Tom Sunderland and Becky Hammond of Native Edge Landscapes recently shared with Colorado Green NOW the story of they developed a way to turn terrific seasonal employees into year-round staff members.

Mid-summer last year, we realized at Native Edge that we had put together a really great team of employees who may not be available next year. We didn't want to take a chance of losing anyone by having to lay off people when the winter months arrived, as we had in the past. We decided to find a way to keep this team year-round.

The design staff put extra effort into an autumn sales push for work that could be done in the winter. Going into December, we had five projects that would keep our crews intact and working through the normally slow season. All of the projects emphasize stone patios, walls and veneered outdoor kitchens.

In order to keep the work going after the ground is starting to freeze, we cover the areas where we're working with heated blankets during the night. We also constructed two tents with casual wood frames, poly walls and roof, and a tent flap door. Crews put an electric heater inside that can be run during the work day powered by a generator. 

With these systems in place, we have been able to keep our team intact over the winter and will hit the ground running in spring, having made progress on projects that our clients were excited to see continue during the winter. It also allows us to keep our highly valued staff employed by Native Edge for the whole year.

Year-round work is a key component to making landscaping an enriching career for a lifetime.