients property or while working. Competing/working in this industry yourself while still being an employee at the company. Using a cell phone or other devices (except a hands-free GPS) for anything while operating vehicles or machinery on the job.
Production Standards
Dress Code- Dressing like a professional is almost as important as performance of a professional. Not only for branding and reputation in the eyes of the public, but also for safety and efficiency. Everyone is required to where fitting work pants (not blue jeans or sweatpants) that are comfortable and held up by a belt. Boots or hiking/outdoor shoes are required. Branded shirts will be provided but you can also wear long sleeve or short sleeve solid color (white, grey, or black) wicking material to stay cool. Safety glasses are provided and must be worn while doing physical work or while on the job site. Dust masks or gators are provided to help protect your respiratory system from dust and fumes but not required to wear; at your own risk. Sun hats and earplugs are also provided but not required to wear; at your own risk.
Work Schedule- You'll be provided a schedule on the 1st and 14th day of the month showing your scheduled days and assignments for the following 2 weeks. Please note that weather, cancellations and new jobs may change the schedule/assignments. You will be notified of those changes as they occur. To view your schedule anytime use your login information at yardbook.com (username and password to be provided )
Sick Days- If you have to call out of work due to illness or emergency (aka sick day), contact management by 8 am on the day of, to give us a proper notice in order to prepare changes in schedule. By not notifying the company of your unexpected absence, it will be counted as a "no call, no show" and you will be automatically labeled as either terminated or resigned from employment without notice. You're allowed 5 unpaid sick days, however, if you go without using ANY of those days by the end of the regular working season, you will qualify for an automatic $800 bonus for perfect attendance which will be added to your last regular paycheck in November. To schedule a day off without using a sick day, it must be requested in person no later than 2 weeks in advance.
Training expectations- For your first month, you will be under supervision on the job site assuring you become certified to complete jobs safely and efficiently on your own for full pay.
Training pay is $15 an hour, then after you become proficient, you will gain regular pay at $20 an hour.
Your first 5 days, you will learn how to start the mower, start and operate the blower, learn to edge sidewalks and use the string trimmer.
The remaining days will be a mix of learning to safely operate the zero turn and fine tune your trimming and driving skills.
Regular productivity standards- After becoming certified to work on your own, you must complete all daily tasks by the timeframes given to you. If you cant complete daily tasks to company standards, you'll either receive a strike or you may be able to choose to forfeit your certification and re-enter supervised training phase for 14 days with training pay. This is only allowed once within your first 60 days and is given at the discretion of the company.
Driving- You must follow all traffic laws, being careful not to speed or cause an accident due to careless driving. Your location and speed is tracked live via GPS at all times in the company vehicle for safety and security reasons.
NO TEXTING OR PHONE CALLS WHILE DRIVING
YOU MUST PRE-TRIP THE TRAILER SETUP EVERY DAY AT EACH STOP BEFORE LEAVING ASSURING YOU HAVE ALL EQUIPMENT ONBOARD SECURELY, THAT IT'S HOOKED UP CORRECTLY AND THAT ALL TIRES ARE CLEAR FROM HAZARDS WITH ROOM TO PULL OFF SAFELY
Pitstops- The truck and gas cans will be filled for you with sufficient fuel to get the days work done. There is no need to stop at the gas station or anywhere else while completing your routes except at authorized locations when on your 45 min lunch break or if instructed otherwise by the company. If you have to pee and you can't hold it, you should take a bottle (which you are responsible for bringing and discarding of properly asap) and your business inside the enclosed trailer making sure not to expose yourself, by having your private area facing away from the opening of the trailer and as far away as possible from the door so no one sees if they were to walk by...also being careful not to lock yourself in the trailer.